Good News for women in challenging circumstances

For months I, Sharon, had been asked to come to the annual Belledere women's conference for the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti in the region of Belledere.  This is a small town in Haiti near the border of the Dominican Republic.  Leading up to this event, I was excited and ready to go.  I was asked to speak at the event and lead the spiritual component of the event.  A few days before the event, I was told that the focal text for this event was as follows: Proverbs 20:30 which in English reads as follows: "Blows and wounds scrub away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being" (NIV). My heart sunk.  Why was THIS text chosen to be the focal text?  There is already more than enough beatings in Haiti.  Yet, this verse from 2 Timothy 3:16 kept coming through my mind again and again: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (NIV).  I knew that this text was chosen for a good reason and I knew that with God's help, I could proclaim His good news. 

A godly Haitian women I know well read this text and she told me that she thought this text meant that you really need to beat your children when they don't listen to you so that they will obey you.  Mmmm. . .not exactly what I would exegete this text as meaning.  I prayed and sought wise counsel searching for the good news in this text that I needed to proclaim to these women.  After much prayer and talking to the director of the women, I still included this verse but shifted the focus to the topic of Biblical parenting and different models of parenting we see in the Bible.  Specifically we looked at good examples and terrible examples of parenting.  Ultimately we talked about how to be a good parent who is loving and uses discipline.  To do so, I used biblical examples and had the women suggest with me real life examples.  At one point of time, I took a big risk in order to teach biblical parenting that is both high in love and discipline. . . I asked a mother in the congregation if I could use her child as an example.  

This little girl, whose name is translated as "Carole" helped me proclaim the good news.

Amazingly, she did not resist and God must have been smiling on me because she let me take her and carry her around and use her to teach how to be a biblical parent.  Little did I know that I had actually chosen the pastor of the church's granddaughter.  I think it was no accident that the moment I took her to show biblical parenting, in hushed attention all seventy-five of the attending ladies fixed their eyes upon what I was doing.  Their questions were poignant and painful windows to their lives at times while at other times joyful stories emerged. One woman asked me what to do with her fourteen-year-old son who is gone from 6 am to 6 pm.   Every night when he comes home she beats him even to the point of needing to go to the hospital because she doesn't want him gone all that time.  Yet, she reached out for help.  With God's help and the authority of scripture which far surpasses any authority I might have, we addressed situations such as this. 

Woman clasping her hands over her heart during the women's conference. 

Sometimes I wonder how much of an impact I am making.  Yet, when the women responded in small groups with great things that they had learned and when so many of them embraced me with appreciation, I was reaffirmed once again that God is using me to proclaim His GOOD NEWS to all people.

Hail to the Graduates

Foreigners living in Haiti can debate endlessly about the positive and negative aspects of Haitian culture.  However, one thing cannot be debated: Haitians love ceremony.  One ceremony they love above all others  is graduation.  Dressed in full regalia, nineteen students graduated on 18 January from the Institute of Reformed Theology of Haiti (Thomassique Center), part of the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti.  The graduation began in the town center.  From there we processed over two kilometers under the mid-morning sun accompanied by a marching band and at least one hundred well-wishers until we arrived at the Palmis Ba church.  These graduating students had been part of a three-year-long training program done at the Palmis Ba.  A major part of their study has been the Timothy Leadership Training materials which have been used for two years (especially the Pastoral Care, Christian Stewardship, Preaching, and Teaching modules).  Pastor Henry Brun, a father of four and associate pastor of the Palmis Ba Church, has been their trainer.  One powerful example of the impact being made was the fact that 15 out of the 19 graduates were from other churches and denominations in the Thomassique area.  Clearly theological and leadership training is a pressing need in Haiti.  Many of these students will go on to serve in churches as pastors, deacons and preachers.  Because Haiti has such a strong tradition of lay-ministry, this kind of theological training is very important.  Hail to the graduates!

"If You Would Hear His Voice...."

The only standing water within three miles of Thomassique--where 14 people were baptized

Candidates gratefully embrace their baptism

When the people of Israel were being led by the Lord through the wilderness after their escape from Egypt, they came to a point where they were too thirsty to go on.  They grumbled against the Lord and against Moses' leadership.  God heard the people's complaints and gave them water to drink from a rock.  The place was called Meribah, which meant "grumbling."  The Psalmist (95:7-8) reflects on this experience, "Today, only if you would hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah..."  The people of Thomassique probably could grumble.  Saturday, the 18th of January, had been set aside for baptizing fourteen people from the Thomassique Church.  The only problem--no water.  It has been bone dry since the end of October in much of Haiti.  All the streams have dried up and people are digging deep holes in the stream-beds for water.  Zach was in Thomassique for a graduation ceremony of nineteen students from the theological training center at the church.  The entire congregation (young and old) had to walk at least three miles to find any standing water.  What we found (in the deepest corner of a canyon) could not, in the opinion of Pastor Bellizaire (the pastor of the Thomassique Church), justifiably be called "water."  He was right.  In fact, the "water" was bright blue from laundry soap, with a green scum floating on top, and producing a distinctively rancid smell.  No doubt Zach would have demurred had he been asked to baptize (noting that sprinkling versus full immersion would have been perfectly fine under these circumstances).  Fortunately, Pastor Bellizaire assured him not to worry because he would not be called upon to enter the "water."  Without complaint and with a smile on their faces, Pastors Bellizaire and Henry took their respective positions in the "water."  One after the other, the candidates were baptized by immersion, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  What a testimony of faith--God's grace made manifest in the midst of rancid "water."  Instead of complaining about the lack of water (and in lieu of a real baptistery), the faithful of Thomassique embraced grace through the element of "water," if it could be called that.  On that day, January 18, the Lord's voice was heard, and hearts were not hard as they were at Meribah so long ago.

Four-Years Since January 12, 2010

On Sunday, January 12, we recognized the four-year anniversary of the tragedy of January 12, 2010.  We will never forget that Tuesday afternoon at 4:52 p.m. as our family sat around the table for an early supper.  The cups and silverware started ominously vibrating at a very high frequency like a freight train was speeding by just outside our window.  By the time we realized that it was an earthquake, we were unable to get out of the house because of falling debris and furniture until the quake was nearly finished.  By God's grace, our home withstood the quake with only a dozen cracks or so; but many were not so lucky.  Seconds after the quake, a fog of dust rolled over our home just like the pictures of the twin-towers' collapse on Sept. 11 (the destruction of several large buildings in our neighborhood, along with a number of residences, were the source of the dust).  One vivid memory is the eerie scream of an entire city in unison, the sound of hundreds of thousands of voices crying out for deliverance at one time as the quake shook them to their core.
The question most people ask is what kind of progress is being made in Haiti today.  We can point out quite a bit of progress.  The International Disaster Response (IDR) team of World Renew recently wrapped up its project in Leogane (December, 2013) with over 3,000 houses built and many other interventions completed.  Many of the displaced person camps in Port-au-Prince and its environs have been disbanded (though there are many still in existence).  There is a lot of rebuilding of stores, houses and other buildings, though much of this is not to the pre-earthquake scale.  The international relief effort has left its mark in hotels by financing 4-5 large new hotels in Port-au-Prince to accommodate the visits of  future tourists and "NGO-professionals."  Many roads in Port-au-Prince have been rebuilt as well.  Please continue to pray for the rebuilding of Haiti.  What the January 12 Earthquake took in 35 seconds will take a generation to recover (not counting, of course, the over 200,000 lives that cannot be recovered).

A damaged neighborhood close to our home.

Try Preaching On This!

Sometimes the people God gives you to serve can really "throw you a curve ball."  Sharon got one such "curve ball" a few days ago.  She was asked to attend a regional conference for the women of the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti in the area of Belladere on January 14, 2014  The leader of the women's ministry informed Sharon that the theme for the conference comes from Proverbs 20:30:  "Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being."  Now, the first thing that comes to (our) mind is, "Uh oh..."  In Haiti, there is a strong tradition of corporal punishment of children that some would call "child abuse."  (Also, husbands often use the same methods of corporal punishment on their wives).  Corporal punishment is referred to as "kale timoun" and is done with sticks, bats, and cut pieces of heavy-gage electric cable. Just about every one who has spent several months in Haiti has heard the shrieking a child being beaten severely by an adult caretaker.

The young women of Belladere walk to church.

As you can imagine, Proverbs bears witness to the fact that children were also disciplined with corporal punishment during the days of Israel (Prov. 13:24: "Whoever spares the rod hates their children").  Sharon wracked her brain trying to figure out how to teach this passage to the women.  But anther passage came to mind--Paul's admonition to Timothy: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."  In reflecting on this passage, we realized that in its context it is not so much about the corporal discipline of children (though many Haitians will no doubt take it this way), but rather about the effect of suffering in our lives.  Though suffering can be bitter at first, Scripture teaches clearly that suffering, especially suffering for the Gospel, can be a blessing.  Jesus taught, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 5:10) and "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Mark 8:34)."  The women of Belladere no doubt have to endure a lot of hardship as they raise families in a place that has little economic development and basic supplies like water and medicine are inaccessible or far away.  Please pray that Sharon would have persuasive and gracious words as she teaches on a passage that could be so easily misused to justify abusive discipline of children (and women).

Proverbs 20:30

Spending New Year's at the BEST WESTERN!!!

Segaar-King family go cave exploring at Port-au-Piment

New Year's afternoon date at the Best Western

In most places throughout the US and Canada, spending New Year's afternoon at the Best Western wouldn't be worthy of writing about in a blog.  But in Haiti, where only one Best Western exists, (actually, a Best Western Premier), it is worthy of note.  On New Year's day, Sharon and Zach got a chance to escape the duties of parenting for a few hours with friends to go out on a date to the Best Western courtesy of Sharon's parents, Larry and Faith Segaar, who were visiting for the holidays and willing to do some child-care.  It was good to get away for a few hours.  We were the only ones in the restaurant (there is a hotel boom in Port-au-Prince which has vastly exceeded available clients).  The food took several hours to come (normal for Haiti) and was nothing to rave about (normal for Best Western).  The view was great on the patio where we sat, and, as one would expect at any Best Western, the bathrooms were clean and functional (NOT normal for Haiti).  It was nice to walk around in the recently completed hotel as well (see above picture).  Honestly, life and ministry in Haiti is normally about an "11" out of "10" on the stress scale for foreigners like us (actually even Haitians consider life in their country very stressful).  Having four wonderful but challenging children definitely adds a little to the stress equation.  Right after Christmas we made a trip to Port Salut on southern shore of Haiti (see picture below).  The highlight was a trip down into the largest cave system in Haiti, the Jeanne Marie Caves (see picture above). 

We give thanks to God for his grace and peace and look forward to a New Year of serving him in Haiti.

Happy New Year (2014) from the Segaar-Kings

Dear Friends and Family:

Happy New Year!  We pray that you and your family will have a blessed New Year!  New Year is a big event here in Haiti with massive (and potentially dangerous) private displays of fireworks, traffic gridlock and all-night parties (or at least as long as the power stays on).  However, we know that without trust in the promises of Christ, starting 2014 can be intimidating as none of us know what this New Year holds.  May God give you confidence that no matter what 2014 brings, you will rejoice in Christ your Savior.

 Please join us in giving thanks for:

-A successful start to the Savannette church construction project.  This project, funded by SONBEAM International and members of the Victoria CRC (Canada), is being done in a beautiful but extremely remote valley in central Haiti.

-A graduation of theological students that will happen in mid-January in Thomassique.
-A great visit and relaxing vacation with Sharon’s parents who surprised us by coming to Haiti for the first time in over three years.  We had a chance to see some of Haiti’s beautiful beaches, caves and a waterfall in addition to spending some joyful family time. 

Please join us in praying for:

-The financial crisis that one of our ministry partners, the CRC of Haiti, is having.  Much of the ministry budget for the denomination comes from its guesthouse which receives our visiting teams.  Unfortunately, we have few teams coming to Haiti this year.  Pray that God will guide denominational leaders as they find ways to raise other revenue for ministry.

-God to raise up visiting teams from our supporting churches that would like to come to Haiti and help us to complete the Ministry for Christian Development Conference Center this spring or summer, 2014.  If you are interested, contact us as soon as possible.
-Continued healing for our son Isaiah’s ankle.  He tripped at school and the orthopedist thinks he pulled some tendons and suspects he has a small fracture on the growth plate of his ankle.  This painful ankle is hard on Isaiah especially since he has limitations on activities including no soccer.
-Wisdom as we meet with our Timothy Leadership Training Coordination Committee and follow-up on recommendations given to us from planning meetings in December.  God has given us a great vision for ministry training in Haiti.

 

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