Change of Address

In February, the Associates in Pocuro decided that we would move to Santiago. This decision was a culmination of many things, but mostly that the little town of Pocuro had changed, had grown, and the work of the Associates that started 10 years ago was no longer needed.

What happened after this decision is a long tale, filled with changing decisions on where we were going to live and who we were going to live with. At one point, we were decided that those in the Santiago house should move too. The house is in horrible condition and we are spending a lot of money each month for repairs, and also Patrick, Natalie, and I will be living together anyway in our second year. Thus, for some time, we were searching for a house for 7 people, to rent for 2 years, in the same low-income neighborhood as the current Santiago house. This was an impossible task. Not only could we not find the size we were looking for in this neighborhood (remember - one of our pillars is simple living) but we were attempting to rent in an area that does not do anything but sell. In the end we decided on an apartment, for only the Pocuro Associates, just outside the neighborhood we were looking. It is nice and all next week we will be saying goodbye to scenic living, closing the Pocuro house, and moving into our new home in Ñuñoa, Santiago.

My new address is the following:

Asociados de Santa Cruz
c/o Michelle Fitzgerald
Casilla 8
Correo 59
Santiago, CHILE

When I decided to live in Pocuro, I knew I would only live there for a year and move to Santiago to work for my second year. My program is closing and Patrick, Natalie, and I are the last group of Associates that have been coming to Chile since the early 1970s. When I was informed that the program was closing during my orientation in August, I did not think much of it. Sure, it is a large burden for us to carry, closing down both houses and being the last representatives of all the associates who came before us. But, programs close and lives move on. My two years would be the same as any other year in the program only I would change houses after a year.

Last Sunday we spoke to the Pocuro community at the end of mass and explained our plans to move sooner than expected and hopes that someone can help us find a place for our dog Memo (he grew up in the campo and there is simply no way he will survive in the big city). It was then I realized that in August I severely underestimated how this move, regardless when it happens, would be hard for everyone - the Associates, friends of the Associates, and the local Church communities. This was shown after mass by the reactions and many tears of those who lives have been touched by the Associates throughout the years.

Although we still stand by our decision to move now instead of in November, I am finding each day that the position the Church and the Congregation has placed us in, by deciding to close the program, is a difficult and unfair one. We are just a bunch of college graduates wanting to do service because we feel this is what God is calling us to do at this time in our lives. We want to change our lives and touch lives in the process. This requires certain sacrifices, we understand. Being responsible for closing down a program is certainly not one we signed up for. All I hope is that our new home will allow us to continue to do our work and be a presence of God to others. At this point, it is the only way I can see honoring the work of all those that have previously participated in this program as we start to pack up their legacy into moving boxes.