Segaar-King Update

Dear Friends and Family:

Greetings from Haiti. Yesterday we traveled to an area on the south coast of Haiti called Kay Jakmel. According to a recent report, Kay Jacmel has seen the least amount of reconstruction of any area in Haiti affected by the January 12, 2010 earthquake. Through funds provided SONBEAM International, Sous Espwa has been helping Kay Jakmel CRC to rebuild its church building. At the same time, the Kay Jakmel church members are assisting neighbors to rebuild their damaged homes through funds provided by CRWRC Disaster Response. It is exciting to see a group of Christians putting their faith in practice in their community!

Please join us in giving thanks for:
-A good kick off for a relief project being done by the CRC of Haiti in three communities in and around Jakmel. The project includes home reconstruction, trauma counseling, and loans to merchants who lost their business after the earthquake.
-Dedication of the Siloye CRC (Jakmel) building on April 10. It was amazing to see the congregation’s witness to the community and thankfulness to God.
-Plans that are being made for our upcoming home service. We will leave Haiti on August 3 and return on Feb. 10, 2012. CRWM will be contacting our partner churches soon to arrange a visit.

Please join us in praying for:
-The upcoming Timothy Leadership Training conference May 4-6. We are expecting sixty leaders who are training fellow Christians in practical ministry skills.
-A visit from Lakeside CRC of Alto, MI. We are taking the delegation to an area called Thomassique (see picture above) to explore a possible partnership with local churches in a community and church development program.
-A visit from an “Open Team” who will be taking part in the building of a water tower for the Ministry Center property.
-The Kay Jakmel church reconstruction project. Pray that the local church volunteers will be able to carry the project to completion.

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

Women's Conference 2011!!

Every year Sharon works with the CRC of Haiti to organize a national spiritual retreat with the women of the denomination. This is one of the most exciting and rewarding things we do all year. When people set aside a few days to give God praise and hear his Word for their lives, good things always happen. Unfortunately, it is very challenging for the participants to find the needed funds to cover the conference. Often the women do not have enough money for transport to the conference and end up walking many miles with food and bedding on their heads. Almost always, the money provided by the participants is not enough to purchase the kind and quantity of food people like, so it is necessary to make do with "bread and water" for the duration of the conference. Thankfully, God's Word says that we "do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Deut. 8:3). We pray that this kind of bread will be found in abundance at the upcoming CRC of Haiti women's conference at the end of June. Pray for Madame Solange (pictured above), the national women's coordinator for the CRC of Haiti, and Pastor Bellizaire (pictured above), pastor of the church where the conference will be held, as they work together to plan the event.

Fun for the Whole Family

We often neglect the importance of the ceremony in our culture. Processions, formal wear, and lofty language don't resonate with us anymore. Haitians, on the other hand, love ceremony and formality. It made an impression on Zach. On April 10 Zach attended the dedication of the new Siloye Christian Reformed Church building. The Siloye church was destroyed in the earthquake while its pastor (Eli Mettalus) was putting the finishing touches on the new building of another CRC of Haiti congregation being constructed in central Haiti. When SONBEAM International, the West Michigan charity that has funded the construction of five churches in the CRC of Haiti, heard about the loss of the Siloye church, it immediately wanted to fund its rebuilding. The new church was completed in January, 2011.

When Zach arrived at the church, he realized that although sporting a dress shirt and tie, he was quite under dressed for the occasion. All the pastors and attenders were in their full regalia. All the formality was quite appropriate, however. It was a time to formally recognize the grace God had given the congregation which had endured so much since the earthquake. Zach preached a message on the final chapter of Ecclesiastes where the author states that respect for God and obedience to his commandments is the whole duty of human kind. At the end of the service, the congregation treated all in attendance to a meal of rice, beans and chicken (considered to be a very rich meal in Haitian culture). Please see a picture of some ladies and their children who attended the dedication service.

Segaar-King March Update

Dear Friends and Family:

The Prophet Isaiah writes: “But now, this is what the Lord says, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel; ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name and you are mine’” (Is. 43:1). We often we feel anonymous in this large and complex world. It is easy to forget that we serve a God who knows us and cares for us personally, who, in the words of Jesus, has even counted the very hairs on our head (Matt. 10:30). We hope that you will take comfort in these promises which give such great encouragement to our Haitian colleagues who struggle with so much.

Please join us in giving thanks for:

1. The hiring off two new staff members to fill empty spaces: Lunise Cerin-Jules to replace Ad de Blaeij as Country Coordinator for CRWRC-Haiti and Anna Ribiero-Noelsaint as our new Constituency Bridger. Also, Lesley Millar-Toussaint is returning from maternity leave to work again with Pespectives Reformees.
2. Zach’s continued recovery from hernia surgery. We give thanks that the abdominal pain is gone.
3. The purchase of church property for the Jacquet church is finally going forward after four years of delays and frustrations. Praise God!

Please join us in prayer for:

1. Rampant inflation of food prices in Haiti. The price of a sack of rice has risen 50% in four months, leaving the poor and vulnerable with few options to survive.
2. The announcement of the run-off election results on April 4. Pray for peace in streets of Haiti.
3. The beginning of a new church construction project in Cayes Jacmel. The Cayes Jacmel church is the last church damaged in the earthquake that we will reconstruct.
4. Visits from Lakeside CRC of Alto, MI and an “Open Team” (a visiting group unaffiliated with any particular church) in April. If you would like to be part of the “Open Team” coming to Haiti April 30-May 7, please contact us or Mary Dykstra (mdykstra@crwrc.org) ASAP.

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

Pray for Peace

When you are in the bottom of a trough in the waves, its hard to see the horizon. This is very true in Haiti. After five months of anticipation, concern, and outright fear, the results of the second round of Haiti’s presidential and run-off elections (held March 20) are expected to be announced on Monday (see picture of the voting tabulation center on the right). What most concerns Haitians is the presidential election. Last December, the preliminary announcement of the elections sent enraged supporters of former music star and presidential candidate Michel Martelly in the streets where they blocked roads, burned cars, looted buildings. Many expect Martelly to be declared the winner on Monday. If he is not, there is a good possibility that his supporters, who have already shown their violent tendencies, could come out in force again. Thankfully, the run-off election, held on March 20, was calm. Unfortunately, because of irregularities, 60% of the vote tally sheets needed to be examined for fraud. Please pray for peace in Haiti. Pray also that God would guide Haiti’s next president to establish a government that is transparent and interested in the plight of its people.