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 

2020, the year that wasn't

Yes, you didn’t get a Christmas letter from us, however, you are now getting a spring letter.  We have called the year 2020, “the year that wasn’t”, but when we look back, we realized that there were things that did happen in our family and ministry. Thus, here is a little review of “the year that wasn’t”.

Like many companies, RMI’s staff began working from home in mid-March.  Dan and I continued our ministry model of working hand-in-hand.  We’ve worked together our entire marriage and this time of staying at home has been no different.  We took our computers home, set them up in our home office, and carried on with our jobs with RMI.  We really didn’t have a hard adjustment to being at home together full-time.  We ate at home every meal until the state started opening, tried new recipes, and did a lot of dishes.  Ok, I admit we binge-watched a few things on Netflix, too.

Dan learned how to use Zoom, not only for conference calls but for webinars.  RMI held 8 webinars to keep our friends and supporters informed on how things were going in Haiti, with projects and our many programs.  They were well attended and folks expressed their appreciation for them.  Dan had to cancel all of his travel plans but was able to maintain contact with people via phone or Zoom.  Even RMI’s Board meetings were held via Zoom.  Also, he was our “sacrificial lamb” and did all of our grocery shopping and picking up prescriptions.

One benefit of being at home was that Dan was available to care for Debbie when she had another foot surgery in May.  This time it was on the right foot.  Her Achilles tendon was lengthened; this was done to stabilize the Charcot in that foot.  Charcot is a degenerative condition that causes the foot to collapse.  The doctor was pleased with the textbook reaction her foot had to the operation.  This procedure has released the tension on her foot and arrested the development of the condition.  The recovery time was much shorter.  One low is that these 2 surgeries (the one last October and this one) have affected her balance.  She went to many physical therapy sessions to improve her walking and to help with her balance.

On Thanksgiving Devon, Kristen and our 2 grands came over from Ft. Lauderdale, Dan’s parents were there, and a nephew and his girlfriend.  It wasn’t a large gathering but still lots of fun to see everyone.  And our Shoemaker crab feast was great!  Even little 4-year-old Riley loves to search out the meat and eat it.  

The next day, Black Friday, Dan had a mild heart attack.  All that week Dan hadn’t felt himself (but hadn’t told anyone) but on Thanksgiving, he felt a band of tightness across his chest.  He didn’t have any other symptoms.  After everyone left on Thanksgiving, he called over our neighbor who is a retired EMS. He found his blood pressure was high and after consulting with him we called 911.  They came and his EKG showed completely normal.  He didn’t have any other symptoms, so we signed a refusal to go to the hospital.  The next morning the pain had not subsided, so Dan called his cardiologist who told him to go to the ER...so we called EMS again but this time to transport him to the hospital.  Even in the ambulance, the EKG came out normal, with no issues.  The doctors in the ER told him they didn’t think it was a heart attack...until the blood work came back.  That clearly showed he had a heart attack and there was significant blockage.  Things happened fast as he was whisked into the operating room where a heart catheterization was performed and 6 stents were inserted.  One artery was 100% blocked and 2 others had significant blockage!  By the time Debbie got to see him, it was all over and he was in his room for overnight observation.  We know God had his hand in so many things - having a neighbor who was willing to help, kind EMS who didn’t mind coming out twice, and having the area’s best vascular surgeon on duty in the ER that day to care for Dan.  He was released the next day and told to take it easy for a week then resume his normal activities!  He felt a bit fatigued but other than that he’s back to his feisty, energetic self.  We feel that God spared him not only for our family but to continue leading RMI and being involved in ministry.

During our “stay-at-home” we missed family.  In June Devon and family dropped their dog, Chloe, off for her annual vacation while they had a vacation in North Carolina with Kristen’s extended family.  While there, they were exposed to COVID, so their planned weekend with us on their way home had to be scrapped.  They pulled into the driveway, waved, opened the car door for Chloe to jump in and they went right home.  That was a low point for all of us!

When things eased up a bit, we visited my family in South Carolina in the summer.  They had “honey do’s” lists for both of us.  In the fall we visited again, but for fun.  My sisters and I had our annual Sisters Weekend in the Mountains.  This year we prowled around Greenville, SC - the town where 2 of them live.  They had it all researched, organized, and mapped out.  We had fun but missed 1 sister who couldn’t come due to COVID concerns.

Devon had been working in construction (an essential business) but in the summer he was sought out by a luxury home builder (think multi-million dollar homes) and asked to be one of their project supervisors!  It’s a strong, good company and he said yes.  There’s a lot of on-the-job learning, but he’s proven himself and they really like him.  It provides him with quite a bit of room for advancement and experience.

In the fall they sold their small townhouse and were able to find a larger one in a very nice neighborhood in the location they needed.  The previous owners even left some nice furniture that they couldn’t take with them.  They moved in mid-January (2021).  Riley (4) is excelling at gymnastics so much so that the coach asked her to move up to the older, more experienced class.  She may be the shortest, but she’s a little dynamo, doing moves that her older classmates can’t yet do.  Everly gets cuter every day and is very curious.  She helped me make the pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving (yes, we had crabs and pumpkin pie!).  She still excels in smiling.  Devon and Kristen are great parents; we’re very proud of them both.

COVID dealt Dawn’s year some hard blows.  In January and February (2020), 5 teams were able to visit their Sister Churches with her accompanying 3 of them.  When COVID hit Haiti in March, the RMI administration recommended that the RMI missionaries come back to the states.  We were concerned that it would run rampant in Haiti.  [God spared the country the worst of it and those fears were not realized.]  Dawn took that recommendation just when the Haitian president closed the country down.  She was able to get out on a private plane - the only plane that left Haiti for the next 3 weeks!  She chose to quarantine with a friend’s family in the Pacific Northwest.  What was expected to be a 4 week stay turned into 4 months.  The family was so gracious and loving.  They didn’t have a problem with it; they provided Dawn with a private bath and bedroom, equipped with a desk so she could continue to work from home, communicating with teams and the field.  She was able to share RMI’s ministry with one church and a number of individuals.  She enjoyed helping with another ministry’s outreach as well.  

Due to COVID, her furlough plans changed, too.  She wasn’t able to visit her churches and supporters in Washington state.  In fact, she had to re-do her schedule based on who felt free to have her come share.  She did make it to the Chicago area as well as the Tampa and Ft. Myers areas.  We enjoyed having her here with us for the last part of the summer.  She returned to Haiti at the beginning of September.  She was so tired of traveling, she said that she wasn’t coming back until May 2021 for her furlough.  Then her dad had a heart attack and that changed.  Wanting to see him and spend a bit of time together, she came home for a quick visit over Christmas.

We’re happy to say that Dawn’s 2021 has started off much better!  On Feb. 13 she said yes to Andrew Tlucek!  The short story is that he is a Haiti missionary kid (they have a lot in common!), a man of God who is planning on returning to Haiti as a missionary, a Ph.D. student, and loves and cherishes Dawn.  They are planning a June wedding in Idaho where he is from.  We are excited to welcome Andrew into the family.

We are all thankful to have made it through 2020.  And since we are secure in our God and know that He loves us and is sovereign, we are facing 2021 with optimism and hope!

Pray for us as we serve the Lord this year and pray for Haiti.  The country continues to have many struggles.  Despite this, RMI is still on mission, doing ministry, experiencing growth and God’s blessing, and transforming lives. 

With love,    

Dan and Debbie Shoemaker

The Shoemaker Family

Christmas 2019 Greetings

One can never say that life is boring in our household.  Our yearly updates just skim the surface but we’ll do our best to fill you in.

Dan’s year has been a little like “Where’s Waldo?”.  This year he’s been to Jacksonville and Ft. Lauderdale, FL several times, Savannah, GA, Orlando, Lafayette, LA, Nebraska and Ft. Worth, TX.  There were conferences he attended and conferences he spoke at.  In addition, there were many opportunities to speak at Sister Churches, connect with people who’ve gone to Haiti and update them on the latest of what is happening there. 

He and Debbie were involved in new missionary training for a new missionary appointee as well as led pre-field training for RMI’s newest missionaries.  Jim and April Starkey (and 3 boys) were here for several days to get those final bits of info and instructions before they left for the field.  The whole RMI office pitched in together to help them in loading a container with their household goods and items for RMI ministries, as well.  (No small task in this Florida heat and humidity!)

They also hosted a large local Farewell Celebration for RMI’s former Haiti Field Leader, Rob Thompson.  It was a great time to send the Thompsons off on their next step of ministry in New Jersey.

In the spring, Dan was interviewed by a local TV station when he spoke at the opening of a Feed My Starving Children packing event held at an area church.  FMSC is our key food partner in Haiti.  They are the ones who provide the food packets for RMI’s Hot Lunch Program, which is feeding 10,000+ kids each school day this year.

Another significant event was that Dan participated in the founding of a local chapter of the Haitian American Chamber of Commerce.  It took many months, many hours of working with a core group of local Haitian businessmen and women, and some guidance from the Miami Haitian American Chamber of Commerce.  They held a public ribbon-cutting that was attended by the Ft. Myers mayor and police chief as well as other dignitaries.  He is currently Chairman of the Board, but intends to step down once they are firmly established. 

On a fun note, he took a motorcycle ride to the Florida keys with some of the RMI staff and Board members after their spring meeting.  Just he, the guys and the open road!  They had a great time!

Debbie’s year has been filled with 3 main things...
1.  Ministry with RMI.  There was the everyday work as Director of Communications (branding documents, creating new brochures and flyers, working with new appointees and missionaries on their prayer cards and newsletters and much more) as well as working with Dan in the above-mentioned missionary training.

2.  Health issues.  This year she had to have double root canals in neighboring teeth - and both were under crowns.  She tried to get it done in 1 visit, but the issues were too complicated, resulting in 2 visits.

In October she tore her left Achilles’ tendon (no accident, just walking around the house when it snapped).  October 23 she underwent surgery to repair it and was in non-weight bearing casts (read that “house arrest”!) for 7 weeks before graduating to a walking boot.  [The left was her “good” foot!  The Charcot is in her right foot.  Hopefully having to put all her weight on that foot for these weeks hasn’t harmed it too much.]  She’s now in the midst of what promises to be weeks of physical therapy. 

We are very thankful that RMI helped us out with in-home care for Debbie by re-assigning Dawn to here in Ft. Myers.  She came in during the first week of November and will return home right after Christmas.  Haiti’s unsettled political situation resulted in RMI having to cancel the rest of the year’s teams.  Since Dawn was able to do a good portion of her ministry online and via phone, this was the perfect time for her to come help out.  This freed Dan up to return to the office as well as make 3 significant ministry trips of 5 days each. 

She was the perfect in-home caregiver and when Dan got stuck in Nebraska in a blizzard right before Thanksgiving, she ended up being in charge of hosting our family Thanksgiving for 17 people (Dan made it home late the night before!).  We had a typical Shoemaker Thanksgiving with a meal of blue claw crabs.  Yum!!

3.  Family.  For the first time, Debbie’s sisters’ weekend took place in the summer and included all the “girl cousins”.  Since one cousin couldn’t come, it ended up being Dawn and Rachel (Debbie’s niece).  The sisters stayed in an Airbnb and the cousins stayed at Rachel’s house since the “event” was taking place in Chattanooga, TN where she lives.  What was once “a day in the mountains” turned into 5 days in the mountains.  We had fun prowling quaint shops and thrift stores, experiencing some great food and spending time together away from the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives.  Since Dawn was on furlough we took advantage of being in the neighborhood and visited her grandmother as well whom she hadn’t seen in several years.  We all had a wonderful time together.

After Thanksgiving, we had “First Christmas” early in December with Devon and his family.  They couldn’t get off work near the 25th, so they came back and stayed for a couple of days.  We filled the days and nights with fun things plus a Christmas morning.  We’ll have “Second Christmas” with Dan’s family later in the month.

Devon and Kristen have their hands full with their 2 little ones.  Riley turns 4 in January.  She excels in gymnastics and has just started soccer. She started Pre-K in the fall.   Her social schedule is becoming quite busy.  Everly just turned 1.  She is toddling all over the place and she excels in smiling!  We were able to attend her dedication in March.    Kristen continues to work at Starbucks and does a great job being a mommy.  Devon is honing his skills as a high-end re-modeler, cabinet installer and finish carpentry.  He enjoys working with his hands, so it’s perfect for him.  He also enjoys mountain biking.  Florida may be flat but he actually finds some tough courses to challenge him. 

Dawn was on furlough from June to August.  She visited almost all her supporters and spoke at all her supporting churches.  This meant that she made multiple trips to Tampa, then took a long trip to Chicago and 2 areas in Seattle, WA.  She had every coffee, lunch and supper time scheduled - she really worked hard at touching base with everyone.  And somewhere in there, she managed to get a week’s vacation with a friend. 

She enjoys her ministry in Haiti quite a bit.  She goes out with teams, goes with the RMI staff to document projects and ministry happenings and works in the RMI office where she arranges teams’ travel and corresponds with them about their projects as well as many other details.  She’s finding it very rewarding and is excited to be a part of what God is doing in Haiti.

She has enjoyed the community on the mission center where she lives.  She regularly hosts a youth night/Bible study for the missionary kids and Bible studies and fun nights with single gals.  She has fun being a dog and cat mom.  She adopted the cat when it was just 6 weeks old in December of last year.  While she was on furlough, it had a litter of kittens!

Praise God with us for his care and direction in all of our lives over this past year.  The ministry is growing and our kids and grands are doing well. 

Pray with us about our support.  Since we’ve been in the states (13.5 years ago!), It has steadily dropped off, causing us quite a bit of concern. 

Pray for Haiti that the political turmoil will be resolved.  RMI had to cancel 22 teams this year.  This has really impacted our budget.  If you could help, designate it for “RMI Ministries”.

We pray that you have a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year!!

It’s Official, We Are Empty Nesters–For Real This Time

On April 6 we put Dawn on the plane to Haiti.  For several months we’ve helped her pack, labels things and get ready to go.  We attended fundraisers in Tampa and in Ft. Myers, then as her support came in, she was able to quit Starbucks.  She was given the go ahead to order the sea container and we packed some more in earnest.  There were packing parties at the house where her Starbucks friends and church friends came and helped her wrap and prepare her furniture for transportation and label everything (she had to have a manifest of everything she was putting on the container for customs).  Then her friends came to help pack the container.  Her belongings only filled half of it and the other half was filled with supplies and equipment for RMI’s missionaries and ministries.  You can see pictures of all this on her website, actingonfaith.org. 

By the time the container was sent on its way, Dawn was down to living out of 3 suitcases, a backpack and a carry-on…for a month!  But she had planned well and she was able to focus on spending time with supporters, getting her paperwork in order to get her visa once she gets there and all the many last minute details.  Her Tampa friends hosted a very nice going away party and we hosted a large going away party at our home for all her Ft. Myers supporters and friends.  It was a challenge, but we managed to feed and fit 50 people in our house!  Both times were a tremendous encouragement to her!

A last meal with her grandparents in Naples and her brother, sister-in-law and niece in Ft. Lauderdale and then it was time to get on the plane.  She was so excited, she hardly looked back as she took off down the airport.

RMI staff met her and all her luggage arrived fine.  They arrived in Cayes in time for supper.  [Here she is that night in the yard of her new house with RMI missionary Becky Thompson and her daughter, Tessa.]  After a good weekend they were all surprised to see her container arrive Sunday night!!  That was a record time for a container to be shipped, worked through customs and received in Cayes.  They unloaded it the next morning.  Most of her things went into a storage area until her house is ready for her.  But she was able to unpack her bed, refrigerator and a few other essential things.    I’m including her March newsletter which answers some of the “where will you be living” kind of questions.

So now, the house is quiet, no more packing and preparing, no more trips to Tampa, and we hardly know what to do with ourselves.  Well, that’s not exactly true….we’ve turned her bedroom into a 2nd guestroom (which we’ve already used twice in the last 10 days) and are now trying to get our overdue gardening/spring planting done.  Dan was able to go on a 3 day motorcycle ride around central Florida with several buddies.  He needed that break and change of pace.  And we are getting ready for a trip to South Carolina for my mom’s 80th birthday. 

Here is Dawn’s March newsletter:

It’s finally happening!!  April 6 I fly to Haiti.  I say finally because becoming an overseas missionary has been my life goal, my “dream job”, a specific calling from God for a very long time.  Thus I can tell you with a tremendous amount of excitement that I’m flying to Haiti on April 6!

God has been Faithful...
By  the time you get this letter, I should be at 98% for both my monthly support needs and my one time costs.  I’ve been able to purchase what I need here in the states with those funds.  Once I get there and set up house, there will be costs that I have to pay there in Haiti - things like buying propane tanks, buying a stove (it needed to be bought in-country because the ones there will not have all the electronic controls like the ones in the US), housing fees, getting satellite internet set up and quite a number of other things.  God has allowed me to share at quite a number of churches and Bible studies.  Some of them were new opportunities and some were contacts from my college and post-college years.  Some in Tampa, Myakka City (a small town near Bradenton), here in Ft. Myers and I sure don’t want to forget my new ministry partners in Washington state.  In some I was given just 4-5 minutes to share while some gave me the entire service.  And God worked.  He spoke to people’s hearts and my funds have come in.  I so appreciate everyone’s love and sacrificial giving! 

The Sea Container is on its Way...
Each step of this journey to get to Haiti has had it’s own set of challenges.  Trying to work at Starbucks and do deputation at the same time was difficult.  It left little time to shop for a household of things (everything from couches, tables, chairs, to the bathroom sink) for 4 years.  I was so glad when Feb. 2 came and I turned in my apron!  Since then I’ve focused on whittling down my list of needs and sharing about my ministry.  Oh, and packing.  Five days before the container was dropped, I had 9 wonderful friends from my Bible study group and former Starbucks co-workers who came to my house and spent 2.5 hours packing my bedroom furniture, securing my bins with zip ties, and labeling and numbering everything. 

The container is 40’ - the same size as a semi-truck.  My belongings didn’t fill it up, of course!  RMI used about half of it to get quite a number of things for the ministry to Haiti that just can’t get there any other way...like 4-wheelers, truck tires and an industrial stove for the Zanglais Ministry Center.  There were 40 pillows and sets of sheets for the Ministry Center and many other supplies added to the container.

We had to have everything packed, bubble wrapped, stretch wrapped, labeled and ready for loading day, March 6.  Since my parents’ house could only hold so much stuff, we rented a storage unit until we could get them loaded.  I’m so glad RMI has experience in doing this because I would have never known that a forklift, rental truck and all kinds of other equipment was needed to load it.

We had another night of friends helping load the rental truck with the things at my house and some of the storage unit stuff.  The next day, March 6, we had a wonderful crew of volunteers who came and worked hard all day to load everything onto the container.  What a huge job.  It was sealed and sent on it’s way.  Pray with me as it makes it way through the Port of Miami, onto the container ship, across the sea to Port of Port-au-Prince, through customs and then on the road to it’s final destination at Cayes.  If all goes well, it should arrive in Cayes about the same time I do on April 6.  Believe it or not, I’m now down to living out of 3 suitcases, 1 carry-on and my backpack.  Amazing!  This is becoming real!

Before I leave...
The month of March will be very busy.  Every weekend is planned, and the days in between are starting to fill up with last doctor visits, paperwork for customs, paperwork for my work permit (I have to get fingerprinted and a good conduct police report!), etc.

Once I get to Haiti...
I will be staying in temporary housing at first.  I’ve been assigned to live in a “single ladies house” and 2 of the 3 ladies that are in there right now are in transition and in the process of leaving.  Once they leave, repairs will need to be done before I can move in.  This house is approximately 80 years old and much of the time it’s been occupied by single ladies.  The wiring needs to be updated, a number of things replaced, painting, leaks fixed, etc.  Most of my belongings will be stored at RMI’s storage and depot yard in a secure container until the house is ready and I can actually move in.  This house has 3 bedrooms with each room having its own bathroom and a common living/dining and kitchen area.

Where will I be located...
My house is located on the Cite Lumiere Mission Center.  It is the same mission center where I was born and grew up.  In fact, the house I grew up in is right down the hill from where I’ll be living.  The mission center is basically 2 hilltops.  The Haitian church association that RMI is affiliated with, MEBSH (Mission Evangélique Baptiste du Sud d’Haïti)  - the Evangelical Baptist Mission of Southern Haiti - owns all the property and buildings and I’ll be renting my house from them.  The mission center has a number of homes for missionaries, a missionary kid school (where I attended), a hospital, dental and maternity (where I was born!) clinic, all the offices of MEBSH and its departments as well as the RMI office and it’s storage/garage/depot yard on it.  It’s about a kilometer long, end to end.  The homes are concrete block; some of them have concrete roofs and some have tin roofs.  Mine has a tin roof (with a drop ceiling).

The mission center is located right outside of Les Cayes, Haiti’s 3rd largest town and the major town in the southern peninsula.  It’s a mixture of a “big city” feel and yet rural too.  It’s about 5 hours from the capital of Port-au-Prince.  Most of my living and shopping will be done in Cayes (the name is usually shortened to just “Cayes”, pronounced “k-eyes”).  My travel with teams will be in different villages all over the southern peninsula.  The other place to note is the Zanglais Ministry Center.  It’s located about 45 minutes east of Cayes.  I’ll be spending quite a bit of time with teams there. 

My RMI Teammates...
I’m so thankful that I’ll be a part of a large team working with RMI.  There are 9 US missionaries and about 40 national staff working with RMI.  Some of the national staff used to work with my parents when they were there, so they knew me when I was a kid.  Quite a number of missionaries working with other organizations live across the street, down the road and next door, too.  I’ll be well taken care of!  I appreciate that they emphasize field orientation and language study first before starting ministry.  That’s what I’ll be doing during my first 3-4 months besides getting my house in order.  I know I’ll be anxious to get started in ministry but I also know I need to be properly equipped beforehand with solid language skills. 

Please Pray with me...
I am filled with many different emotions, happiness, excitement, amazement, and a little nervous. I’ve been waiting to go to the mission field for a very long time. God has blown me away with His provision, love, care, and direction.
* Pray that the last funds I need will come in before I leave for Haiti April 6.  RMI has cleared me to go, but those last funds need to come in.  If you feel led to help, go to www.rmibridge.org/donate.
* Pray for my transition to living in Haiti. It’s going to be so different, and away from family and friends.
* Pray that my housing situation continues to work out.  There are many details and repairs to take care and it’s hard to be patient.  I’ve been “in transition” for a long time and I just want to settle in and “make my home”.
* Pray for me as I go through Creole language study.  I want to do well.  I have a good base from my growing up years, but I really need to do a lot of catching up to get it up to a ministry level.
* Pray that I’ll find a good solid niche in the RMI team.
* Pray for my relationships with my roommates.  With housing so tight, other single ladies will be assigned to the other bedrooms in the house and I won’t really be able to “pick out” a housemate. 

You can still contact me via email, dawn.shoemaker@rmibridge.org.  You can keep up with me by checking out my website, www.actingonfaith.org, or find me on Facebook (look me up using “Dawn Shoemaker – Impacting Haiti”).   Once I get there, I’ll let everyone know my new address and phone number.

Thank you again for your faithful support.  I appreciate you so much!

Only by His Grace,

Dawn

Her support is currently at 98%.  We’ve seen God do amazing things in providing for her one-time needs and her monthly support.  It’s been so encouraging to her and exciting to see this blessing and affirmation of her call of God on her life.  We are very proud of her to say the least.  She’s finally there!  Her life-long dream has become reality.  But…

Now we have to figure out how to do this empty nest thing.

Catch up with the Shoes at Christmas