Mbchaiti

17/02/2026

UPDATE ON PLANE CRASH - 2-16-26- Replacing Lost Cargo

Recently, you received an email from me about the Agape Flight plane crash in Haiti. We are still deeply affected by the loss this is to RMI and to the entire missions community. Two pilots lost their lives, sacrificially serving their Lord. The plane was lost while being used to enable missionaries and ministries to spread the Gospel. Hundreds of pounds of cargo were lost, the vast majority of it for our RMI missionaries. We established a fund to help those missionaries replace the things they lost, and in less than 3 days the entire amount was raised! That need was met in record time. A big thank you to all of you who helped with that. It was an incredible encouragement to Tessa, the Starkeys, and the Tluceks.

Although the "Lost Cargo" need has been met, both our Starkey family and the Tlucek family are significantly under supported. We invite you to continue to bless them and give directly to their ministry accounts. You can do so https://www.rmibridge.org/donate
Note: On the donation form, look for the "Purpose" drop down, and choose "Starkey, Jim and April" or "Tlucek, Andrew and Dawn."

Exciting News about Haiti
Several major projects have been funded for this year. They are: Baraderes parsonage, Pederin parsonage, Petit- trou church building, and Lievre school building. The total is about $400,000. That is an amazing amount of money! It is so encouraging to see these C3 Partner churches still engaged and caring for their Haitian partners.

In addition, 4 normal teams are scheduled to go to Haiti, along with 3 vision trips.

So far, 1 team is planned for the DR. Of course, we are praying God clears the way for more teams!

Dan Shoemaker | I'd Love to Hear From You
President | Reciprocal Ministries International
Cell: (239) 222-9793 | Office: (239) 368-8390
"Changing Lives through Cross-Cultural Partnerships"

13/02/2026

Airplane Crash in Haiti

This past week, the missionary community in Haiti and the DR suffered a tragedy that has impacted us all.

Agape Flights, which provides essential cargo, mail, and aid to hundreds of missionaries and communities across the Caribbean, has been used by RMI and its missionaries for many years. Our missionaries have gotten to know the staff, especially the pilots, as they met the weekly plane. Our hearts were so heavy to hear of the loss of one of Agape’s planes last week in the mountains of southern Haiti.

The Embraer EMB-110P1 Bandeirante, registered N316AF, was reported missing on Thursday, February 5, after delivering mail and cargo to missionaries in Jeremie. The aircraft departed from Jeremie, flying over the mountains on its way to Les Cayes, when it lost contact shortly after takeoff in the mountainous area near Beaumont, about halfway to Les Cayes. So far, the cause of the crash has not been determined.
⁠⁠
The wreckage was identified, and rescue teams arrived on site. However, there were no survivors, and no cargo was salvageable due to the impact and subsequent fire. The plane carried 2 of Agape’s pilots. The bodies have been recovered and will be brought back to the US and their families for burial.

Please pray for the families of these 2 men and the whole Agape family. This is a devastating loss for all those who are a part of the Agape agency. Pray also for the many missionaries who knew these pilots personally, as they, too, grieve. I know RMI’s missionaries knew them well and are feeling great loss in the death of dear friends.

Not only were the 2 experienced pilots lost, but the plane as well. The plane has been a great tool in supplying missionaries and agencies as they share the Gospel both spiritually and practically across the Caribbean. It is a loss to many missionaries in Haiti and the Dominican Republic who have depended on this service for mail and essential supplies. It has been a key lifeline for many people and ministries.

With the terrible loss of Agape’s plane and the tragic loss of the lives of two of their pilots, there is also the loss of the cargo that was being transported to Haiti and the DR. Even though this loss is negligible in comparison, it still has an impact. Unfortunately, RMI’s two missionaries in the DR, the Tluecks and the Starkys, were scheduled to receive significant deliveries that day. Tessa Andrews in Les Cayes also lost some cargo.

When I asked our missionaries and office to total up the cost to replace what was lost, the total cost came to $13,500. There were over 800 lbs. of RMI cargo on the plane between the 2 DR families. The Tluceks arrived in the DR on Dec 30th. They lost 80% of their wardrobe and shoes for the next year, including for themselves and their 3 boys, and are left with only the items they had in their suitcases. Many kitchen items and equipment for establishing their new home and ministry were lost. The Starkys lost many of their Christmas gifts for them and their kids, as well as many items and some outdoor furniture they had ordered for moving into a new house they just rented. These are just a few examples of the items that were lost. Most of these things had been purchased with personal funds.

RMI has set up a fund if you would like to help these families replace what was lost. This is a real need for them, as these were essential to helping them establish their families and homes in their new mission field.

If you would like to help, please designate your check or donation to “Lost Cargo.” The funds will be forwarded to the families to help them replace what they lost. This amount also includes shipping and customs costs.

Www.rmibridge.org

Thank you for your prayers for our dear friends at Agape Flights and all those they serve. Thank you for praying for our missionaries who have been impacted in so many ways by this tragedy. Thank you for considering a gift to encourage them as they seek to replace the items lost in this tragedy.

Partnering together to see lives transformed in Christ,

Daniel Shoemaker
President

28/01/2026

An Update from Cote de Fer
Partner's Update January 2026
Changing Lives through Church Partnerships- RMI - Mobilizing Global Partnerships

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipM1-LJkdkSfFn8FMiqxmQx7ahEgT4eyqYFkseNmLlwd5G4s4lrupBxKSoSORKtHMA?key=N3Fkdk1TRmx6S2dic3ZzMFVHWGdrSGtob1lKWExB

Greetings to our brothers and sisters, friends of Cote de Fer, and Hope for Kidz sponsors. I greet you in the precious name of Jesus our Lord and Savior. It is a great pleasure for us to update you about your sister church and we thank God for that opportunity. Cote de Fer Church, Pastor Wilson Elibrun, his family and the deacons sent greetings to you. As we are in the beginning of the new year pastor Elibrun Wilson says it is very important for him to wish to you all the best wishes for 2026. The church in Côte de Fer is doing very well by the grace of God. We are at the beginning of 2026, a year that doesn't inspire much peace around the world. But we know that man's thinking is completely different from God's. That's why we encourage you not to be troubled by the current world situation because God has His say and it will be different from what men have planned.

We do not have enough words to express our gratitude towards you for your supports. Please know that our hearts and prayers are directed towards McGregor Church. We hope God will pour His blessings over both churches McGregor Church and Cote de Fer Church and may our churches continue to shine in the darkness of this world.

This week, we had the opportunity to meet pastor Elibrun Wilson and he did seize the opportunity to send a short video to McGregor Church.

May God bless you
RMI Haiti Team

01/11/2025

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. Villages and towns are underwater. Landslides and debris of all kinds block the mountain roads, often taking the roadway with them. Many roads in the coastal areas have been washed away by the tidal surge or flooding rivers. All of this makes our Haitian brothers and sisters' desperate situations even more hopeless.
We are receiving pictures and videos of the devastation from many sources. See below to view some of the devastation. More photos will be added as they become available.
Pastors have shared that they opened the doors of their churches and schools to families whose homes were destroyed by the wind or had been forced out of their homes by flooding or the tidal surge. Most of our sister churches were affected by the hurricane in some way, especially all those near the coast.
I know that with the end of the year approaching, you will receive numerous appeals, including those from RMI. However, this was one we did not anticipate having to send this year. Unfortunately, the need is urgent, and we wanted to inform you of how you can help.
Due to these conditions, there will be an ACUTE and URGENT food need. Their crops are gone, their supplies and homes are damaged or gone. With many roads being washed away, people will have no way to obtain food. Food will be the most urgent need our churches and their communities will have for the next several months.
You can help your hurting brothers and sisters by sponsoring a Family Food Kit for $225. It includes:
* 1 55lb bag of rice, 1 gallon of cooking oil, and 1 13 lb bag of red beans.
This food kit is sufficient to feed a family for about a month, helping them get through these tough times. (This will be bought locally as it is very difficult and expensive to get a container of food into Haiti at this time.)
For those who lost part of or all of their roof, a Roof Repair Kit for $500 consists of:
* 35 sheets of tin and 15 pounds of tin sheet nails
You can either give toward the Haiti Hurricane Fund: “where needed most”, toward Family Food Kits, or Roof Repair Kits. If you don’t designate it for a specific church, we will use it where the need is greatest. Unfortunately, we are not able to take designations for specific families. We will work with your Sister Church to ensure that these reach those who need them most in their churches and communities.
Make a difference in the lives of these devastated families. Provide one or more Family Food kits and/or a Roof Repair kit today. https://rmibridge.org/donate/

31/10/2025

Hurricane Melissa Update and damage report for our sister Church in Cote de Fee Haiti
Enclosed is the most recent information concerning the aftermath of damage caused by Hurricane Melissa from RMI.

Our sister Church and city school are located on the coast line and next to the Cote de Fer river. Prelimary reports from our pastor there is that the entire city was under water due to the storm surge and river overflowing from the tremendous amount of rain received during the Hurricane.

The five of us from the MBC Haiti team just returned from visiting our Churches and schools in Cote de Fer and Labisch, October 1-6th,just prior to the Hurricane, where we observed the tremendous growth of the school (from 300 to 600 students) and significant progress in building a new parsonage and the installation of new solar system that provides electricity to the church and school.

Please pray for all our brothers, sisters and KIDZ. If you are able, please consider purchasing food for our Cote de Fer Church and have faith that Pasort Wuilson will portion out the food supplies to the most needy families in his care which will include many of our sponsored KIDZ. Instructions for donations are included in the attached message from RMI.

Please pray for all our brithers, sisters & Kidz in Haiti for their safety, health and God's blessing for their recovery from the hurricane damage to their homes and lives.

God Bless all our sponsors for their financial support!

29/10/2025

Games w the children at Cote de Fer church

29/10/2025

26/10/2025

Haiti Mission trip summary October 1-7, 2025
Dear Hope for Kidz Sponsor,

Last week, the McGregor Haiti team (see photo, Jeff & Shelly Eskridge who were the team leaders, Julie Fuller and Kai and Bob) traveled to Cote de Fer to visit our sister churches and schools in Cote de Fer, Haiti.

We left Wednesday evening, October 1st, stayed overnight in Miami and departed on an early flight to Cap Haitien, Haiti where we boarded another flight to Les Cayes, Haiti (RMI Headquarters) where we were met by RMI staff members for vehicle transportation to our overnight accommodations at the Zanglais retreat center (about 2 hours from Les Cayes and 1 ½ hours from Cote de Fer). We drove to Cote de Fer on Friday morning to the school where we were able to serve hot lunches to the students at the Cote de Fer city school. (We have videos to share later)

This school has grown from 300 to 600 students in the last 3-4 years presenting major problems. While three new classrooms have been added in the last two years, six more classrooms are needed. Potable water supplies and toilet facilities are severely strained by the increased enrollment.

While not all the students were in school on Friday (School officially started on Monday, October 6th), we were able to take 50 photos of sponsored children. We will be sending individual emails with their child’s photo to the sponsors in the next week. If you did not receive a photo of your sponsored child, please do not be concerned as we arrived late in the morning during school and many of the classes had already eaten their lunch and had left. We were able to take more photos on Sunday afternoon.

Friday afternoon after lunch (15 church ladies prepare over open fires), we distributed 100 food boxes to designated sponsored kidz and their families and to the church pastor to give to needy families in the congregation. 5 goats were presented to children by their sponsors.

While we had two Haitian police officers with us 24/7, we left Cote de Fer each day at 4 PM to drive back to Zanglais and arrive before darkness for safety considerations. RMI is extremely safety conscious and while we did not have any issues or observe violence, our safety is always their number one concern for us. The longtime cook at Zanglais prepares a variety of Haitian food for us each night.

On Saturday morning we drove back to Cote de Fer to pick up Pastor Wuilson (City Church Pastor and supervising pastor for all the mountain church pastors) to drive up the mountain to the Labiche church and school. We were greeted by the pastor & his wife, church members and most of the school children, where they conducted a church service and we took more photos of sponsored kidz.

Saturday afternoon we distributed more food boxes, held a ladies tea (songs, devotionals and games) for the church women’s ministry and greeted and took more photos of children.

On Sunday morning we attended a 2 ½ hour church service where Jeff Eskridge provided a sermon about Queen Sheba visiting King Solomon (but not the King of Kings). In the afternoon we conducted a gathering of over 200 school children in the sanctuary with songs, dances, skits (good Samaritan) games and gave American candy. This was our last day and we always conclude our visit with a prayer circle and hugs and kisses (the older Haitian ladies love to kiss us, but we always remember to turn our cheeks) . Our departure is emotional with promises to return soon. All of our team members have been to Haiti before and will miss our friendships with both the church members, children and the RMI staff.

While we have many stories and experiences to share, one stands out. The word HOPE in the Hope for kidz program comes forth in this story. Attached is a photo of Kia and her sponsored child and two of her friends who attend the city school. Through interpreters (Kia can also speak a lot of Creole) we are able to greet and visit in detail with a lot of the children. During the pictured conversation, we asked each of the three children “what they wanted to be when they grow up?”. They answered a dentist, a nurse and a doctor! WOW! This is an example of the HOPE that your sponsorship can provide to the children of Haiti. Only 50% of the children in Haiti get to attend school and 80% of them attend private schools (like ours) where tuition is required. Only through sponsorships like yours can children like these have HOPE TO ACHIEVE THEIR DREAMS AND AMBITIONS.

On Monday morning, we drove to Les Cayes, toured the RMI offices, staff and supply depot, attended a morning devotional and left for the airport for our flight to Cap Haitien where we will stay overnight to depart to Miami Tuesday morning for our drive back to Ft Myers.

Thank you all for your prayers for our trip which consisted of 5 legs of travel both to and from Cote de Fer. Other than a one-hour delay in the Cap Haitian flight to Les Cayes, our travel plans went as scheduled as God blessed us and was watching over us.

We were able to take many photos and videos during our trip. One of the RMI staff was assigned the duty to record videos and photos. We will make many of these available to you later when they can be edited, organized and posted for easy access.

Sponsors, thank you again for the many blessings you provide to the children and their families in Cort de Fer. God willing, we plan to return each year to our brothers, sisters and kidz in our sister church in Cote de Fer, Haiti.

Bondye beni ou!

--
Kai Shanks & Bob Davis

McGregor Hope For Kidz Co-Coordinators

17/09/2025

The McGregor Haiti team continues their preparation to travel to our sister Church in Cotes de Fer, Haiti, leaving Wednesday, October 1st. See attached photo of the team. (L to R, Bob Davis, Kai Shanks, Julie Fuller, Shelly Eskridge, Jeff Eskridge-Leader) All of us have been to Haiti before and look forward to visiting again, sharing the Gospel and fellowshipping with our brothers, sisters and sponsored Kidz.

This trip will be shorter than the previous trips by a couple of days, but we will be able to visit both the Cotes de Fer city Church and school and the Labiche Church and school in the mountains of Haiti. School begins October 1st in Haiti and our "hot lunch" program will again be provided to the students every school day. This meal is one of the provisions that your sponsorship provides to sponsored children. Shortly after school begins in the fall, RMI provides tape worm medication to all the school children. Because the public water wells provide poor water conditions, many children develop tape worms which cause severe malnutrition. The worm medication and the daily "hot lunches" really improves their health when they return to school.

When we visit both schools, we will be taking photos of sponsored children and when we return, will share individual photos with the child's sponsor with any messages the child may have for their sponsor. This is such a blessing for both the child and sponsor, as evidence that your financial support is being directed where promised by us and by RMI. McGregor has provided funds to distribute 100 food boxes (each box provides 216 individual meals) and an individual sponsor has donated $1,300 for the purchase of additional food boxes for Church Pastors to distribute to needy families in their care. We will get to see, for the first time, the new solar system/batteries recently installed at the Cotes de Fer city Church. Previous accumulated donations and funds from the McGregor Ends of the Earth committee (over $25,000) were provided to purchase and install this new system. Previously, all electricity was provided by gasoline/diesel generators.

The following is more information about what is happening in Haiti from Dan Shoemaker, RMI President:

"Hope is growing that there will be a direct flight from Miami, FL to Cayes, Haiti where our Haiti office is located. This flight would allow us to bypass all of the gang-related insecurity, as well as some of the increased logistical challenges related to 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 (see attached photo). IBC may be the first commercial airline to offer this direct route. Keep praying with us!

14/11/2024

-- Fall Food Fundraiser - We Have Food Available!

We do have food available! Despite the gangs’ stranglehold on Port-au-Prince, we have found a way to get our containers of food to our depot in Cayes. This involves shipping them on a barge to a closer port and trucking them the rest of the way. It increases our costs quite a bit, but it gets the food to us. We’ve supplied the Hot Lunch Program with the food it needs and have food available for our fall food fundraiser.

Haiti’s food crisis is worse than it has ever been. Your brothers and sisters need your help! Please consider how you, your family, and your church can be involved.

Monthly Update from RMI

31/10/2024

Mobilizing Global Partnerships to Transform lives in Christ

To our dear friends of McGregor Baptist Church, I greet you in the name of Jesus our Savior and Lord. It is a pleasure for me to inform you about your sister church in Haiti which is Cote de Fer Church.

Last week a team From RMI was at Cote de Fer for Hope For Kids program. During this visit we took the students pictures. We also had meeting with the parents and the school board. It was a great time! Students, parents and the school leaders were very excited to work with us.

Video Link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/eA73zUqYMGUaFE1G6

May God bless you all at McGregor Baptist Church.

12 new items added to shared album

05/09/2024

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith... Galatians 6:10

-- Introducing the Ezra Institute

The Ezra Institute School of Leadership is RMI’s newest initiative. We have been committed to child education for years through our Hope for Kidz Child Sponsorship Program. The Ezra Institute is aimed at high school graduates who have demonstrated leadership potential and been vetted by their spiritual leadership. The goal is to equip and empower students to lead in their church, workplace, and community through a Biblical worldview.
The Ezra Institute desires for students to Learn It, Live It, and Lead It (Ezra 7:10). First (Learn It), they will get a relevant and quality education that elevates their walk with Christ, leadership skills, and vocational skills. Secondly (Live It), students will be mentored by mature local leaders. This will provide the opportunity to practice what they are learning as they engage with their local communities. Finally (Lead It), after completing the program, students will be equipped to be godly disciple-makers, trained leaders, and skilled employees. The Ezra Institute’s foundational curriculum emphasizes multiplying and empowering others through Christ to bring transformative change.

Ezra will be located at RMI’s headquarters in Cayes, Haiti. During the 2-year course, students will participate in courses such as The Person of Christ, early church history, New Testament Survey, and Old Testament Survey to help them develop Biblical Christ-centered living.

Students will also take courses such as Biblical Leadership, Leading like Christ, Biblical Ethics, and Modern Leadership from a Christian Worldview to help them become impactful leaders of integrity.

Lastly, students will learn vocational skills from courses such as Administration, Management, Business, Ethics, English, Computing, and many others.

We are very excited about the opening of the Ezra Institute. RMI’s Director of Adult Education, Dr. Andrew Tlucek, will be the chief “driver” of the Institute. God has been preparing him for many years for this and he’s eagerly anticipating the start of the school year.

The Ezra Institute will be funded by generous donations from individuals and churches alike! If you would like to be a part of this incredible opportunity to develop Biblical leaders who will impact Haitian society, please join us in this endeavor. There are several ways to do so through

​​We need your prayerful support!

If you feel God is leading you to help with funding the preparation of Haiti’s next generation of leaders and the Ezra Institute, you can do so at www.RMIbridge.org/donate. Feel free to share the Ezra Institute’s new video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdtvwmlZPZY.

Posted By Debbie Shoemaker on Aug 05, 2024 10:26 am

https://www.rmibridge.org/donate.html

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