Each year we wish we could say “Nothing happened this year, so we’ll just say Merry Christmas”.  But this is not the year! It’s a good thing we only have to re-cap 1 year at a time because life has handed us quite a bit this year.

We ended last year with Debbie finally able to get home from South Carolina. (Remember she had to have her left big toe amputated while she was there visiting family.) A few days after Christmas we noticed that the incision on her toe was not looking good. After 18 hours in the ER waiting room, she was hospitalized. Testing showed a staff infection in her first metatarsal, the bone under the toe that was amputated. This meant that most of the bone had to be amputated and she had to have 6 weeks of IV antibiotics. This was 3 times a day for 6 weeks, no days off!  Her incisions healed around March. Shortly after this, she experienced significant pain in her abdomen. A CAT scan showed diverticulosis.  This meant more follow-up and medication. A few weeks later her knees swelled up so bad that she couldn’t bend them nor bear weight on them. Another hospitalization, with fluid being drained, but no answers as to the cause. She is still dealing with pain in her knees, but she hopes she is done with hospitals and her growing list of specialists for a while.

Dan had his work cut out as a caregiver. His parents lived with us through mid-January (due to the ongoing repairs at their house after Hurricane Ian). They were relieved when they were able to move back home, even if issues with the repairs continued for several months. At the same time, Debbie’s two hospitalizations and other health issues meant she needed care as well. After all this, in the spring, he developed shingles and the doctor asked him if he was under any stress. (Ha Ha!) After he heard all that had been going on, he smiled sympathetically, patted him on the back, and handed him prescriptions for medication and a cream. We are praising God the meds took care of most of the symptoms.

Andrew and Dawn came back up from Haiti when she reached 6 months to wait for the birth of the baby.  Andrew’s parents came for the birth too - it was a crowded house again, but for a happier reason. When Dawn’s blood pressure went up, the doctors decided to induce her...but it turned out that the baby was very happy where he was.

 No amount of coaxing enticed the baby to come. She spent 4 days in the hospital until the baby finally made his appearance on June 15, complete with the cord wrapped around his neck. The midwife quickly unwrapped it and no damage was done. He’s a good healthy baby.

His name? Layton Lee Tlucek...the middle name is a family name. Both grandfathers’ middle name is Lee and 2 of his great-uncles also have Lee as their middle name. They stayed until Layton got his birth certificate, passport, and first and second set of shots before they went home to Haiti in October. They are enjoying being home, finding the rhythm of their new “normal” and diving back into ministry.

Devon and his family still live in the Ft. Lauderdale area and he continues in his construction project supervisor job. Kristen is now teaching 20 5th graders at the Christian school where the girls attend. 

Riley is still excelling at gymnastics. In fact, in the winter she took first place in all 4 events for her age group at the state championships. Everly is 5 and excels at being sweet and smiling. She has started gymnastics too.

As president of RMI, Dan spends a lot of time on Zoom calls, which has become an accepted way of communicating and doing business these days. He has also traveled to several churches and meetings within Florida. Both Dan and Debbie spent a week in Chicago with a supporting church during their missions conference. The RMI Board met twice this year. He has also been active in the local Haitian American Chamber of Commerce, our local Home Owners’ Association, and the Southwest Florida Community Foundation (a local group of foundations and non-profits) and is on their non-profit advisory board. 

After Thanksgiving Dan spent a week in Haiti (thanks to a domestic airline, he can fly over the problems in the capital and fly straight to Cayes) to visit with the staff and missionaries. He met with the Haiti administration, various staff members, and missionaries as well as had informal fun times with them. The staff needed that encouragement and needed to know that the US administration had not forgotten them. Life is just getting tougher and tougher in Haiti, yet the staff carry on the best they can without complaint. We are blessed to have them!

Well...that’s been our year! We appreciate you all for your love, prayers, support, and involvement in our lives!

With love,  

Dan and Debbie Shoemaker

2022 Milestones

 This year will be remembered as one of milestones, disasters, and being there for family.  But where to start?  

Milestones:  Both Dan and I turned 65 this year.  Yes, it’s just a number.  We feel like we’re 45, but someone forgot to tell our bodies.  Our doctors went from primary, dentist, and eyes to a complex collection that covers the parts of your body...heart, feet, intestines, shoulders, and hands as well as by conditions...arthritis, neuropathy, restless leg syndrome, diverticulitis, etc.  You get the idea.  We didn’t feel so old until the day we got our AARP (and supplemental) card.  We are now in the very confusing world of Medicare, “donut holes” and much more.  We’re thankful for a knowledgeable advisor who has helped us navigate everything.

Another significant milestone was Dan receiving his Masters in Organizational Leadership from Columbia International University.  We went to his graduation and he walked across the same stage where he received his bachelor’s degree 42 years ago.  The coursework was bundled into an intense year-long study.  It was difficult on everyone since he had to keep up with his assignments no matter what else was going on (illness, Dawn’s wedding last year, vacation, responsibilities at RMI, trips to Haiti, etc.).  He persevered though and graduated with high honors.  Several professors even suggested he should go on to get his doctorate.

Trips, conferences, and meetings:  Dan did most of the traveling this year.  He was able to go to Haiti twice.  It’s always good to physically be there to keep in touch with the staff and see and experience what is going on in the ministry.  It’s an encouragement to him as well as the staff to have him there in person.

In the US, he was able to be a part of several mission conferences where he represented RMI.  The most exciting conference was in Virginia at the National African American Missions Council (NAAMC).  Their website states, “NAAMC is recognized globally as a trailblazer in the world of missions and sets the standard for excellence in mobilizing African Americans and People of Color”.  Dan was able to have some significant input in one particular session that he attended.  It’s exciting to be a part of recruiting African-American missionaries.

Life is always full of meetings, sometimes held in person and sometimes via Zoom.  RMI Board meetings, RMI administration meetings, weekly Zoom calls with Benjamin and Benson, our leaders in Haiti, Zoom calls with RMI’s missionaries, and many more.  Dan keeps busy with them all!

Being there for family:  The adage “You marry one, you marry them all” really came to life for us this year.

We started the year by being called to South Carolina to help Deb’s family deal with an emergency.   We were happy to be there for them.  Then in May, after Dan’s graduation, we stayed in South Carolina to spend some time with Deb’s family for her mom’s birthday and Mother’s Day.

In the summer we took Dan’s parents with us to Miami where we attended Dan’s nephew’s wedding.  It was a nice time to spend with family (Devon was able to be there too) and to see them happily married. 

At the end of the summer, Andrew and Dawn finished their home assignment and returned to our house to pack and get ready to return to Haiti. However, that was the time that civil unrest in the country increased, preventing them from going.  We enjoyed having them live with us for a while.

Disasters:  This is where our lives got really complicated.  It is also intertwined with being there for family.

On September 18 Deb flew to South Carolina to be with her sisters for their annual get-together.  The youngest sister, Carrie, was having a milestone birthday and they went to Chattanooga for a week to celebrate...had a great time.  They were able to have time to shop as well as laid-back visiting time in their Airbnb cabin on Lookout Mountain.

Dan was in Greenville, South Carolina taking care of Deb’s mom so the sisters could be gone.  [Andrew and Dawn were taking care of the animals at home.]  However, when he saw that a major hurricane was heading toward Ft. Myers, 
he left a couple of days early, rushed home to board up our home, and helped his parents shutter their home.  Andrew and Dawn were a huge help at both houses and Devon came over from Ft. Lauderdale to help at his grandparents’ house.  Getting ready for that kind of hurricane is an enormous job and we were very grateful for their help!

Sept. 28 Hurricane Ian blasted ashore as a high Cat 4, on Sanibel and Ft. Myers Beach, essentially wiping them out.  It continued through our county and all the way through Florida.  It was a devastating hurricane.  It’ll be years before things are back to some semblance of normal.  Our home is about 20 miles inland and only experienced 100-110 mph winds.  We had tree and foliage damage, but the roof and boarded windows held.  We didn’t experience any damage to the house.  However, Dan’s parents’ home had storm surge inside their home.  The river at the end of their street was pushed by the winds right up the street and into the house.  It was “only” 4-6 inches, but everything was soaked and the damage was done.  Dan, Andrew, Dawn, and Devon from Ft. Lauderdale, went to their house the next day to start the process of pulling ruined furniture, rugs, etc. out and tearing the sheetrock out of the house, 2 ft. and under.  Devon was able to get a disaster recovery and mold remediation company from Ft. Lauderdale to come over to “work their magic” on the house.  In that process, they found old black mold, meaning more tear-out had to be done.

Devon was an indispensable help in spearheading the rebuilding (construction is his business).  Dan has worked tirelessly with the insurance companies.  Andrew and Dawn also worked very hard at the house, salvaging what they could and itemizing the contents of the house for insurance.  Dan found a contractor that could take the job right away.  Electricians, plumbers, painters, and others have been contracted for the rebuild.  Recovery will be a long road.  Dan’s parents have been living with us since then.  Our house has never seen so many people living there at one time.  

In the meantime, a disaster of a different kind...  Debbie was initially stuck in Greenville due to the hurricane and the closure of the airport.  However, at the same time, a burst blister on her left foot became infected with a rare, antibiotic-resistant bacteria.  It migrated to her big toe and infected the bones of the toe.  She was hospitalized twice in Greenville.  God directed her to a fantastic surgical podiatrist who worked very hard on her case.  Unfortunately, it became clear that to prevent the infection from going into her blood and to cure it, the toe had to be amputated.  

Debbie decided to stay in Greenville and follow things through with the doctor there since hospitals in Ft. Myers were closed down.  She stayed with her sister, Carrie, and brother-in-law, Randy, in their home.  [A huge thanks to them for being there for us and extending extraordinary hospitality during this time!]  It was a good workable situation where she could stay on the main floor.  Knowing that Deb was in good hands allowed Dan to focus on the issues facing him in Ft. Myers and at his parents’ house in Naples.

In October, Dan took a few days and flew up to surprise Deb.  He was there for her surgery and for when she was released from the hospital.  Andrew and Dawn came for a brief visit, too.  We had a nice birthday dinner for Dawn and introduced Andrew to Deb’s side of the family.  They all agreed that he was a great fit with the family and was a man their dad would have really liked.

Deb still has an open wound on the ball of her foot and her doctor was reluctant to allow her to return until it is closed up.  Thankfully, though, she found a doctor in Ft. Myers to transfer Deb’s case to, opening the door for her to go home.  It turns out that it’s the same doctor who did both of her Achilles operations a couple of years ago.  Already being an established patient has sped up the transfer process.  She has her first Ft. Myers doctor appointment on Dec. 13.  The home health care that she had been receiving in SC has an office in Ft. Myers, so transferring her care won’t be difficult either.   There have been so many God-orchestrated details about all of this!  We are grateful for His grace and loving care.   Thank you to those who prayed for her!!

More being there for family:  

Andrew, Dawn, and ?!...They had a fruitful home assignment.  They spent time in the Pacific Northwest visiting supporters and speaking in several churches; their Idaho stop was spent visiting supporters and Andrew’s family as well as some vacation and good fishing; their time in Chicago was spent renewing friendships, visiting supporters and speaking at Village Church; and finally, they’ve been able to spend time with supporters in Florida. 

Unfortunately, their time in Florida was interrupted by 2 hurricanes!  The unrest in Haiti has meant that they haven’t been able to return home yet, but they’ve put the extra time to good use.  They’ve had several day-long meetings with RMI leadership to plan their future assignments on the field.  Those talks were very profitable and encouraging. 

 AND they’ve just announced that they are pregnant!!!  This is how they told us.  The due date is June 20, 2023.  They returned to Haiti the first week of December.

Devon, Kristen, Riley, and Everly... Devon is doing quite well in his job as project supervisor for the construction company he works for.  He is increasingly being entrusted with larger jobs.  Kristen is now teaching at the same Christian school where the girls attend.  A room of 20-30 first graders (mostly boys) is a challenge, but she is handling it well.  Riley, 7 in January, is still an award-winning gymnast and loving it.  She is a little dynamo!  Everly, 4, is now taking ballet and tap dance.  She concentrates very hard as she imitates the teacher and learns the steps.  We try to get to Ft. Lauderdale as often as possible to see them  - but it is never enough!

We do appreciate your prayers for our family and our ministry!!

With love,  

Dan and Debbie Shoemaker

2021 - That was the Year That...

...Dawn got married.  She got engaged to Andrew Tlucek (pronounced “tuh-loo-check”) when he visited her in Haiti (in February).  What she didn’t know at the time was that he made an overnight stop in Ft. Myers to ask us for her hand in marriage.  

She began planning her Idaho (where Andrew is from) wedding from Haiti, including us here in Ft. Myers.  She did a great job of keeping it all straight.  She stopped here for a while before she continued to Idaho for the wedding.  Andrew joined her here - once she was stateside, he wanted to be with her!  It was a whirlwind time of dress fittings in Tampa and buying silk flowers from a Tampa silk flower warehouse.  (Talk about overwhelming!  So. Many. Flowers!)  Pre-marital counseling and so many other details were taken care of.

Andrew formally joined RMI and went through RMI missionary orientation during that time as well.  What an extraordinary blessing to have them working together with us in Haiti!

The wedding in Idaho on July 26 was the highlight of the year for us.  We got there 10 days before time to help with putting those flowers into arrangements and many, many other last-minute details (like how to have an outdoor wedding in an unprecedented 100o heatwave) and errands.  Getting to know Andrew’s large family was a definite plus.  Devon and my youngest sister, Carrie, were there too.  In addition, there was a contingent of current and former missionaries and people from RMI Sister Churches.  The wedding and reception turned out beautiful and we had a great time.  We now have 2 sons!

After their honeymoon, they started right into deputation, visiting Dawn’s supporters and churches from Seattle to Chicago, Tampa, and Ft. Myers.  Good thing Andrew is a missionary kid and used to that kind of lifestyle. 

We hosted a Florida reception for Andrew and Dawn in August.  Dawn’s friends, family, supporters, and missionary colleagues from all over the South were able to get together to celebrate them since none of them could make it to Idaho (Idaho IS a long way from Florida!).  They shared their unique love story as well as information on their ministry.  Dawn will continue in her ministry as she was before.  Andrew will be working in various capacities with the Haitian staff in addition to finishing his doctoral thesis in special education (Liberty University).

In September they continued to mix visiting supporters (sometimes via Zoom), with doctor visits, purchasing, and packing.  God provided for their needs [they had to raise additional support due to going back to the field as a married couple] and they returned to Haiti on October 13.  They have been happy to finally establish their household (as opposed to living out of a suitcase!) and get into ministry.  It’s a challenging time due to the political instability in the capital, making getting supplies and fuel difficult.  They are living in Cayes, which is 100+ miles away from the issues.  They are safe, but still take precautions and follow the advice of their field leaders.  Unfortunately, RMI has had to cancel receiving teams until the end of March...necessitating some adjustments to their ministry, but they are staying very busy and excited to be a part of what God is doing there.

...we were able to visit family in South Carolina a couple of times.  We are thankful that one sister (Carrie) has a nice guestroom situation and lets us stay as long as we want/need to.  It’s fun being together.  Since we live so far apart, we cram as much visiting and fun (shopping!) in as possible.  Our mom is 83.  Brandi lives with her and is her caretaker.  She is very grateful that she can live at home at this stage in her life.  She has quite a few health issues but is doing ok overall.  

Dan’s parents are still living in Naples and despite some health challenges are doing well.  We usually have lunch with them on Sunday afternoons.

...Devon and Kristen kept on living life in Ft. Lauderdale.  Devon is excelling at his job as a project manager at a high-end home-building company in the area.  His job takes him to homes they are building for interesting clientele (the star of the Rambo and Rocky movies) and $50 million dollar homes for billionaires.  (“Dad, I installed a 200” TV in a home today!”)  Most of the homes are on the ocean.  But one was on the other side of the road so they had to build a tunnel under the road for the client to get to his guesthouse and to the beach.  Part of his job is acting as property manager for customers.  We sometimes get phone calls from him while he’s driving a client’s Ferrari.  He has to drive the client’s 5 cars every other week to keep them in shape. His most important job, though, is being a great dad to his 2 girls.  Here he is face painting the girls for a special occasion.  He looks things like that up on YouTube and just does them!  It’s awesome.

Kristen works part-time at Starbucks and full-time as Riley and Everly’s mom.  She is creative and includes the girls in her many fun activities.  We really admire her dedication to them and how she keeps the household going.  She’s studying to get her teaching certificate so she can be a teacher at the Christian school where the girls attend.  It will be a huge help to them.

Riley turned 5 in January and Everly turned 3 in October.  Riley continues to enjoy gymnastics.   We were able to attend one of her meets and were amazed at her skill level.  She takes it very seriously.  In December, she and her team went to the state championship meet where she took 6th in state overall for her age level and 3rd in bars!  

...Debbie did NOT have any surgeries on her feet, or anywhere else for that matter.  She still has balance issues due to the various conditions she has with her feet and legs.  This was also the year that she lost a significant amount of weight, resulting in an updated wardrobe!

...Dan did NOT have any heart issues or lasting effects from his heart attack last year.  In addition to his duties as president of RMI, he also started an online Master’s in Organizational Leadership (from our alma mater, Columbia International University).  He’s done quite well in the courses (two professors have told him that he should go on to get his doctorate!) and feels that it will enhance his leadership of RMI.  He finishes in March of 2022.  

...We decided to bite the bullet and renovate the hall bathroom (it was long overdue!).  And like many renovations, it crept into the kitchen (countertops and paint).  It was a process that tested our patience, especially when we had to do dishes in the shower.  Thankfully that situation was short-lived and the results were phenomenal!  Things like this always leave one wondering why we didn’t do it sooner.

...A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit southern Haiti on August 14 - stronger than the 2010 Port-au-Prince quake.  The epicenter was 10 miles from RMI’s headquarters in Cayes.  It was a shock to see such destruction right where we used to live and RMI still ministers.  Thousands of homes, businesses, churches, schools, factories, and much more were heavily damaged or destroyed.    Over 2200 lives were lost. 

Our staff were safe and our depot, conference room, and office survived (the office will need some major repairs), but the Zanglais Ministry Center was heavily damaged and will need to be torn down and rebuilt.  RMI became the center for receiving and dispersing the enormous amount of physical aid that arrived - we ended up partnering with 29+ organizations (Samaritan’s Purse, Doctors without 

Borders, local civic officials, and other ministries).  The days and weeks after August 14 were long and tough, but our staff worked tirelessly to get as much relief aid to as many people as possible.  Our missionaries were out of the country on furlough but were relieved to hear that their homes didn’t suffer any damage.  

Every one of our Sister Churches suffered major damage.  Many schools were flattened completely.  It was God’s grace that it happened on a Saturday morning when most people were gone to the market or were outside, schools weren’t in session and church services weren’t taking place.  This kept the loss of life down.  It will take years to rebuild.  Pray for southern Haiti as they try to recover and for RMI as we respond to the great need there.

Pray for us as we serve the Lord this coming year.  Only the Lord knows what is in store for us in 2022.  We’re sure there’ll be more challenges that we know nothing about yet.  But we’re also sure that God is in control and will carry us through.

With love,  

Dan and Debbie Shoemaker