The scope of the Kingdom Project, the development plan to strengthen our national infrastructure, is expanding to include a national initiative to support the building of the last of the continental Temples of the Bahá'í world, the Mother Temple of South America. 

When first introduced to the American Bahá'í community in 2000, the Kingdom Project, "Building the Kingdom:  It's Our Time" was designed as a comprehensive development plan to strengthen our national infrastructure to meet the needs of anticipated large-scale growth.  Almost six years later, as we near completion of the $36 million financial goal of the Kingdom Project, we celebrate significant victories:  completed renovations at the national Bahá'í schools and institutes, the launch and ongoing support for Bahá'í Publishing, and the ongoing restoration efforts of the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, including the building of a new visitors center. 

The Supreme Body urged the friends to respond to this "new challenge" of raising the estimated $27 million needed for the building of the Chilean Temple by 2008.  And, at home, $2.8 million remains in Kingdom Project pledges to be paid by Ridván 2006. 

With the commencement of the building of the Chilean Temple, we are witnessing the fulfillment of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's prophetic statement that, "Out of this Mashriqu'l-Adhkár... thousands of Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs will be born."  He extolled the Mother Temple of the West as "a model for the coming centuries" whose founding "marked the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth." 

As we embrace this new element of the Kingdom Project, the building of the last of the continental Mother Temples, and move forward towards completion of the Kingdom Project tasks at home, may the words of the beloved Master addressed to our richly blessed nation in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, inspire our efforts:  

"May America become the distributing center of spiritual enlightenment and all the world receive this heavenly blessing... Should success crown your enterprise, America will assuredly evolve into a center from which waves of spiritual power will emanate, and the throne of the Kingdom of God will, in the plentitude of its majesty and glory, be firmly established."