We have come a long way, and we have a long way to go.

I was looking at photos of the Catemu house last night. We certainly have come a long way on a project. I was remembering how the project began, and I have to admit I had myself a little laugh. When we first started talking about the project in Chile, everyone, EVERYONE, though we were just going to steal the money. I recoil a little as I type ¨steal the money¨ because here in Chile you can’t say those words…ever. Even if you are saying you DIDN´T steal the money. Here saying those three words is like saying bomb on an airplane or yelling fire in a movie theater, you can’t say it.

Everyone is so suspicious, and rightfully so I would say. I was hearing stories about how a charity collected clothes during the last earthquake. Everyone donated, months past, everyone forgot about their donation until someone found out that the clothes were never sent. The people that ran the charity kept all the clothes to sell. I have heard my fair share of these stories. I am not sure if there are examples a few isolated cases that stick in peoples mind, or if really everyone is as shameful as the clothes thieves. Either way, people are very slow to trust, and with us it was no exception.

I would like to say thank you to everyone who had faith enough to donate to us. We are not a nonprofit organization, we couldn’t give you any ¨guarantee¨ besides our word, and you still believed enough in our cause to help us do something great for a Chilean family. I would especially like to thank are most recent contributor Jannike Heide. Jannike and I went to Church together, and I was close friends with her older brother. She is still in school, but she is obviously a very special person who cares a lot about helping others.

Now I am not old, and I am definitely not a person that complains about the declining moral fiber of the youth of today, but I can say I don´t see a lot of young people getting involved. I see even less getting involved when it comes to giving money to a cause. So thank you Jannike, for you very special gift.