RMI Office Grows

The RMI International Office recently experienced some (good) growing pains.  With the adding of 2 new staff members (John and Joanne Miner, April 13, 2015), one very pressing issue was apparent…where were we going to put them?  Our office in Lehigh Acres, FL is a modest place and has been adequate up until now.  For various reasons the option of moving wouldn’t work for us.  After receiving the blessing of our landlord, we decided to make changes to our current office.  Essentially we played musical offices, moving people around to make better use of the space we had and to provide better collaboration between departments.  The front area was then divided into 2 separate office spaces.  But the most significant change was turning the garage into a conference room and integrating it into the main part of the office.

We did most of the work ourselves and are thankful that RMI’s VP, Kim Rose, has had quite a bit of experience in building and renovation.  The pictures really tell the story!

The finished product is amazing.  Not only do we have a great conference room, but a nice finished hallway, a second bathroom and were able to still maintain a storage room and loft.



You can find more pictures HERE.  If you are ever by the southwest Florida area, please stop by for a visit!  We are always ready to celebrate and honor our friends.

No Turning Back

The container has been packed and the tickets have been bought – there’s no turning back! 

When they loaded the container with their belongings at the end of May, their commitment to serve in Haiti became even more real.  Lee and Tina Nunemaker (all 4 boys and Tina’s parents too) brought their household goods to RMI’s office in Ft. Myers, FL where they assisted in the loading of the container.  It was hot, sweaty work.  First they unloaded their rental truck then transferred it all to the container.  In addition to their things, supplies and equipment for RMI missionaries and ministries were loaded as well as items that had been sent by several C3 Partners.  It was like putting a giant puzzle together…one that took 2.5 days to do!

Everything made it on there, including the 28 tires, 5 pallets of prepackaged and boxed food aid, 3 4 wheelers and 2 motorcycles. It felt good to close the doors, seal it and send it on its way to Cayes via the Port of Miami and the port at Port-au-Prince. You can see more of the packing pictures HERE. 

Pray for its safe journey on the ship, through customs, and over land to RMI’s Haiti facilities.  It should arrive before the Nunemakers. 

They have bought their tickets to Haiti for July 20!  It’s exciting to get them on their way.  Pray for the provision of the rest of their funds. They’d also appreciate your prayers for their final speaking engagements and visits with family and friends.  Leaving is always hard, but they are anxious to get on with this next step in their lives.

Effective Prayer for Missionaries

We are often asked how people can pray for missionaries.  “God bless the missionary” is not an effective, informed prayer.  However knowing specific needs or situations enables people to be both effective and knowledgeable.  One specific prayer for cross-cultural missionaries is for their adjustment to the new and different culture in which they find themselves.  This applies to both new missionaries as well as “long-termers”.

There are 4 stages of missionary life:

Fun – This is the “honeymoon” stage.  When they first arrive on the field everything is new, bright, shiny, exciting, exhilarating…it’s FUN.  The nationals can do no wrong, their job / ministry is perfect, they love the food, their neighbors, the sounds and the smells.  Everything is wonderful.

Fight – After the honeymoon is over, reality starts to rear its ugly head.  Things have lost their luster and the missionaries start to feel weighted down.  The nationals do things differently and think differently than them, their job / ministry turns out to be very difficult and physically demanding, they get tired of the food and long for some “home cooking”, their neighbors are noisy and nosy, their dogs keep them up at night and if they smell one more charcoal fire they think they’ll throw up.  Things are not so rosy anymore and it’s depressing, exhausting, and makes them want to FIGHT.  They want to fight against everything, wishing things were not so hard, or different, or so far out of their comfort zone.

Flight – You can guess what this means.  FLIGHT is the “just put me on the plane” stage.  The missionaries feel defeated and deflated in every area of life.   They feel like a failure and they’re crying “Uncle!” and just want to quit, get out of there and go home.

Fit – In this final stage they have come through Fun, Fight and Flight and have come to peace within themselves and find that they actually FIT. They realize that there are many things about the culture that they really like; they enjoy the differences and strengths in the nationals; they enjoy their job / ministry and feel like they are making headway; their neighbors have become friends; they find that earplugs work great against the noises and many of those cooking smells signal meals that they just love.  They feel more relaxed, are easier to get along with and can sleep at night.  They feel energized again – especially in the realization that they are fitting in.

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The goal is to progress from one stage to another, eventually settling into stage 4: Fit.  It may take some time to get there.  And a missionary may bounce from one stage to another.  It’s entirely possible to go through all 4 stages in one day!  And there’s no shame in Fight or Flight.  Missionaries are, after all, only human. 

So your prayers for missionaries should be that God will be with them in each of these stages, that God would give them grace, strength and wisdom in each stage – that they’d respond appropriately and keep on moving towards fitting. 

These stages are a continual process that last the whole time that the missionaries are on the field, so don’t be lax in praying for God’s help in their adjusting and dealing with the cross-culture situation to which He’s called them.

HFK Thank You From Maniche...

Here is a sweet video from a girl, Alexandria Sylvavia, from Maniche, Haiti, who is sponsored in RMI's Hope for Kidz program. She wanted to say thank you, not only to her own sponsor, but to all of the Hope for Kidz sponsors.

Good morning. My name is Alexandre Sylvavia. I am a student of Maniche Baptist school. I am so happy today to say thank you to all the sponsors that are supporting kids all around Haiti through Espwa Pou Timoun Program (RMI's Hope for Kidz program). This program started supporting me in school when I was in kindergarten, and now I am in 6th grade. I want to say that this program has done a lot for me and many other students.

The program has provided me with shoes, a school uniform, a hot meal everyday, and it has paid my school tuition and that helps my parents a lot. I want to take this time to say to my sponsor thank you so much and know for sure that I am praying for them. This message is also for all the other sponsors for the great work they are doing.

Once again... thank you, thank you and thank you.

God bless.

Want to Sponsor a Child?

McGregor Youth Changed Eternity...

The McGregor Baptist Church youth team changed eternity!  They shared the Gospel with hundreds and were privileged to take part as 46 of these chose to follow Christ.  This team came prepared, under great leadership, to share and serve like few other teams I have experienced.

Here is the McGregor team sharing the Gospel
at a soccer field in Zanglais, Haiti.

How did we do evangelism?  This week, we focused on 2 strategies.  First, after arrival in the community, we split the large team of 27 into smaller groups, and sent out each small group on foot with a local church leader.  We ALWAYS do this in coordination with a local church leader (Deacon, Deaconess, Pastor) so they can evaluate the responses and followup after our teams have gone.  Each group visited homes (actually front yards since Haitians tend to be outside) and shared the Gospel.  Secondly, in the afternoons we would go back to the same community and have a casual gathering of kids at the local soccer field (many would come because they were invited and others would come to see what was happening and play games).  As we would faithfully present the Gospel, we heard "no", we heard "I will think about it" and we certainly heard "I'm Catholic", but we also heard "YES" 46 times!  We praise the Lord.  

We trust that these were authentic decisions to change their eternal zip code.  We count on the local church to follow up and plug these new believers into their fellowship so they can be discipled.

Pastor Ben praying for Pastor Olbert
at the Pemel church plant.

A New Sister Church Relationship in Zanglais, Haiti...

"What a memorable experience!  What extraordinary measures to make us comfortable! To make us feel at home and welcome. " These are some of the words to describe the first Sister Church (C3 Partnership) visit by the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg, FL to their new sister church at Zanglais, Haiti.

With a welcome of marching, the Brigade, the sign, the Zanglais church went out of their way to celebrate this new relationship.  Members of the team and staff were welcomed with singing, clapping, and even rose boutonnieres.

The Brigade marching and dancing

The focus of this first visit was building relationships, and that important goal was met. Church on Sunday morning again welcomed the team with a lot of the songs sung in English. In the afternoon, the team and RMI missionaries were able to meet and talk with the entire Pastor's family. It was probably the only time the busy Madanm Pastor sat down the entire week! 

First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg 
and the Pastor with his family.

Team members were also able to fellowship with two of the seven satellite churches in the district, Lasource Baptist Church and Grison Baptist Church. Both churches welcomed the team warmly and provided an opportunity to see the growth of the Christian church in Haiti.

There were so many highlights to the week, but one of the most important was when four people accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior as a result of the music, the gospel message by Robert Mayforth, and the call for salvation from two of the RMI staff missionaries. 

Meeting all the 75 Hope for Kidz sponsored children energized the team members to recruit additional sponsors, giving more children the opportunity to attend school. All the team members were spent time with their sponsored children throughout the week.

An opportunity to meet sponsored children.

Perhaps the most anticipated event was the wedding of six couples of the church. The weddings were made possible by the donation of 28 wedding dresses by the First Baptist Sister Church. Each of the brides had the opportunity to pick their "perfect dress" from the huge selection.  

One of the beautiful brides.

Visiting shut-ins and delivering food provided the opportunity to identify families most needing a new home through the Homes for Haiti program. The fellowship with these shut-ins were a blessing.

One of several homes visited by the Sister Church.

Excited, tired, blessed..... The end of a meaningful week for Sister Churches First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg and Zanglais MEBSH Church, Haiti.

You can see more pictures here.

Creekside Visits Their Sister Church at Baradare...

It was a busy, exciting, memorable sister church visit when Creekside Church of Gainesville, Florida went to Baradare, Haiti.  For four people on the team, it was their first trip to Haiti. For others, such as Don Forrester, it was a time of renewing friendships in Baradare, Haiti. Don was making his 28th trip to Baradare as team leader!

For another team member, Laura, it was a time of joy and sadness. It was her 5th trip to Haiti, but her last trip for a long time. She is leaving later this year as a full-time missionary, ministering most likely in North Africa.  For RMI field missionaries, Laura and Joel Sutton, it was a touch of home since Creekside is their home church in Florida. Even more personal, two of the three nurses on the team were Laura's former nursing students.

Everyone was excited to see the changes in the community of Baradare from clean, paved streets to the amazing city park with exercise equipment, a stage, and beautifully landscaped greenery.

Waiting for the service to start. Town people on the sides.

The team and church put the park to good use with an outdoor service Sunday evening. To make it even better,  there was a heavy rain shower. So,  everyone crowded on the stage or on nearby porches until the rain stopped. They heard fantastic music, two inspiring testimonies, and a message all showing the need for a Savior.

The team of four nurses, a Haitian nurse, other team members, RMI staff, and church leaders saw 182 people in the health clinics over three mornings in Baradare and the satellite church at Pedirain.

Climbing the hill to the Pedirain church!

A pediatric nurse was also great with older people

 

The Haitian nurse explaining medications to a patient 

The Ladies' Tea, children's program, discussion with the church leadership about Hope for Kids, playing with children, and visiting shut-ins did not take second place in importance to the clinics.

Ladies Tea - enjoying the fellowship

Children playing with two of the team members

Visiting shut-ins

Worshipping together and sharing God's Word were the most significant events of the week. The special music by the cooks and the children as the team left, saying goodbye to Laura was an example of the importance of relationships that happen because of long-term Sister Church relationships.

Truly, God is great and His church is strong!

You can see more pictures here.

Partnerships: Not Just a Buzz Word...

This week we have been reminded of some of our institutional partnerships that we are blessed to be a part of.  We talk A LOT about our 30 C3 Partners because EVERYTHING we do flows out of our Sister Church partnerships,  Did you know that we have additional partnerships with other organizations that help make these church partnerships possible? We are serious about "Mobilizing Global Partnerships to Transform Lives in Christ".

Among others, this week we have been reminded of...

ACWR (Apostolic Christian World Relief) - This week we received a 40' container of food buckets.
AWANA - We have been planning for next week's Awana celebration and training event the we are doing here in Southern Haiti.
FFP (Food for the Poor - Haiti) - They take care of all of the shipping and customs logistics for all of our FMSC containers
FMSC (Feed My Starving Children) - This week we received a 40' container of Food Boxes.  This container was a special blessing because it was over and above our official annual allocation plan.
TTT (Teachers Training Teachers) - This weekend another team from TTT arrives to teach approximately 75 teachers the next 2 modules.

Thank you to these partners.  We do what we do because of what you do.  We are grateful to be an extension of what you do here on the field.  We surely couldn't do what we do without the efforts and generosity of these partners.

"Men anpil, chay pa lou." - Haitian Proverb
"Many hands make the load light." - English Equivalent

Did You Know? To The Ends of the Earth...

We have 31 active long term church partnerships right now throughout Haiti's Southern Peninsula. Our staff visits every one every month. Why? Because our goal is to truly collaborate, provide accountability, communicate well, acquire information, teach and train, deepen the partnership, etc... One of our motivations is that we believe in "Partnerships that are Engaged".

Here is Anderson, one of our 5 Partnership Facilitators after his visit on Monday to Desriveaux, Haiti, the Sister Church of Walloon Lake Community Church. He was providing oversight, getting first hand information and an update from the church and school leaders, providing maintenance and instruction specifically related to ongoing projects, taking pictures, and video, etc. We do this, because we care and we want to make sure we provide followup and good communication. Walloon Lake will get an update this month, and every month, with the latest updates and information related to their partner. They will then have the opportunity to reply with an update of their own to be delivered back to the Desriveaux on Anderson's next visit.

Will You Marry Me?

Getting married is a great celebration, but here in Haiti it is often hard to make it happen. With extremely limited resources, and strong cultural expectations for a "proper" celebration/ceremony, along with it's many accouterments, getting married has been a distant dream for many. Marriage is such a serious deal that you MUST honor it appropriately.  Remember, Haitian culture is all about honor and respect.  

Because of these limitations and expectations, many have decided it is best to live together until they can afford a proper ceremony. Sadly, it often never happens. Those living in this situation are not free to participate fully in church fellowship and life. No church membership, no men's and women's fellowship groups, no communion, no choir, no leadership positions, etc. One might say they live in shame as a second class church attender.  

With a little pastoral encouragement and counsel, and a little outside resource assistance (finances, lots of wedding dresses, suits, and even rings) from our US Sister Churches (thanks to The Orchard EFC and First Baptist of St. Petersburg), in the last couple of months we have been able to help 23 couples get married! Praise the Lord!

Meet RMI’s Newest Staff Members

John and Joanne Miner joined the RMI staff in RMI’s International Office in Ft. Myers, FL today.  They come to us from C3 Partner, Florida Bible Church, Miramar, FL.  They’ve been residents of Miami since they were children.  John comes from a long line of “elevator men” and recently retired from his position as Miami-Dade County, Deputy Chief, Department of Elevator Safety.    Joanne owned a Minuteman Press Printing franchise for 22 years and sold it in 2011. For the past 3 years she’s worked for her church as their business manager.  They went on their first ever mission trip in 2009 with their church and fell in love with RMI and the C3 Partnership Program.  They relocated to Ft. Myers to join RMI just in time to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary.  John enjoys motorcycling, following college basketball, and cooking.  Joanne enjoys photography.  They share a love for serving God and people and creative arts.  They just completed a “bucket list” trip to Ireland.

This is a double blessing for RMI.  Part of their responsibilities will be in helping to coordinate the C3 Partnership Program, raising up new C3 Partners and in donor engagement.   They will also be quite involved in the RMI Administration.  We are excited about the help they will be to current C3 Partnerships and with helping RMI to grow its ministries.

Their joining the staff means that the RMI International Office is experiencing growing pains.  We’ve played a bit of “musical offices”, switching things around to streamline the flow of work and collaboration.  Another change is that the garage space at the RMI office is being turned into a new conference room since the old one had to be turned into an office.  If you’re in the area, stop by to see the exciting results!

Want to Send Something to Haiti? Read On....

Dear Coordinators and Friends,

RMI is sending a container to Haiti on June 1st. We have 20 feet of a 40ft container available and have decided to open it up for all of our sister churches that would like to send something in to their sister church or for RMI.

Some basic info:
You can send in anything that can fit in a container, well almost anything. Call us if you would have a question about this. This could include boxes of folding chairs, tables, sound systems, generators, shoebox gifts for sponsored kids, etc.

Shipping cost on the container:
RMI will invoice you for any shipping charge at $3.50 a cubic foot (a box 3ft wide, 3ft tall, 3ft long=27 cu ft. would cost $94.50 to send.) If it is a small item, there is a minimum $25 charge per package. This could be quite a bit cheaper than other shipping options. This includes our loading it on the container, shipping the container to Haiti, getting it through customs, and then shipping it out to our base in Les Cayes. As normal, you would be responsible, if needed, to cover transportation costs to your sister church.

How to get things to RMI to be put on the container?

• You ship your items directly to our RMI address below.  Send all packages and freight to:
  RMI, 5475 Lee Street Suite 301, Lehigh Acres, FL 33971.
• You order items and have RMI pick them up at: Costco, Sam's Club, or Walmart in Fort Myers, FL. There will be a $25 pick-up charge per trip or more if special transportation is needed due to size or quantity. 
• Give RMI your order. RMI will order it, and pick it up. You pay for the actual cost of the item and 15% of the cost for RMI's Administrative fee. RMI doesn't have to pay FL sales tax so that is a savings if done through us. 

When can you send items to RMI?
RMI will receive, pickup, or buy items from May 4 to May 15. Please do NOT send anything to arrive before this time frame. Make sure everything will arrive by May 15th please. Please let us know you are sending items so we can be prepared to receive them. If they are large and heavy, as we do not have a forklift, please give us a heads up. Should we have to rent a forklift, you would be responsible to cover that cost.

Once the container arrives in Haiti, there could be a delivery fee to get the items out to your sister church, depending on the situation and items. The Haiti field will let you know if there is a cost for this.

Special Purchases We Can Make For You:
(includes all costs-purchase, shipping, customs, and delivery to your church.):

• Plastic folding chairs-very heavy duty but comfortable: 10 chairs for $375.  Do you remember how uncomfortable the Haitian chairs can be? These are wonderful and will be a big help to them for many different occasions. 
• Plastic heavy duty folding 6ft x 30in tables: 4 for $300.  What a great help these will be to the church and for your teams as well as for other uses throughout the year. 

Questions?

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the RMI FL Office at 239-368-8390, or email John Miner at john.miner@rmibridge.org.

The Nunemakers Have Been Cleared to Go

Lee and Tina Nunemaker and their 4 sons, Daniel, 18, Josiah, 16, Nathan 11, and Isaac, 6, from Greencastle, PA have been raising their support for more than 2 years and have now been cleared to go to Haiti!    They have raised enough funds for RMI to authorize them to go, but are not 100% funded yet.  Would you consider helping them meet their goal?  They all are anxious to get to Haiti and start their lives and ministry there.  

Lee will be the C3 Partnership Coordinator.  He was recently in the RMI International Office to receive training in the inner workings and many details involved in coordinating the 30+ relationships that we have now.  He is badly needed on the field to relieve some of Rob Thompson's load. 

They are busy drawing their lives to a close there in the Greencastle area including sorting and packing their belongings.  Currently their plan is to drive their packed household goods down to the RMI International Office in Ft. Myers, FL, arriving on May 26.  There they’ll load a 40 ft. sea container with their things along with various things that RMI needs on the field.

 Their departure date is mid-July!

Pray for them as they go through the departure process of packing, having final doctor and family visits, say their farewells and continue to raise the last portion of their monthly needs.  You can see their latest prayer letter HERE.  It contains more details about their leaving, including specific items that they still need.  Make sure you look for the hidden tarantula in the letter.  You can find their blog HERE.

Can you be a part of their support team?  You can donate online HERE. 

One More HFH Home Completed!

Mr. Benoit Joseph Cambry has been an active member of Picot Baptist Church for a long time. He is married with 7 children. They were living in a house of tarps for a long, long time. As you can imagine, this has been incredibly difficult, and even seems impossible.

When RMI told Pastor Calixte Dorval, the pastor of Picot Church, that we have a house to build for a family through RMI's Homes for Haiti Program, he and the church committee decided together that this family should receive this home.

Mr. Benoit Joseph Camby, the father. is a farmer. They work hard to make ends meet as they live their daily lives counting on the Lord to provide for the family. 

After we built the house we handed the keys to the family. The mom said to us “Thank you very, very much for changing my life and my family. We have lived in that tent house and I must tell you that when it rains it was like we were outside. Sometimes we think the kids pee in their bed, but in reality it was just rain water! When it rains nobody can sleep because we have to stand up until the rain stops. While everybody is praying to have rain, my family and I are very worried because the rain is not good for us. Once again thank you for all you do and thank you for changing my life."

As we were building this home, the mom would walk around singing praises and thanking the Lord. She was clearly grateful! The family helped as they were able to with the build itself.

We are also grateful for the opportunity we had because someone in the United States made a donation to help make this happen. Thank you to that donor and all praise goes to the Lord!

You can see more pictures here.

The first one is their original "house", the last one is their new home.

This is a picture of the old "Tarp" Home.

Interior work is being done.

This is the HFH Build Team
with some of the Family.

Finished!

It’s Hope for Kidz Time!

A secular study recently concluded that one of the most effective ways to give third world kids a chance to better themselves is to enable them to get an education. This is what Hope for Kidz is all about - providing “Hope Today for Haiti’s Tomorrow”. Through a child sponsorship a child receives his or her tuition paid for a school year, the necessary uniforms and school supplies, annual de-worming medication and prevention education, access to an emergency major medical needs fund and where available, 1 hot, nutritious meal each school day.

HFK Director, Barbara Rose, [right] and part-time RMI Administrative Assistant, Debbie Crawford, [left] have worked hard to prepare the profiles and informational packets. This picture was taken in the garage of the RMI International Office. 

 New pictures have been taken for the 2015-2016 school year. Everything is being sent out this month. It’s the time to re-new your sponsorship or if you haven’t been sponsoring a child, it’s time to start! Sponsor several kids! Can you share the need at your place of work? Your Bible study group? How about sharing the need with your extended family? Family groups can get together and support several children. Share it with your Kiwanis or Rotary group...or your neighbors. Help us get the word out about Hope for Kidz. The more kids that are supported, the more who have Hope for Tomorrow - and the more kids we can feed! 

If you are a part of an RMI C3 Partnership, contact your church’s Hope for Kidz Coordinator to select a child and receive that child’s picture and profile. If you are not in a C3 Partnership, contact RMI directly. 

 Sponsoring a child costs $336 annually or $28 monthly for 12 months. You can go online at www.rmibridge.org and click on “Donate Now”. Create your online profile for recurring donations. Or phone RMI at 877-764 - 5439. Sending a check is always an option as well (5475 Lee St., Suite 301, Lehigh Acres, FL 33971).

Teams Come and Go. Why?

As our American teams come and go, our ultimate goal is that we can facilitate a partnership that will have a hand in their transformation into who God wants them to be. It really isn't about the logistics, planning and prep, funding, projects, vehicles, equipment, meals, etc. These are a means to an end. Our prayer is that they would go back more on fire; more on mission for Christ. We call these our measures because we can measure our success by these. We hope to have a hand in developing/creating...

• Compassionate Christians - First in their church, and to the world! 
• More Missionaries - First in their church, and to the world! 
• Generous Givers - First in their church, and to the world! 
• Everyday Evangelists - First in their church, and to the world! 
• Selfless Servants - First in their church, and to the world! 

Has this happened in your life because of your Partnership with RMI and your Sister Church?

Seeing is Believing

For the first time ever, the RMI Board traveled to Haiti during the last week in February to see and experience RMI’s many ministries first hand as well as meet and encourage our growing staff.  Despite a busy schedule, it was a rewarding, insightful experience for everyone. 

In 2 days they:

• Visited a school to see a hot lunch program in action.  The Board members actually handed out the food.  Toured the new RMI office at Cite Lumiere in Les Cayes 
• Visited a Rastavic school where there are several Hope for Kidz sponsored kids 
• Visited a Homes for Haiti home in the Simon neighborhood, toured the home and prayed with the widow that lives there with her 2 little girls 
• Joined the RMI staff for morning devotions (given by Board chairman, Tim Osborne) after which the Board members washed the staff’s feet and prayed with them 
• Met with Pastor Emile Alneve, the president of MEBSH, the Haitian church association we partner with and prayed with him 
• Toured Cite Lumiere Christian School where our missionary kids attend 
• Toured 2 RMI facilities in the local village area where 3 RMI missionary families are living 
• Had a short visit with Jules Gedna (RMI’s former administrator) at his home (Note - his health is holding steady.  He was in Haiti for a short time and has now returned to the states to continue his cancer treatments.)

On the evening of the second day and the third day in-country the Board meeting took place.  Being at RMI’s Retreat Center on the Caribbean was an added bonus.  All in all it was an excellent trip.  You can see more pictures HERE.

Top 10 Ways 2 Ruin a Short Term Mission Trip...

10.  Assume You Understand - Instead, assume you don't understand.  Don't draw conclusions without lots of questions and listening (and then question your conclusions again). 

9.  Assume Cultural Superiority - Realize, that you dress like you dress, walk like you walk, buy the stuff you buy, talk the way you talk, sit the way you sit, dream the way you dream, think the way you think, all because of your own context, and the context of your ancestors.  Don't assume it is the better or right way.  Assume it is simply a different way.  Constantly say, "It's not weird, it's just different".

8.  Assume You Understand the Root Cause and Solution of Economic Poverty - Don't assume you understand the definitions of wealth and poverty.  Poverty is complex.  There aren't easy solutions.  Immediately upon your arrival, maybe even within 5 minutes of leaving the airport, you may start to dream of possible solutions.  It's what we do, but it's just crazy!  Don't assume the causes of laziness, corruption, or ignorance either.  Instead, respect, love and serve.

7.  Get Upset When Plans Change - Instead, put on "Gumby" like flexibility.

6.  Keep Your Distance for Security and Health Reasons - Don't be stupid, but force yourself to get out of your comfort zone so you can more effectively love and be loved. serve and be served.  Know the difference between foolishness and wisdom, and/or work with those on the ground who do.

5.  Exclusively Choose Production Over Relationship - Although Americans would like to think it is true, production, (aka doing something), isn't always the highest priority.  Think "Mary/Martha". Take the time to love.  Take time to laugh.  Take time to pray.  Take time to listen.  Just BE.  Prioritize relationship. When you go to visit someone in the hospital, it isn't about doing something.  It is about being together, encouraging one another, and sharing time.  We call it the "ministry of presence".  By the way, get something done.  Don't exclusively choose relationship over production either!

4.  Be Like Santa Claus - Your main goal is not to give out stuff...  Hand out candy... Hand out dollar bills... Yes, we've seen it, but seriously, stop it.  It makes us feel good, but it can confuse the Gospel message we carry and hurt in the end.  I know you want to be generous, and this is a good and necessary thing, but please do so in an appropriate setting, in a culturally sensitive way that will truly help those who need it, not just those who are asking.  Why do children here in Haiti put their hand out every time a white person drives by?  Because they see the likeness of Santa.  I prefer they see the likeness of Jesus.  Yes, the man asking for those flip flops may go sell them to buy a lottery ticket.  By the way, be generous ;)

3.  Don't Collaborate on Goals - Your goals and their goals are likely different because you value different things.  Listen to one another. Come up with a collaborative approach, steeled in the bed of understanding, in which both parties can do their part.  Remember, it's reciprocal.  You aren't coming to fix those on the field.  You might just be the one that needs fixing!

2.  Work "Directly" with Nationals - Say what? Don't misunderstand me, I am playing with words a little. We only want to work alongside an indigenous movement, organization, ministry, leadership, etc.  We work with a team of nationals under the authority and direction of an autonomous and indigenously led church association.  We are One Team with One Mission.  Yet, SO. MANY. TIMES. we have heard SO. MANY. STORIES. of American churches that wanted to bypass a "middle-man/org" and work "directly" with a national church and they got burned. T.S. Eliot said, "“Most of the evil in this world is done by people with good intentions.” Why does this good intention fail so often? There are many reasons, but here are 2... First, and sadly, there are many nationals (Americans too!) who are looking for opportunity who may not have the greatest God honoring motives. They are looking for you, so these are often the ones you will come in contact with and start working with.  Second, you need a cross-cultural team on the ground that can be your bridge to partnership... Cross-Cultural collaboration is just really hard. It takes LOTS of patience, understanding, trust, respect and relationship that has developed over long periods of time. I know you may think you are different, but it is next to impossible to effectively jump in and out of your context, while asking someone on the field to do the same.  Developing trust and respect over the phone/email is often a minefield.  Working with fellow Americans on American soil is hard enough, but when you throw in international cross-cultural complexities, the road gets tougher (quite literally).  We have found that working with a cross-cultural team who is firmly planted on the ground, that exists of mutually minded Americans AND Nationals, who are walking and working through life together, is the only way to go.  As an American here in Haiti who is investing lots of time building relationship and trust, together with my team, we can more effectively navigate the minefield and bring true cross-cultural partnership.  It's not easy, but it's worth it.

1.  Don't Plan and Prepare - So many short term teams hit the ground with no preparation.  Here in our organization, we have taken the time to produce a training manual that we require all of our teams to go through in pre-trip sessions.  Why?  We want our teams to be prepared physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, geographically, linguistically, culturally, etc. We work hard to give a schedule to each of our team members upon their arrival with a clearly defined plan for the week.  We feel it is a non-negotiable as we endeavor to have the greatest impact on both Americans and Nationals alike.

If you want to develop a 1:1 church partnership like this in Haiti, please contact us at partnerships.haiti@rmibridge.org.