St. Pauls Almonte

Submitted by Vicki Bassett
Hopefully, by now, everyone at St. Paul’s is familiar with what “Aventura Nica” means - even if you don’t speak Spanish! I am writing to share with you some of the wonderful developments that have taken place, as we move closer to our School build date in March 2010. Last June, we started with a group of 12 travelers - 10 youth and 2 adult chaperones (Bob Bassett and Sara Cardona). Without hesitation, all dug in and started to work to raise community awareness of our project and raise the money required.

Our first fundraiser, in June, involved providing the baking treats after our choir’s Gospel sing along event. The donations were over $300, which got us off to a great start! In July, the youth held a car wash and had the opportunity to speak to many folks about our project. In the heat and humidity of August, we completed some heavy yard work for a member of our parish, which was good training for the physical work we will be doing in Nicaragua in similar weather conditions. Sara also met with the team regularly throughout the summer to help everyone learn some Spanish.

The fall brought three opportunities for the youth to share their gift of music. “Sole United” – the name of their band opened at the SchoolBox Latin Fiesta fundraiser and led worship at two youth events - one in Chesterville and one in Carp. We received donations towards “Aventura Nica” for both of these diocesan events. Matthew and Nathan, two members of the group, approached their Social Justice Club at Notre Dame Catholic High School in Carleton Place, and the result was a $1,000 donation towards the materials needed for our project.

We have also gratefully received a very generous donation from the Lion’s Club. And, a few Saturdays ago, with the help of Lois Rochon, the team chatted with shoppers at Rona in Carleton Place, which resulted in over $200! All of this to say, the community support has been tremendous.

Recently, two other youth and two young adults, Jeff Semple and Moira Davis, have joined our group that now totals 16 travelers. This completes our team. The fundraising continues and the excitement builds!

We’ve heard from Nicaragua that we will most likely be working on a classroom, which will have been started by a group from Almonte travelling down in February. The classroom is part of a school called Ruben Dario, located on the outskirts of the city of Leon.

If you want to know more or would like to contribute to this exciting project - visit our web site- www.aventuranica.ca, or chat with our youth, Bob or Sara. Envelope donations should be marked clearly – St. Paul’s Youth Mission Trip. If you are struggling to find a Christmas gift for that person who has everything - why not consider contributing to this worthy cause in their honour?

Stay tuned for updates in future newsletters!