Dear Friends and Family: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations...” When these words recorded in Isaiah 42:1 were written, they were intended to remind Israel of its own prophetic task to be a blessing to the nations. However, these words remind us of our Savior born in Bethlehem two millennia ago. Although this world is full of injustice and suffering today, we have the opportunity to work with the Holy Spirit at the task of bringing justice which will be completed when Jesus Christ comes again. May God grant you a blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with his grace!

Please join us in giving thanks for:
-The work of World Renew (formerly CRWRC) on the occasion of its 50th anniversary which we are celebrating in Haiti on the 21st of December. World Renew (which focuses on community development and disaster relief) is one of the three organizations that form Sous Espwa, the collaborative ministry in which we serve.
-Great progress on addressing a dispute between two of our ministry partners over land use at a property which they both occupy. The power of Christ to reconcile us with each other is amazing! -An opportunity to teach a group of essential Haitian volunteers about the biblical principles of service. We depend on volunteers in our work in order to maximize our limited resources and engage Haitians in God’s mission.
-God’s continued protection for our family.

  Please pray for:
-Our health. We have had a number of illnesses and injuries due to the rough nature of life here. Please pray for Zach’s injured eye and injured arm to heal well and Sharon’s continued healing for her shoulder.
-Important ministry events in January, 2013: a conference with our ministry partners on 16th and a visit to Belladere on the 20-21st with two board members of Christian Reformed World Missions. -Pray for the Jacquet church construction project. The church is taking two months off from construction to raise money to continue.
-Pray for the Haitian people this Christmas. It is a difficult time of year for those who were affected by hurricanes and the ongoing food-price crisis (the price of food commodities is very high this year due to droughts, hurricanes and the international market).

Thanks for your prayers and support, Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Isaiah, Vivian and Esther Segaar-King
Missionaries to Haiti
Christian Reformed World Missions

Challenges of Life

If you have ever built your own home, church, car, furniture, etc., you know that things rarely go as planned. Sometimes your money doesn't go as far as you budgeted, sometimes a certain material or commodity becomes scarce, sometimes you slip off the ladder and sprain your ankle. Well, our construction project to build a new church building for the Jacquet CRC has hit a few such bumps. We give thanks that for the most part, the bumps are fairly minor. First, in digging the foundation, the volunteer construction team found that the bedrock just under the surface was a lot harder than expected. Second, it seems like the entire project is just taking more time. Much time is going into the rebar preparation (the building is a reinforced poured-cement construction) because 3/4 in rebar is being used extensively for earthquake resistence (try bending a piece of 3/4 in steel rebar if you want to know why the construction is going slow). Thirdly, the church is struggling to raise enough money to pay the hired laborers and feed and house the volunteer laborers. This is because there is an ongoing food-crisis in Port-au-Prince (due to a draught followed by two hurricanes) and the fact that the Jacquet church is making payments on the land as well). Please join us in giving thanks for the progress already made in the project. Also, please pray that construction can resume after Christmas. Finally, funds are still needed to complete the construction of the building. Christian Reformed World Missions is working with SON-BEAM International and Trinity CRC of Goderich, ON, to fund the construction materials needed for the project. If you would like to donate to this project (we still need at least $10K of funding), please make your checks to "Christian Reformed World Missions" with the phrase "Haiti Church Constr 805803" in the check's memo line. Send the check to CRWM, 2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49560. Thanks.

Segaar-King November Update

Dear Friends and Family:
During this time in which we remember the blessings that God has given us, it is good to hear the words of Psalm 100: “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever, his faithfulness continues through all generations.” In Haiti we have often observed that the less material belongings people have, the more they are thankful for the basics of life that people in places like the US and Canada take for granted: school (we have yet to hear a single Haitian child complain about going to school), the support of a church body, food and shelter, and most of all, the promises of Jesus Christ signified by Christmas. Let’s all take some time to empty our hearts and lives of our preoccupations and look anew at the blessings God has given us all.
Please join us in giving thanks for:
-A successful seminar on the Poetic Books of the Old Testament in November. Sharon had to teach the whole seminar on her own because Zach was in Amsterdam for his doctoral studies.
-A powerful spiritual retreat for the staff and families of Sous Espwa held over the US Thanksgiving holiday. Over fifty people (both staff members and their families) focused on “Building a Solid Team in Christ” for four days. Sharon, who had the primary responsibility for planning and running the retreat, is tired but thankful for God’s blessing on the event.
-Zach’s trip to Amsterdam was successful. His doctoral project on New Testament theology of the inclusion of the Gentiles was approved by the faculty. Now Zach just has to find time to work on it! -Good health and safety for our family during six weeks of intensive ministry and travel in October-November.
Please pray for:
-The availability and price of food in Haiti. A drought (which coincided with the drought in the Midwest USA) and two hurricanes have wiped out a huge percentage of local food production in Haiti. In the coming months, Haitians will face a full-fledged food-crisis with prices of staples expected to double.
-An effort to bring two of our ministry partners together which have experienced some painful conflicts lately. Reconciliation is an ongoing part of our ministry in which we need your continual prayers.
-God’s blessing at an upcoming meeting of the board of the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti on Dec. 10-11. The church must decide some difficult questions about the leadership of one of its “zones” which is made up of six or seven churches.
Thanks for your prayers and support,
  Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Isaiah, Vivian and Esther Segaar-King
Missionaries to Haiti Christian Reformed World Missions

Something You Don't Want to See in the Middle of the Road

In a recent trip to the town of Savannette in the Central Plateau area of Haiti, Zach and a delegation of representatives from the CRC of Haiti and Christ Community Church in Victoria, B.C., ran into a problem on the road.  The road to Savannette is perched precariously on the side of a deep gorge which was carved out by a tributary of the Artibonite River (the main river in Haiti).  The trip to Savannette went well, though the ride was long and tiring.  We had good meetings with pastors of the CRC of Haiti churches in Savannette in which we identified a number of exciting possibilities for sharing.  We enjoyed a prayer service with one congregation in the area as well.  However, on the return trip, we were confronted with an excavator removing a large pile of rocks from the road.  After waiting several hours for the work to finish, we finally managed to make it up the slope and to the other side of area where the rocks fell.  We give thanks to God that the excavator and its crew were working that day.  If not, we would have been stuck in Savannette for a long time!

Renewed Together in Christ



Sous Espwa children pictured on the ruins of a 17th century French fort guarding the harbor of St. Louis de Sud, one of the oldest towns in Haiti (top).  Sous Espwa Team pictured during a worship service at the retreat (middle).  The exterior of the fort near St. Louis de Sud.

For some time now we have not only served our Haitian ministry partners, but we have also served our own ministry team as well. Our team, called Sous Espwa in Haitian Kreyòl, is made up of World Renew, Christian Reformed World Missions, and Back to God Ministries International staff members. To keep ministry moving forward, we have to put a lot of focus on our unity in Christ (especially since our ministry team is made up of Dutch, Americans, Canadians and Haitians). For this reason, Sharon undertook the organization of a spiritual retreat in November in which we focused on the theme of “Building a Solid Team in Christ.” Sharon invited all the employees of Sous Espwa and their children (see picture below) to go to a retreat center near Aquin (on the southern coast of Haiti). Over fifty people participated in the retreat which was lead by Rev. Octavius Delfis, a Haitian missionary and Presbyterian Church of America pastor. In addition, Sharon and other Sous Espwa staff members organized learning opportunities for children, small group activities for the teens, and team building activities for the adults. God blessed the retreat tremendously and we look forward to stronger relationships as our whole Sous Espwa team serves together!

Segaar-King October Update

Dear Friends and Family:
Our prayers go out to all of those affected on the East Coast affected by Hurricane Sandy. Very little discussion has made the press in the US, Canada and Europe about Sandy's first victim, Haiti. Sandy basically passed in between Jamaica and Haiti on October 24. Although Sandy didn't score a direct hit on Haiti, it rained almost non-stop for three days straight throughout the entire country. On Oct. 24-25, 300 millimeters of rain fell in Port-au-Prince (12 inches) and probably another three inches fell on October 26. This unbelievable amount of rain caused massive flooding, over 50 deaths, 300 homes destroyed (plus over 1000 makeshift shelters still remaining from the 2010 earthquake), and 10,000 people made homeless. It is being claimed that in the southeastern area of Haiti, seventy percent of harvest was destroyed by Sandy's torrential rains. The destruction comes after eight months of severe drought. In the end, we realize that like the wise man who built his house on the rock, only our obedience to and trust in God can keep us solidly planted in times of natural disaster. When you pray for the people of New Jersey and New York, don't forget to pray for the people of Haiti as well. Since Sandy's destruction in Haiti was not reported in the press, there will likely be no appeal for relief funds from international relief organizations and no opportunity to give to this need in Haiti.

Zach congratulates a graduate from the first level of our Timothy training.

Please join us in giving thanks for:
-Safety for our family and colleagues during Hurricane Sandy. Sandy is the second hurricane in as many months to strike Haiti (the first was Irene). Much damage has been done, but we realize things could have been worse.

-Success for our Timothy Leadership Training event held 24-26 October. Hurricane Sandy struck on the 24th, but, by God’s grace, we were able to successfully complete the training despite torrential downpours. Please see our blog for more details. -Success for our recent conference in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). We brought together twenty-five Haitians and Dominicans to discuss our mutual ministry challenges and possibilities for collaboration.
-We successfully received two groups visiting groups. The first was from Lakeside CRC of Alto, Michigan. The second was a group of pastors from Holland and Zealand, Michigan. Both groups left energized for the work here.
Please pray for:
-Zach’s trip to Amsterdam to continue his doctoral studies in New Testament. Pray that Sharon and the kids will be in good health and that no major breakdowns will occur with home or vehicle in Zach’s absence.
-The upcoming Spiritual Retreat for the Sous Espwa Haiti team. Sharon has been responsible for the planning of this important event. Pray that our team will be renewed for ministry!
-An upcoming seminar that Sharon will be doing on the Poetic Books of the Old Testament (Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes) while Zach is in Amsterdam.
-Success in the reconciling some of our ministry partners and colleagues. We are often cast into the role of mediators whenever a conflict comes up. We need the Spirit’s wisdom to handle these situations.

Stop, Collaborate and Listen!

The Haitian and Dominican delegations developed partnership plans to assist each other in the shared challenges of ministry in their respective countries and communities.  We hope to put these plans into our annual ministry and budget plans to be submitted this fall to our home offices!

Jean-Marc Cassamajor, an employee of our office, discusses what we can learn from a herb used by the Haitian people in homeopathic medicine.   The Haitian and Dominican delegation visited the National Botanical Gardens of the Dominican Republic together in order to get to know each other personally and learn about each other's cultures.

One of the most difficult habits to develop in Christian ministry is that of collaboration.  Despite the fact that our Lord prayed in the Gospel of John (chapter 18) before his arrest, "They may all be one as we are one," it is very difficult to put pastors and church leaders together.  Human nature is such that we often look out for our own interests instead of seeing how those interests dovetail with the interests of others and those of God.  In October, our team stopped everything to travel to the Dominican Republic and discuss opportunities for collaboration with our Dominican colleagues over three days.  The possibilities for collaboration were natural because the majority of the ministry of the CRC in the Dominican Republic is for Haitian expatriates who form an "underclass" in Dominican society.  These Haitians, many of whom are undocumented and unrecognized by the Dominican state, struggle against overt discrimination. (In fact, currently the Dominican government will not give birth certificates to children of Haitians born in the Dominican Republic).  During our discussions, it became clear that we share many of the same challenges and goals in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.  For example, Haiti and the Dominican Republic share a common challenge in the explosion of Haitian young people coming of age.  We developed a plan to teach young people the biblical principles of servant leadership so that they take their place in the churches on both sides of the boarder.  Please pray that the Spirit of collaboration would be present in the our lives and ministries and those of our ministry partners.

We Will Not Be Deterred

Two months ago the we set a date for three days of Timothy Leadership Training with our Haitian partners: October 24-26. Little did we know as we chose this date, that we were making an appointment not only for training but also with a hurricane, Sandy. The plan was for us to receive groups for the materials, "Caring for God's People," "Christian Stewardship," "Teaching the Christian Faith," and "Violence in the Family." Based on our work on the phone, we planned for 60 participants. Honestly, when we found out that Sandy would strike Haiti on October 24, Zach was a little discouraged. All the money for food was distributed and preparations had been made. All of this would go to waste if the participants didn't show up. On the day first day of the Timothy training (the 24th), Zach noticed that the rain was falling horizontally due to a 40 mph wind. A number of the participants that he planned to pick up on the way were no where to be seen. When Zach arrived at the Ministry Center (where the training was supposed to be held), the room was pretty much empty. However, by 9:30 am people started trickling in and by 10 am we had over 50 people! This was a real miracle as Haitians basically don't leave the house in a hurricane, for obvious reasons. On the night of the 24th, the heavens broke loose with a deluge that would have distressed Noah himself. Thursday morning, Zach was crossing water up to the doors of the Toyota LandCruiser (at least 2.5 feet). Amazingly, by 9:30 almost all the participants had returned and were thoroughly soaked since they mostly arrived by motorcycle-taxi (the normal public transport was not running). Again, on Thursday night, the heavens let loose. Friday morning, the entire environment around the Ministry Center was a lake. It would have required a canoe to arrive safely! Astoundingly, the same 45 people who made it on Thursday showed up on Friday. We graduated 4 participants from the first level of training and 2 from the second level. One of our graduates was leading Timothy training for over 135 people in his village every month! We give thanks for the Timothy training and the blessing of all those participants who were undeterred by Hurricane Sandy.

An Unwelcome Visit from Sandy

The pictures that we have seen coming out of New York and New Jersey have been evidence of the destructive power of the Hurricane Sandy.  Our prayers go out to all of those affected on the East Coast.  In fact, Zachary was to fly through the JFK airport on October 31st on his way to Amsterdam for consultation on his Ph.d. work at the Free University.  The flight was cancelled and rescheduled for Saturday.  Very little discussion has made the press in the US, Canada and Europe about Sandy's first victim, Haiti.  Sandy basically passed in between Jamaica and Haiti on October 24.  Although, Sandy didn't score a direct hit on Haiti, the storm brought an unprecedented amount of rain to Haiti.  In fact, it rained almost non-stop for three days straight throughout the entire country of Haiti.  On Oct. 24-25, 300 millimeters of rain fell in Port-au-Prince (12 inches) and probably another three inches fell on October 26.  This unbelievable amount of rain caused massive flooding, over 50 deaths, 300 homes destroyed and over 10,000 people made homeless.  The flooding hit the area of Jacmel (a city on the south coast of Haiti) especially hard.  The Jacmel River, normally a lazy stream easily crossible by truck turned into a raging torrent resembling the Mississippi at flood stage (see above).  The river and its tributaries spilled into Jacmel carried away trucks, cars, homes and people out to sea.  In Port-au-Prince, a number of the normally dry washes exploded out of their banks, flooding and cutting off sections of the city.  Many people in the municipality of Tabarre had to be evacuated in canoes and makeshift boats.  The town of Aquin in the southern coast of Haiti was completely isolated for four days as the main road was devoured by swollen rivers.  It is being claimed that in the southeastern area of Haiti, seventy percent of harvest was destroyed by Sandy's torrential rains.  The destruction comes after eight months of severe drought.  In the end, we realize that like the wise man who built his house on the rock, only our obedience to and trust in God can keep us solidly planted in times of natural disaster.  When you pray for the people of New Jersey and New York, don't forget to pray for the people of Haiti as well. Since Sandy's destruction in Haiti was not reported in the press, there will likely be no appeal for relief funds from international relief organizations and no opportunity to give to this need in Haiti. 

A Welcomed Surprise

Zach's first trip outside the US/Canada was to the Dominican Republic during his first year at Calvin Seminary to work on a building project for a church damaged in one of the hurricanes that often hit the island. While there, Zach met Haitians living in the "batays" or sugar-cane plantations. These Haitians were the underclass of Dominican society--without immigration status or legal rights--they were forced to live and work in the cane fields for nearly nothing. Those of us who know anything about the island of Hispaniola have heard that Haitians are generally treated as second-class citizens in the Dominican Republic. However, a few weeks ago, Zach saw with his own eyes how the Gospel is changing this perception. Pastor Camelus Anger (the "g" in "Anger" is pronounced the same way as the "g" in "giraffe," NOT "g" as in "gaffe"), a pastor in the CRC of Haiti, has built a relationship with a pastor from an international Baptist church in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Zach participated in a worship service which was the dedication of church (see top) built with the assistance of the Domincan Baptist church. Zach was shocked to see a bus full of Dominicans, about 25 in all, debark and start shaking hands, hugging and laughing with the Haitians in attendence at the church. The service was a celebration of how God is removing the "dividing wall of hostility" between Domincans and Haitians (Eph. 2:18) who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This experience was a tremendous encouragement to us and a demonstration of how powerful the Gospel is to change the hearts and lives of us all.  We pray that the new church at its pastor, Dieuseul Lacroix (pictured above standing next to the pastor of the Domincan Baptist Church).

Segaar-King September Report

Dear Friends and Family: In Eph. 4:4-6 Paul writes, “There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” We give thanks for your prayers and support for our ministry in Haiti. These are concrete examples of the connection between God’s people in North America and Haiti. In Christ we are all one (regardless of race, culture and language) just as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one! Please pray for: -The Ministry Summit that we are organizing for October 11-12 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Ten representatives of ministries that we are associated with in Haiti will spend three days with their colleagues in the Dominican Republic discussing and praying over our common ministries. -The Timothy Leadership Training event that is planned for October 24-26. We will be digging deeply into Scripture and teaching principles of preaching, teaching, Christian stewardship, and how church leaders can help their congregations and communities address domestic violence. -The Luth family who will be joining us in Haiti on October 4. Larry will serve as “Youth Leadership Developer” to help us address the millions of young people entering positions of responsibility in the Haitian church and society. - A number of visits from our partnering congregations in the USA: Lakeside CRC of Alto, MI and Calvary CRC of Holland, MI. Please join us in thanking God for: -The beginning of the construction of the Jacquet church in Petionville, Haiti (see picture above). This congregation has been praying and working to purchase land and build since 2007. With the support of a number donors and lots of hard work, work on the church’s foundation is underway. -Sharon’s successful participation in an evaluation of the ministry of the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Port-au-Prince. Sous Espwa supports a community development project in the Seminary’s economically deprived neighborhood. -A surprising partnership between several congregations of the CRC of Haiti and an independent Baptist church in the Dominican Republic. Often Dominicans are seen as disliking Haitians because their different culture (Haiti is one of the few non-Hispanic countries in Latin America) and considerable presence in the Dominican Republic as immigrants. -Continued good health and safety for our family in the new school year. Thanks for your prayers and support, Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Isaiah, Vivian and Esther Segaar-King Missionaries to Haiti Christian Reformed World Missions

Church leaders often scratch their heads and wonder about the level of faith commitment of some of the people they are trying to help. But sometimes they don’t. Especially not in the following circumstance. Last June 22-24, Sharon participated in the annual Spiritual Conference of the CRC of Haiti, held this year in Savannette, a small, isolated agricultural community in the central plateau of Haiti. Sharon learned about two women who had walked eight hours over the mountains, guided by their pastor, to participate in the conference. One of these women was carrying a nursing infant! Despite the hardship of the voyage (or maybe because of it), these two women were touched by the Holy Spirit during the weekend’s events. Sharon and the other leaders spoke to the approximately 70 participants from the perspective of Galatians 5:16-26 about the fruit of the Spirit that God was creating in them. However, Sharon felt led during the conference to address how God calls us to “control our tongue” as there were some unkind words exchanged among some of the women. We give thanks for the way God has blessed the Women’s Spiritual Conference over the years. Pray that this great event will continue!

Post-Isaac Report

On Friday, August 24, Tropical Storm Isaac struck the southern coast of Haiti with 70 mph winds and large amounts of rain. While human life has, for the most part, been spared (only 24 people reported to have lost their lives in the storm), there has been a large loss of property. For example, many domestic animals were lost to flooding, many farms washed away, and many homes lost their roofs. Pastor Joel’s church (see left), Mochil CRC in Jacmel, was heavily damaged (part of the roof was torn off) and the La Montagne Church (in the mountains above Jacmel) was completely destroyed. Sadly, both these churches were heavily damaged and repaired after the 2010 earthquake. Currently, World Renew (formerly CRWRC) is in the process of evaluating what kinds of disaster assistance can be provided. Please pray strength and patience for those affected.

Segaar-King August Update

Dear Friends and Family: The internet is just now functioning again for us in Port-au-Prince after Hurricane Isaac struck the southern coast of Haiti on Friday, August 24 (unfortunately, city electricity has not been restored to us). Isaac hit Haiti with winds of 70 mph (just below the strength of a category 1 hurricane) and massive rainfall. We were actually surprised by how powerful a storm Isaac was! Many people living in Port-au-Prince’s open air camps lost their tents and belongings. Many structures with roofs of wood-trusses and tin were damaged. According to government estimates, twenty-four people were killed in Haiti. We give thanks that despite the power of the storm, more of our Haitian colleagues were not affected. Please pray for: -Pastor Gregory Brutus (a former staff member of Perspectives Réformées) and his family. The hurricane tore the roof from Gregory’s house and forced his family to flee. -The Mochil and Lamontay churches of Jacmel: The hurricane tore off the roof and pushed over a wall in the Mochil church while pretty much destroying the Lamontay church. Both of these churches were destroyed in the earthquake and were recently rebuilt! -The people of Jacmel: Many homes lost roofs in Jacmel because of the direct hit from Isaac. -Ongoing food crisis in Haiti: The massive rains further destroyed crops already suffering from a three-month-long drought. Pray that the price of food will not increase anymore in the short-term. Please join us in giving thanks for: -Successful theological training in August. We taught the Major Prophets to a group of pastors and other church leaders -The beginning of a new school-year in August for our children at Quisqueya Christian School. -Our colleague Lelsey Toussaint (and her family) who was able to make it to Canada for the delivery of her baby. Thanks for your prayers and support, Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Isaiah, Vivian and Esther Segaar-King Missionaries to Haiti Christian Reformed World Missions

Prayer Request

Dear Friends and Family:

We are asking you to remember our colleague, Lesley Toussaint, her husband, Diego, and daughter Julianna, in your prayers.  Lesley and her family unexpectedly departed Haiti at the end of July because of complications with Lesley's pregancy.  Lesley was due in October and now is in a hospital in Canada on bed-rest until the birth of her child.  Please pray that Lesley will have a healthy baby and that she and her family can be patient until the whole ordeal is over.  Diego, who works for World Renew International Disaster Relief (formerly CRWRC IDR) in Leogane will return to Haiti after the birth of the child.  The Toussaint family will be missed.

Isaac's a Comin'

In the book of Genesis, Isaac seems pretty much the "good patriarch."  He doesn't lie about his wife being his sister (Abraham), he doesn't try to steal his brother's inheritance (Jacob).  Well, we are hoping that Tropical Storm Isaac lives up to its reputation as "the good tropical storm."  Why would a tropical storm be good?  Well, much of Haiti is suffering from the worst drought in a long time.  In the Port-au-Prince area, there has only been a few substancial rains since May, with periods of up to a month without a drop.  Some dry weather is normal for Haiti from November to March.  However, this is rainy season.  Many farmers in Haiti have lost their crops completely and there is no Federal Crop Insurance to bail them out.  In fact, what these farmers harvest is what they eat.  On the other hand, massive amount of rain from tropical systems are extremely dangerous because of flash flooding in Haiti's mountainous topography.  So far, Isaac is moving relatively quickly (21 knots) which means that catastrophic flooding may be avoided.  Please pray that Isaac will leave drought-breaking rains and not life-taking floods. 

Segaar-King July Update and Prayer Requests

Dear Friends and Family: Greetings!

We hope that you are experiencing the presence of God in your lives this summer. We are writing from Michigan where we are spending a few busy days of vacation before we leave for Haiti on the 11th of August. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!

Please join us in giving thanks for:
-God’s blessing on the General Assembly of the CRC of Haiti in July. Although the assembly got off to a tough start due to a conflict between a group of churches and their representative, God’s healing Spirit made it possible to complete much pressing business of the church. We rejoiced for the 305 people converted through the CRC of Haiti’s ministries in the past year. Of these 173 became baptized church members.
  -The graduation of over 20 participants in the Perspectives Réformées bible study in the Savannette area. Zach had the privilege of participating in the graduation ceremony. -Success for the Timothy Leadership Training event held in Port-de-Paix for over forty church leaders. The passion and interest for learning about ministry among this group of TLT students is a great encouragement. Please join us in prayer for:
-Perseverance for Sharon as we return to Haiti. After an MRI at the end of June, the results suggested that Sharon might not have a torn rotator cuff from her September, 2011, car accident, but rather an impinged and inflamed rotator cuff with a possible tear in the supporting tissues that could only be discovered through explorative surgery. However, Sharon’s orthopedic surgeon preferred specialized physical therapy and cortisone treatments over surgery. That means that Sharon will return to Haiti still dealing with shoulder pain.

Please pray that the exercises will help to resolve this problem.
-Theological training that we will be leading in mid-August in Old Testament and Bible Interpretation.
-Our safe return to Haiti on the 12th of August and our children’s quick adjustment to school which will be starting on the 13th.
-Those who are sick and/or traveling on our ministry team. The load has been quite heavy as we have been filling in for lots of absent colleagues.

Thanks for your prayers and support,
Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Isaiah, Vivian and Esther Segaar-King
Missionaries to Haiti
Christian Reformed World Missions

A Bible Study?

A lot of Christians participate in bible studies (both small-group and individual) in North American churches.  But, how many people have graduated from a bible study?  Many of you know that one of the main tools in our discipleship ministry in Haiti is the Perspectives Reformees (PR) Bible Study produced by Crossroads Bible Institute.  While there are three levels of the study, the first, called the "Great Truths of the Bible," is the most popular.  On July 22nd, Zach had the privilege of attending the first graduation for the PR bible study in an area called Savannette.  Savannette is known for its remoteness and difficulty of access.  In fact, village, which lies in a fertile river valley, is accessed by only a muddy and rocky "two-track" which is often blocked by rock-fall, landslides, and erosion.  However, as the picture above shows, Savannette is a beautiful and fertile area where there are many Christian brothers and sisters longing to study God's word.  Over twenty students of all ages graduated from the study.  It was an especially powerful witness to see Pastor Merisier Brunereus, the regional representative of the CRC of Haiti in Savannette among the graduates along with several other leaders from different denominations.  In Haiti (as in North America), pastors often neglect continuing education and are not willing to learn with their fellow church members.  However, Pastor Merisier was proud to sit among the graduates, many of which were less than half his age!  Please pray for PR's ministry as it has recently hired a new coordinator, Pastor Jacky Chery.  We have long known Pastor Jacky and we are happy to have him as a colleague and coworker.

Church Politics

For better or for worse, everyone who serves in ministry knows that the church has politics.  And no where does this come to clearer expression than when you through together a bunch of church representatives in an assembly or synod.  This July around seventy delegates of the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti met in Port-au-Prince for the annual General Assembly of the CRCH.  Some of the delegates were pastors while others were deacons.  There was a mix of both men and women as there are many deaconnesses in the Haitian evangelical churches (for the most part, Haitian churches do not have elders).  July's General Assembly was an occasion of great joy and also sadness.  The sadness was because one of the seven regions of the CRC of Haiti could not send delegates due a dispute between the regional representative and the pastors under his supervision.  Please pray that this dispute can be resolved as soon as possible so that the church can be whole.  There was also a milestone because a significant revision to the constitution of the CRC of Haiti was accepted by the Assembly.  While this may just sound dry to those unschooled in church politics, a solid constitution (church order) in a denomination can mean the difference between a united body of Christ or a splintered association of competing pastors.  Several new pastors were ordained (see above) and plans were laid for a denominational wide vote for new representatives for the Central Committee, which is the "board" of the CRC of Haiti (please see the picture above of Pastors Bellezaire Joseph, Camelus Anger and Gerald Paingue who are three members of the Committee).  Also, we rejoiced to hear a glowing report of what God is doing in the CRC of Haiti.  In the past year, 305 people received Christ, 173 of those were baptized, and of the baptized, 118 were young adults.  This occurred in a denomination of around 3000 members!  Please join us in prayer that the CRC of Haiti will continue to grow and that the church will seek the politics of the Christ and not those of the world.

Prayers for Rain Answered and Then Some

A lot of people of faith in the US have been praying rain as there are drought conditions throughout over half of the lower 48 states.  Well, we have been having quite a drought in the Port-au-Prince area too--over six weeks without rain during the normally wet hurricane season of all times.  Well, our prayers were answered on Monday, when with little fanfare, a storm hit the Port-au-Prince area at about 1 pm.  Zach was getting ready to load the car up with two boxes of French-language theological books he just received from a West Michigan charity called the Theological Book Network.  The wind picked up and it started to rain, so Zach ran out and pulled the grey Nissan Patrol into our office yard to load.  That's when the wind slammed us with a vengeance.  By the time Zach pulled out with the Nissan, the rain was hitting us horizontally and the sound of snapping trees was heard in the roar of the storm.  Zach pulled out and, not even twenty seconds later, a towering conifer tree in our office yard broke at ground level and fell across the driveway, coming to rest on the gate.  It was a tremendous shock to Zach to narrowly avoid getting smashed by a pine tree.  What was even more astounding is that the tree fell only inches from one of our mission vehicles that happened to be parked under it.  Needless to say, the storm has knocked out electricity for most of the week and snagged the Internet service.  We thank God for giving us rain--and protecting us from it (along with the accompanying wind)!   We pray that you too will get some rain without loss of life or property.

Adieu Jenny!

When we made the decision to serve in Haiti back in the spring of 2005, our sending organization, Christian Reformed World Missions appointed Jennifer LeMahieu to ease the transition of our arrival on the field. However, Jenny, who had already been in Haiti for two years, proved to be much more useful to God’s work here. So we kept her on for another seven years! Jenny has been responsible for encouraging the youth programs of the CRC of Haiti. She has worked with the Ministry of Christian Development, Timothy Leadership Training, and Strategies for Transformation. Jenny will be moving back to Michigan after visiting some of her supporters in the US and Canada. We give thanks to God for Jenny’s service. We also give thanks for Larry and Tracey Luth (of Hamilton, Ontario), who will be coming to Haiti sometime in the second half of 2012 when Larry will begin his work as Youth Leadership Consultant. Pray for Jenny and the Luths during this time of transition. Also, remember our family this summer as we will be losing close personal friends, Todd and Jen Edgerton, who are leaving Haiti and moving to Idaho. Megan Edgerton has been Hannah’s close friend and classmate in Haiti the last few years. Even though it feels like a lot of our friends are leaving Haiti, we give thanks for those who remain and those who will be coming!

Thanks to God for Success at Savannette

Savannette is a beautiful but very remote part of Haiti.  In fact, you cannot get their without crossing a river.  For the last few months, Sharon and the women of the Savannette have been planning the annual Women's Conference of the CRC of Haiti.  Every year the conference is held in a different location so that the women, many of whom travel by foot, can attend.  This year, there were 60-70 participants for the Conference which began on Friday the 22nd of June and ended on Sunday the 24th.  In fact we learned of one woman who traveled nearly 14 hours on foot carrying an infant in her arms!  Sharon was asked to preach two services and speak at two sessions during the conference.  The theme of the conference was "A Woman's Role in the Church."  In many traditional societies around the world, the churches are predominantly made up of women, children and young people.  Haiti follows this pattern.  In Haitian society, adult men are often very unstable, resulting in many broken families and a lack of men in the churches.  For this reason, women are called upon to do more than their fare share to support the church.  This is one reason why the annual women's conferences are so important.  Pastor Bruneries (pictured in front of his church) was very excited to plan and hold the conference at his church in Savannette.  In fact, he had almost the entire group of 60 women sleeping in and around his small home.  We give thanks to God that Sharon had the opportunity to participate in this important ministry.  Please pray for the Haitian family and churches--that God would encourage Haitian men to be responsible and that God would strengthen the women to manage their families and support the local churches.

Segaar-King June/May Update

Dear Friends and Family: Although “Evangelical Christian” culture has changed a lot in the last few decades, we find that people often see cross-cultural missionaries as odd—a strange breed who leave their own country to live among unfamiliar people. Actually, we are all missionaries in a sense (and not just because we all have a “mission” to demonstrate the love of God to others). Reflecting on the saints of old, the author of Hebrews (Heb. 11: 13-16) writes: “And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth...If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.” All Christians are living in a “country” and “culture” that is not our own. So, it is to be expected that sometimes this world should vex and confuse us—otherwise how would we know that our citizenship is in the world to come. We pray that God will convince us of our heavenly citizenship so that we can best change the world in which we live! Please give thanks for: 1. An extremely successful week of Timothy Training in 2-4 May. We had many more people (85+) than expected and graduated seven participants from the first and second levels. 2. Safety and success for a visit from a Worship and Music Team in May. The team visited numerous churches and hosted at what seems to be the first ever Worship and Music conference in Haiti. The conference and team were extremely well received. 3. Continued progress in the Vila de Woz church construction project. This week the Haitian team is putting up 24 trusses assembled with over 12,000 screws! Please pray for: 1. The annual Women’s Spiritual Conference to be held in an area of Haiti called Savannette 22-24 June. Along with some Haitian colleagues, Sharon will be teaching, preaching and encouraging the women in this isolated area near the Dominican border. 2. Visit of Zach’s parents to Haiti and our family’s trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for six weeks. Sharon is scheduled for a potential rotator-cuff surgery on Thursday the 27th of June pending results from an MRI she will have. Zach will remain in Haiti (until the end of July) and Zach’s parents will accompany Sharon to Michigan. Our whole family will return to Haiti mid-August, Lord willing. 3. The departure of our colleague and friend, Jennifer LeMahieu in June. Pray for Jenny’s transition as she concludes seven years of work with CRWM/Sous Espwa. 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

In Search of a Roof....

For many years now Vila de Woz Church has been a congregation in search of roof.  The foundation and walls are at least five years old and were constructed with the assistance of a group of expatriate Haitians from the community who were living in France and other countries.  Unfortunately, the group was not able to finish the funding after a certain influential banker in the community misappropriated the money transfer from the group (the banker since fled the community to avoid lynching).  For this reason, we were very stand-offish when the Vila de Woz project was first proposed by the CRC of Haiti.  However, we agreed to a small project to demonstrate the willingness and capacity of the congregation to manage the project.  The small project was successful and the plans for the church roof were approved (budgeted at nearly $18,000 USD) and funded generously by SON-BEAM International of Jamestown, MI.  As of today, all 25 wood trusses have been built out of the lumber pictured above.  A group of volunteer masons poured a bond beam on the walls and built a peak on the back and front of the church.  This week, Kesnel Ady and Elihu Metallus are working on fastening all the trusses to a wood sill plate screwed to the bond beam by some large threaded rod poured into the bond beam.  Unfortunately, there has been a problem with the phillips drill bits used to drive the screws attaching the sill plate to the trusses--they all broke (often the tools imported into Haiti are of low quality)!  This means an extra trip by small bus to Port-au-Prince (8 hours each way) and back to purchase new bits.  Please pray that the time lost waiting for these bits can be made up and the church can be finished on time.

"You never know who will show up....."

One of the pithy phrases we live by is this: “Lè ou fè yon seminè fòmasyon, ou pa janm konnen kilès pral debake sou ou.” Here’s the approximate translation: “When you do a training seminar, you never know who will show up.” This was certainly true for the last week of Timothy training which took place May 2-4. In the previous seminar last October, there were much fewer people than expected. But in May, over 75 people showed up! We were shocked and got off guard because we had prepared for 63. We didn’t have enough food and Zach and a few other leaders were obliged to skip lunch on the first day of training. We also didn’t have enough handouts or enough chairs. But what was really difficult was that we didn’t have enough trainers to divide the large group into smaller groups of a more manageable size. However, it was amazing to see so many people yearning to drink deeply from the well of biblical and practical training that Timothy Institute offers. We graduated a group of seven leaders from the first level of training (Pastoral Care and Christian Stewardship). Two of those leaders graduated from the second level (Preaching and Teaching the Christian Faith). There were a number of exciting testimonies from the participants about the changes in their ministry because of Timothy. There were a number of groups that had revitalized their ailing Sunday School and small group ministry by using the Timothy bible studies (especially the one on Pastoral Care). Another participant said that many marginal attenders in his church have been baptized and become full members in church because of a pastoral visit from a Timothy group member. There were other group members who witnessed to the improvement that their churches have seen in offerings and ministry involvement because of the Stewardship material. We are thankful to God for his grace in growing our Timothy training ministry. Please join us in praying for a training seminar for Timothy trainers that we will be holding on June 8.

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.