Mysticism and synchronicity have been present from the beginning. When we decided to undertake the mission entrusted in a dream to my husband by his daughter Ana Mercedes, who had died in a car accident aged 15, we had only two things: a commitment to execute it with excellence in her memory; and faith that we would find a way to make it possible. Both elements were indispensable in the fulfilment of this dream.
I remember the first time in which we presented that dream, what the school would be to a group of potential students. They were all mothers in the Head Start program. We told them what the school would be like and described the things they would be able to achieve there with such passion that they became enthused. Once we finished the presentation, the ten mothers, told us, full of hope, “We think it’s fantastic. It’s exactly what we need to help our kids move forward and be an example to them after obtaining our high school diploma… but you are in Caguas and we are in Gurabo (a different town). None of us has a car. How are we going to get to school?” Much to my surprise, I remember my husband Justo answering: “Don’t worry. The school will be providing you with transport.”
As we left the meeting we got into our vehicle, a small five passenger four-door car. My husband spoke about how wonderful that gathering had been, the possibilities for that group of women, and I said: “By the way, you told them that the school was going to provide the transport. What are you going to do, a lot of trips in this car?” To which Justo responded “That’s true. Let’s do what we have to do.”
He wanted me to listen to a message in the answering machine. It was the sweet voice of a woman saying: “Good Morning Mr. Méndez…
That same afternoon when we got home, Justo called me to our improvised office and told me: “Listen to this”. He wanted me to listen to a message in the answering machine. It was the sweet voice of a woman saying: “Good Morning Mr. Méndez… Our organization will have to close operations. We have a vehicle that we acquired with government funds and we either have to give it back or donate it to a non-profit organization. We decided to donate it to a non-profit that will make good use of it and we thought of you. We’d like to know if you are interested.” The next day we had an Aerostar van in which we were able to transport each one of those women who had one day believed in our dream.
It is true that the universe conspires. Since then we understood that Nuestra Escuela is blessed, and that is why it blesses so many families. From that gathering I celebrate that one of those women, after completing her high school diploma at Nuestra Escuela and later studying nursing, is now our colleague working as Nuestra Escuela’s nurse. As she always says: today she offers others the love, respect and hope that she had received one day.
Thank you so much Ana and Justo for sharing this!