News Flash!!

The housing container has cleared customs….

RMI Intern, Dawn Shoemaker, flew to Haiti today….

Two teams flew to Haiti today….

The RMI container is in Port and will clear customs today….

RMI President, Dan Shoemaker, is in Haiti and Kim Rose, RMI Vice President, will be flying in on Sunday….

To say that there’s a lot happening in RMI today is an understatement!

**The housing container with 30 homes has cleared customs!! ….in record time!! It is being unloaded at the RMI depot/storage area tomorrow, Saturday. What an amazing answer to prayer! How great it will be to get these homes in place and assembled, providing a safe, secure place for Haitian families to re-start their lives.

Jigs will be built that will serve as a pattern for the assembly of the wall and roof panels. From there the panels will be trucked to the site where a team will assemble it. The family receiving the home will be involved in the site preparation and assist in the installation of the home. It will have a cement floor as well as 2 doors and 2 windows.

**RMI intern, Dawn Shoemaker, flew into Haiti today with a Sister Church team. She was able to raise her support and is very thankful for God’s provision. She’ll be there 5 weeks. It is the first time she has been back to the land of her birth since we moved to the US 4 years ago. She is very excited about helping with the Sister Church teams, Homes for Haiti teams and whatever else they need her to do. Pray for her. The mission center and Haiti has changed a lot in the intervening 4 years. She is returning as an adult who feels God is leading her into full time ministry. She wants to serve God and the Haitian people.

**Two teams flew into Haiti today. Estero United Methodist Church sent 12 people to visit their Sister Church. Since they are from the Southwest Florida area, Dawn was able to fly with them. Second Cape May Baptist Church, a Sister Church, sent 8 men as the first Homes for Haiti team. We’re thankful that God allowed the release of the Homes container in time for them to unload it and begin setting up the jigs. Pray that things will go smoothly.

**The RMI container will be released from customs Monday. It was loaded May 12 and contains generators, equipment, tools for the Homes Program and other badly needed things for the RMI Guest House, and the Retreat Center. Again, it’s God’s provision that it is being released in time for the team to unload and begin to use the tools immediately.

Will it all fit?!

Yes, it did – every single item. Dan, Kim and 9 young adults made short work of it. In less than 3 hours, they loaded the entire 20’ container, right up to the door.

**Dan is in Haiti and Kim will be flying in on Sunday. Dan went in last Friday to be with a Vision Team. 2 RMI Board members organized the team with men from southern California and south Florida. They handed out food aid in 2 communities and spent 2 days building benches and held an open air service in another community. They returned home today, just as the 2 new teams came in. Gary McLaughlin will be with the Sister Church team while Dan and Kim will be working on the containers and Homes with the work team. Wow!! Pray for them all. The RMI staff is stretched thin. Pray for their safety and health as they have worked so hard for so long.

Rainy season has started. While the country needs the rain, it greatly complicates the refugees lives as well as complicates RMI’s efforts. It has rained all week long, Monday through Friday!

Pray for the teams – that God would use this time in their lives in a mighty way.

Yes – a lot is happening in RMI! We are excited about what God is doing. Continue to pray for the provision of funds for the homes. Of the 30 homes on the container, 17 are sponsored. Can you, your church or other group sponsor a home? $4,400 is a small price to pay for changing a Haitian family’s life! We need you!!