A New Arrival!

Braden Montgomery Thompson was born Monday, July 21, at 8:15 a.m.  He was 9 lbs. 15 oz. and 21 inches long.  The proud parents, Rob and Becky Thompson, are doing well. 

Braden's brother and sister, Drew and Tessa, were happy to meet him!

Welcome Home! The Moses Family is Back in Haiti

As of Friday, July 18, 2008 the Haiti gang's back together! Yes, the Moses have returned to Haiti. I know Gary and Marilyn McLaughlin and Jenn Rogan as well as the entire Haitian staff are glad to have them back. They had a warm reception as several RMI staff met them at the airport. They had a steady stream of people the whole weekend of people, nationals, staff and missionaries welcoming them back. There were hugs, kisses and tears of joy at their return. They are busy unpacking, cleaning house, settling in, and getting caught up.

This coming Friday, July 25, Billy and Debbie are going out with Gary, Jenn and the rest of the staff to Les Irois to work with a team from Harper Evangelical Free Church from Port Orchard, Washington. Gary will be leading the team with Billy, Debbie, and Jenn there to assist with the ministry of the team. They are doing a marriage seminar for the church. I know it will be a great time of ministry together.

The Moses will be taking a couple of weeks afterward to finish getting their feet under them and then will begin to get back into the saddle so to speak. We are excited about having everyone back together again.

Look for a more detailed update on their personal blog: http://www.mosesinhaiti.blogspot.com/.

Dan Shoemaker

Mixed Emotions

This past Thursday Deb and I went over to Ft. Lauderdale to spend the evening with Billy and Debbie Moses and their family (RMI missionaries in Haiti) and then put them on the plane on Friday A.M. as they headed back to Haiti.  What a change for us.  For 25 years it was our family that was heading back to Haiti.  Now we are the ones waving goodbye as the last one passes through security. 

As we drove away from the airport afterwards, Deb and I talked about the mixed emotions this caused within us.  On one hand, we remembered all the good times we had in Haiti, all the friends we (still) have there, and the ministry we were always going back to.  On the other hand, we certainly did not miss the hectic last days of shopping, packing suitcases down to the last ounce, trying to get all the last minute details done, always wishing you had another day (or 2 or 3) and getting very little sleep if any before heading off to the airport early in the morning knowing you had a looong day ahead.  Being able to fly from to Port to Cayes eases some of the burden, but for the most part we would have to get to Port and then drive 6 hours over rough roads to get home.  Whew!

However, we agreed that we are glad those days are behind us.  We have a new home and know that we are in God's will where we are.  But we sure empathize with the Moses' as they headed back and are now getting settled into life in Haiti.  (They did have a very good trip back, with everything going as smoothly as it can with American Airlines and in Haiti!)

It was good to see them and send them off with a hug.

Dan

Moses Family Returns to Haiti!

Check it out!  July 18 Billy, Debbie, Savana and McKenna Moses will return to their home in Haiti.  We'll get a more detailed report on what they have been doing and where they have gone in the past 8 months in a later blog.  The short version is that they traveled quite a bit, including Texas, Seattle, New Jersey, Georgia and South Carolina and points in between.  They also went through some intensive seminars and Bible college (Columbia International University) courses.

Pray for them as they go through the final stages of packing and getting ready.   They are very excited to be getting back to their own beds after living out of suitcases for such a long time.  Check out their blog at www.mosesinhaiti.blogspot.com.

Hawthorne Summit

Hidden away in a small central Florida town named Hawthorne, RMI missionaries Billy & Debbie Moses, Gary & Marilyn McLaughlin and Jenn Rogan met RMI staff Herb & Shirley Shoemaker, Dan, Debbie and Dawn Shoemaker and Rob Thompson on Saturday, June 21 to Tuesday, June 24.  One of RMI's Board members, Billy Byrd, owns a small camp that he has renovated and made available to us for this 4 day meeting.  Dawn and Debbie cooked for the crowd for 4 days as they met together.  It was a great time of catching up with one another and then doing extensive, strategic planning for the future for the Haiti field. 

 

It was a great place to relax, fellowship, get away from the every day routine and spend time together.  God did bless our time and we are excited about what He has for us all in the future.

When Dawn wasn't in the cookhouse, she was on the dock.  Herb and Shirley pitched in during some free time, with Shirley catching the most!  The last evening we had enough catfish for everyone to have a bite!  She was a real trooper and fed us well.

It was a wonderful place to have an RMI Summit!!

Gary sent these pictures.  A special thanks to Billy Byrd for the great place to have these meetings!

 

RMI June Board Meetings

June 12 and 13 the RMI Board met here in Ft. Myers, FL.  We had folks coming from NC, IL, and FL, coming for this session. 

These meetings are very important in the life of RMI as the Board provides direction, vision, and over-sight for the Mission's activities, staff, and future.  They review and approve our policies, our operations budget, new programs and projects, and generally keep an eye on things. 

Another area of oversight is working with the staff on our vision and future aspirations.  They help us set goals and priorities as we work toward the future.  We have a good Board that has become quite active in the ministry.  They have been great encouragements to Rob and I as we are moving RMI forward.  They also provide good mentoring and sounding boards for us as we discuss new plans and projects with them. 

As usual, many items were discussed, reviewed, and voted into play.  Continue to pray for our Board members as they lead RMI that the Lord will be filling them with His Spirit for wisdom, understanding, and unity together. 

Thank the Lord with us for a great time of fellowship and the good decisions that were made.

Preaching in Creole!

Several weeks ago I had the privilege of preaching at the First Haitian Baptist Church of Fort Myers, FL.  It is the 3rd time I have preached there.  It is a lot of fun.  You feel like you are right there somewhere out in the country at a good Haitian church...only with AC!  YES!

It is great to be able to share with the Haitian people here in the area.  They are always surprised at my Creole and knowledge of the language, idioms, and sayings.  But it is also good to be able to encourage and challenge them in their faith.  Being so far from home they truly do cling to their faith.  They need to  be reminded that God cares for them, but also that God desires them to grow in their knowledge and understanding of Him as well. 

Dawn says that "Dad preaches much better in Creole.  He gets much more animated!"  I guess that is a good compliment!  They do preach with animation in Haiti.  Lots of fun.