Life Transforming Relationship

“On our trip in February 2016, the team from The Bayou Church visited our Sister Church in Petit-Trou, Haiti. During home visits, we split up into three groups, and one group was able to deliver a food box to a woman who had lost her home to a fire that year. We wrote down her name "Sally Ma" because that's what it sounded like to us. At that time she had been living under an A-framed tarp.

On that trip, after talking with Pastor Solvat, we assessed that the biggest needs of the church were to finish building the parsonage and to rebuild a home for Sally Ma (Salimene, Selèmen or Selìmen - we have gotten different spellings each time we go). Our church raised $30,000 that June to rebuild the parsonage (each year our church does a "Big Give" now called the "Make a Difference" fund and that year, Haiti was one of the 5 recipients of that fund). After the parsonage rebuild was under way, we started raising money for Sally Ma's home. This time we reached out to the community and friends on Facebook, set up tables in our church foyer. [The picture is a card that showed her tent house.  The card was passed out at church, to our friends, family and co-workers as well as shared on Facebook.]

On our trip in April 2017, she had moved from her property to her daughter's property and had rebuilt a makeshift house using one standing cement wall, cement slab, tarps and tree branches. Another small group from our team went to visit her and pray with her.

It took us from January to October to raise the money to rebuild her home. When our team arrived in Feb 2018, they had already cleared the land. This time our entire team went out to pray over the land where her home would be built.

When our family visited in June 2018 the house was almost complete. She was not well when we saw her in June, but I am so grateful that I was able to hold her hand and pray with her one more time. She called me "cheri" [dearest] and smiled when I introduced her to my kids who had worked so hard making videos, working the table at church, and taking pictures for me to put on Facebook, putting together their birthday and Christmas money to add to her fund - they were a huge part of the fundraising.  Three weeks after our family visited, she passed away from uterine cancer.”

~ Casey Hilty, The Bayou Church, Lafayette, Louisiana

The Hilty family was able to visit the home when they were there in June.  Casey shared that raising these funds for this widow and her family had a tremendous impact on their church’s lives and on their family’s lives.  Their kids were very involved in contributing to the raising of those funds.  “Sally Ma’s” family also were impacted as they experienced the love and care of The Bayou Church for them and their mother. 

It was truly a life transforming relationship.

A Season for Goodbyes

Joel and Laura Sutton arrived on the field in September of 2014.  Joel was an invaluable help in many areas.  He pretty much did any maintenance that needed done, not only on RMI facilities, but often on missionary homes as needed as well. He spent a lot of time at Zanglais with projects such as the desalinization unit.  He also was a driver for many of our teams and was either the missionary host or additional RMI staff on teams.  He even used his experience in tree removal after Hurricane Matthew in 2016.  He worked tirelessly opening the roads around their village and on the mission center as well as taking trees off homes in many areas.  His willingness to help in any way has been so appreciated. 

Laura’s role of facilitating all the teams and their details was an integral part of RMI’s ministry.  She helped them in coordinating their flights, their projects and ministries, and a million details to make the 40 teams we had last year run smoothly.  With her extensive nursing background, she taught several health seminars.  She helped host many a team out in the country.  She also helped nurse the various illnesses or injuries of staff or team members.  Her smile and help in keeping things organized is already being sorely missed. 

Their 4 year term has come to a close and they are returning to their home area of Gainesville, FL.  Joel plans on working with International Friendship again, a ministry for international students/families at UF.  He also may do some work at the elementary school with disabled children.  Laura hopes to be involved in women’s and children’s ministries at their home church and with individuals and community agencies needing help with nursing care.  They plan on spending time with their kids and grandkids, too.  We are sorry to see them go but wish them the best in their new endeavors.

Janae Stork taught at the missionary children’s school on the mission center.  She taught Bible, social studies, grammar, writing, and literature. She was there for 3 school years but only 1 with RMI.

She returned to her home area in Illinois, but won’t be there long since she will be marrying a gentleman that she met on an RMI workteam from New Jersey.  We’ll miss her but wish her the best in the future. 

Courtney Westcott also taught at the missionary children’s school on the mission center.  She taught 3 years, 1 year each in first, third and fourth grades and every subject except French and P.E.

She met most of the teams and had lunch with them. She also volunteered for the missionary body by sorting mail for the past two school years.  Courtney will be missed and we wish her the best in the future.