Dearest Family and Friends, February 2025
We do hope this letter find you and your loved ones doing well. As we begin 2025, we feel immensely blessed by the numerous gifts our Heavenly Father has given to our family. After 5 challenging years, including many health challenges, we are ecstatic to be approaching Amy & Rob’s 25th Wedding Anniversary, and Amy’s 50th Birthday this upcoming fall. In honor of these momentous occasions, as well as the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year, we have decided to embark on a life-changing adventure… participate in a mission trip as a family! Amy has been drawn for almost 30 years to participate in a mission trip, and Sophie too, felt the call of the Holy Spirit to serve, when she was a teenager. We feel honored and blessed that God has given us an incredible opportunity to serve all together, with Amigos for Christ from May 31st-June 7th in Chinandega, Nicaragua.
Amigos for Christ is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to serve God, by providing opportunities for missionaries and impoverished families to grow through life-changing experiences. Their vision is to be a model community development organization that facilitates water, health, education, economic and infrastructure improvements in rural Nicaragua. The mission is ongoing with many projects, including developing water systems to bring clean water, and constructing modern bathrooms in different communities. This incredible organization even began in our home parish of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Flowery Branch, GA! Please check their website for more information and photos of current projects. https://amigosforchrist.org/
We have been told that when someone attends a mission trip, it changes their lives forever! We will get a chance to see how other people in the world are living, but it will also give us an opportunity to help those less fortunate than us and share God’s unconditional love. He has called each of us to serve His children, and we are all tremendously grateful that He has given us this opportunity to fulfill this call. Through the challenges of the past five years, we began serving at Prince of Peace Catholic Church with multiple ministries, especially with The Little Flower Group (https://thelittleflowergroup.org/ ); which collects, sorts, organizes, and distributes necessary items for needy families in our community. Serving on this small-scale level has truly fed our hearts & souls, and we are ecstatic and ready to serve on a much larger and more impactful scale!
First and foremost, we are asking each of you for your thoughts and prayers, as our family participates in this mission trip. Please also keep the communities and families that we will be serving, close to your hearts and minds in prayer! As we are each responsible for the entire cost of this trip, including flights, meals, insurance, and local transportation while we are in Nicaragua, we are asking if you would prayerfully consider supporting us with a financial donation as well. Your generosity would allow us to continue the amazing work that began 25 years ago in Nicaragua, through Amigos for Christ! Any amount of love, prayer, or financial assistance is truly helpful, and we greatly appreciate your consideration and thoughtfulness! We are also willing to help your family with at-home projects, yard work, cleaning, babysitting, etc… as an exchange for your donation.
LIST of ACTUAL COSTS / GUIDE for DONATIONS
-Flight from Atlanta to Houston for 6 people: @ $150-$200 each / $900-$1200 total
-Round Trip Flight to & from Houston to Managua, Nicaragua for 6 people: $913 each / $5473 total
-Tax Deductible Cost for Mission Trip with Amigos for Christ for 6 people: $350 each / $2100 total
-Nicaraguan Tourist Entrance Fee: $10 each / $60 total
-Special Activities in the town: $15-$20 each / $90-$100 total
-One or two meals in town: $15-$20 each / $90-$100 total
-Airport Meals: $20 each person & each way / $100 total each way
We are immensely grateful for your love, support, and constant prayers, as you have carried us through many challenges, especially in recent years. We thank God for giving us the opportunity to spread this same love and be Christ’s hands and feet. We are so excited to experience a meaningful and memorable adventure as an entire family, and we look forward to sharing our stories and progress with you as we prepare for our trip, as well as upon our return. Thank you, and may God bless you in an extraordinary way, for your efforts in assisting our family and the families of Chinandega, Nicaragua.
Sincerely grateful,
Rob, Amy, Sophie, Celia, Nicholas, and Anthony Sampona