Segaar-King December Ministry Update

Dear Friends and Family,             

The date we have chosen for the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 is a bit arbitrary.  Because they use a Gregorian (instead of the Julian) calendar, many Eastern Christians celebrate New Year on or around January 14.  Orthodox Jews celebrate their New Year (Rosh Hashanah) in September!  Chinese New Year is in February.  Regardless of how we mark time, it is important to reflect on how God has blessed us in the past year and entrust the coming year to his loving guidance.  We give thanks to God for your prayers and support in 2014.  We look forward to another productive year in service to God’s people in Haiti in 2015.  May you have a blessed year in 2015!

Please join us in giving thanks for:

 -A fruitful trip for Zach to Haiti in December for an evaluation of the collaboration (called “Sous Espwa”) between Christian Reformed World Missions, World Renew and Back to God Ministries International.  Take a look at our blog for some of the lessons that we learned!

 -An opportunity to get in contact with our Haitian friends and ministry partners.  Zach’s visit was a whirlwind of phone calls, meetings, and activities, but we give thanks that things are going well.

-A few Sundays off from our church visits to rest and recuperate and healing from some pretty bad colds and cases of the flu.

Please join us in praying for:

-A BIG prayer request in 2015 will be for the organization of elections in Haiti.  Four years’ worth of election dates have come and gone, resulting in ongoing demonstrations and great frustration.  So far, the demonstrations have been organized and peaceful.  However, in 2015, the only official still serving a legitimate term will be the President!

-Upcoming surgery for Hannah and Isaiah to remove potentially cancerous moles from their skin.

-Our colleagues in Haiti who will be receiving an unprecedented number of church teams in January-March.  We hope to finish the Ministry for Christian Development’s conference center.

 -Zach as he tries to find time to work on his New Testament dissertation and Sharon as she works part-time at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services as a chaplain in a Clinical Pastoral Education internship.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Vivian, Isaiah and Esther Segaar-King

Missionaries to Haiti through Christian Reformed World Missions 

What Does Christmas Mean?

The "grotto" at the Church of the Nativity where Jesus was born according to the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

Another rock grotto in Bethlehem which could be the place of Jesus' birth.

Two out of four Gospels (Matthew and Luke) record a number of historical details about the birth of Jesus.  Both include genealogies, showing Jesus' biological lineage.  Both indicate that he was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the time of King Herod (Matthew), the rule Governor Quirinius (Luke) and under the reign of Caesar Augustus (Luke).  Jesus mother, father, family, and paternal home are all identified.  Why is this important?  Wouldn't the story be the same if we just had John's esoteric creation account ("In the beginning was the Word...") or Mark's report of John the Baptist's testimony of Jesus ("After me comes one more powerful than I...")?  When I first visited the "grotto" of the Church of the Nativity (pictured above) where Jesus was supposedly born, the images and decorations of the Eastern Orthodox tradition were unfamiliar.  Furthermore, I knew that it wasn't until several hundred years after Jesus' birth that this site was identified as Jesus' birthplace--meaning that one of the many of the shallow limestone caves in and around Bethlehem could just as likely be the real birthplace.  In the end, it doesn't matter where Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  What matters is that he was born in Bethlehem, under the reign of Herod, Quirinius, and Caesar Augustus, etc.

In Haiti, many evangelical Christians don't recognize or celebrate Christmas (or Advent) because of a perceived association with the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church.  This is sad because in Christmas we remember that Jesus is not merely an idea or spiritual principle (as many in our own culture would like to believe).  He is a historical person whose birth and life makes a huge difference to our world.  Since Scripture claims he is a real person, we are all faced with a real choice of what our response will be to the teaching and claims of Jesus.  Please pray that more and more Haitians would acknowledge the Christmas child.  Pray also for a renewal of faith in North America where we are comfortable talking about "God" and "faith," but not about Jesus Christ who gives us faith and allows us to know God.

Happy New Year!

Checking Up

Sous Espwa Team with World Missions and World Renew Latin America Leaders

Reflection in progress!

Human nature being what it is, one of the biggest challenges those in ministry face is working joyfully and effectively with fellow Christians.  For this reason Jesus spends a good portion of his final night praying that his followers "may be one" just as the Father and Son are one (e.g., John 17:11).  At the core of our ministry in Haiti is the collaboration (called "Sous Espwa") between Christian Reformed World Missions (our sending agency), World Renew and Back to God Ministries International.  These are three different organizations, each with different goals and a different organizational culture all working under the same roof and the same organizational recognition in the eyes of the Haitian government.  As if this weren't challenging enough, our staff members are Haitians, Americans and Canadians.  While the cultural distance between the U.S. and Canada isn't terribly broad, the cultural distance between Haiti and North America is quite vast.  And, what is perhaps the most challenging of all, there has been a large amount of transition on our team as long-time staff members and families have left and new ones have been recruited. That is why this December Zach flew back to Haiti to participate in an evaluation of Sous Espwa as an organization.   The exercise of evaluation was challenging and tiring, but also it was very exciting to see a new team (we're calling it "Sous Espwa 2.0") emerge.  We learned that there are several areas where our collaboration is not bearing the expected fruit.  We also rejoiced in the effectiveness of our "holistic ministry" strategy, as we empower Haitian churches and communities to meet the spiritual and material challenges that they face.  Some of the learnings were more lighthearted.  Our Haitian team confessed that maybe they could get up out of their desks and approach other team members instead of yelling across the entire office (this is a behavior of familiarity in Haitian villages) to communicate with them.  Our North American team members learned to be less vocal in staff meetings to give Haitian staff members space to consider ideas (the "flat" view of authority in North American culture is not shared in hierarchical Haitian culture where an authority figure's discourse ends discussion).  We give thanks for this great opportunity to learn, share and make our collaboration more effective.

Christmas Giving Needs

This Christmas we would like to draw your attention to several projects that cannot happen with out your support.  In the spring of 2015, Perspectives Réformées Haiti will be holding another conference for pastors and church leaders.  In order to hold this conference, we need to raise $5,000 USD by March, 2015.  If you would like to support the project, please make checks out to “CRWM” (with “PRIHA PROJ 805904” in the check’s memo line).  Additionally, we are faced with the challenge of meeting our support raising goal of $113,500 USD in order to continue our ministry in Haiti. If you would like to support the project, please make checks out to “CRWM” (with Segaar-King WMLA 802199 in the check’s memo line).   Send checks to CRWM, 1700 28th Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49508.

Segaar-King November Ministry Report

Dear Friends and Family,             

We spent the American Thanksgiving holiday in Minnesota where we reflected on gratefulness for God’s bounty, visited one of our supporting churches, and spent some time with Sharon’s extended family.  Most obviously, we were grateful to be warm since the thermometer barely got above 10° F.  Secondly, we were thankful for all the people we met who have been following our ministry in Haiti and praying for us.  It reminded us that whether we celebrate the holidays with a large family, a few friends or by ourselves, we all have a family in Christ--for we are all sons and daughters of the same heavenly Father.  We pray that you may find someone to help you bear your burdens and carry your joys this Christmas!

Please join us in giving thanks for:

 -A report that progress has been made within our partner, the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti, in sorting out some administrative challenges (see our attached newsletter).

-Our friend and colleague in Haiti David Maisonneuve has been making some improvements after being struck by an out-of-control motorcycle.

-Continued blessing in the work of fund-raising. 

 In December we will be visiting Bethany Christian Reformed Church (Muskegon, MI) on December 7 and Three Rivers Christian Reformed Church on December 14.

Please join us in praying for:

-Zach’s upcoming trip to Haiti in December for an evaluation of Sous Espwa (the collaboration of Christian Reformed World Missions, World Renew and Back to God Ministries International).  Pray for safe travel and that the effort will provide concrete ideas to improve our ministry.

-Upcoming surgery for Hannah and Isaiah to remove potentially cancerous moles from their skin.

-Organization of elections by the Haitian government which have been delayed for three years so that the country could be more politically and economically stable.

 -Zach as he tries to find time to work on his New Testament dissertation and Sharon as she works part-time at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services as a chaplain in a Clinical Pastoral Education internship.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Vivian, Isaiah and Esther Segaar-King

Missionaries to Haiti through Christian Reformed World Missions 

Christmas in Haiti

While in Michigan we will be shivering under blankets of snow this Christmas, Haitians will be enjoying week after week of sunny, dry and warm winter weather.  While Christmas in Haiti is very different outwardly, there are many similarities with our experience.  For example, Haitians travel back to their hometowns to enjoy time with family, they often spend too much money on gifts, they get Christmas bonuses (the lucky few with jobs get two-months’ salary in December), and they go to church (though unlike us, they often spend entire afternoons and evenings at these services).   The greatest similarity, however, is the need that both Haiti and North America has for the Christmas child—Jesus Christ.  Here we are assaulted by the temptations of consumerism—to satisfy our deepest needs with new cars, jewelry, toys and electronics.  In Haiti, the Christmas season is a time of greatly increased theft as people steal from others to give gifts to loved ones.  Whether we live in North America or Haiti, we all need to be transformed by a relationship with Christ.

Recharge

In Haiti, people are often scrounging around for a powered electrical outlet to recharge their cell-phones because electricity is unreliable and scarce.  During public events (like church-services), one may see ten or twenty cell-phones recharging from one outlet by means of several multi-outlet strips haphazardly strung together.  Since people often ask us what we do during our home-services, we would like explain with the image of recharging.  During our field-service in Haiti, we teach, visit, consult with and encourage our Haitian colleagues.  When we are on our home-service, we need to recharge in several ways.  First, we need to “recharge” our support raising by connecting with churches and donors that can help us meet our considerable fund-raising goal by June 30, 2015.  Second, we recharge by getting a lot of the medical care that is unavailable to us in Haiti (which means a lot of doctor visits).  Third, we focus on spiritual growth by taking spiritual retreats and marriage growth retreats (we took one of each in October).  Finally, we concentrate on ministry growth.  Sharon is doing an internship in chaplaincy at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services three days per week.  Zach continues to chip away at his New Testament dissertation.  Even though we are not in Haiti, the work continues, so we spend a lot of time answering e-mails and connecting with our colleagues over the Internet or phone.  Finally, we have been involved in consulting and strategizing with several organizations working in Haiti to enhance missions and grow our ministry.  The next time you plug in your phone, tablet or computer, please remember us in prayer as we try to recharge so that we can return to Haiti and serve more effectively.

Please Pray

Last summer was a historic moment for the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti (CRCH).  The General Assembly (a yearly meeting of pastors and deacons) elected a new president, Pastor Camelus, after nine years of Pastor Elihu’s leadership (see picture below).  We assumed the transition could be challenging for the CRCH after a decade of stability in the highest level of leadership.  Well, our hunch was right.  This fall, many of our projects and programs with the CRCH came to a halt as it reorganized its administration and decision-making processes.  Our colleagues in Haiti rightly stood back and allowed the Haitian leadership of the CRCH create a contextualized and long-term solution to these new leadership challenges.  However, we did pray for and encourage all involved to work together.  While the “dust has not fully settled,” we received word in November that the leadership of the CRCH agreed on a revised administrative structure.  Please pray that this new compromise plan will be effective and ministry will move forward!

Jesus Withrew

Hills in the Judean countryside where Jesus fasted and prayed during his temptation after his baptism.

The mountains of Galilee where Jesus withdrew to pray during the Galilean portion of his ministry.

Throughout his ministry, the Gospel writers report that Jesus withdrew to desolate places to pray and meditate.  This is one literary technique that the Gospel writers use to encourage us to see the value of prayer and meditation in the Christian life.  For example, in Mark 1:35 we read, "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."  If missionaries and pastors were honest to their supporters and parishioners, they would admit that they often do not spend adequate time in prayer and meditation.  Life is busy and the demands of ministry are high!  We must admit, this is too often true of us.  For this reason, we spent three days at the Hermitage Community, a secluded corner of southwest Michigan where you can pass an entire day sitting in the forest praying and meditating without seeing another person.  Zach passed his days praying and struggling with the book of Ecclesiastes.  Sharon enjoyed bible reading and journaling.  We reflected on our ministry Haiti, searching for God's direction in the future.  By the time our visit finished, God had finally calmed our heart and given us the assurance to move forward.  Thanks for supporting us in prayer.

Segaar-King October Update

Dear Friends and Family:

Greetings!  The Gospels tell us that often in his ministry, Jesus withdrew by himself (or sometimes with his disciples) to pray and meditate (e.g., Mark 1:35).  Since the Gospel writers say nothing by accident, we can be assured that these reports of Jesus’ habits are meant to be models for the Christian life.  In October, we have focused on prayer and spiritual growth by taking several days to pray, reflect and seek direction for our ministry.  We hope that you all will be able to take advantage of quiet moments for prayer and reflection.  God can use these powerfully in our lives!

Please join us in giving thanks for:

-Blessings in our support raising.  We are enjoying our visits with you and your church this fall.  We will be visiting 12^th Avenue CRC in Jenison, MI (a.m.) on November 2, Faith CRC in Holland, MI (a.m.) on November 9, Peace Community Church in Frankfort, IL (a.m.) on November 16, Lakeside CRC in Caledonia, MI (a.m.) on November 23, and Brooten Community Church (a.m.) in Brooten, MN on November 30.

-Improved health for our family. 

-A successful Timothy Leadership conference in October in Haiti.  We had 60 participants.  See our blog for more info.

-For opportunities for spiritual growth and renewal.  We spent several days at the Hermitage Community (for prayer and reflection) and a Marriage Encounter (marriage growth seminar).

-The opportunity to be a part of the discussion in October about a new epoch for the Back to God Ministry International’s Perspectives Réformées (PR) French-language program.  In the coming months, new materials and programming will be making its way to PR in Haiti.

Please join us in praying for:

-Peace and understanding as the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti goes through a major leadership transition and an ongoing financial crisis.

-Our radio ministry, Perspectives Réformées, which is going through a difficult time of transition.

-Pray for our good friend and ministry colleague, Pastor David Maisonneuve, who was recently hit by a motorcycle while standing on the road-side.  The extent of his injuries is not yet known, but he is at home resting.

-A lot of travel in November to Minnesota and Illinois to visit our supporting churches.

 -Zach as he tries to find time to work on his New Testament dissertation and Sharon as she has begun her Clinical Pastoral Education.

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 

Progress in October

The Timothy Leadership Training event was held in the partially finished conference center.  We hope to complete the center with the help of several teams in the winter of 2015. 

A group of TLT students interact in one of MCD's administrative offices.

Since 2009 a major project of the Haiti field has been helping our partner, the Ministry for Christian Development (MCD), to build an office and conference center.  MCD is a small Haitian para-church organization that trains evangelical Haitian church leaders in isolated rural communities.  The conference center provides a central location for training events.  However, when not being used by MCD, we hope that the conference center can be rented to other organizations and individuals for their events.  The revenue from these rentals can support MCD's ministry which often faces financial hardships.  In October, the partially-completed conference center hosted our biannual Timothy Leadership Training event.  For three days, 60 Haitian church leaders learned practical ministry skills like pastoral care, stewardship, teaching, preaching and several others.  We give thanks that this event was a success even though we were in Michigan for our home-service and could not participate.  We pray that these leaders will continue to grow in the love and knowledge of God through this training.

A Prayer Request for Jean David Maisonneuve

Dear Friends and Supporters:

We would like to request prayer for our friend and colleague Jean-David Maisonneuve.  David is the pastor of an independent Baptist church in Port-au-Prince.  He is also a long time supporter and trainer in Timothy Leadership Training (TLT).  Pastor David discovered TLT on the Internet before it was officially offered by World Missions in Haiti in 2009.  After the official kick-off of TLT training in Haiti, he immediately became a key volunteer trainer and a real driving force behind all that we have been doing with the training program.  Pastor David lost his home in the earthquake of 2010 and some money was allocated from disaster relief funds to help him rebuild.  Several months ago he was standing on the side of the road when he was struck by an out-of-control motorcyclist.  Since the accident, Pastor David has not been able to get around and could not participate in the October training event.  Please pray for Pastor David's healing so that he can return to his pastoral ministry and his training ministry with TLT in Haiti.

Segaar-King September Ministry Report

Dear Friends and Family:

This fall as we have been visiting churches we have been talking about God’s compassion for lost and suffering people and what it means for us.  As God’s people, God calls us to have his “heart.”  Thus, compassion should motivate us just as it did Jesus, who after seeing “the crowds...had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36).  We thank you for giving us the opportunity to prepare Haitian leaders for the important task of showing God’s compassion to the lost and suffering people in their communities.

Please join us in giving thanks for:

-A good start to our support raising.  We are looking forwarding to visiting you and your church this fall.  In October we will be at 2^nd CRC of Allendale (5^th am), Jamestown CRC (12^th am), Calvin CRC of Grand Rapids (12^th pm), Calvin CRC of Holland (19^th am) and Eastern Ave. CRC (19^th pm).  

-Improved health for our family.   Half of our family started weekly allergy shots.  Also, we have all been to the dentist and we are working on getting everyone in for doctor checkups. 

-Our new ministry colleague, John Vanderstoep, has taught some of our training sessions in Haiti.

-No damaging storms in Haiti so far this hurricane season (with still a month to go).

-Joyful fun activities.  Sharon sings with Calvin’s Oratorio Society, Hannah is in theater and plays the flute, Zach bikes, Esther swims, Isaiah plays soccer and Vivian plays the violin.

Please join us in praying for:

-Peace and understanding as the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti goes through a major leadership transition and an ongoing financial crisis.

-Our radio ministry, Perspectives Réformées that is going through a time of transition as it seeks a new bible correspondence course and a new direction after the departure of Paul Mpindi, the long-time voice of the French-language radio program broadcasted in Haiti.

-The Timothy Leadership Training seminar that will happen in Haiti on 16-18^th of October in our absence.  Pray especially for good promotion and good turnout.

-Our children as they adjust to the new academic and social environment at school.

-Spiritual renewal as we will take three days in October to refocus on prayer and spiritual discernment.

 -Zach as he tries to find time to work on his New Testament dissertation and Sharon as she begins her Clinical Pastoral Education in mid-October.

Please see our attached September newsletter!  We have published a second new video about our ministry in Haiti on YouTube at http://youtu.be/QOdt5_OCOdM

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 

Thank You for Your Support

Most people are surprised to learn just how expensive life and ministry are in Haiti where the costs of food, fuel and other items are 50% more than in a medium-sized American city.  Without your generous support of our ministry, our family could not live and work in Haiti.  Your support pays our salary, housing, travel, health insurance, minister’s pension, and administrative requirements. During our last fiscal year, we met our support raising goal.  This fiscal year (beginning in July), our sending organization, Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM), is asking us to raise $113,500 USD.  We ask you to prayerfully consider supporting or continuing supporting our work in Haiti.  Thank you for making our life in Haiti possible.

A Big Vision

The Northwest Province of Haiti is known for its beauty.  It also known to be the “graveyard” of big non-government aid organization (NGO) projects.  Broken-down irrigation projects, faded plaques announcing failed agriculture initiatives and shuttered clinics dot the region.  There are plenty of reasons why these projects have failed, most of which lie with mismanagement of the NGOs themselves.  However, one reason for the failure is that the perspectives of the local population which contribute to their situation remain unchanged.  Our work with Timothy Leadership Training (TLT) aims to leverage spiritual growth in Christ to bring physical change in communities.  For example, Pastor Tardieu (front row, second from right in picture above), has covenanted to teach Christian stewardship to 300 leaders.  He uses TLT to teach not only faithful tithing, but also the importance of faithfully developing livelihoods to better support family, community, and  the poor.  Pastor Tardieu labors to change the popular belief among his neighbors that they are merely “poor Haitians” who can never change their situation despite their faith in Christ.  In contrast, some big aid projects have avoided addressing unhealthy perspectives and beliefs that contribute to poverty.  Please pray for Pastor Tardieu and his TLT teams as they try to make the kinds of changes that have eluded the NGO community and its millions in the Northwest Province.

A group of graduates from the TLT training in the Northwest Province pose with the trainers including Zach

A Sister of the Roses

Sister Francois has been connected to Viladewoz (translated, “Villa of Roses”) church for most of her life.  In fact, the church was built a few feet from her home.   Pastors and projects have come and gone; but every day, Sister Francois faithfully hosts bible studies, worship services, and youth groups at the church.  Because of her patient advocacy, SONBEAM International purchased building materials to help church members cover the roofless church building with a new truss and sheet-metal roof.  She even encouraged her nephew, Joslin Fevrier, to attend our theological training courses so he can serve the church as pastor.  Sister Francois is exactly the kind of woman that we have been trying to reach through Sharon’s work with the women’s ministry of the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti (CRCH).  Sister Francois hosted the annual Women’s Spiritual Conference in June, 2014.  The goal of the conference was to equip and encourage Sister Francois and other women who are deeply engaged in the life of the church.  

Sister Francois sings with a group of women from the church

Helping Teachers, Helping Schools

School teachers and directors study pedagogy together as part of the CRWM Christian education project

In Haiti, there are only enough government-supported schools to serve a small percentage of the ever increasing number of school-aged children (as there are about five births per woman, a large percentage of the Haitian population is children).  Haiti's protestant evangelical churches are filling that void in primary and secondary school education.  Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM) in Haiti encouraged one of the denominations that we partner with, the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti (CRCH), to find out just how many Christian day schools were operating out of its local churches.  Pastor Romelus Dieusibon was given the task of this research and he was shocked at what he discovered.  Out of a denomination which, at that time had 35 churches, nearly 20 of them operated a Christian day school.  Most of these schools had little or no assistance from the Haitian government or other organizations.  After learning about this situation, CRWM worked with Pastor Dieusibon to provide these teachers, who are paid less than $5 per day, with the opportunity for training in pedagogy and integration of the Christian faith with academic subjects.  In August, Pastor Dieusibon invited a hand-full of educators to share several days of training with thirteen CRCH Christian school directors and teachers.  In addition to training, CRWM has been assisting one school in Layay (near the Dominican border) with an income-generation project that we hope will help support the school along with tuition.  The plan was to buy a peanut husking and grinding machine and install it at the school for Layay farmers who grow lots of peanuts and have to travel long distances for processing. There was a setback when the fabricator of the machine was robbed in the Dominican Republic where he purchases motors and parts for the husker/grinder.  Pray that Pastor Dieusibon would be able to push forward the training and income generation aspects of the project despite this setback.  If you would like to support the project, please send donations to CRWM with "CRCH Education Proj 805897" in the memo line.  We need approximately $3,000 USD for this project.

Segaar-King August Ministry Report

Dear Friends and Family:

Please join us in giving thanks for:

-Some improvement in our pain level from the chikungunya virus.  We are looking forward to a visit to the doctor a few days after returning for some long-term help.

-The fifteenth General Assembly of the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti.  During this assembly, a new president, Camelus Anger (pronounced “Anje”), was elected to a five-year term.

 -A successful visit to the Jean-Rabel area for a Timothy Leadership Conference.  We had expected about forty pastors, but, because of the chikungunya virus, only half the expected number were present.

Please join us in praying for:

-Our continued ministry in Haiti while we are in Michigan.  Our Canadian colleagues Larry Luth and John Vanderstoep will continue in our absence.

-A good transition from Haiti to Michigan for our family.  Pray especially for our children, Hannah (who will be in 6^th grade), Isaiah and Vivian (who will be in 3^rd grade), and Esther (who will be in kindergarten).  Pray that our ministry partners and supporting churches will receive our ministry reports well and continue to support our ministry.

-Pray for peace and understanding as the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti goes through a major leadership transition and an ongoing financial crisis.

-Pray for wisdom for Haiti’s leaders as four years’ worth of election delays mean that only the president and a handful of parliament officials are serving valid mandates, creating instability in the country.

-Pray that qualified teachers could be found for the theological training programs that we participate in during our absence.  Pray that God would bless the students and help them to grow in their faith and ministry.

-Pray for Zach and Sharon as they seek to grow in their knowledge and ministry skills—Zach will be trying to finish his Ph.D. dissertation and Sharon will be doing Clinical Pastoral Education.

We have published a new video about our ministry in Haiti that can be found at U-Tube at http://youtu.be/M9FD3MrBk6w If you have four minutes free, take a look and enjoy!

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

Christian Reformed World Missions

Our girls enjoy a brief visit to warm Haitian sea-side before returning to the cold climate of Michigan

Ministry Project Getting Grey Hair?

The present reality of mission-work is that projects (and even our presence in the country we serve) are increasingly dependent on the ups and downs of donations instead of reliable budgeted-funds from a mission sending-organization.  Our project to help the Ministry of Christian Development (a Haitian para-church organization with which we partner) to build a conference center has, despite our best efforts, been "getting a little grey hair" of late.  During our last fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, we only had a few visiting service and learning teams who raised money for this project (instead of our average of around ten per year), with the result that the project languished.  However, by God's grace, several individual donors has stepped up to help us complete the project.  Why should Sous Espwa (the ministries of the CRC in Haiti) be involved in helping to fund a conference center for a Haitian Christian organization?  The answer is our long-term goal of sustainability.  Our plan and hope is that the Ministry of Christian Development, an organization that gives practical training to church leaders in rural Haiti, can use this facility to raise revenue for ministry locally in addition to hosting its own conferences and seminars.  We look forward to this facility being put into service of Timothy Leadership Training (TLT).  Last may, we had over 100 participants in the training, which pushed our current training facility past its limits.  Our plan is that the conference room will be complete (with ceramic tile, windows, and electric installation) by October, 2014.  Thank you for your prayers and support for the conference center project!

Segaar-Kings Set Foot on Michigan Soil

Dear friends, family, colleagues and other wonderful people whom we love and know,

By God's grace, we have arrived in Grand Rapids, MI! While our flights from Port-au-Prince to Chicago were without incident, we arrived in Chicago only to find our flight to Grand rapids was canceled.  Eager to please its customers, the airline offered to book us on a flight a full forty-eight hours later. We were not pleased! Instead, we rented a minivan which we received after more than two hours of waiting in the car-rental's waiting room in the early hours of the meeting.  In order to make the four-hour drive to Grand Rapids from Chicago, we bought the Grande (so extra huge worth about five cups) size of coffee at a gas station, swallowed a couple of Sudafed and drove through the night from Chicago to Grand Rapids.  Our checked-luggage did not come with us because of the cancelled flight, but just last night it was delivered to Sharon's parents’ home.  Thus, we are all safe and well.  Zach and Sharon have already made trips to the doctor and we visited the school our oldest daughter will be attending last night.  We are grateful for a safe arrival and are trying to triage basic needs. 

We give thanks to God for simple pleasures and conveniences which have been highlighted by our children.  In the airport bathrooms our five-year-old Esther used the handicapped bathroom complete with sink and was so excited—she said “These bathrooms are AWESOME!”  Further, Esther went around happily telling everyone that you could actually drink the water that comes out of the faucet (in Haiti we have to filter our water and do not drink the faucet water).  Furthermore, we had to explain to our ten-year-old what a dish washer is (we are used to using our hands in Haiti). 

I already miss the blue skies  of Haiti which we have traded in for the often cloudy skies of Michigan.  Also, I already miss friends in Haiti, but am looking forward to seeing many wonderful people while we are in North America during the next months. 

We are looking forward to seeing many of you while we are in North America!

Segaar-King July Ministry Report

Our family poses for a picture near one of the many waterfalls in the mountains above Port-au-Prince, the capital and largest city of Haiti.

Dear Friends and Family:

There is a Haitian proverb that says: “Yon chat gen kat pye, men sa pa vle di li ka fè kat chemen.”  Roughly translated it means, “Just because a cat has four legs, it doesn’t mean it can go in four directions.”  This is something a Haitian would say when they feel very busy.  With only a few weeks to complete ministry projects and prepare to come to the United States for our home-service, we are very much experiencing the reality of this proverb.  We would ask for your prayers in the coming weeks as we get ready to leave Haiti to spend some time in the USA.

Please join us in giving thanks for:

-Some improvement in our pain level from the Chikungunya virus.  We are looking forward to a visit to the doctor a few days after returning to look for some long-term help.

-The fifteenth General Assembly of the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti.  During this assembly, a new president, Camelus Anger (pronounced “Anje”), was elected to a five-year term.

 -A successful visit to the Jean-Rabel area for a Timothy Leadership Conference.  We had expected about forty pastors, but, because of the depredations of the Chikungunya virus, only half the expected number were present.

Please join us in praying for:

-Our sanity as we scurry about our work in preparation for our departure.  We have been trying to do the job of three additional positions since June as several of our colleagues have been off the field.  We receive a new missionary family in Haiti through CRWM, the Vanderstoeps, on August 6 and will be orientating them.

-A good transition to North America this Fall.  Reporting to churches and individual ministry partners is the goal the next six months.  We look forward to seeing you!  We are currently scheduling Sunday church visits for the fall (technically September-mid February).  Please contact Judy DeVries (judy@2minister.org) if your mission committee and church would like a visit.

-Pray for peace and understanding as the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti goes through a major leadership transition (the outgoing president has served for nine years).

-Pray that as Haiti enters into the busiest part of the hurricane season (August and September), it would not be struck by damaging storms (though Haiti needs precipitation from tropical systems to break a long-term drought).

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Vivian, Isaiah and Esther Segaar-King

Missionaries to Haiti

Christian Reformed World Missions

Worshiping God through the Psalms

Zach and Sharon shared the role as speakers and facilitators during the Music and Worship Conference with several other Haitian worship leaders and pastors.

There were approximately 100 participants in this year's Music and Worship Conference held at Quisqueya Chapel

Randy Bouwer, the worship leader of Calvin CRC of Holland, MI, was a speaker and a worship leader at this year's Conference.  Randy's organization, RJB Ministries and Calvin CRC, also supported a portion of the Conference's cost.

If you are at all familiar with the Bible, you know that the Psalms are worship book of Israel.  The Psalms, which have been sung and read in worship for millennia, touch every aspect of the human experience including great joy and praise, thanksgiving to God, heart-rending remorse for sin, and even deep lament.  During this year's Music and Worship Conference, we tried to help the participants understand the importance of the Psalms in Christian worship.  Zach taught sessions worshiping with the Psalms, the nature of worship and how to engage your pastor and preacher in worship leading and planning.  Sharon taught sessions on children in worship and the movements of the worship service.  What was really exciting is that for the first time, Zach and Sharon did not plan the conference.  The planning responsibility was undertaken by Perspectives Reformees, the French-language arm of Back-God-Ministries International.  In addition to being a great learning opportunity, the Conference is also a great opportunity to praise God through song and Scripture.  For the second year, the praise was lead by the Quisqueya Chapel Praise Team, a group of young musicians under the direction of Ronald Pierre, Quisqueya Chapel's worship leader.  Please pray that God will use Perspectives Reformees and the Music and Worship Conference as a vehicle to bless Haitian worship leaders.

The Left Hand of Christian Fellowship

God has been teaching Zach a few lessons about Christian fellowship.  Shaking hands is an important part of Christian fellowship, symbolizing the fraternal connection we all have as Christian brothers and sisters. However, since getting chikungunya fever a few months ago, Zach has pretty horrible arthritic pain in his right hand.  Every time he offers the right hand of fellowship, he cringes in pain, especially among the "importance-of-a-firm-hand-shake" crowd.  So, Zach has taken up offering the "left hand of Christian fellowship."  The only problem is that people don't really know what to do with this, and so a lengthy explanation is often required.  Fortunately, Haiti, where we live and work, is not Africa, where offering the left hand is considered a curse.  But Zach's experience with arthritic pain in his right hand has taught him something.  Even when we are not feeling up to it, Christian fellowship, openness and a warm welcome are necessary for a healthy church and ministry.  Our God welcomes everyone into his kingdom who repent of their sin regardless of sex, age, race, and history.  So also, we, his church, must receive all people and show them God's grace.

Growing in the Desert

We did our training at the Nouveau Kiskeya Guesthouse, a facility perched on the sea-cliffs near Jean Rabel.  Nothing but cacti and thorny scrub-brush grows this harsh environment.

Pastor Bellizaire holds up his "action plan" for the rest of participants to make comments and suggestions.

Timothy Training participants pray and sing before a training session.  Nearly half of the expected participants could not attend because they were stricken with chikungunya fever, a mosquito-borne illness that has reached epidemic proportions in Haiti.

It is amazing how God has designed plants, organisms that typically rely on regular rainfall, to grow in areas in which there is almost no water.  The Jean-Rabel area, a place where we have been doing Timothy Training for the last three years, is such a place.  The plants growing in the parched desert soil have two characteristics: thick rubbery foliage (to keep the water in the leaves from evaporating in the hot desert sun) and thorns (to protect the water inside from thirsty animals).  Timothy Training is very effective at helping church leaders grow and prosper in spiritual deserts.  It teaches leaders the importance of developing key ministry skills and allowing the Holy Spirit to use them to water the dry ground of human hearts.  It teaches ministry leaders to avoid being scorched by spiritual laziness and instead use what they have learned for God's glory.  Most importantly, Timothy Training encourages church leaders to remain faithful for "long-haul" so that they will grow daily, even in difficult conditions.  In fact, to fully complete all six core Timothy Training materials, it will take most participants two-and-a-half to three years (every material requires two months of weekly training sessions and another two-to-four months to implement a ministry plan based on the training the participants received).  In Haiti, many training sessions last one or two days, during which free books and literature are distributed and a certificate is given to each participant at the end.  In contrast, Timothy Training requires participants to pay for their own training and materials and demonstrate what they are doing with the training they have received.  Needless to say, the long-term results of Timothy Training have been very encouraging.  We give thanks to God who sends nourishing spiritual rains just at the right time.  We give thanks to God for how he is using Timothy Training to help churches and Christians grow in difficult spiritual environments!

Fruit of Her Labor

Usually when your sermon is pretty good or a ministry event goes well, you will get a handshake or a pat on the back.  However, after Sharon's participation in the recent Women's Spiritual Retreat for the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti, she received two roosters and a jar of freshly-made peanut butter.  This is a pretty good reward for four days of ministry and travel to a remote location on Haiti's southern coast.  It did not help that the trip got started ten hours late with a broken alternator in one vehicle.  However, God blessed Sharon and the other Haitian leaders and participants who were part of the conference.  More details to come later!