In 2007 Zach visited a pastor in a rural and underserved
part of Haiti. The road to the pastor’s church
was cratered and most of the homes were made of mud-brick with thatched
roofs. The biggest problem in the area,
however, was water. The only water source
for the fifty or so houses in the roadside community was a stream several
kilometers away at the bottom of a deep ravine.
Zach engaged a donor, and, with the input of the community, a naturally-occurring
spring was capped about one kilometer away. Fresh, clean water flowed through a PVC pipe
into a reservoir on the roadside twenty-four hours a day, seven days a
week. Everyone celebrated God’s
provision for the people of the area.
But then things began to go wrong. The PVC pipe channeling the water to the
roadside community was repeatedly dug up and smashed. Several members of the committee tasked with
maintenance and water usage policy unexpectedly resigned. It
turns out that a neighboring community sabotaged the PVC out of envy and the
pastor had been giving his friends and family preferential treatment in the
water distribution. Though fresh water
was now available, many in the community felt estranged and frustrated.
In view of this oft-repeated situation, the Segaar-Kings
have been assisting material-developer, Harold Kallemeyn, to produce a bible
study called, “Be Conformed or Transformed” (i.e., Romans 12:2). In this study, the participants reflect on
biblical contrasts such as “conceal or confess,” “envy or appreciate,” “limit or multiply,” “accumulate or share,”
etc. The goal is to show that in Christ we
no longer need to hide our faults, envy others, limit God’s grace, or
hoard. Instead we can rejoice in the
abundance of Christ and his generous provision for our well-being. Pray that God would bless the roll-out of
this new bible study. As the above
example shows, it is sorely needed in Haiti.
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