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The village of Beaumont, Haiti now has access to clean drinking water.  No more going to the river, well or spring.  Beaumont is located high in the mountains in the middle of the southern peninsula.  It’s a bustling village and since it is on the main Cayes to Jeremie road across the mountains, it is frequently where buses and other travelers stop for a meal, to get supplies or gas up before continuing on their way.  As with the majority of villages, getting clean drinking water has always been a challenge. Hope Church of Springfield, Illinois is the C3 partner church to Beaumont Baptist Church.  Together they have been working to minister to the community.  The leadership of Beaumont Baptist felt that providing clean drinking water would make a significant difference.  Hope Church committed to financing the project.  It took two years for RMI to work out the many details,

You will hear us use the phrase “packing a container” in context of sending a missionary family to the field.  So what exactly happens when we pack a container?  The family going has to pack their household belongings very securely, with most items in plastic bins that have been zip-tied shut and the furniture bubble wrapped and well protected.  Everything has to be numbered and inventoried because a complete manifest must be submitted to customs as it leaves the US and enters Haiti.  They have to send everything that they’ll need to set up house and for each person in the family for several years.  Besides clothes, furniture, appliances, tools, paint,  garden implements, there will be such things as laundry soap, toilet paper, non-perishable food items, etc.   They transport (UHaul!) everything to the RMI office in Ft. Myers, Florida where a 40 ft. sea container has been ordered and

Romans 12:15 exhorts us to “rejoice with those who rejoice” and we want to rejoice with RMI President, Dan Shoemaker, who was honored as one of Southwest Florida’s Power Influencer in June.  The Cape Coral Community Foundation works to be the voice of nonprofit leaders in order to collaborate together to make a positive difference in the region through generosity and compassion.  At their annual Celebration of Nonprofit Power Influencers event that recognizes the CEO’s of area nonprofits, Dan was among the 25 honorees.  It was exciting to be recognized for his integrity and honesty and be able to network with other nonprofit CEO’s who also work tirelessly to foster positive change in the Ft. Myers area. Congratulations Dan!  Job well done! The full newspaper article regarding the event can be found HERE.

Jim and April Starkey and their 3 kids, Isaac, Micaiah and Ezekiel are just 2 months away from leaving for the field.  They are continuing to work hard at raising the rest of their support.  While they still have 25% of their one-time funds to raise and $750 a month of their monthly needs, they are desperately needed on the field.  Thus, the RMI administration is stepping out in faith and are sending them to Haiti at the end of August, just 2 months away.  We are trusting God to supply the rest of their needs as they make their preparations. One thing that is helping get their one-time financial needs down a bit is that RMI has bought the furniture, some household goods and a motorcycle from Rob Thompson, the outgoing Field Director.  Jim and April will be taking over the Thompson’s home on the mission center, so being

During VBS last week at Loomis Evangelical Free Church, Loomis, NE, the kids literally passed the hat as they collected funds to build school benches for their C3 Partner Church’s school.  They raised enough funds to build 4 benches.  That is enough to seat 25 students.  Way to go guys!! We are in the middle of Hope for Kidz’ annual campaign to renew sponsorships and find new ones for unsponsored kids.  Last school year there were 2660 kids sponsored and we are praying that 2880 will be able to be sponsored this year. If you haven’t renewed your sponsorship, now is the time!  And if you don’t yet sponsor a child, don’t delay in getting started.  These kids need your help to give them real hope for a better future.  You can go online HERE to start your sponsorship.

RMI is excited to announce the appointment of Benjamin Altema as RMI’s Haiti Field Director.  Benjamin will be replacing Rob Thompson who is transitioning back to the US this summer.  For many years now, RMI has been developing multi-cultural leaders.  This is another important step in that process.  Benjamin has proven his leadership capability as he has worked his way up these last 12 years from starting out working with teams, to being in charge of RMI’s Haitian staff, to the Director of Haiti Field Operations and now to lead the entire field, both US missionary and Haitian staff. Benjamin grew up in Aux Cayes near the mission center.  He and his family have been friends of RMI for many, many years.  His mother worked for RMI co-founders, Herb and Shirley Shoemaker, for 10 years while they served in Haiti, and eventually, years later, worked for RMI and Dan and Debbie Shoemaker

Tessa is a Florida native who grew up in the church with her mom and grandmother who are both Christians.  She has 2 stepsisters.  She had the opportunity to go on a mission trip with her church to Cite Lumiere in 2017.  Haiti and the ministries there really grabbed her heart and she found it very difficult to leave.  She heard of the need for teachers at the missionary kid school, located at Cite Lumiere and felt that God was calling her to teach at the school.   Tessa shared, “…before I told anyone that I was praying about moving here, I had a moment where I was awestruck. My mama was cooking and came around to where I was sitting. She simply looked at me and said, ‘if you ever wanted to move to Haiti I’d be okay with it.’  It was one of the times during my journey here

Sometimes making an impact can start with the youngest ones around us. That’s exactly what happened with the elementary students at Southwest Florida Christian Academy (SFCA) a ministry of McGregor Baptist Church (MBC) in Ft. Myers, FL.  [McGregor Baptist is one of the newest C3 partner churches.]  Each year SFCA organizes a 5-day emphasis on Christian Missions around the world.  In February 2019, SFCA selected the Christian school at Cote-de-Fer Baptist Church (CDF) (McGregor’s C3 partner church) in Haiti for this year’s missions partner. During the week-long daily missions chapel, the SFCA elementary students learned about the school and nearly 300 students at CDF and how they are part of the Sister Church partnership. Daily missions chapel with a life-size replica of  a Haitian school room. The SFCA students recognized the physical and spiritual needs of the same age students in Haiti.  Students learned that the students at CDF have a

Do you have one of these in your hands?  If not, you are missing a blessing!  This is a profile of a child in RMI’s Hope for Kidz Child Sponsorship Program.  “Providing Hope Today for Haiti’s Tomorrow” is not just a cute slogan for Hope for Kidz.  It is the very foundation for the program. Through sponsorship, needy children are able to get a quality education that will utterly transform their lives.  To grow into successful adulthood, they need to be able to read, write, do math, and understand the world around them.  To do this from a Christian context makes the potential for success even greater. Our classrooms in Haiti are filled with students dreaming of their future—hopes of being a doctor, teacher, nurse, mechanic, chef, business leader, lawyer, and entrepreneurs.  They will be Haiti’s next leaders.  A quality education opens the doors to these kinds of opportunities –

On behalf of your brothers and sisters in Haiti, we want to thank you for your prayers for them these past weeks as they have gone through some turbulent times.  We are also thankful that so many of you were able to help provide cases of food to those who are in need during these days.  Your concern and love for your C3 Partner churches, your sponsored children and the Haitian people, in general, has been amazing and heartwarming.    We are happy to say that at present, the roads are open, and things are returning to normal.  Teams are coming and going.  The RMI staff are busy with their usual activities of making school visits, taking kids pictures, receiving and caring for the teams, delivering the food, and much more.  We are excited to see things moving and ministry happening. Please continue to pray for Haiti and your Sister Church for

On behalf of your brothers and sisters in Haiti, we want to thank you for your prayers for them these past weeks as they have gone through some turbulent times.  We are also thankful that so many of you were able to help provide cases of food to those who are in need during these days.  Your concern and love for your C3 Partner churches, your sponsored children and the Haitian people, in general, has been amazing and heartwarming.    We are happy to say that at present, the roads are open, and things are returning to normal.  Teams are coming and going.  The RMI staff are busy with their usual activities of making school visits, taking kids pictures, receiving and caring for the teams, delivering the food, and much more.  We are excited to see things moving and ministry happening. Please continue to pray for Haiti and your Sister Church for

Food aid is desperately needed now in Haiti!   People are hungry and you can help!  Haiti has been in the news quite a bit the last several weeks.  There have been demonstrations and unrest all over the country.  The people are tired of the rampant corruption that led to a severe shortage of fuel as well as a meteoric rise in the cost of basic food and staples.  They want a change in the government and relief in the cost of living.  The result was that everything in the country ground to a halt … no vehicles on the roads, and stores, businesses and schools closed.  The country was in lockdown for several weeks.  People were afraid and unable to leave their homes to take their goods to market and to shop for food for their families. The result of this lockdown is that there is a desperate need for

Food aid is desperately needed now in Haiti!   People are hungry and you can help!  Haiti has been in the news quite a bit the last several weeks.  There have been demonstrations and unrest all over the country.  The people are tired of the rampant corruption that led to a severe shortage of fuel as well as a meteoric rise in the cost of basic food and staples.  They want a change in the government and relief in the cost of living.  The result was that everything in the country ground to a halt … no vehicles on the roads, and stores, businesses and schools closed.  The country was in lockdown for several weeks.  People were afraid and unable to leave their homes to take their goods to market and to shop for food for their families. The result of this lockdown is that there is a desperate need for