A Different Kind of Gift

As you think about what kind of gifts you will buy for your family and friends, RMI would challenge you to consider adding a different kind of gift to your list this year.   A gift of a water filter, food or a goat would be a life changing gift for a needy Haitian family.  Give it in honor of a loved one, make it a family project or ask your family to purchase one of these as one of your gifts this year.

 

Clean Drinking Water - $75

A simple and yet profound way to impact a third world family’s health costs only $75.   Half of all Haitians have little to no access to clean drinking water and are susceptible to many water borne diseases.  Providing a Water For Health water filter provides a family with clean drinking water. These filters are designed to be simple to operate and maintain, and last for years without having to change parts.  A  water filter would literally transform their health and quality of life.

 

Food for Malnourished Kids and Families - $25

A gift of life is what a case of 216 meals provides a family that is struggling to feed itself due to extreme poverty.  With close to half of the population of Haiti living on $2 a day, feeding a family becomes a daily struggle.  For just $25, you can feed a family of 6 a nutritious hot meal a day for a month.   What a very practical way to provide nourishment AND encouragement for a hungry family.

 

Goats mean Sustainable Income - $90

It is a gift that keeps on giving.  Providing a family with a goat will enable them to begin to care for themselves.  As the goat grows and produces offspring, it can be the source of a small herd.  These are then sold and can help cover school expenses, food, clothing, etc. for the family.   It only costs $90 to provide this opportunity for dignity and sustainability.

 

 

End of the year giving time is at hand.  Don’t delay.  Send your check to:

RMI, 5475 Lee St. Suite 301, Lehigh Acres, FL  33971

or donate here.

Expansion of the HFK Deworming Program

Last Tuesday was an exciting day for me and for those of us who work with the Hope for Kidz Child Sponsorship Program because we rolled out phase two of the Deworming Program.  Earlier in the year, we rolled out phase one of the program.  I wrote a report in March on all the reasons we believe deworming (one pill, once per year) is an important part of the HFK program.  To read about that again, go here. 

For the 2012-2013 school year we dewormed 9,000+ kids in 33 schools.  This year, we were able to add all the satellite locations that have sponsored kids as well as a few new sister church schools.  That alone is a huge expansion. For the 2013-2014 school year, we dewormed 12,000+ students and teachers! The deworming program is not just for the sponsored kids, but for every child in all of our schools that have sponsored kids. 

 

For phase two, in addition to the increased number of students treated, we added an important aspect to the program: worm prevention education.  Last week, we asked all the school administrators to come in for a meeting.  We reviewed with them the process of distributing the meds to the students, went over how we want them to keep records and distributed 12,000+ pills and cups.  Then each school received an educational illustrated flip book.  Much thanks goes to those from The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Chicago’s NW suburbs who developed most of the educational materials that we use for the deworming program!  It is a priceless resource.  We taught the administrators the information in the flip books including how you catch worms, symptoms and how to prevent catching worms.  There were many questions and dialogue.  At the end, we taught them all a catchy song about worm prevention that they can use with the kids.  The information and materials were well received. We now require that the educational materials are taught to every class in every school each year.

Overall, the HFK Deworming Program is just a small part of the child sponsorship program.  The one pill per year and prevention education once per year is a tiny financial part of the puzzle, but is having a huge impact in the health of these students.

To those of you who sponsor a child, we want to say a big THANK YOU!  Your sponsorship is impacting more than just the single child you sponsor—it’s impacting the whole school. 
~Becky

Visit to Maniche with Florida Bible Church

November 15-22, I (Becky) had the chance to go out with the team from Florida Bible Church from Miramar, FL to visit their sister church in Maniche.  Rob was brave and stayed home with the kids for the week. I really enjoy these opportunities!  RMI always says our ministry is the “ministry of presence” and usually my ministry of presence is in the home with my family and in support roles with RMI in the areas of bookkeeping and hospitality.  It sure is good for me to get out into the village with our teams.  It really gives me a renewed sense of purpose and perspective.  Well, enough about me!

This week we had a team of 11 and one of RMI’s new missionaries, Star Harvie, came with us for her first experience with a sister church team.

The team with Star and I:

Maniche is less than an hour’s drive away.  When we arrived, we were greeted by the church’s Brigade.  There was so much excitement from the church and the team members!  I’ve seen many Brigade groups—they are so fun to watch and do a great job!  But this team, with many seasoned team members, have never been greeted in this way before. It was the first year the Maniche Baptist Church has had a Brigade so it was a real treat for everyone.

Here is a video of the Brigade:

 

Post by Reciprocal Ministries International.

This was the first time that the Senior Pastor and his wife from FBC visited their sister church in Maniche.  This was extra special for Pastor Enoch and Madame Pastor!  Church was packed Sunday morning and they saved Communion for that Sunday so they could lead it together. 

Communion Service:

Star and I:

It was a full week of ministry to encourage the church in Maniche—there was little downtime!  The youth had a Bible Quiz: Jeopardy-style.  They made team names and had chants going and were trash talking—all in fun!  The loser’s had to salute to the winners.  The team used the kids to re-enact Joshua and the battle of Jericho during a program for the school kids.  At one point I thought the church walls might come tumbling down!  There were over 250 kids making as much noise as they could!  They had special gatherings for the ladies and men and both played some games, including musical chairs for the ladies.  It’s always a joy to see the Haitian ladies and men let loose a little during a game—they are very competitive! 

Men’s Bible Study:

Visit to Robert Church:

FBC really has a heart for the people and as a whole church, they are very involved in the Hope for Kidz child sponsorship program.  Spending time with and loving on the ladies, men, kids and youth was their goal, and they accomplished it well.  They went out of their way to do special things for each of the people they came in contact with.  And it wasn’t just the FBC team—the people of the Maniche church went over and above to love on their visitors.  These 2 churches have a heart connection that is obvious and infectious! 

~Becky