John
and Velvet want to take a moment just to say THANK YOU for your continued
prayers and financial support.
Truly,
we are just an extension of your own heart for Missions.
Should
we need to change any mailing or email address information that we have for
you, or if you prefer us to use a different email address, even a wish to
add another name, a friend or church/group to our newsletter contact list,
please let us know!
As
the Sommer family draws closer to January’s target fly day date, all of you
come to mind. How you’ve sacrificed money from your salary, time from your
schedule to pray for us and Missions Beyond’s Haitian school outreach, and even
given us your blessing to move far away from you to the other side of the
world (here’s
looking at you especially Mom Alda, Dad Charles & Mom Joyce) to
join in what God invited us to do.
Several friends and churches have
committed to joining with Missions Beyond (John & Velvet Sommer) in
partnership through monthly contributions.
Thank you. We are a few partners
away from meeting our monthly living expense budget as well as budgeting
towards reliable vehicle to use in the Dominican Republic. Our monthly budget will stretch further once
we no longer need to hire transportation for outreach to the schools.
John is eager to learn what
it is like driving in a foreign country.
Velvet would like four wheeled transportation but John says two to three
wheels would be more adventurous!
Skylar (the Sommer’s trusty companion) is
packing for the journey. John and Skylar will
join Velvet in the Dominican Republic this coming January. The first stay will be for three months so
that John and Skylar can acclimate to the warmer temperatures and culture, as
well as learn to live and work without air conditioning. It will be a time of making connections and
building relationships.
We are currently in the planning stages for our upcoming
Christmas in a Box outreach during December 2017. Many of our students do not receive any other
gift during the year. This is an
opportunity to partner with Missions Beyond and show each child enrolled that
they matter and are loved. With your
help this can happen. Would you consider
sending a Christmas box to a child?
Our Cutupu school location has approximately 65
students. This would be a great project
for a church group or scout group.
Item ideas: toys, candy, gum, snacks, personal hygiene
items, school supplies, card games, socks, hair items, washcloth/hand towel,
bar soap, water bottle, doll, cars, sunglasses, watch, etc.
For more information please write MissionsBeyond@gmail.com or contact
us via our website www.missionsbeyondthebeyond.com.
This lovely family has expressed an interest in becoming missionaries to their own country of the Dominican Republic.
Meet Delvi, Jomarly and their sons Maxwell, 9 and Jackson, 6.
What a joy to partner with them in reaching out to the community of La Vega.
Both Delvie and Yomarly are talented musicians.
Delvi plays guitar/bass and Yomarly is a vocalist.
Maxwell and Jackson enjoy collecting HotWheels.
Building and developing relationships is a huge portion of what Missions Beyond is about.
These relationships enable us to move about the country, opens doors, introduces us to the culture and gives us a glimpse into what family and community means to the people of the DR.
We are grateful for their friendship and willingness to teach us about this beautiful country they call home.
Missions Beyond began in
2010 when a group of people from different churches desired to travel as a
mission team reaching out to children and families. We became unified through a common cause of
putting our faith in action. As Missions
Beyond grew, it was seen that we needed to take it to the next level of
becoming an Educational Humanitarian Effort. We
started as Missions Beyond and grew into Missions Beyond the Beyond (a 501c3).
Missions Beyond began serving locally and has now served abroad to four different
countries: Kenya, Venezuela, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
What
began in Velvet’s heart as a child and her dream of a future working with
children, has become a daily life for John and Velvet. They have walked through changes in family
size, church and pastoral changes, through challenges and victories, building
relationships. While in Haiti, John and
Velvet began to see that education and compassion were vital to impacting the
future of Haiti. As we show Christ's love and enable students to see a brighter
future through education and learned skills, we are reaching out and offering a
hand up. Hand outs come and go, but a hand up helps one get on their own
feet. Once on our feet, we can walk alongside one another, partnering in
the journey. Teaching each other and learning together.
Haitian children face
three main barriers to attending a public school in the Dominican
Republic.
- One, the children are often
undocumented legally and cannot attend.
- Two, there is a difficult language
and cultural barrier to cross.
- Three, often the costs for a
public school uniform, shoes, and school supplies is not within economic
reach of these families.
How to help:
1. Cutupu
School Christmas Shoeboxes.
2. Financially through a one time or recurring
donation to Missions Beyond.
3. Come and serve as a short term missions
volunteer.
4.Pray for Missions Beyond and the Sommers.
Donations and contributions are tax deductible and can be made via mail,
through PayPal, through Missions Beyond’s website, or by direct debit/deposit
through your bank.
Mail: Missions Beyond * PO Box 1029 * Moberly, MO 65270
