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!

Segaar-King June Update

Dear Friends and Family:

Greetings from Haiti.  We pray that God is giving you his peace!  Our ministry in Haiti has been very busy and more than a little overwhelming the last few weeks.  God has been giving us an extra measure of his grace to get through the days.

Please join us in these prayer requests:

-We would like to ask for special prayers for our health as both Sharon and Zach are suffering continued after-effects of pain from the chikungunya virus we contracted in May.  Though the virus has run its course, it left us with serious joint and connective tissue inflammation which is, essentially, arthritic in nature.  Walking, opening containers, lifting objects and even sleeping is very painful.  In some cases, the arthritic symptoms of chikungunya can last three months to a year.  Pray that ours will go away!

-Preparation for a new family of missionaries, the Vanderstoeps, who come in early August.  We have to move much out of our house to prepare for their arrival.

-Timothy Leadership Training which will be held in Jean-Rabel next week.  Zach and a few others will take a small plane up to this remote location!

Please join us in giving thanks for:

-Sharon’s successful involvement in the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti’s Women’s Spiritual Conference held near Les Cayes on the southern coast of Haiti last week.  There were forty-five participants who came ready to grow in the love and knowledge of Christ.  Sharon had the opportunity to teach and preach on Proverbs 31:10-31.  In great appreciation, the smiling women joyfully gave Sharon two colorful roosters and some homemade peanut butter—this was literally the fruit of her labor.   

-Our children have fully healed from chikungunya fever.  They have enjoyed summer break by riding horses and going to summer camp!

-The safe departure of our colleagues, the Van Dam family.  There is a big hole to fill in our office after twenty-two years of their work.  In fact, both Howard and Ruth worked full time for Sous Espwa/CRWM-Haiti.

 Thanks for your prayers and support,

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

Missionaries to Haiti

Christian Reformed World Missions

Esther, Vivian, Isaiah and Hannah are doing some horse-back riding lessons this summer at a very professional stable in Port-au-Prince.

Segaar-King May Ministry Report

Esther celebrates her birthday a month early on the last day of school as she is a "summer baby."

Isaiah and Vivian do a presentation for their parents on the last day of school.

Dear Friends and Family:

We thank you for your prayers during the month of May as it has been an especially challenging month for us.  During May, Chikungunya Fever has visited our family in a very big way.  Like Dengue Fever, the Chikungunya is a virus spread through bites the aedes mosquito (a common pest in Haiti).  As of today (2 June), everyone in our family has gone through or is going through the illness, which is characterized by severe joint/muscle pain, fever, rash, headache, etc. that can last for 7-14 days.  Also, a missionary friend of ours, George Knoop, was brutally stabbed to death in his home several weeks ago.   Zach has been doing some pastoral counseling for several people who were with George in his final moments.  While we lament the way that his life was taken, we give thanks that George is with his Lord now. 

Please join us in giving thanks for:

-The successful completion of a school-year for our children.  Despite illness, all our children made an effort to participate in the final day of school.

-A successful Pastors Conference held by our Perspectives Reformees ministry team.  Thanks to those of you who supported this project.  For more information, please see our blog.

-We were able to teach our group of theological students Introduction to the New Testament and Old Testament despite suffering from fever in May.

Please join us in praying for:

-The completion of the construction project for the Savann Plat church in the Thomassique area.  This project came about through collaboration with Lakeside CRC of Alto, MI.

-The Women’s Spiritual Retreat of the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti.  This year the conference will be held in Vila de Wòz, near Les Cayes on the south coast of Haiti.  Pray especially that Sharon can endure the especially rough conditions of this area.

-The departure of our ministry colleagues, the Van Dam family in June.  We give thanks for their two decades of service with CRWM in Haiti.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

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

Missionaries to Haiti

Christian Reformed World Missions

Victory and Challenge

Last week Thursday and Friday, 30-31 May, Perspectives Reformees of Haiti held its first Pastor's Conference in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  The theme of the conference was "Watching Over Your Ministry."  The goal for the two day conference was to assist pastors and church leaders to become aware of the pitfalls of pastoral ministry and the opportunities to make pastoral ministry more effective.  Nearly 100 leaders attended the two day conference that was held on the campus of the Evangelical Baptist Seminary of Port-au-Prince.  Some of the specific subjects include, "A Ministry Free of Bitterness and Hatred," "A Ministry Free of Rebellion," "A Ministry Free of Sexual Sin," and "A Ministry Free of Spiritual Laziness."  All of these subjects are very timely for pastors and church leaders in the Haitian context.  The presenter, Claude Delauge Jacquet, who is a veteran of pastoral ministry, did a very good job presenting these important subjects to the participants.  Thank you to all those who supported this special project through prayer and finances.  It was a tremendous blessing to all.  The next conference that Perspectives Reformees will host is the annual Conference on Music and Adoration, 17-19 July.  Pray that we will be faithful in promoting and planning this especially popular conference.  Finally, please remember to pray for the PR-Haiti staff.  Recently, PR-Haiti was forced to withdraw its Bible Study by Correspondence because the original author of the materials denied PR International permission to use them.  This situation is not only sad, it leaves a giant hole in PR-Haiti's media ministry.  Pray that PR-Haiti can find other French-language materials to put into service as quickly as possible.