Meanwhile at the RMI Office…

To say that summer in Southwest Florida is hot, humid, steamy and rainy is an understatement.  Imagine loading a 40 ft. sea container (i.e. a giant metal box that absorbs and magnifies that heat and humidity) in that kind of weather.  This is exactly what Dan Shoemaker, Kim Rose, Joel Sutton and 2 volunteers from a local church did all in one day last week.  (They sweated their hearts out and did a great job of getting everything in it!) Joel and Laura Sutton drove their belongings down from their home in Gainesville, FL in a U Haul and those items were loaded first. 

The Suttons will spend the next couple of months raising the last portion of their support (pray with them about this!!) before they go to Haiti in September.  The goal is for them to arrive about the time the container clears customs and arrives in Cayes.

The last half of the container included much needed supplies for the new RMI Haiti office (cabinets, counter tops, toilets, fencing) and other supplies for the ministry such as tires for the vehicles, wood, towels for the Retreat Center…and everything imaginable including the proverbial kitchen sink. 

Folks from St. Petersburg Baptist Church, one of our newest C3 Partners, drove down from St. Petersburg, FL with several boxes of wedding dresses and men’s suits for their Sister Church.  And after a final delivery or two, it was finished! 

This morning, July 16, the rig came to pick it up.  The seal was put on and off it went to the Port of Miami.  The next destination is Port-au-Prince then Cayes.
 

Pray for…

1.  The funds to cover a number of items for the ministry that were bought on faith,

2.  Smooth seas (remember it’s hurricane season!) and smooth transition through the port and customs,

3.  The Sutton’s funds to reach 100% so they can leave at the appointed time in September.

The rest of the pics of the loading can be seen HERE.

The Thompson Family are on furlough

Furlough, home assignment…whatever you call it, it means many things to RMI’s missionaries.  Part vacation, part visiting supporters, family and friends, part making new contacts, part fund raising for your ministry, part taking care of doctor visits, part attending conferences where you are representing RMI and your ministry, part attending conferences for personal rejuvenation and professional continuing education, and part travel.  I’m sure I missed something in there – however, it is NOT a 2 month vacation!  But it is a multi-faceted time away from the field. 

The Thompson family are in the US June 13 – August 20.  You can see their schedule HERE.  They are making the most of their time so far.

Every Sunday they are speaking at a different church with many meetings in the days in between…breakfasts, lunches and suppers with friends and supporters.  This furlough they are staying in one general area, but have a very busy schedule planned.

Pray for them as they try to accomplish many things (see the list above) in a short amount of time.  They are valuable co-workers and deserve a break from the challenges of life in Haiti!

God has already given them some quality time as a family as well as some successes in fund raising.  We wish them the best during this furlough time.