A New RMI Missionary, a Wedding and Furloughs

 This summer has already been full of activity for RMI!

A New Missionary and a Wedding

RMI welcomed a new missionary to the family in May.  Dawn Shoemaker's fiance, Andrew Tlucek (pronounced Tuh-loo-check), joined RMI.  He and Dawn went through the full 1.5-day orientation.  Going to Haiti as a missionary had been in his life plan before God brought Dawn and him together.  His training has been with that purpose in mind.  He has a masters and is currently working on his doctoral thesis.  Being a Haiti missionary kid, he has a solid knowledge of the country, the culture, as well as the creole language.  His natural leadership abilities and training will be an asset to the Haiti field.  Welcome to the RMI family, Andrew!

On June 26, Andrew and Dawn were married in Nampa, Idaho.  His grandparent's backyard was turned into a beautiful wedding and reception venue.  Andrew's parents, who are missionaries in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, were there to help with the planning, and his many aunts, uncles, and cousins (he has 33!) pitched in to help decorate, prepare and serve the food, DJ the reception, and clean up.  It was a fun evening and many of the 200 guests commented on how it seemed that God prepared Andrew and Dawn for each other. 

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Her history of growing up in Haiti and currently being a missionary there meshed with his parents going to Haiti as missionaries when Andrew was 15.  They arrived there in May 2006, the same month that Dawn and her family moved to the States - when she was 15.  His family's mission has used the Zanglais Ministry Center numerous times over the years, but he and the Shoemakers never crossed paths.  

It wasn't until both Andrew and Dawn joined Eharmony about the same time in late 2019 that they found out about each other.  To make a long story short, God worked throughout 2020 to actually bring them together and they were engaged on Feb. 13, 2021.

After their honeymoon and some time in Nampa to pack up Andrew's belongings, they will be on deputation, speaking in churches and visiting supporters in Washington state, and the Chicago, Tampa, and Ft. Myers areas.  Going from a single missionary's support to a couple's necessitates their raising additional funds.  They plan on returning to Haiti at the end of September.  Pray that these extra funds will be raised by then.

Furloughs

RMI's missionaries are on the move as they are on furlough during the summer months.  Tessa is in her home area of northern Florida.  The Starkey family are in their home area of north central Ohio.  The Nunemakers are in their home area of southeastern Pennsylvania.  All of them are using this time to visit family and supporters, speak at their supporting churches and get some R and R.  They should all be back in Haiti by the end of the summer.  If you are wanting any of them at your church, feel free to contact the RMI office and we'll put you in touch with them.