Dear Friends and Family: For many years we have been itching for a opportunity to raise the question of worship and music in the Haitian Evangelical churches. Last week we finally got our chance. A group of four musicians, called the “Worship and Music Team” spent a little over a week with us in Haiti. Two of the four were from our supporting church of Calvin CRC (Holland, MI), one was Russian, and one other was from Cutlerville CRC (MI). The team was paired with two excellent Haitian worship leaders: Jean Marc Cassamajor (the music leader at a large Baptist church in Port-au-Prince) and Ronald Pierre (the worship leader at Quisqueya Chapel, our “home church” while in Haiti). There was quite a powerful dynamic between the visiting team and the Haitian worship leaders and we had four very powerful worship services in the two days of the conference. The participants informed us that to their knowledge, this was the first Worship and Music Conference held on Haitian soil with the Protestant churches. During the conference, we asked some big questions like “What is worship?”, “What are the parts of worship?”, “How can music help us and/or hinder us in worship?”, “How can you build a worship team in your church?” Zach and Sharon tackled the issue of worship and music from a Biblical perspective, while the other experts dealt with some more practical issues. This was a great opportunity for Sharon because she has served several churches as a worship and music leader. It was also a boon to get the Haitian perspective from our local worship leaders. The visiting team had two excellent instrumentalists on the guitar and piano. We also got to use a new digital piano that was donated to us by two faithful supporters of ours. At the end of the two-day conference, it was clear that we should try to do this again next year with a larger group of Haitian worship leaders. Thanks for your prayers for the visiting Music and Worship Team and for our ministry in general. God is equipping the Haitian church to sing the praises of his glory!

Finaly, Progress.....

A lot of our supporters are often asking for updates about the projects in which they participate or to which they donate.  Below you will find an update about a few recent construction projects that you have supported:

1. Jacquet Land Purchase (see above): Jacquet CRC of Haiti has finally purchased church property in near their rented church building.  This is a very expensive area of Port-au-Prince and this little piece of property (about 50'x100') costs $65K plus lawyer fees.  Trinity CRC of Goderich, ON, and SON-BEAM International are helping to finance part of the purchase.  If all goes according to plan, the construction of the church should start in July of 2012 (first the land must be cleared of the small house and a few other buildings).

2. Generator House/Apartment of the CRC of Haiti:
Since 2011, a number of visiting churches helped us put the finishing touches on the generator house of the CRC of Haiti. One the first level, there is room for two large generators and a wood shop.  On the second level, there is an apartment for visiting guests and a home that is rented to Brenord, an employee of the Ministry for Christian Development.  Finally, with the help of Fuller Ave. CRC, the Ministry Center wall was "beautified" with a number of tropical plants including palm trees, fruit plants, aloe plants and others.  With all the rain lately, the wall is looking pretty nice!

3. Ministry for Christian Development Conference Center: The Ministry for Christian Development completed the first phase of their new office building in 2010.  The building houses offices, a small conference room and a small cafeteria.  The next phase is the construction of a conference center.  This conference center is very important to MCD because its primary ministry is leadership training.  The conference center will allow MCD to bring in trainers and beneficiaries for further education at their convenience.  In April, the foundation was dug, but subsequent heavy rains have set the project back.

Segaar-King April/May 2012 Update

Dear Friends and Family: In Haiti we see mountains surrounding us on a daily basis. Recently I looked up to the mountains and prayed for help for what the people of Savanette, Haiti needed to hear. Psalm 121 came to mind which states: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” No matter what problem we are facing, we know that we can bring it to God who can surely help us because he is the Creator of heaven and earth. Recently I heard someone say, those with big problems have a little god, but those with little problems have a big God. We have a big Creator God who is able to help us no matter what challenge comes our way. We can come to God at any time, day or night, and he is the one who will always help us. I pray that whatever challenges you need help with right now, that you have confident trust in the LORD your God who is your Keeper. Please join us in giving thanks for: -Ongoing Timothy Leadership Training events on May 2-4. We asked for prayers that God would send individuals who are ready to take the next step with the Spirit in growing the church. We are thankful that God has answered this prayer--we anticipated fifty participants, but in reality we received over seventy on this first day of Timothy training. Luke 10:2 states, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the LORD of the harvest therefore to send out workers into his harvest field.” We thank you for your prayers, for God indeed has sent us “workers.” Now we ask for your prayers so that we are able to train the “workers” who are planning on going out into the “harvest field.” -Successful visits to the Haitian countryside. Zachary traveled to Thomassique to help set up a church partnership community development program. Sharon travelled to Savanette to help organize the upcoming women’s conference in June. For this planning to go well, it is important to have communication, but there was no way to communicate quickly because there was no telephone coverage. The women decided to pray to God and about a month ago a newer cell phone company built a cell phone tower. So, now we can communicate about the plans for the conference. I do not think that this is a coincidence, but rather an example of how God gives us exactly what we need when we seek his help. - Our team, Sous Espwa, successfully relocated 150 families of displaced persons living in the cul-de-sac in front of our office since Haiti’s January 2012 earthquake. What was once a tent city, now is open land again. I pray that soon the land will be beautified and once again soccer will be played there. Several people from the camp came and said how blessed they are to now have a home to live in. - Construction of a new church roof at Villa de Woz near Le Cayes (in southwestern Haiti) has begun as planned. Now we ask for prayers to help place the 12,000 screws that are needed for this roof. Please join us in praying for: -A successful visit for a Worship and Music Team from Calvin CRC of Holland, MI in May. -A good finish to the school year. Our kids finish school June 5. -Strength because some of our close friends in Haiti have decided to move back to the United States. We will miss them.

Participants in the 2-4 May Timothy Training Conference

FOR MORE PICTURES, STORIES, AND INFORMATION ABOUT OUR MINISTRY AND FAMILY, PLEASE SEE OUR BLOG AT segaarking.blogspot.com Thanks for your prayers and support, Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Isaiah, Vivian and Esther Segaar-King Missionaries to Haiti Christian Reformed World Missions

The last six years in Haiti have certainly come with their fair share of interesting experiences. Today, Zach got the opportunity to enjoy yet another new experience--being rear-ended by a Brazilian Armored Personnel Carrier operated by the United Nations (the picture above is another kind of tank used by the Sri Lanken UN contingent). For those of you who have never been rear-ended by a tank, it is actually not exactly an even match, even if you are driving a full-sized SUV with welded steel "cow-catcher" bumpers. One of the troops in the tank dismounted to apologize to him for the contact. Since he couldn't speak English or Haitian Kreyol, and Zach couldn't speak Portuguese, there was not a lot that could be said. Of course the other aspect was that his tank was bristling with machine guns and cannons and had one of its eight wheels amost ready to crush our Nissan like a cockroach. Suffice to say, the conversation was short! Luckily, the Brazilian tank rear-ended Zach's vehicle while it was inching along in bumper to bumper traffic. The steel bumper absorbed most of the shock and the damage was limited to the left taillight. That means that since purchasing the Nissan in 2010, it has been struck while stationary by a tank, a large water truck, one of our own mission vehicles, and a public taxi without brakes (as far as we know). Thankfully, none of these impacts have done a lot of damage thanks to God's grace and the steel bumpers we had welded onto the vehicle a few weeks after its purchase.

Moving Out

Everyday that we go into our mission office we are confronted with the reality of displaced people living at our doorstep. As we have mentioned to some of you, there is a "Internally Displaced Persons" camp in the cul-de-sac in front of our mission office of about 120 families. Since this camp sprung up a few months after the January 2010 earthquake, we have been scratching our collective heads in order to know what to do about it. For a long time now, aid organizations have been trying to avoid direct assistance in these camps to avoid providing a material incentive for more people to move in. The camps are very miserable places to live--no electricity, no running water, no security, and only fabric or at best cardboard over one's head. Recently, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee has made an effort to empty this camp by providing the inhabitants with $500 USD (this is a government mandated amount) to pay for rental housing in another location. Another $50 USD was given directly to the campers for travel and moving expenses. The vast majority of the families living in the camps have signed contracts with new landlords and are making plans to move out of the cul-de-sac. However, now that the campers have received their grant, they must move out immediately or risk the confiscation of their shelters and possessions by local authorities. Please pray that the campers would follow through with their arrangement and leave the camp as soon as possible. Pray also that they will have the wisdom to make preparations for next year, when their landlord will be demanding another $500 USD in rent and CRWRC will not be able to help them again.

He Is Not Here, He has Risen

According to Scripture, Jesus was crucified the day before the Jewish Sabbath, which was called the Day of Preparation (Christians call it Good Friday). Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin (the Jewish ruling council) and Pilate took place in the early morning while it was still dark. Jesus was likely crucified at first light and he was dead well before noon. Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for Jesus body and had it placed in his tomb before sundown on Friday, which was the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath when no work could be done. That is why the women who were following Jesus had no time to embalm his body for burial and were obliged to come back to the tomb at first light on Sunday. Of course, when the women arrived, they found the large stone rolled away, the tomb empty and a man dressed in white who informed them: "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified. He is not here, he has risen." Since Jesus' female disciples discovered the tomb empty at first light, it has been a tradition of Christians around the world to gather at first light on Easter Sunday to celebrate the Resurrection. Zach had a chance to drive to the top of the mountain overlooking Port-au-Prince on Easter morning. Besides celebrating the Resurrection, Zach joined in a prayer for the city of Port-au-Prince, the capital and center of political, economic and social life in Haiti. Besides the continuing effort to rebuild after the earthquake, Port-au-Prince faces huge struggles. There has been some investment in infastructure and some efforts to decentralize the population, but at the end of the day, there are over two million people trying to live in a very small and crowded space perched precariously on top of mountains, steep hills, and the edges of ravines. Many people have little or no access to potable water because they can't pay one USD for five gallons of treated water. There is the ever present danger of flooding as well (even a small rain can cause destructive flash flooding on hillsides). As we prayed for Port-au-Prince, the sun shown over the mountains to the southeast (see picture above), and the ultimate solution for Port-au-Prince became clear--the power of the Risen Son of God to deliver his people from the shadow of sin and the darkness of the Evil One. It is true that nature has her fury (which we all know), but the majority of our problems we make ourselves. Please pray for the power of Easter to bring new life to the Haitian people and those who minister among them.

Segaar-King Family Update

"Eventful” would be an understatement in describing our return to Haiti in February. Everything seemed to be moving along well, until all four of our children got extremely sick. One week before our return, we had three children with pneumonia, two with double ear infections, one with a sinus infection, and two with illness-induced asthma—and we only have four children! After two visits to the hospital, four to the after-hours clinic and many more to the pediatrician, we finally got the right combination of medication. Also, God responded to your prayers and we were able to make our flight. Since arriving, our children have adjusted well to their classes at Quisqueya Christian School. We found our home in great condition thanks to the Broersma family who had been house-sitting for us during our home-service. Sharon continues to have pain in her shoulder and will most likely need surgery this summer for her rotator cuff that was possibly damaged in a September, 2011 car accident. Please pray that she will be able to manage until then. We enjoyed celebrating Sharon’s birthday in February with a large group of our friends in Haiti. We give thanks that our Haitian ministry partners have received us well.