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