Six Months and Counting

Yesterday, July 12, 2010, was the sixth-month anniversary of the January 12 earthquake centered near Leogane, Haiti. According to conservative estimates, some 225,000 human lives were extinguished and over 1.5 million people are living in temporary refugee camps. It is impossible to underestimate the effect that this event has had on the Haitian people as nearly everyone has lost a family member. The view of Port-au-Prince from the mountain-top overlook belies the gravity of the situation (see above). Some twenty million cubic yards of rubble (enough to completely fill the New Orleans Super-Dome five times) still must be removed. Eighty-percent of school buildings were destroyed or rendered unusable along with nearly every governmental building of any size (see if you can locate Haiti's destroyed Presidential Palace in the middle of the picture above). Ironically, many people living in the squalor of Port-au-Prince's overflowing refugee camps have better access to clean water and food than before the earthquake because of efforts of international relief organizations. Perhaps this fact alone explains why so many Haitians are willing to live in fear and insecurity under the unprotected tents and tarps of the camps. Despite the appalling conditions six months afterwards, our Lord is a God of hope. Zach spent all of yesterday in Leogane (only a few miles from the epicenter) teaching a small group of Haitian pastors methods to counsel the grieving. More and more Haitians than ever before are seeing comfort in Jesus Christ. The Haitain churches and Christian organizations that we support have a once in a lifetime opportunity to display God's love through words and acts of mercy. We confess God is in control of this situation, but it has been a pretty terrible six months.

Living in a Crack(ed) House

In the days after the January 12 earthquake, a staff member from CRWRC Disaster Relief who happened to be staying with one of colleagues, coined the phrase "Crack House" to describe the post-earthquake state of our mission housing. The home of our colleague, Howard and Ruth Van Dam, was actually so cracked that they decided to move out an into another nearby residence. Our home was definitely cracked--a spider web of some small and other not so small cracks eminated from windows and corners on the first story. Thats why we were relieved when two visiting engineers from Grand Rapids-based Partners Worldwide declared that our cracks were only superficial and did not affect weight-bearing structures (like reinforced cement columns and beams). However, cracks are cracks and they certainly don't add to one's peace of mind. After six months of on and off work, today Zach finally finished the repair and repainting of the larger cracks. We got a lot of help from three gentlemen from Jamestown CRC (Hudsonville, MI) who helped Zach repaint most of the house last April (see above). The repairs have been completed just in time for our family to return to Haiti on the 30th of July. Please pray that our children will be able to make the transition to life again in Haiti. They will no doubt have a lot of questions about earthquakes and the few small cracks that remain in the house. It will be nice not living in "Crack House" again.

Say, What's That Crawling on Your Shirt.......?

It seems that some people naturally are repulsed by certain parts of God's good world, while others seem attracted like a moth to the flame. Today, Zach had the good fortune to stumble upon two large tarantulas while carrying blocks during a Ministry Center work project. The first time, the tarantula actually jumped on Zach's shirt before he managed to brush it off. That definitely got his attention. After an impassioned appeal for its life, Zach's Haitian colleagues agreed to let the spider escape unharmed. The second tarantula, also discovered in a concrete block, succumbed to Zach's clumsily aimed foot-wedge shot trying to position it for a photo. Both tarantulas measured more than than six inches across. Now, Zach can brag (?) that he has nearly been bitten by rats, bats, scorpions, a green mamba (one of the world's most poisonous snakes), and finally, two tarantulas, all in the hope of that perfect picture. Thank God Haiti only has a handful of poisonous animals!

Learning and Serving

Like many other mission organizations, Sous Espwa receives visiting teams from our network of supporting churches. In the last month, we have received a team from Calvary and Calvin CRC (Holland, MI), Peace Community Church (Frankfort, IL), and Calvary CRC (Holland, MI). We believe that the experience of a visiting team should include both serving and learning. Often, the service part of a visit is working on a building project side by side with Haitians who are themselves invested in the success of the project. Haitians and North Americans enjoy getting to know each other and sharing their love of Christ with one another. But visiting teams to Haiti also spend roughly half of their time learning about Haitian culture and the Haitian church. We visit Sous Espwa ministries, Haitian churches, and sites of cultural interest. Without a doubt, the most rewarding experience for visiting teams is making friends among their Haitian counterparts. If you and/or your church are interested in organizing a visiting team, please contact us at segaarking@yahoo.com.