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