Haiti Election Update

We have been so busy the last several weeks that we have forgotten to update our support network on the ever-evolving socio-political crisis in Haiti.  By God's grace, the elections on 20 November were calm and peaceful, though there was a low voter turnout.  The candidate of ex-President Martelly's party, Tet Kale, won over 50% of the vote.  This candidate, named Jovenel Moise, is a plantain farmer from the northwest of the country.  By winning over 50% of the vote, Moise can become President without a second, run-off election.  As you can imagine, several other candidates are rejecting the result and have lodged "contestations" with the election authorities.  The final election results after the "contestation process" are to be publicized 29 December.  Port-au-Prince has seen an increase in demonstrations as political operatives attempt to destabilize the country and invalidate the election.  We are praying that somehow all those involved in politics will give up the violent attempts to pursue their own gain and seek the good of the country through peace.

Christmas Opportunity

The ministry of Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM) requires “boots on the ground” in the form of missionary families like us.  In addition to training and teaching Haitian leaders which is the core and most exciting part of our ministry, we must do some other necessary jobs.  For example, we supervise the Haitian staff engaged in our ministry, manage projects like church construction, oversee ministry initiatives like IMPACT Clubs (for youth) and Timothy Leadership Training, and we receive volunteers and teams that come to Haiti to serve and grow.  In order to remain in Haiti, we must trust you, our support network, to provide $117,160 USD annually.  Much of these funds come in December.  Please consider giving a financial gift to CRWM in the final weeks of this calendar year.  By doing so, you will make it possible for the work of missions to continue in Haiti.  Thanks!

If you would like to contribute to our ministry in Haiti, please click on the following link:

Support the Segaar-Kings

The Church on the Rock Stood Firm

At the end of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells a parable about a wise and a foolish man.  The wise man who builds on the rock is like one who hears God’s word and obeys it.  Such a person stands firm in the storms of life. The Vila-de-Wòz church provides a vivid object lesson of Jesus’ parable.  Surrounded by the wreckage of homes and toppled trees, the church stands completely intact, seemingly untouched by the ravages of Hurricane Matthew. In fact, the entire community took shelter in the church building as the full force of Matthew’s winds arrived in the early morning of October 4.  Why did the church building survive?  Obviously, it is a miracle as the building was surrounded by huge breadfruit trees which fell away from the structure instead of on top of it.  In addition to God’s deliverance, the church, which was designed by SON-BEAM International, used a truss system that was much stronger than what is typically used in Haiti.  Large threaded rods securely held the trusses to the bond-beam.  We give thanks to God that this building now provides a space for worship and shelter for its community.

Pray for the Zuiderveen family (Cody, Jessica and Hudson) as they wrap-up their activities in Michigan and make plans to come to Haiti in January, 2017.  Beginning a life and ministry in Haiti is full of challenges!

Dear Friends and Family:

Although Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Haiti, we enjoyed a large meal at our home in Port-au-Prince with a group of friends.  Enjoying a meal in Haiti where so many struggle with hunger creates feelings of ambivalence.  Why does one family have full bellies while hundreds of people just a stone’s throw away only eat one meal a day (if that)?  Does God show favoritism?  Do those with full bellies suffer from a different kind of hunger?  Paul’s observation comes to mind, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all things through God who strengthens me” (Phil 4:12-13). In the end, a thankful life is not a result of plenty of food, money, friends, etc.  It is a result of “plenty” with regard to our orientation to the ultimate source of good in our lives—God.  That is why so many Haitians who have so little can be so thankful to God for what they have.  May God bless you and your family this Thanksgiving.

 Please pray for:

1.       The relief effort occurring in Haiti as a result of the effects of Hurricane Matthew.

2.       The political situation in Haiti.  The first round of presidential elections was successfully held on 20 November.  Pray that the processing and publication of results would be transparent and smooth.

3.       A training for the facilitators (leaders) of the Timothy Leadership Training program on 10 December.

4.       A triennial evaluation of the ministry of Perspectives Réformées (our media ministry) that will be happening 14-18 December.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would open our hearts and minds as we seek ways to make the ministry more effective.

Please give thanks for:

1.       A successful Timothy Leadership Training event in November.  We had another large group of nearly seventy participants.  Zach facilitated a material on Teaching the Christian Faith for seven of them.

2.       Preparations to receive our new family, the Zuiderveens, and a seminary intern, Cara DeHaan, in January.

3.       The date for Zach’s PhD dissertation defense ceremony has been set for 14 February, 2016.

4.       Health and continued patience as we try to manage an incredible mass of activities.

If you would like to support our ministry in Haiti, please paste the following link into your browser:

https://crwm.org/about-us/our-missionaries/zachary-and-sharon-segaar-king#edit-group_donate

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, Vivian, Isaiah and Esther Segaar-King

Missionaries to Haiti through Christian Reformed World Missions 

Giving Thanks in Haiti

Calm elections were a welcome event throughout Haiti.

On this day set aside for expressions of thanksgiving for God’s great bounty and care, we would like to give thanks for a successful and stable election weekend in Haiti.  No one really knew what to expect, but by all accounts the election was calm and peaceful.  Results probably will not published until next week at the earliest.  Please continue to pray for political and social stability in Haiti in the upcoming months, especially during the publication of results.  The second and final round of elections is scheduled for 29 January, 2017.

Please Pray for Haiti this Weekend (19-20 November)

The Banana Man (the slogan that presidential candidate Jovnel Moise uses for himself) will have his day in the court of public opinion this weekend in Haiti. 

Dear Friends:

While the United States has been consumed by the events surrounding the election of Trump and Pence, Haiti faces its own day of reckoning on Sunday, November 20.  It is difficult to overestimate the importance of November 20 for the country.  Nearly six years has passed since the last successful election in Haiti.  As I write this blogpost, Haiti is actually without a constitutionally-approved executive branch and legislature.  The current Interim President's mandate expired in June, 2016 and Haiti's Senate cannot officially make quorum.  Right now all expectations are that the first round of presidential elections will actually take place this Sunday.  Unfortunately, one-quarter of the country is reeling from the savage blow inflicted by Hurricane Matthew.  In order for the vote to take place in these areas, thousands of displaced persons sheltering in the voting centers (generally large schools) must be relocated to other shelters.  Even more worrying is the understandable lack of interest by the Haitian electorate who have witnessed elections cancelled at least six times and completely overturned once by the Election Commission in the last two years.  Please pray that somehow, someway, fair elections can be held throughout the country which will be accepted by Haitian society.  If not, then the current crippling political instability will only become worse.  On a personal note, we are receiving a visit from the Zuiderveen family (our new missionaries) this weekend.  The trip was planned long before Sunday was declared an election day.  Pray that the Zuiderveen family would have a good introduction to Haiti and remain excited about serving here. Thanks.

Seeing the World through Scripture

The idea that Haitians themselves can change the future of the their country is often considered naive or false by many.  Yet, it is the only solution.

We hope that perhaps one leader we train may go on to become the kind of dynamic influence that could bring change to the country.

After years of serving in Haiti, one becomes convinced that the definitive answer for the improvement of country lies not in programs, good ideas, or in the endless stream of aid coming from charitable organizations around the world.  If this were the solution, Haiti's problems would have been solved long ago.  The real, long-lasting solution for the challenges facing Haiti is the transformation of the minds and hearts of the Haitian people to more and more resemble the ideals shown in Scripture.  That was the goal of our Christian Worldview Training which happened 18-20 October, 2016.  The theme verse was Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  The patterns of thinking accepted by “this world” are holding Haiti back.  For example, corruption, bribery and stealing by those in power and influence have been pervasive on all levels of Haitian government for many decades.  The result is that today, a number of key functions in the Haitian government (including education, electricity generation and potable water) are practically non-existent, leaving Haiti’s people to pay the price.  Jealousy and envy in the Haitian family and community means that even well-intentioned and motivated young people rarely get access to the kind of education that could allow them to give back to their society.  A lack of trust in society means that it is extremely difficult for enterprising Haitians to get access to capital to start the kinds of business that would lift the country out of poverty.  All of these challenges point to an underlying problem much more profound than a lack of material (money, energy, water, etc.).  Our prayer is that training like the kind we did in October will transform the hearts and minds of the next generation of Haitian leaders so that the basic situation of the country will change.

Segaar-King November Update

A scene of destruction in the mountains above Les Cayes, 30 miles east of Matthew's landfall.

Dear Friends and Family:

In our last prayer update, Hurricane Matthew was spinning only a few hundred miles from Haiti’s southwestern  coast.  Unfortunately, the hurricane’s path took it over the tip of the southwest peninsula as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 150 mph, making landfall west of Les Cayes.  The masonry and tin-roofed homes inhabited by the majority of Haitians in this part of the island were no match for Matthew and the destruction was nearly complete over a large area.  More heavily populated low-lying areas on the southern coast were flooded by the storm surge first and then submerged by floodwaters pouring off the mountains behind them.  As of today 546 deaths are attributed to the storm and over 1.4 million people are in need of immediate food, water, or shelter assistance.  What can the perspective of faith say about this event, the second major disaster to strike Haiti in six years?  In the end, we cannot understand why God allows disasters like this to strike Haiti again and again (Job 42:1-6), though we know that he takes no pleasure in the suffering of his creation (Ez. 18:32).  The Christian response is to imitate Christ by suffering with those who suffer and seeking to show God’s grace in concrete ways by word and deed (Is. 53:11).

 Please pray for:

1.       The relief effort occurring in Haiti as we speak.  It has been a struggle for many relief agencies to raise funds for the response to Hurricane Matthew.

2.       The political situation in Haiti.  Because of Matthew, the elections were postponed yet again, this time until November 20.   Pray for peace and cool heads during this coming election.

3.       Timothy Leadership Training seminar and theological training with the CRC of Haiti next week.  Pray that we will have the energy to get through it all.

4.       That we can get some rest both physically and psychologically after a very difficult October.  Our new missionaries, the Zuiderveens, will be coming for a short visit in November.  Pray that the visit would go well.

Please give thanks for:

1.       Isaiah’s healing after a very scary fall on his head.  He suffered from worrying concussion symptoms for several weeks.  Now that he is back in school, please pray that the healing would continue.

2.       A very successful worldview training seminar in October despite the effects of the Matthew.

3.       We received word that the dissertation reading committee at the Free University of Amsterdam accepted Zach’s dissertation.  All that is left is the defense ceremony in January, 2017.

4.       A safe place to ride out Hurricane Matthew.  We spent the two days of the Hurricane’s passage safely in our home.

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, Vivian, Isaiah and Esther Segaar-King

Missionaries to Haiti through Christian Reformed World Missions 

Visit to Savann Aneri

Ever enterprising Haitian people are converting their overturned fruit trees into the one commodity they can sell in place of their decimated gardens and fields--charcoal.  Everywhere on Haiti's southern peninsula we see smoldering piles of earth like the one pictured here.  Unfortunately, this superabundance of charcoal will lead to decreased prices and further dependence on an energy source that is ravaging Haiti's environment.

A church building where Pastor Israel, the pastor of the Balendi congregation of Savann Aneri, used to preach and teach.  Unfortunately, we were unable to reach Pastor Israel's current church because of an impassable river.

A school in the Savann Aneri area which was smashed by the winds of Hurricane Matthew.  We left several sacks of rice and beans for the community here.

Last week we had a chance to visit a region in the southern peninsula called Savann Aneri.  Since we had heard that the Savann Aneri community was affected by the hurricane, we loaded up our 4WD truck with twelve sacks of rice, two giant sacks of beans, and 20-30 tarps.  We knew that the road to Savann Aneri was bad and our truck was heavily loaded.  What we didn’t realize is that the road crossed the same river three times before arriving at the area of Savann Aneri we wanted to visit called Balendi.  After several hours banging, bumping, and scraping over eroded and practically impassible roads we arrived at the third river crossing and found a massive sandbar deposited by the hurricane's flood waters that could not be crossed by anything short of a tank, bulldozer or other tracked vehicle.  While we regret that we were not able to reach the Balendi area, we were encouraged to see that the damage was not as severe as we expected.  Perhaps the mountain between Haiti's southern coast and the Savann Aneri area absorbed the majority of the Hurricane Matthew's destructive winds.  As we were trying to return to the main road, we realized that our truck's suspension had been damaged by the overload and the bumpy roads.  Thankfully, we were able to return home safely.

The third and final river ford to arrive at the Balendi church in the Savann Aneri area.  The ford is on the left where the river left massive boulders and an impassible sandbar (not pictured).

Canadian Thanksgiving in Haiti

Food distribution for the flooded community of Chalye, near Miragoane (see previous post).

The small town of Chalye was flooded by both runoff and storm surge.

The US Military is airdropping supplies to areas cut-off by hurricane damage.

Doing a distribution for the people of Vila-de-Woz.  Zach was relieved to finally arrive.  The truck was overloaded with rice and beans and had to travel over some horrible terrain.

This is the earthquake refuge for the Vila-de-Woz community all cleaned up for Sunday morning.  By God's grace the Vila-de-Woz church building, a joint project of SONBEAM International and CRWM, withstood the force of the hurricane and became a shelter for survivors.

For those of you Canadians who were celebrating Thanksgiving yesterday, I thought it would be nice to see what Canadian Thanksgiving is like for the survivors of Hurricane Matthew.  Turkey is definitely not on the menu, but rice and beans are.  Most Haitians living in the disaster area would be happy to eat anything this Canadian Thanksgiving.

Hurricane Matthew Update

Scenes of total devastation--Two homes lie in ruins after Matthew's passage in the village of Vila-de-Woz.

This family's dining room now has a skylight as the roof was totally ripped off by Matthew's winds.

This could be anywhere in the southwest peninsula of Haiti--mattresses, cloths, and furniture sit on the remains of a home drying in the sun.

A sits on the porch of what remains of their home.  In the background, a kitchen another family member's home lies in ruins.

Dear Friends and Family:

Greetings from Haiti.  It has been a week since Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti’s southwestern peninsula west of the city of Les Cayes.  During the first few days our concern was mainly with making sure our own staff members and the staff members of our partner organizations were safe.  Thankfully, God protected all the staff members and property of our organization and that of our Haitian partners.  Now our focus turns toward the relief effort and trying to maintain momentum in our strategic on-going ministries.

Yesterday Zach had a chance to deliver about 1600 lbs of relief supplies to two more remote areas on Haiti’s southwest peninsula that were heavily affected by the hurricane: Vila-de-Wòz (in the mountains north of Les Cayes) and Chalye (a low-lying area west of Miragoane).  When I arrived in the once beautiful shady village of Vila-de-Wòz (which was nearly impossible because the road was washed out), I didn’t even recognize it.  Most of the trees were smashed nearly all of the structures damaged or destroyed. I estimate that nine out of every ten homes are uninhabitable with at least five out of ten being severely damaged or completely destroyed (please see pictures below).  Since the inhabitants had weathered the storm in the local Christian Reformed Church of Haiti church building (see picture) and several other stronger structures, they were physically unharmed.  Several of the community members were suffering the physical symptoms of trauma, however.  After praying with the community members and unloading rice, beans, oil and drinking water, I went to the seaside community of Chalye on the north shore of the southwestern peninsula where the CRC of Haiti also works through a local congregation.  Though Chalye was further from the landfall of Hurricane Matthew’s eye than Vila-de-Wòz, it was severely flooded by the hurricane’s storm surge and extremely high water levels in a local stream.  Moreover, many of the community’s abundant breadfruit trees had fallen on houses as they were heavily laden with fruit when the hurricane hit.  We also provided rice, beans, oil and drinking water to this community.

The general impression driving through Haiti’s southwestern peninsula is one of shock and sadness.  Mattresses, clothes, books, furniture, and countless items have been scattered by the flood or put out to dry by their owners.  Houses, schools, and churches have been stripped of their roofs or smashed completely.  Roads and bridges are eroded or washed out.  One town we passed, called Cavaillon, had been both smashed by the winds and completely flooded by the local river.

What can you do?  First, we ask for your prayers for the Haitian people—especially that roads could be opened and relief reach the remote areas of Haiti’s southwestern peninsula.  Second, please feel free to donate to World Renew, the disaster relief agency of the CRCNA which will be providing support to the communities that we have gotten to know and love in the southwestern peninsula.  Don’t forget to continue supporting the long-term community and church development programs that are so important to us.  Through programs like these we see a day where Haitians are better prepared for such inevitable natural disasters and empowered (through Haitian-supported and led organizations) to bring relief to their own communities in the place of the hundreds of foreign NGOs currently providing these services.

So as to not overwhelm the inboxes of our supporters, we will be posting updates on our blog.  Please check it out for more pictures and information in the coming weeks.

Hurricane Matthew through the Eyes of Job

“Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden; whom God has hedged in?  For sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water.  What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.”  Job 3:23-25

As pictures and reports of the situation on the southern peninsula of Haiti come in, we are beginning to realize that, like the earthquake of 2010, Hurricane Matthew will be a disaster that will define a generation of the people of towns like Jeremi, Les Cayes, Saint Louis de Sud, Port-a-Piment, Tiburon and all the places in between.  Many more in places that were not directly hit have lost their crops and had their homes severely damaged.  2016 will be a year marked by great grief and suffering.  It will be many days before we learn just how much was lost since cell-phone towers and roads have been destroyed.

The words of Job seem to encapsulate the emotions of seeing so much suffering and loss among a people so accustomed to suffering and loss.  Why?  Why do earthquakes and hurricanes without number continue to decimate this small country whose people are so vulnerable to the power of nature?  We will never forget the fall of 2008 when four hurricanes and tropical storms pounded Haiti, one after another (Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike), flooding several Haitian cities and causing untold damage.  Two years later, the earthquake of 12 January, 2010, the greatest natural disaster in Haiti’s history, killed hundreds of thousands in greater Port-au-Prince.  Now, six years later, Hurricane Matthew has delivered a crippling blow to the southwest of Haiti.  All of these natural disasters (and a few in-between like Hurricane Sandy) have all happened in the eleven years of our time in Haiti.

The answer God gave Job’s question remains harsh to the ear—“How can mortal men and women understand the mysterious council of the eternal God who formed the seas, the mountains, and the storms?” (chs. 38-41)  We will never be able to understand why God permitted yet another calamity to befall the Haitian people.  Yet as we sit in silence with Job, our thoughts turn to the Son of God who became man (Jesus Christ) and suffered tempests, betrayal, torture, and finally death.  Perhaps the only answer to the suffering of Haiti is not to answer at all; but rather to witness God in the person of Christ suffering with the people he loves.  And perhaps we too have some small role in showing this self-giving love to Haiti’s people.

For those who would like to donate, please consider World Renew (http://www.worldrenew.net/our-stories/world-renew-haiti-staff-assess-damage-hurricane-matthew), the disaster response organization of the CRCNA.  In the coming weeks, we hope to propose several small projects to World Renew to help affected communities that we have served with our long-term church development and training projects.

Pictures below were taken by our neighbor Tim Schandorff of Mission Aviation Fellowship

Hurricane Matthew Update

In the construction plans of the Vila-de-Woz church created by SONBEAM International, we used what many considered to be an excessive amount of trusses.  By God's grace, this paid off when Hurricane Matthew struck.

Dear friends, family and supporters,

As I write to you, the rain from Hurricane Matthew is steadily coming down since yesterday—so for over 24 hours, thus flooding is inevitable in some areas of Haiti.  I am wearing a fleece jacket because it is cool—this is very rare for me in Haiti.  Yesterday I made some yummy homemade hot chocolate for our family to warm them up from the inside.  We have closed our office and are at home.  The airports in Haiti are closed.   We have personally had minimal damage so far, but southern Haiti has been and is being hit hard.  Also, the rain is continuing to fall and we have had variable wind strength. 

Hurricane Matthew hit the far western tip near the village of Les Anglais in Haiti around sunrise this morning as a Category 4 hurricane with 7-10 foot storm surge, 140 mph winds, and torrential rains.  Communication is difficult or impossible in many places in the Grand Anse and South Department of Haiti which received a direct hit.  Essentially, the effects of the hurricane are worst moving from east to west on Haiti’s south peninsula.  Much of the greater Port-au-Prince area seems to have been spared, though it is still raining very heavily and flash flooding is an ongoing danger (we’ve had about 4-5 in of rain at my house).  Most of our employees have been contacted and are doing fine.  There is no reason to believe that those we haven’t been able to contact are in danger.  We had no power in Port-au-Prince last night and cell phones will soon be discharged for those without generators.

Our Sous Espwa office has not sustained any significant damage and hopefully will be put to use tomorrow.

We contacted several people from areas more seriously affected by Matthew.  It was difficult for us to have a conversation because of the winds, but we understood that many houses with wood trusses and tin roofs have been heavily damaged.  We have heard second hand reports about flooding in Les Cayes, a larger city near the path of the hurricane. 

We found out that the Vila de Woz church near Les Cayes that we recently helped to build in concert with SONBEAM International is the only building in the entire community that still has a roof.  Apparently all the inhabitants of Vila-de-Woz are now inside, safe from the high winds and torrential downpours.  See the attached picture of a ministry event that Sharon attended inside the new Vila-de-Woz church in 2014.

It may be sometime before we get an accurate picture of the damage since cell phone networks are not functional in some areas.  After the hurricane passes and we have a better idea of what the results of this storm are, we will try to send an update.

Segaar-King Update

Oct. 1, 2016

Dear Friends and Family:

Greetings from Haiti!  As the first hurricane to hit Haiti since Sandy in October 2012 nears, we are reminded of the power of our God to calm the storm.  Several times in Scripture God’s servants are nearly lost to the raging tempest.  In their moment of despair, God responds to their cries to calm the raging seas.  These moments of deliverance show that as Creator and Sustainer, God has power even over the most chaotic forces of nature.  By his power God can deliver Haiti from the destructiveness of Hurricane Matthew.  However, Haiti also desperately needs rain (in manageable amounts) to help relieve a multi-year drought.  Pray that the impact of Hurricane Matthew will be positive.

Please join us in giving thanks for:

1.   A good result for the national assembly of our partner the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti.  We give thanks that the CRCH is slowly but surely entering a promising new epoch in its ministry.

2.   A safe trip to Mexico for Zach where he learned about changes to come from the union of Christian Reformed World Missions and Christian Reformed Home Missions.  While we don’t know how this union will affect our work in Haiti, we pray that it will enhance the effectiveness of the CRC’s work in missions in the US, Canada and around the world.

3.   So far the presidential campaigning for the Oct. 9 election has been relatively peaceful.

4.  A new church construction project is set to begin in Granbwa, one of the most underserved and remote locations where we have ever done a church construction project.

Please join us in prayer for:

1.   Stability in Haiti for the “redo” presidential election on October 9.  A complicating factor is that there is a serious conflict between the US government and the Haitian government over legal protections against the money laundering.  The US is threatening to cut off all electronic financial transactions to Haiti in November if the Haitian government does not enact certain laws.  If this threat is carried out, our work in Haiti would come to a rapid halt.  Pray for cool heads on both sides.

2.   Interest from our supporting churches to send Service and Learning teams to Haiti.  We have an exciting project for 16-17 and we need your help. Contact us if you or your church are interested.

3.   Success in planning a conference on Christian Worldview October 18-20. Our co-worker in the spreading of the gospel, Harold Kallemeyn, has created new material in the form of a practical bible-study with an “action planning” component for this initiative.  Pray especially that no hurricanes or election instability will derail this major ministry event.

4.   God’s mercy on Haiti and other countries in its path as we anticipate the passing of Hurricane Matthew.

Hurricane Matthew

Dear Friends and Family:

We wanted to give you an update on Hurricane Matthew which is expected to hit the southwestern peninsula of Haiti on Monday evening.  Winds are beginning to pick up in Port-au-Prince this afternoon and cloudiness is rolling in.  We expect tropical storm conditions to begin tomorrow in our area (Port-au-Prince).  We are well prepared to whether a storm like Matthew as we are in a reinforced masonry house in a high elevation.  However, others that live in ravines and plains in houses constructed of wood and sheet-metal face dangerous conditions as heavy rains from Matthew will begin in less that twenty-four hours.  Thankfully, we are well stocked with  food, diesel for the generator, and plenty of electricity in our batteries.  We still appreciate your prayers, however.  The greatest concern is for the people of Haiti's southwestern coast which will take a direct hit from this category four storm.  Very few buildings will be able to resist the flooding and high winds if/when Matthew makes landfall at its current strength.  Pray that the storm would move further west in the passage between Haiti and Jamaica.  Our Internet may be down for several days so it is possible that we will not be able to update you on the situation in Port-au-Prince.  Thanks for your prayers!

Making an Impact on Youth

Fevrier Cherubin trains young people in the use of Impact Clubs

In a country like Haiti where children and young people make up the majority of the population, youth ministry is an imperative.  In order to respond to this need Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM) has begun using the IMPACT Clubs program. IMPACT was created to empower young people to help their communities by increasing the capacity of the participants and by helping them to develop community service projects. During the three months young people participate in the first level of the program, they learn how to become good citizens who are able to hold jobs and to be leaders and entrepreneurs in their communities. Present in more than twenty countries, IMPACT started in Haiti in 2014 through the efforts of a Canadian CRWM missionary named Larry Luth. Today there is a network of fifteen clubs with thirty trained leaders and more than 350 members.  CRWM has established IMPACT Clubs in Haiti with organizations like Adoration Christian Centre, Haiti Teen Challenge, the Salvation Army, and the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti.  Several independent clubs have begun as well.

Really Big Prayer Request

In addition to the daily money transfers that support Haitian families, international aid organizations and governments finance many projects through money transfers originating in the USA like this rehabilitation of Haiti's main hydro-electric dam (above).  Without access to these transfers, there could be major instability in Haiti.

Though it has yet to make news in the United States, the US government has made a decision which threatens to bring economic activity in Haiti to a standstill.  For many years, the US government has been concerned about money laundering through Caribbean countries, especially Haiti, Belize, and the Bahamas.  Of special concern is the transfer of drug money from the US through Haiti onward to Latin American countries where the drugs originate.  According to several sources, if the Haitian government does not enact tougher laws against money laundering, all money transfers between the US and Haiti will be halted beginning in November.  The solution for this problem would seem to be a no-brainer--one would expect the Haitian government to quickly respond to these concerns.  However, there is one big problem. Since June the provisional President of Haiti's mandate has expired and his political opponents are refusing to allow a vote on any legislation he proposes in the Haitian Parliament.  This effectively renders the legislative branch of Haiti's government impotent to react to the US government's money laundering concerns.  What does this mean practically?  It means that in November, all transactions including credit card and bank-to-bank transfers which support our own ministry could halt.  Moreover, many Haitians depend on regular money transfers (i.e., Western Union) from relatives in the US and Canada to pay for food and housing.  The result of a halt to transfers would be extreme economic and social destabilization.  Please pray that the government of Haiti can find a way to overcome this impasse and respond to the money laundering concerns.  Also, pray that the US government will have flexibility and wisdom in how it works with Haiti's leaders.

Segaar-King August Ministry Report

Dear Friends and Family:

Greetings from Haiti!  We hope that you are experiencing God’s presence in your lives and in your families.  

Please join us in giving thanks for:

1.   A good start to the school year for our children. Sometimes Quisqueya Christian School, where our children attend, has struggled to find qualified English-speaking teachers willing to serve in Haiti.  We give thanks that this year all key positions in the school are filled.

2.   Our new missionary family, Cody and Jessica Zuiderveen, who are preparing to come to Haiti as long-term missionaries January 2017.

3.   Perspectives Réformées Haiti (PRIHA) recently moved into our office after the completion of the expansion project that many of our supporters participated in last winter.  The stability that this provides will help PRIHA focus on its core mission of communicating God’s Word through electronic and written media in Haiti.

Please join us in prayer for:

1.   Stability in Haiti.  A presidential election “redo” will be held on October 9.  This election will be particularly difficult because Haiti is in an inflationary economic crisis.  Prices of food and other basic items have risen by one third in the last six months.

2.   Peace for our ministry partner, the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti.  The church will be holding its first assembly since the removal of its former president after a protracted and damaging conflict.

3.  Interest from our supporting churches to send Service and Learning teams to Haiti.  We have an exciting project for 16-17 and we need your help. Contact us if you or your church are interested.

4.   Success in planning a conference on Christian Worldview October 18-20.  Our good friend, Dr. Harold Kallemeyn, has created new material in the form of a practical bible-study with an “action planning” component for this initiative.

Hot Dark Nights in Haiti

The spiderweb of wires on the left pole illustrates why public electricity in Haiti is so unreliable.  Our neighborhood transformer has literally 25 houses illegally connected without a meter to measure consumption.  Because so much electricity is stolen, the public utility company actually loses money on each kilowatt produced.  Thus, the only structure in Haiti with reliable electricity 24/7 in Haiti is the Presidential Palace.  Those of us who are not presidents get considerably less.

In our neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, we get public electricity from about 10 pm to 5 am on most days.  Since we would be in the dark during the other seventeen hours, we have an inverter system that uses deep-cycle batteries to provide minimal power for the rest of the day.  When the public electricity does not come on at all (as can happen sometimes for several days in a row), we have a backup generator to charge our batteries.  Recently, we spent four weeks without getting normal public electricity because of a malfunctioning transformer in our neighborhood.  Several times during the last four weeks, we measured 94 degrees fahrenheit inside our bedroom at night.  As you can imagine, we had some pretty uncomfortable nights since August is one of the hottest months in Haiti.  After calling the public electricity company daily for four weeks, we give thanks to God that a crew finally came and "fixed" our problem.  We are going to be taking a good hard look at solar panels for our house in the coming weeks.  Lack of electricity and water are two of the most fatiguing challenges to life in Haiti.

Two Hundred Years of Protestantism in Haiti

On the 19th of August, Haiti celebrated the two-hundred-year anniversary of the founding of Protestantism by Wesleyan missionaries from the United Kingdom.  When the first Protestant missionaries arrived in Haiti, the entire nation was officially declared by the Pope to be in schism from the Roman Catholic Church after Haiti violently gained its independence from the French in 1804.  Because the Roman Catholic Church had cut off relations from Haiti's Catholics due to the rebellion against the French, no priests or other Church representatives could officially work in Haiti.  The lack of priests was one of the many reasons that the Haitian masses mixed Catholicism with their ancestral religions, creating what is known today as Haitian Voodoo.  The progress of the Protestant mission was very slow in the country for the first 150 years of its existence.  Since the fifties and sixties, however, the Protestant church has grown very quickly.  Today 30-40% of Haitians are affiliated with a Protestant church of some kind.  The largest Protestant denominations are Baptist, Methodist/Wesleyan, and Pentecostal.  Unfortunately, some of the early Protestant mission work in Haiti has suffered from the often racist and paternalistic attitudes that have dominated much of the interaction between Haiti and the outside world since 1804.  However, in the last several decades, there has been a flowering of awareness among Protestant missions that God has equipped and called Haitian believers to guide and establish their own churches.  This Spirit-led change will allow for the Haitian church to take its rightful place among the world's other Christian communities.

Segaar-King July Ministry Report

Pastor Lemete (far right) celebrates with five new Timothy Leadership Trainers.  In July, Lemete finished sixteen years of service.

Dear Friends and Family:

Acts 18 records the Apostle Paul’s work in the city of Corinth.  In these verses we read about the aggressive opposition Paul endured from both Greeks and his fellow Jews.  Reading between the lines, we imagine that Paul could have been exhausted, frustrated, and even concerned for his safety.  So God appears in a vision telling him to keep speaking because “I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city.”  In times when we feel alone or hard pressed, it is good to remember that God has put many other people amongst us to encourage us and to lift us up.  We hope that this promise, which is so important to us, can encourage you in all aspects of your life.  

Please join us in giving thanks for:

1.    A successful women’s spiritual conference in Cayes Jacmel, Haiti.  Sharon and several others led sessions and services for participants from the Jacmel area.

2.    Sixteen years of service for our friend and colleague Pastor Lemete Zephyr as the director of the Ministry of Christian Development (MCD).  MCD is a key partner working in Christian leadership training in more than five rural communities in Haiti.  He will be succeeded as director by Dextra Wegens.

3.    Continued growth in our ministry for Haitian young people called IMPACT Clubs.  Young people in several Haitian cities are regularly meeting for Christian fellowship and reflection on how they can positively change their neighborhoods.

Please join us in prayer for:

1.    A good start to a new school year for our four children.  We are excited that our children all have teachers in place this coming year.  In the past it has been difficult for their school to find qualified teachers willing to serve in Haiti.

2.    Energy to handle all our ministry responsibilities.  We are critically short-staffed even though we have recently hired a new family.  It will be several months before they arrive in Haiti.

3.    Interest from our supporting churches to send Service and Learning teams to Haiti.  We have an exciting project for 16-17 and we need your help. Contact us if you or your church are interested.

4.    Safe travel in August and September.  Sharon is traveling to the US for a family event and Zach will be attending a mission conference in Mexico.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Vivian, Isaiah and Esther Segaar-King

Missionaries to Haiti through Christian Reformed World Missions

God’s Grace (and Subwoofers)

Exuma's speakers ready to pump out the Gospel.

Exuma and his friends study the TLT manuals at Bethel Christian Assembly

Two things that rarely go together for most North American believers are God’s saving grace and subwoofers.  But in Haiti, they are like two sides of the same coin.  Why?  One way churches can attract non-believers is through engaging and animated worship.  In Haiti that means electric keyboards, microphones, guitars, and, above all else, big speakers.  Just like non-believers in the pews, good quality sound equipment is hard to find during Sunday morning services in Haiti.  Evangelical churches are known as much for deafening speaker-feedback as they are for their ear-piercing hallelujahs.

Enter Exuma Exinord and Timoth Leadership Training (TLT) in Haiti.  Exuma recently worked through the TLT manual “Caring for God’s People” and was convinced that God gave him and his fellow church members at Bethel Christian Assembly the task of visiting three lapsed members whom no one had seen for many months.  Exuma quickly learned good pastoral care practice from the manual and began the visits with his friends.  Two of the lapsed members responded positively and re-engaged with their faith.  Moreover, in the process of the pastoral visits, five acquaintances of the lapsed members came to faith in Christ.  The love and care shown by Exuma and his friends convinced them of Christ’s gracious love for them as well.

God, however, was not finished using Exuma and TLT for the good of Bethel Christian Assembly.  While studying the second manual in the TLT series “Christian Stewardship,” Exuma and his friends became convinced that God was calling them to raise money to purchase new speakers for the sanctuary.  After many months of hard-nosed saving, Exuma’s church purchased a new set of speakers for 37,000 Haitian Gourdes (about $600 USD).  This may not seem like much to a North American, but for a Haitian this is a princely sum.  Eighty percent of all Haitians live on less than $2 USD per day.  That means that Exuma and his church saved the equivalent of nearly a year’s worth of income to enhance the worship of Christ at Bethel Christian Assembly.

It is truly a blessing to see how the TLT material that we use in Christian Reformed World Missions’ ministry in Haiti can bring both spiritual and material blessings to God’s people.  Pray for Exuma and the many young people like him whose lives are being transformed by the Gospel they encounter in the TLT program.