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