Hope for Kidz Haiti Update and Dominican Republic Update

 Hope for Kidz Haiti Update

Frantz Desire, RMI’s Hope for Kidz Supervisor, writes, “We thank God for His grace and mercy upon the HFKz ministry. It is great because God allowed us to help many kids go to a hospital and get medical care this year.”

Frantz shared, “There have been a lot of testimonies and gratefulness that have been received from the parents of the kids that we were helping. For example, I will pick up some names in the list to share some details with you. First, we have Marvens Joseph, this child is in Picot. The situation was very difficult for him and his family. He was hit by a car while he was going to school. His family was not able to take him to hospital. We sat down with his mother and arranged to send him to the hospital.  It took about three months for him to recuperate, and he came home using a cane to walk. Now he is well, and we say thanks to God for that.

For the second one, we have Bitchy Chery. This is a child in Beaumont school.  She was struggling with her vision and was not able to attend school classes so many times. We sent her to Brenda Eye Hospital here in Cayes, and after some treatments, her eyes are doing well. She was very excited and her mother was very happy for this opportunity that HFKz gave to them. They all say thank you very much to the sponsor and to the RMI staff.

For the third one, we have John Peter Vante. This child is in Les Anglais school. He was facing appendicitis issues that were very painful for him. Because of that, he had lost some school days. His mother was crying when she was talking to me because her family didn’t have any money to take John to the hospital. Hope For Kidz sent John Peter to the hospital in Cayes. He got the surgery, and now he is doing well and continuing with school. What a blessing to serve the Lord through this ministry. This family was very grateful to God first and to RMI.

For a fourth one, Judeson Dume. This child is in Barthe school in the district of Cance. According to the Pastor from that school, Judeson had fallen down from a tree. He broke his left arm, and he was having a very hard time. According to Pastor Fravien, Judeson’s family is very poor and couldn’t even take him to the hospital. The family testified if RMI wasn’t able to help them with Judeson, he wouldn’t be going to school. God made the provision, and they are very grateful. We have sent the child to the hospital, and he had surgery two times in that arm. Pastor Fravien was happy, Judeson and his parents were also happy, and they all said thank you very much to RMI.”

Your sponsorship and participation with kids in the Hope for Kidz program make a real, tangible difference in their lives - not only in educating them but in helping them with major health issues.  Now is the time to renew your sponsorship or start sponsoring a child!

Dominican Republic Update

Jim and April Starkey had a successful trip to the Dominican Republic (DR) in May. Nelson Paulino of Casa Misionera Mission House (one of RMI’s partners in the DR) was fantastic in giving them a tour of Santiago, finding a realtor, scoping out houses for them to look at, and providing translation help—so many things! Thank you, Nelson!!

Jim and April found a nice home in a good neighborhood and were able to sign the rental papers. After a week there, they feel like they have a rudimentary knowledge of the city. Knowing where they’ll shop for groceries, supplies, appliances, and furniture will be a big help.  

They were also able to visit and enroll their youngest, Zeke, in a local English Christian school.  April will homeschool the other 2 boys.

Jim will be going to Haiti this month to pack their house. They plan on only taking their personal belongings to the DR and buying the appliances and furniture they need locally, so they won’t have to send a container.

In the meantime, April is busy packing their belongings in the US for shipment to the DR.  It’s a challenge to anticipate what they will need as they set up a house and settle into their new lives there. But the unknown is quite a bit easier since the DR is quite developed—it’s a second-world country compared to Haiti, which is a fourth-world country.  

Agape Flights, the mission aviation ministry that brought the Starkeys their mail and some supplies in Haiti, also flies into Santiago. This means that if they need something from the US, Agape can fly it in for them. What a blessing.  

Jim and April have been studying Spanish online as well as having a Dominican to help tutor them in person.  By all accounts, it has been going very well!  They have also been teaching the kids Spanish.

The Starkeys have been working hard to raise the additional support that they need.  As of the beginning of June, they have  44% of their monthly support needs and 46% of their one-time needs. They urgently need to raise the rest of those funds. Would you please consider helping to support them with a monthly gift and/or a gift toward their moving expenses? You can give to their ministry here:  www.rmibridge.org/donate.  They are praying that they’ll be able to get to Santiago in August so they can get settled by the beginning of school around the first of September.

Please pray with us that their support comes in and they will be able to get to the DR in a timely manner!