RMI Leadership Summit

At the end of January, RMI hosted the first annual RMI Leadership Summit to strategize and plan for RMI's future activities and direction.  Those present were from the US: Dan Shoemaker, Kim Rose, Rob Thompson, Andrew Tlucek, Mariah Blanco, and Julie Fuller as our secretary; from Haiti, Benjamin Altema and Benson Joseph (via Zoom); from the Dominican Republic, Jim Starkey and representing the RMI Board, Board Chairman John Peterson.

RMI has met periodically with our field leadership as needed, but as we grow, we are implementing an annual leadership retreat for prayer and fellowship, discussing current situations, and strategizing for the future. Much is going on in the US and the Caribbean that is or could soon impact RMI, which could hinder some areas and help grow the ministry in others. As a result of these issues affecting our work in Haiti and the opportunities of our new work in the DR, we felt it was a good time to come together to discuss topics, focus, and opportunities for both countries and RMI in general.  It was refreshing to see one another in person and catch up throughout the time together.

We started with a good time of devotion, prayer, and worship. The Haitians have a saying that “Man proposes, but God disposes.” It was a good time to remind ourselves that the Lord controls the good, the bad, and the impossible.

From there, we jumped into discussions concerning Haiti and the challenges RMI faces there, especially with the capital still controlled by the gangs, with little hope for this to change any time soon. This has hurt the whole country in terms of out-of-control inflation, scarcity of goods, difficulty in travel, security issues, etc. The Haitian people continue to suffer in myriad ways, impacting our staff, Sister Churches, and ministry in every area of life.

We are so blessed that the law and order officials have kept the gangs out of southern Haiti. This has enabled us to be able to continue to accomplish the vast majority of our ministry in the area of our Hope For Kidz Child Sponsorship Program (2900+), Hot Lunch Program (15,000+ kids), construction projects, our solar design and installation program, and much more in the 200+ communities that we impact.

Our biggest concern about Haiti has been our inability to have teams come to minister to their Sister Churches. This lack of face-to-face contact going on for 5 years now has been a strain on the partnerships. However, due to the lack of progress on the security situation in the capital, we have had to cancel teams again until there is a significant change. We have also had to put off several growth projects for the ministry until we see real change. It has also resulted in the need to pause the opening of the Ezra Institute of Leadership Development until there is straightforward and easy travel to and around Haiti.

We see the Lord's purpose in RMI opening the Dominican Republic as a new field last year. There are opportunities for our current C3 partner churches and new churches. We are actively looking for church leadership, medical, and sports teams. Of course, there are teams to encourage Haitian and Dominican churches.

If your church is interested, please let us know. We will be glad to contact them and share more information. 

These were some of the conclusions we reached together, along with many others. We left feeling excited about the time together and the goals ahead of us. Pray for Haiti. Pray for the security of the country, the people, and the RMI staff. Pray for continued safety and openness for ministry in the south of Haiti. Pray for new teams and churches for the Dominican Republic ministry. It is wide open for ministry. Pray the Lord will encourage churches to get involved. This involves funds, so pray for RMI as we share the needs with churches and friends for God’s continued provision.