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Many of you have been inquiring about the impact of Hurricane Melissa on your Sister Church and community. Up through Wednesday, it has been raining so hard that the roads have been impassable. We now have several teams out assessing the damage and needs. While Hurricane Melissa passed to the south of and around the southern peninsula of Haiti, it didn’t spare Haiti.  The rain and wind bands resulted in over 8 days of heavy rain, significant storm surge, and high winds.  This resulted in the tragic loss of many lives, with one area already reporting 29+ dead due to a flash flood. We are also getting reports of the devastation of crops and livestock, the wiping away of infrastructure (including cell towers, roads, bridges, etc.), the destruction of many homes, businesses, as well as some non-RMI churches, and schools. There are reports of massive flooding of all the rivers. 

Five intrepid individuals from McGregor Baptist Church visited their Sister Church in Cote de Fer, Haiti, in October.  Getting to Southern Haiti is a challenge these days, but they persevered and made it.  They re-established their relationship with the Cote de Fer church as they spent time with the pastor, visited a satellite church, met with the sponsored kids, handed out food boxes to needy families, gave out goats, had a ladies meeting, participated in the Hot Lunch Program, fellowshiped with believers during their Sunday service, and participated in communion with them.  They also shared devotions at RMI Haiti’s daily devotional meeting.  The RMI staff were very encouraged to hear from the team and see that churches in the states have not forgotten Haiti.

As we consider that the Gospel transforms lives… through the Church, which is God’s instrument of life change, we arrive at RMI’s third motivation: “Partnerships that are engaged”. It is most often through partnerships of some type that the church can effectively minister to one another as part of Christ’s body and others around us.  The Gospel is shared most effectively through the local church to the surrounding community. This could be via local members, various aspects of the community, other organizations, and other local churches. RMI chooses to minister primarily through cross-cultural church-to-church partnerships as the most effective way to impact local communities for Christ. We enable our partnerships to actively encourage and resource each other’s local partner churches to better reach their communities with the Gospel by helping them effectively proclaim it locally, in word or deed. We have a saying that God did not mean for the

In October, we were excited to turn over the keys to the new second story of Tet Source School. This area has been blessed so much by its Sister Church partners. Before, this area had no MEBSH school; now it has a 2-story building. The lean-to that you see in the before picture was placed where the school is now and was used as a temporary church.        Now, thanks to their C3 Partners, they have a reinforced church building, a 2-story school, a parsonage, and a solar system. This is such a blessing to many families!  What a way to transform a community through the church.

Travel is a vital part of our lives.  We walk, we run, we drive our cars.  If the destination is far away, we take a plane or train.  Our Hope for Kidz team travels all over southern Haiti to every single school several times a year to keep our program running and growing.  But what happens when the roads become less than comfortable?  What if there is no road? Our trips out to schools usually require a full truckload of supplies (and people) to get the job done.  But every so often, we just can’t get where we need to go by truck. That’s when the motorcycles come out!  Our wonderfully dedicated team members will find a way to reach their destination.     What do they do when they get to each school?  They meet with the pastor of the church and the school principal to get an idea

It’s happening! Churches and people are now giving… and running, walking, and riding to bring Hope for Hispaniola. Many participants have already completed their walking, running, or riding goals, while others are hitting the pavement throughout October. Churches have also planned events and are taking special collections this month to go toward the effort. While we are definitely behind our goals, we are not giving up! It is not too late to get involved. Please visit www.rmibridge.org/hope-for-hispaniola to: Donate to the effort. Sponsor a team or an individual. Sign Up to participate by walking, running, or riding.

The Beacon Team arrived in September and began work immediately. Friday night, Dr. Milton, the Dominican doctor with whom RMI partners, came to introduce himself and share details about what to expect and how the medical clinics would operate. The next morning, the team got up very early to make their way to the first Haitian medical clinic, which was held at a Haitian church. This was actually one of the churches that the team visited last year. They helped build the church, and it was neat for them to return this year and host a medical clinic in the completed church. On Sunday, the team got up very early again to meet at another Haitian church at 7:00 a.m. for the church service, and then they began the medical clinic afterwards. There were many children at this clinic who loved playing with the team and having the team create

The Church as God’s instrument – we value the church as God’s chosen instrument of life change. I love our second motivation because it embodies what the New Testament is all about: the Body of Christ, also known as the Church. What a joy it is to work hand-in-hand with our brothers and sisters in Christ, or as defined in the NT as “the local church,” to see lives transformed in Christ. God has chosen the Church, especially the local church, to serve as His beacon of light and life in the world, changing it. This is why RMI has chosen to coordinate all we do through the local church, both in the US and overseas. By working hand-in-hand with local churches, we facilitate the work of God, primarily through these churches. They are the ones who understand their local communities, their needs, and the best ways to reach them with

Hope is growing that there will be a direct flight from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, to Cayes, Haiti, where our Haiti office is located. This flight would allow us to bypass all the gang-related insecurity, as well as some of the increased logistical challenges associated with coming in through other paths.  Every day, construction activity is happening at the Cayes airport.  Here is a sneak peek of the recently completed IBC Office at the Cayes airport.  IBC may be the first commercial airline to offer this direct route.  What a difference it would make to our ministry in southern Haiti.  Just think… we could re-start teams!!  Keep praying with us!

It’s that time of year again!  Back to school.  Our team is making plans and schedules for our upcoming school year.  Schools will be back in session in October.  Our Pastors’ meeting is scheduled for mid-September.   The Pastors’ meeting is an essential part of our program.  Pastors gather each year to meet with RMI staff for a refresher on how the Hope for Kidz program works, learn new guidelines and expectations, brainstorm about how to make the program better, and to pray.  They pray over the school year, and the RMI staff prays over them.   Additionally, each Pastor leaves with a packet of information detailing the names of the students who have received sponsorships for this year, the number of new student applications required, and a Thank-You letter for each sponsored child to complete.   Pastors are also given the proposed date of our first visit to their school

Why does someone engage deeply in their work, ministry, hobbies, etc.? It is because certain beliefs, desires, or actions tap into these aspects that bring forth satisfaction, meaning, a feeling of self-worth, or simply a desire to do the right thing. In RMI, our various programs and ministries require considerable hard work, time, and sacrifice. But we find great satisfaction in what we do because we are motivated by four eternal principles. The first and most important motivation is: The Gospel that transforms. We consider the Gospel to be the unsurpassed agent of radical life change.  This is where everything we do starts.  Without the knowledge of salvation in Christ, all the programs in the world would be empty.  The Gospel is the only thing that actually results in life-transforming change, not just for this earth, but for eternity.  We strive to make sure that everything we do in RMI, whether

Goats 4 Haiti is one of the best programs RMI has to provide sustainable income for a Haitian family.  It’s a program that keeps on giving.  It enables families to start a goat business or sell an offspring to pay for medical expenses or other urgent needs. When RMI receives money from a sponsor, the staff purchases the goat (s) and gives them to the beneficiary. RMI provides 6-month follow-ups to monitor the goat’s progress. The first baby goat goes back to the church to pass on to another beneficiary; after that, the mother goat stays with the original owner. After that, they can keep the subsequent offspring. Frequently, the children of the family are usually responsible for caring for the goat, taking it to get water twice a day, and staking it out during the day and night.  They learn responsibility and how to plan their daily schedule around