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Phase two in the recovery process is helping people start to rebuild / repair their homes.  We have purchased over 3,000 sheets of metal roofing and these are now available for sponsors.  The roofing material is $65 for 6 sheets.  This will provide a more permanent solution for people to care for their families’ safety and security.  It also will close up holes in the roof to protect their belongings from rain.  These things will help bring some normalcy to their lives; it will allow them to begin to focus on other things that might need repairing.   Equally important, it will be a visible reminder that God saw their need, heard their prayers, and provided those pieces of roofing material.  This church received enough roofing material for 6 families.  It was laid out in the church building and the 6 families stood in front of their gift.  There were big

We are happy to say that teams are returning!  At the first of the month LifeHouse Church from Delaware went to encourage their church in Aux Coteaux and in the middle of the month McGregor Baptist Church from Ft. Myers, FL will be coming to visit their church in Cote de Fer.  After the COVID quarantine and the earthquake, it’s been quite a while since teams have been able to come.  The Ministry of Presence is real – just being there, visiting their homes, standing with them in their circumstances, crying, and praying with them speaks louder at times than swinging a hammer.  Being there for someone can sometimes bring hope when all seems hopeless.  The time for work teams will come soon and those teams will be such an encouragement too.  Having someone working alongside you also brings hope when your world has been turned upside down. The church

HOW CAN YOU HELP RIGHT NOW? RMI’s most urgent need is funds…specifically because it provides us speed and flexibility on the ground to respond as necessary.  It sounds blunt but it is the reality we are living with right now. $35 feeds a family 1 hot meal a day for a month – a priceless gift at this time $75 provides a family with a water filter – clean water to ward off disease and illnesses $65 provides a family with a large tarp – temporary shelter to give them a place to sleep and protect their belongings from the elements The need for prayer cannot be understated!  Our staff has worked 24/7 for weeks and continues to serve selflessly. Go here to donate towards any of these needs. RMI continues to respond to urgent needs at a feverish pace.  Aid supplies arrive at our depot, via airlift or truck from

August 14 at 8:27 a.m., a massive 7.2 earthquake hit southern Haiti.  The epicenter was located in the middle of the mountain range near the town of L’Asile, very near to the Zanglais Ministry Center. It is the country’s strongest earthquake in 179 years since 1842 – stronger than the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake. The destruction is widespread across the entire southern peninsula. No community was spared clear out to the farthest tip of the island. There are many landslides across the road that leads into the mountains to go to the other coast as well as the main road that leads west to the tip of the island. Bridges are damaged and many are impassable. In Cayes and Jeremie most, if not all, stores and businesses have been heavily damaged or destroyed. In general, the infrastructure that southern Haiti had is badly damaged and severely crippled. Benjamin observed that “It

After 18 long months, RMI’s Staff Leadership Meetings were finally able to take place face-to-face.  COVID prevented face-to-face meetings, so Zoom meetings had to suffice.  As we all know, those kinds of meetings only provide a limited amount of communication, brainstorming, and in-depth discussion.  At the beginning of this month RMI Field Leader, Benjamin Altema, and RMI Field Director of Operations, Benson Joseph, were able to come to the RMI office in Ft. Myers, FL.  They met with RMI President, Dan Shoemaker, and RMI Vice President of Operations, Kim Rose, for one and a half days.  They discussed ongoing ministries and plans for the future.   We are incredibly grateful to God for providing such capable, talented, godly, and trustworthy men to lead RMI’s Haiti field and the ministries there.  They both lead with insight, integrity, commitment, and complete dedication to RMI.  Each one has come up through the ranks and

 This summer has already been full of activity for RMI! A New Missionary and a Wedding RMI welcomed a new missionary to the family in May.  Dawn Shoemaker’s fiance, Andrew Tlucek (pronounced Tuh-loo-check), joined RMI.  He and Dawn went through the full 1.5-day orientation.  Going to Haiti as a missionary had been in his life plan before God brought Dawn and him together.  His training has been with that purpose in mind.  He has a masters and is currently working on his doctoral thesis.  Being a Haiti missionary kid, he has a solid knowledge of the country, the culture, as well as the creole language.  His natural leadership abilities and training will be an asset to the Haiti field.  Welcome to the RMI family, Andrew! On June 26, Andrew and Dawn were married in Nampa, Idaho.  His grandparent’s backyard was turned into a beautiful wedding and reception venue.  Andrew’s parents,

GOOD NEWS!  RMI is opening up for teams starting in September of this year.  Here are several significant things that have changed to make this possible.   1.  Covid testing (required to get on a flight going to or leaving Haiti) is now available at the Bonne Fin Hospital in south Haiti.  There is also a “home” testing kit available that satisfies travel requirements.  That test kit is available in the US and can be purchased and carried to Haiti to use when you leave.  2.  There are flights available from Port-au-Prince to Les Cayes so we don’t have to drive through the capital.  We are doing this due to the insecurity and political tensions there.  Currently, the south is free and open.   3.  Haiti has opened and has resumed close to normal activity as a country.  4.  RMI staff feel comfortable in hosting teams in-country.  However, for these teams to

 For years we have had water issues at the Zanglais Ministry Center.  Many different solutions have been tried to fill the cisterns.  We have drilled several wells, however, they have not produced water.  None of these have been long-term solutions.  God has provided the means to purchase a 5,000-gallon water truck.  The water will be taken from our own deepwater well in the Cayes area.  With it, we will be able to fill the cisterns with clean water whenever needed.  This will enable us to more effectively use the Ministry Center.  This is a huge answer to prayer! The truck will also be able to provide water for needy communities and other organizations as we are able.  

RMI’s Haiti staff are rarely all in the same place at the same time, except for staff photo day!  Recently that day came and we thought you’d like to see the results. We are very thankful for these men and women who are called by God to serve Him in Haiti.  Many are serving their own people.  Several are there from the US, ex-patriots who have put down roots in Haiti and are serving the Haitian people.  All are servant leaders.  We like to say that we are all equal, but with different roles.  There are guards, housekeepers, cooks, mechanics, vet technicians, data entry, photographers, chauffeurs, administrators, and more.   The office and garage areas often appear a bit chaotic, but it is well organized with each person carrying out their assigned tasks. When a team comes to Haiti, they usually only see a handful of the staff, but behind the

Solar installation at the RMI Haiti office Because you gave, the RMI Haiti office now has reliable electricity 24/7 due to the new solar system that the RMI SunTech team just installed.  They have also installed new systems at Tessa Andrew’s home and Dawn Shoemaker’s home as well as upgrading the Nunemaker’s system that had been supplied by a donor several years ago.  Having reliable electricity is such a blessing, instead of having to rely on the hit and miss of city or mission center power.  Not only does it provide reliable power, but these systems will save a lot of funds that the ministry will be able to use elsewhere.  Being assured that you will have power when you need it for lights, fans, or refrigeration, etc. will take a big burden away from our missionary families and staff.  Thank you for your provision for this project.   Solar upgrade

Edmond was born in the small village of St. Louis du Sud, not far from the Zanglais Ministry Center.  He led a peaceful life for more than 30 years.  Unfortunately, there was a gang operating in his village that preyed on visitors and foreigners who came to visit.  He felt it was wrong and wasn’t happy with the situation. He alerted the police as to what was happening and they arrested two of the gang.  When the gang found out that it was Edmond who had exposed them to the police, they plotted to kill him.  On April 13, 2019, they attacked him but the assassination went wrong.  In the struggle, he was shot in the hand and his attackers fled.  Unfortunately, his hand had to be amputated.  This changed his life dramatically; it made it hard to farm and care for his family. A few months after this happened,

God is at Work This is a year that most people are happy to see come to an end.  For RMI’s ministry in Haiti, Covid-19, political issues, canceled teams, and fuel shortages are just some things that we had to deal with.  But God!  But God kept our team safe and healthy.  They labored on and an amazing amount of ministry took place.  God continues to use RMI even in a year like 2020. Here is a quick look in the rearview mirror at some of what we accomplished in 2020. C3 Partnerships 107 salvations in our C3 Haitian Sister Churches 51 baptisms in our C3 Haitian Sister Churches 1 new C3 partnership 11 Sister Church visits completed comprising of 69 team members 34 active C3 partnerships Hope for Kidz & School Education 2,704 children sponsored 10,664 kids fed a hot lunch daily in school 7 food containers (8,820 boxes

Haiti is the only country in the Caribbean where most people either have no electricity or have no access to it.   The Electric of Haiti (EDH) and other small electric companies do not cover the entire country.  They only have regional power plants.  Some are hydroelectric plants as a result of damming significant rivers and some are generator plants that have large diesel generators to create the electricity.   None of these have the capacity to create enough power to satisfy the needs of each of their regions.  They also do not have the needed funds to buy the large quantities of diesel necessary for the generators.  Adding to this difficulty, the power companies have recently become something of a political pawn in Haiti’s ongoing unrest.   Also, most areas have no power companies or any other means of getting electricity.  Most of these areas are rural and people are forced to