The Time Has Come

For years our RMI Haiti office, our storage and depot facilities, and missionary homes have struggled with reliable electricity.  All of these are a part of Cite Lumiere, the mission center that is the headquarters for MEBSH, our Haitian Partner Church Association.  There are quite a few offices and other missionary homes on Cite Lumiere besides RMI’s.  They all rely on city power, which is erratic and unstable, and Cite Lumiere’s single aging generator.  Both are very costly.  Sometimes getting fuel for the generator is an issue.   Recently the cost of fuel has skyrocketed, increasing the cost even more.  This affects the operations of the office and homes; it goes beyond having lights, fans, and computers - it affects our internet as well.  Not having internet means that the field can’t communicate with our ministry partners all over the US as well they can’t communicate with the RMI International office.

The time has come for us to “bite the bullet” and make use of one resource that we have in abundance: sun power.  Those who operate the mission center have asked all those living there and ministry offices to raise the funds to install solar systems for their particular homes and offices.  This would relieve the generator of the strain on it as well as give everyone reliable and sustainable power.  We’ve hesitated to do it because it is a huge initial outlay of funds.  But we know that in the long run, the benefits greatly outweigh the costs.  We want to be good stewards of the monies that God has entrusted to us.

RMI needs to raise the funds to put solar systems on our office, the storage and depot area, and 4 missionary homes.  It is estimated that these systems will cost between $40,000 and $50,000.  Yes, it’s a large amount but it is something we must do in the coming months and, in the long run, will ultimately save us much more than that in city power and generator costs.

Would you partner with us to see this happen??!  This definitely affects the ministry as a whole and the ministry between you and your C3 partner church.  We are praying that we can give the field staff the go-ahead to start this project in January.  If you are able to help with this need, go to RMIbridge.org and click on the solar project button, or call 239-368-8290.  

Some funds have begun to come in since we introduced this need last month.  Thank you to all of you who have given to this project so far!  We know that this year has been stressful in all kinds of ways, so we really appreciate your gifts.

Be Thankful for 2020?!

 I don’t know about you, but I have had a hard time getting into a true Thanksgiving mindset.  2020 has been such a tough year, for individuals, families, businesses, communities, and our nation, not to mention the rest of the world.  The challenges most of us have had to face as a result of Covid-19 have been daunting:  lock-downs, quarantines, stay at home, work from home, kids trying to learn from home, loss of loved ones, loss of job, income, or business, not to mention politics!  It has been a tough, crazy, hard year.

And yet the Lord tells us in Phil 4:6  ^“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  I have been anxious…about so many situations…and issues…and…so much Lord!  The deep prayers for so much and so many, the petitions, and requests have been made.  But with thanksgiving?  Not so much.  God, don’t you see what is going on in our lives, our families, our nation, our ministry, in the US, and in Haiti?  Thankful?  That is not so easy these days.
 
And yet the Lord has gently reminded me recently of what being thankful is all about. The Lord brought back to mind the response of so many Haitian brothers and sisters in the midst of great tragedies and problems, whether devastating hurricanes, earthquakes, crops lost due to flooding, deep poverty, hunger, or personal loss, of their thankfulness to the Lord of His care for them in the midst of it all. They still had life, health, and especially a great hope of eternity in Heaven no matter how tough this current life is.  God will provide in His time and His way.  God is in control. 
 
You see, they understand that if they lay their burdens at the foot of the Throne of God, with realization and a thankful heart for all that God has done and will do, in the midst of difficult and often crushing situations, that verse 7 comes into play:  "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Phil 4:7
 
So yes, this week I am working on reminding myself of ALL that I am thankful for in life, especially in Christ Jesus.  And my challenge to you is to do the same.  Lay your burdens at the feet of Jesus, and remind yourself, of ALL that you are thankful for, no matter what is going on, IN CHRIST JESUS!
 
One area of thankfulness for me has been how you, the Body of Christ, have reached out, often in the midst of your own challenges, to respond to the needs presented before you of our Haitian brethren and RMI these days.  Many boxes of food, goats, and bags of seeds have been sponsored to help our hurting Haitian brothers and sisters.  On their behalf, THANK YOU!  You are part of that trust in the provision of the Lord they have, as you are an answer to their prayers and needs.  (If you want to help, go to RMIbridge.org and click on “Christmas Bundles” for more info.)  I also want to thank so many of you who have sent a financial gift to RMI to help us navigate these difficult times. We are counting on your support to help get us through this tough and lean year. 
 
May you have a great THANKS-GIVING with family and friends, as limited as it might be this year!  I know my family and I will.  May the Peace of God guard our hearts and minds this Holiday season. 

Daniel Shoemaker
President

High Flying Teams

 YES! Teams have begun to return.  Three teams came in during the fall.  The Bayou (Lafayette, LA) met with the ladies of the church and distributed 100 hygiene kits. They did a number of home visits where they were able to share the word of God, pray with them, and leave them with a box of food. They also helped to serve the hot lunch to the kids in the school. 

Creekside (Gainesville, FL) went to their Sister Church, Baradere, and were able to visit all the satellite churches. The Sister Church Coordinator and the church have invested in all those churches and he came to see how the projects were doing. They came with a team member who is from another US church that is a potential partner for the Tet Source church. It was a very productive visit.

Lifehouse (Delaware) was able to do the usual services and outreaches.  In addition, they had training for all the men in the church and shared beef jerky with them, which was a fun treat! They loved it. They visited two satellite churches and met with two pastors who traveled to Aux Coteaux in order to meet them. They built church benches as well as distributed water filters and goats. They also visited homes, prayed with them, and gave them a box of food. They met with all the kids in the school and served them a hot lunch.  What a great encouragement!

Currently, we are flying teams from Port-au-Prince to Cayes where our headquarters is located.  The main reason is to bypass the congested city of Port-au-Prince and any possible encounters with political problems and roadblocks.  This has worked out well.  It is faster and less fatiguing than driving the whole way.  We’re still using the Zanglais Ministry Center, so you won’t miss the chance to take a dip in the Caribbean.

January is completely booked, and February is half booked.  If your church has not reserved their spot on the calendar, they need to do it soon.  We’re really encouraged by the fact that churches want to see these relationships continue and they are eager to visit their Haitian brothers and sisters.

Three Impactful Essentials That You Can Help With This Giving Season

 As we enter the Giving Season, we invite you to provide a better way of life for a Haitian family.  With the global COVID-19 pandemic, Tropical Storm Laura flooding, and civil unrest, Haiti has seen its fair share of heartache this year.  As a result, many families are experiencing real hardship that is only going to get worse.  Food scarcity is a real problem, many lost their gardens due to flooding/wind, and all are struggling with the loss of income.  Thus RMI is offering 3 impactful essentials that are immediately available.

Food Boxes-Rice and Cooking Oil - Each case of food contains 216 chicken flavored rice-based meals fortified with vitamins, protein, and minerals.  Household staples, like rice and cooking oil, have risen to prices most families cannot afford.

Bag of Seeds - Crops were widely wiped out in flooding from Tropical Storm Laura, making a gift of seeds very timely for the next planting season.  Seeds are very expensive, thus your gift of seeds will enable a family to be able to replant their gardens at the appropriate time when there was little hope they could afford to do so.  Your gift will provide a household with 1 bag of seeds (millet, corn, black beans, etc.)

Goats - A sustainable option that gives hope for a better future.  A goat provides a family with a means to help themselves nutritionally and financially.

Bundle - If you like to purchase a bundle (all 3 items) for $240, we will add a Creole Bible to the gift.

Price List

Food Box and Cooking Oil - $40 each

Bag of Seeds - $60 each

Goats - $140

Bundle - $240

Ordering is simple - you can order online via our website, www.RMIbridge.org, and click on the Christmas gift box.  You can also place your order by mail or telephone.  Toll-free 877-764-5439 or 239-368-8390.  Remember, all gifts are tax-deductible.

Tropical Storm Laura Impacts Haiti

 As a tropical storm, before hitting Louisiana in late August as a strong hurricane, Laura passed by Hispaniola, inundating it with massive amounts of rain and some wind.   RMI staff contacted all of the C3 partner churches and here is the report.

All the pastors reported major flooding and the loss of most of their crops, such as bananas, plantains, corn, peanuts, and beans.  Churches along the northern coast of the peninsula reported that fishermen lost fishing equipment such as nets and canoes.   Along the coast on the end of the peninsula, a major bridge at Roche a Bateau was completely washed out.  Only motorcycles can cross to the other side right now.  This makes access to Tiburon, Port-a-Piment, Aux Coteaux, Les Anglais, and Chardonette cut off until the water goes down and some other kind of crossing can be made.  None of the pastors talked of animal loss, but it is most certainly a part of the losses.  

Continue to pray for Haiti as they recover.  The loss of crops will have the most effect on them.  They count on the harvest to sell to feed their families and to send their kids to school.

Introducing RMI Recon Teams

Reconnaissance (recon for short) is a general search, examination or survey of an area or situation.

Between last year’s political unrest and COVID-19, many teams have been unable to visit their C3 partners. We recognize many churches’ reluctance to send a full team - yet they want a first-hand report on how their churches are doing. This is why we are introducing the RMI Recon Teams.

  

The goal is to re-acquaint US and Haitian churches with one another, to encourage each other, and to bring back to the US fresh vision for future partnering together as well as excitement to schedule a visit for the church in 2021.  It also allows other churches to experience different C3 Partnerships and their communities.  Again, most importantly, these visits would be to prepare churches for a team visit in the future.  

Each Recon Team is Friday to Wednesday.

The cost is $695.  All airfare is not included.  

 

Each Recon Team would be made up of 2 to 3 people per church.  You’ll be traveling with several other churches.

The entire team will visit all the churches represented together, with one of them being their particular C3 Partner church.  Each trip would be planned so that the churches would be in close proximity to each other.  Each church visit will be 24 hours then move to the next church.

  

Here is an example of the schedule:

Friday – arrive in Port and to Zanglais Ministry Center

Saturday – leave for the furthest away church, arrive by 3 or 4 in the afternoon at the latest.

While there, have a service at the church and a meeting with deacons, see facilities, some general fellowship, see a school in action if possible, visit some members in their homes, etc.

Leave each church after lunch by 2 p.m.  

Church 1 - Saturday to Sunday  (Sunday am service)

Church 2 - Sunday to Monday  (Sunday evening service)

Church 3 - Monday to Tuesday   (Monday evening service)

Tuesday afternoon to Zanglais Ministry

Wednesday to Port to return home

If you want to be a part of a Recon Team, please see your church’s C3 Partnership Coordinator for the dates assigned to your church.

RMI Haiti Staff Update

RMI loves the concept of the “Church”, the family of God.  The fact that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ is one of the foundations of RMI’s principle ministry, our C3 Partnership Program.  That same principle is at work in the way that RMI staff prioritizes “teamwork” and working together as family. 

The RMI staff are one of the things that sets RMI apart from other agencies.  We are blessed that all our staff (Haiti and US) are first of all and foremost, Godly men and women.  This is our foundation.

They also must be sold out to the concept of teamwork, integrity, humility, and family.  We emphasize that they are not there for a job, but are called to ministry, to be a missionary to their own people and the US churches.

Posted in each office is a framed copy of the RMI Haiti Employee Values.  Here are a few of them (in no particular order):

• People – RMI cares about you, and your relationship with God, your family and others.
• Planning/Preparation – RMI believes God wants us to prayerfully and strategically plan well for greater future impact.
• Efficiency – God cares deeply about stewarding the resources that he has blessed us with (Time, Talents, Treasure).  We should take great care to preserve, save, and stretch our resources.
• 2nd Mile Service – We will serve others by going more than an extra mile… even a 2nd mile to serve others.
• Good Attitude – RMI expects you to work with a good and positive attitude.  Negativity is like a sickness that will spread to others.
• Cleanliness and Organization – We like everything to be clean and organized.  Watch for opportunities to clean and organize offices, yards, computers, trucks, motorcycles, tools, etc. 
• Teach-ability – Employees should be ready to humbly learn from our supervisors and from those we supervise.
• Accountability – RMI expects to hold others accountable as well as to be held accountable.
• Initiative – RMI expects to see people taking initiative, to act independently, to think outside the box, to act before being told to, and to look for ways to help outside of one’s normal job description.

Our staff are top-notch and have been such an example of a godly and “well-oiled machine”,  that occasionally our field director, Benjamin Altema, is approached by other local agencies to find out about our RMI culture and how we find such great people to work for us. 

These men and women make RMI’s ministry happen.  It is exciting to know that we are all working together to minister into the lives of all those, both Haitian and American, that we partner with. 

The Story of Tet Source

Tet Source (pronounced sous) is a very remote village up in the foothills of southern Haiti.  Five years ago Pastor Jean Benoit came from his large church in Labiche to establish a satellite church.  God blessed his faithful witness and preaching and soon a small congregation was established.  But Tet Source is a very poor community and could not afford to build itself a church building.  Thus, their services were held under a makeshift lean-to structure called a tonel (pronounced toe nell).  It provided a little bit of shade for the 80 member congregation.

Meanwhile, in Baraderes, a neighboring district, an RMI corporate sponsor regularly visited his church’s C3 partner church.  He also has sponsored, along with others, the building of several schools, churches, and several other large projects in the Baraderes area.  After his trips to Haiti, he regularly shared his love for Haiti, the great needs there, and his projects with his friends and colleagues.  One of his friends was so impressed with what could be done and the impact that these projects could have, he asked RMI to find a needy church and community that didn’t have a C3 church or have any other help that he could partner with.  RMI consulted with the MEBSH leadership and they suggested Tet Source.

The building took several months and was supervised by RMI’s construction crew.  Members of the congregation helped where they could by gathering large stones for the foundation, bringing water to mix the cement, and providing some of the labor to build and plaster the walls, put on the roof, and many other ways.  It was a real community effort.

The members of the Tet Source church and community now have a large, beautiful church in which to meet.  They are excited to see this answer to their prayers.  It is a reminder to them that God is concerned with their needs and knows their circumstances.

The construction is not done yet, though.  The sponsor is also funding the building of a 6-room school so a Christian school will be available to the area children.  That building is in process now and they plan to open in the fall.  MEBSH will also assign Tet Source its own pastor soon.

RMI is thankful to the corporate sponsor for being willing to be a part of God’s answer to Tet Source’s prayers.  This sponsor has made an eternal impact on this congregation and community.

Schools of Excellence

We are committed to ensuring that our schools are schools of excellence.  This means making sure that each teacher is well trained.  We have partnered with P4H Global to give our teachers the necessary evaluation and training that they need.  The first session of week-long training was completed by 54 teachers from 4 of our Hope for Kidz schools.   It involved classroom observations, evaluations, and training.   RMI staff member, Patrick, did a great job making sure the training went well and was a success.  We look forward to partnering with P4H Global again, training more teachers.

Don't forget...it's time to renew your child sponsorship.  

You can do this HERE.

Hope for Kidz Sponsorship Renewal Time

It’s time to renew your sponsorship of your child (ren) that you sponsor through RMI’s Hope for Kidz Sponsorship Program for this upcoming 2020-2021 school year.

If you don’t currently support a child, then now is the perfect time to start!  It is truly a life transforming experience for these sponsored kids.  Getting a basic education is the key to enabling them to rise above the poverty that they were born into.  Education is also the key to improving the country as a whole.

It is also life transforming due to the Hot Lunch Program that enables the kids to have one hot, nutritious meal at school.  These meals make it possible to concentrate and learn.  It is formulated to provide the vitamins, nutrients, and protein that they need to go from malnutrition to good health in just a few months.  Sometimes the improvements in the children are astonishing.

Sponsors are a part of making this happen for their sponsored child!

Our Hope for Kidz staff has worked hard at visiting each school, getting new and updated pictures and information on each child.  These are now available for each sponsor.

We are rejoicing that we currently have 2,705 kids sponsored and feed 10,600+ children each school day.

Don’t delay!  Renew or start your sponsorship HERE.  For more information,  check out the Hope for Kidz page on RMI's website HERE.  You can also find us on Facebook HERE.

Boy Gets New Prosthetic Leg

This young boy lost his leg after an illness and infection that went into his bone.  He is from the Desriveaux School and is 11 years old.  He had outgrown his previous prosthetic leg and foot and was in need of a new one.  

As you can see from his smile in the pictures, he was very happy for his new leg that our Hope for Kidz Program was able to provide for him from the Medical Fund.  

He will go every two years to get it checked out and see what needs to be done. Please pray for him, for this leg to work out well for him and for his whole situation. We are excited to see what plans God has for this young boy.

What a way to transform a life!

COVID-19 and RMI

Current Situation

On March 19, 2020, the Haitian President announced that 2 cases of the COVID-19 had been found in northern Haiti.  He also announced most of the same precautions as the US such as the closure of schools, factories and most stores and businesses, no gatherings of more than 10 people, practicing social distancing, shelter in place and hand washing as well as instituting a curfew.  All airports were also closed to commercial flights.

These measures are not easy for the Haitian culture, where they live their lives outside of their homes and shop for food just for that day’s meal.  It is a nation of 12 million people living densely packed into a mountainous 10,000 square miles.  There are few medical facilities.  Reportedly there are only 64 ventilators in the whole country.

So far we are not seeing much multiplication in infections, but that could be coming.  We have real concern for the country if this were to get out of hand as it has in other countries as they simply don’t have the healthcare capacity to handle this pandemic.

So how has this impacted RMI, our missionaries and staff, and the ministry?

RMI International Office:  The RMI in Florida is open with employees working from home.  Phones are being answered from 9:00-4:00.  Feel free to email us or call the office (239-368-8390) if you need to communicate with us.  Mail and donations are being processed.  Hope for Kidz is open and processing renewals and new sponsorships.  Providing hope for these children is more needed now than ever.

Teams:  Please contact Dawn Shoemaker and Lee Nunemaker through your partnerships.haiti@rmibridge.org email for information concerning scheduled team trips or to reschedule for the fall.

The RMI Haiti Office is closed until further notice.  All of the staff, both missionary and nationals are working from home and will be answering email and staying in contact with you and providing regular updates on how things are going with your C3 Partner.

RMI US Missionaries:  After much discussion together, RMI leadership, even though they highly recommended the missionaries come back to the US, have allowed them to consider staying in Haiti if desired.  Due to the many difficulties in returning to the US due to the “shelter in place” requirements, lack of supplies in grocery stores, not wanting to put elderly parents at risk, housing needs, and many other issues, most have decided to stay, knowing the risks inherent in doing so.   They have been able to stock up and are fairly isolated at the mission center. 

The Nunemakers and Starkeys stayed in Haiti and are working from home.  Joslynn and Tessa are there as well, working from home and continuing to teach their classes virtually online.  Dawn chose to come back to the States and is working from there.

Special Note

Thank you for continuing to support the RMI missionaries as they weather this crisis and continue to work at their ministry as possible both in Haiti and in the US.

Pray for RMI, our staff and missionaries, and the Haitian people during these difficult days ahead.

Keep Up To Date

On the RMI website home page, there is a COVID-19 button.  Click on that to be taken to this same information.  On the right-hand side you’ll see the latest update on the official number of cases and any new information we receive.

RMI’s Facebook page will provide you with the most current information as well as pictures.

Faithful Servant Despite Disability

One of the first things you notice about Drevel is his huge and ready smile.  The second thing is the homemade wheelchair that he is confined to.  He is in his 40’s and has been a Christian for over 25 years.  He isn’t married, so he relies on his brother or friends to wheel him around.  He was born with some severe physical disabilities but that hasn’t kept him from living for Christ, sharing his joy or serving in the church.  He really enjoys spending time with visiting teams from his church’s US C3 partner.  It’s always a great encouragement to him and he enjoys partnering with them in their community outreaches.  Despite his limitations, he is active in the youth group (in Haiti, anyone who isn’t married, is regarded as a young person).  He has a nice voice and sings with the men’s choir.  One of his passions is evangelistic events like an open-air service where he sings and shares his testimony. 



Yes, his life is difficult...more so than the average Haitian’s life. Disabled people are not only marginalized but sometimes hidden away at home.  There are no services for children or adults to help them out.  Equipment is next to impossible to find.  Drevel was able to get around for a while using crutches.  However, as he got older, he kept falling.  His brother and some friends came up with this combination of an old wheelchair frame and a plastic chair.  Now he’s able to be pushed down the dirt roads and paths to the church, which is so important to him.  This is the center of his life.  He is able to be a vibrant part of the congregation...praising God, participating in various groups and sharing his bright smile and the joy of the Lord. 

Drevel with RMI missionary, Dawn Shoemaker

School Teachers Needed

Want to have a significant impact on missionaries’ lives?  Then come teach their children!  Having their kids’ school needs cared for frees up their parents to fully enter into their ministry.

Want to serve the Lord overseas but don’t know what to do?  Come teach missionary kids in Haiti!  What an adventure and exciting opportunity to teach these kids in an English, American-style setting, yet being located overseas.

Teachers are needed for all grade levels this coming fall.  If you are fresh out of college, a retired teacher or a teacher that desires to serve the Lord in a more meaningful way, then you may be a good fit for Cite Lumiere Christian School. 

CLCS is located in Les Cayes, in Haiti’s southern peninsula.  It is on the same mission center, Cite Lumiere, where RMI has its headquarter and where many missionaries (RMI and other missions as well) live. 

CLCS was started in the late 1940’s to provide education for missionary kids.  By providing this service, it has enabled their parents to put their full efforts into their ministries.  Over the years, many, many families have benefited from this English-based education, enabling them to easily integrate back into their home country’s educational system.

Pray with us for the needed personnel as soon as possible.  If you are interested, contact Kim Rose at 239-368-8390 or kim.rose@rmibridge.org.

What Can One Church Do?

It's easy to feel overwhelmed when one looks at the needs in Haiti.  After all, what can one church do?  Here is your answer:

Madame Emilie and her family in front of their home

The home that was built for Madame Emilie and her family

One church can not take care of all the needs of Haiti.  Yes, it is overwhelming.  But they can make a life-transforming difference for one community or one family.  Madame Emilie is a single mother of 6 children.  All of them were living in the tin structure that you see in the first picture.  They'd been praying for a way to get a new home - for a way to get out of that cobbled together tin "house".

RMI learned of her need and was able to share that need with Kimball Church of Kimball, Nebraska area.  They took on the challenge, raised the necessary funds and put together a team.  That team came in January and worked at raising the walls.  The RMI staff finished the house over the next couple of weeks.

Kimball Church team at work

Madame Emilie's oldest son shared, "I cannot believe this is happening.  This has been something we have been praying about for so long".  Thank you to each and everyone who donated, worked on the house and prayed for the completion of this house.  What a blessing this is for this special family of 7.  A huge thank you to the Kimball team for making this happen.  God heard their prayers and answered through you.  You were Christ's hands and feet to this family.  

This is just one of the ways that our C3 partners are impacting their brothers and sisters in Haiti!  You CAN make a difference!

Divine Appointments

April Starkey made her first trip out with a C3 partner team in January.  Here are just some of her experiences:  “We are praising God for two people coming to know Jesus today! The whole group was supposed to walk up the steep mountain to the satellite church but Bud twisted his ankle so Perguens and I stayed back with him and his wife and we walked through the local mountain here near the church to go to peoples’ homes to pray for them, talk with them and give them food. Let me tell you...God had Bud twist his ankle for a reason!! Two women came to know Jesus today!

It was such an amazing moment to be able to be a part of leading them to Him! One lady knew today was the day. She saw us and she knew she didn’t want to be alone. She had tears in her eyes the moment we walked in and started talking to her. I prayed over her and Perguens translated as she prayed for Jesus to be her Savior! I loved being able to hug her, welcome her to God’s family and be a part of what God did in her heart today! She is coming to ladies' tea today.  Lundicia is her name.

The second lady was not a planned stop but oh how it was for God! She approached us as we were leaving the mountain and shared how she didn’t know why but she felt prompted to talk to us. We know that was the Holy Spirit!!!! She shared how her husband had been sick and died even after going to the witch doctor.  To survive she turned to the devil and his ways. I tried not to cry as we shared with her how Jesus is more powerful than the devil, that she can find true freedom and peace in Jesus and not be chained or shamed by the devil anymore. More was said at the moment but I can’t remember now. She wanted to receive Jesus as her Savior and so Bud prayed over her, Perguens translated and she prayed to ask Him to be her Savior. I loved being able to say to her at the end...THE DEVIL HAS NO HOLD ON YOU ANYMORE...YOU ARE FREE IN JESUS NAME NOW!  [A] deacon was with us both times so he can connect them to the local church! GOD IS GOOD!  Ereka is her name.

Another lady was a present-day Rahab situation. Sweet, sweet momma named Enoute (A Noot is how you pronounce it) of 5 kids, all from different fathers. Men use her and the only way she can afford to take care of her kids is by continuing this. She seemed so broken. I feel very strongly to pray for her and see where God leads.  Please pray for these women and their families. Pray that they would grow in their faith, be encouraged and discipled by fellow believers and the church in Policard. Pray for the sweet momma with 5 kids and all alone, for her to feel His love so close and for God to help her find work for her family to where she can get out of her current situation.”

First, a Look Back

God is at Work
Sometimes the working of God is not evident in the way that we want or expect it to be.  We can’t measure it by our human criteria.  But we can always be assured that He is definitely at work. 

Despite having to cancel 22 teams due to Haiti’s political instability, our C3 partners continued to care for their Haitian partners.  Ministry took place even in the face of uncertainty.  God has held us in His hands, protected our staff and properties, and allowed ministry to take place.  We are grateful to know that God has definitely been at work in RMI.

Here is our Ministry Impact Report for 2019.

C3 Partnerships
121 salvations in our C3 Haitian Sister Churches
91 baptisms in our C3 Haitian Sister Churches
3 new C3 partnerships
8 Sister Church visits completed and 1 Vision Trip, 107 team members, and family members visited
1 new missionary family, Jim and April Starkey and their three boys arrived on the field
1 new teacher missionary joined the RMI staff, Tessa Andrews
1 single man, John Penfold, has been accepted as a missionary appointee and is currently raising his support
2 national staff were assigned leadership of RMI Haiti - Benjamin Altema as Field Director and Benson Joseph as Director of Operations
Unfortunately, a record 22 teams were canceled
this year due to the political situation in Haiti

Hope for Kidz & School Education
2,695 children sponsored
10,664 kids fed a hot lunch daily
9 food containers (11,340 boxes = 2,449,440 meals)
4 food storage depots and school kitchens built to facilitate the Hot Lunch Program
1 school building built
4 schools rebuilt
8 children helped through the HFKz Medical Assistance Program
17,000+ children dewormed
34 teacher’s desks and chairs, 10 school filing cabinets and 27 blackboards for schools
We have begun a pilot program for the P4H Teacher Training Program to provide a higher level of training to our HFKz school teachers.
RMI provided over $150,000 in construction and various other projects for Haitian C3 partners

Haiti Operations Team
2 churches rebuilt and 1 parsonage built
2 motorcycles for pastors purchased and delivered
177 school and church benches built
160 people sent to the hospital, provided all or part by RMI
260 Bible/songbooks distributed
3 cisterns built, 6,000 gallons each to provide water for church, school and community use
AC units were added in each of the 8 Zanglais Ministry Center rooms
19 farmer kits distributed
2 vehicles purchased for field use, 30 passenger bus and 12 passenger van
213 goats distributed
168 water filters distributed and families trained on regular maintenance

We are so thankful for the special men and women of God that work faithfully every day.  Some work behind the scenes, some of them are more visible, but they all work hard and with joy.  The RMI Haiti office is always a busy, buzzing hive of activity with people coming and going - there are always multiple kinds of ministry happening!  And you help make it possible with your financial and prayer support.  Thank you!  The Lord’s work is being done because of you.