Visit to Savann Aneri

Ever enterprising Haitian people are converting their overturned fruit trees into the one commodity they can sell in place of their decimated gardens and fields--charcoal.  Everywhere on Haiti's southern peninsula we see smoldering piles of earth like the one pictured here.  Unfortunately, this superabundance of charcoal will lead to decreased prices and further dependence on an energy source that is ravaging Haiti's environment.

A church building where Pastor Israel, the pastor of the Balendi congregation of Savann Aneri, used to preach and teach.  Unfortunately, we were unable to reach Pastor Israel's current church because of an impassable river.

A school in the Savann Aneri area which was smashed by the winds of Hurricane Matthew.  We left several sacks of rice and beans for the community here.

Last week we had a chance to visit a region in the southern peninsula called Savann Aneri.  Since we had heard that the Savann Aneri community was affected by the hurricane, we loaded up our 4WD truck with twelve sacks of rice, two giant sacks of beans, and 20-30 tarps.  We knew that the road to Savann Aneri was bad and our truck was heavily loaded.  What we didn’t realize is that the road crossed the same river three times before arriving at the area of Savann Aneri we wanted to visit called Balendi.  After several hours banging, bumping, and scraping over eroded and practically impassible roads we arrived at the third river crossing and found a massive sandbar deposited by the hurricane's flood waters that could not be crossed by anything short of a tank, bulldozer or other tracked vehicle.  While we regret that we were not able to reach the Balendi area, we were encouraged to see that the damage was not as severe as we expected.  Perhaps the mountain between Haiti's southern coast and the Savann Aneri area absorbed the majority of the Hurricane Matthew's destructive winds.  As we were trying to return to the main road, we realized that our truck's suspension had been damaged by the overload and the bumpy roads.  Thankfully, we were able to return home safely.

The third and final river ford to arrive at the Balendi church in the Savann Aneri area.  The ford is on the left where the river left massive boulders and an impassible sandbar (not pictured).

Canadian Thanksgiving in Haiti

Food distribution for the flooded community of Chalye, near Miragoane (see previous post).

The small town of Chalye was flooded by both runoff and storm surge.

The US Military is airdropping supplies to areas cut-off by hurricane damage.

Doing a distribution for the people of Vila-de-Woz.  Zach was relieved to finally arrive.  The truck was overloaded with rice and beans and had to travel over some horrible terrain.

This is the earthquake refuge for the Vila-de-Woz community all cleaned up for Sunday morning.  By God's grace the Vila-de-Woz church building, a joint project of SONBEAM International and CRWM, withstood the force of the hurricane and became a shelter for survivors.

For those of you Canadians who were celebrating Thanksgiving yesterday, I thought it would be nice to see what Canadian Thanksgiving is like for the survivors of Hurricane Matthew.  Turkey is definitely not on the menu, but rice and beans are.  Most Haitians living in the disaster area would be happy to eat anything this Canadian Thanksgiving.

Hurricane Matthew Update

Scenes of total devastation--Two homes lie in ruins after Matthew's passage in the village of Vila-de-Woz.

This family's dining room now has a skylight as the roof was totally ripped off by Matthew's winds.

This could be anywhere in the southwest peninsula of Haiti--mattresses, cloths, and furniture sit on the remains of a home drying in the sun.

A sits on the porch of what remains of their home.  In the background, a kitchen another family member's home lies in ruins.

Dear Friends and Family:

Greetings from Haiti.  It has been a week since Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti’s southwestern peninsula west of the city of Les Cayes.  During the first few days our concern was mainly with making sure our own staff members and the staff members of our partner organizations were safe.  Thankfully, God protected all the staff members and property of our organization and that of our Haitian partners.  Now our focus turns toward the relief effort and trying to maintain momentum in our strategic on-going ministries.

Yesterday Zach had a chance to deliver about 1600 lbs of relief supplies to two more remote areas on Haiti’s southwest peninsula that were heavily affected by the hurricane: Vila-de-Wòz (in the mountains north of Les Cayes) and Chalye (a low-lying area west of Miragoane).  When I arrived in the once beautiful shady village of Vila-de-Wòz (which was nearly impossible because the road was washed out), I didn’t even recognize it.  Most of the trees were smashed nearly all of the structures damaged or destroyed. I estimate that nine out of every ten homes are uninhabitable with at least five out of ten being severely damaged or completely destroyed (please see pictures below).  Since the inhabitants had weathered the storm in the local Christian Reformed Church of Haiti church building (see picture) and several other stronger structures, they were physically unharmed.  Several of the community members were suffering the physical symptoms of trauma, however.  After praying with the community members and unloading rice, beans, oil and drinking water, I went to the seaside community of Chalye on the north shore of the southwestern peninsula where the CRC of Haiti also works through a local congregation.  Though Chalye was further from the landfall of Hurricane Matthew’s eye than Vila-de-Wòz, it was severely flooded by the hurricane’s storm surge and extremely high water levels in a local stream.  Moreover, many of the community’s abundant breadfruit trees had fallen on houses as they were heavily laden with fruit when the hurricane hit.  We also provided rice, beans, oil and drinking water to this community.

The general impression driving through Haiti’s southwestern peninsula is one of shock and sadness.  Mattresses, clothes, books, furniture, and countless items have been scattered by the flood or put out to dry by their owners.  Houses, schools, and churches have been stripped of their roofs or smashed completely.  Roads and bridges are eroded or washed out.  One town we passed, called Cavaillon, had been both smashed by the winds and completely flooded by the local river.

What can you do?  First, we ask for your prayers for the Haitian people—especially that roads could be opened and relief reach the remote areas of Haiti’s southwestern peninsula.  Second, please feel free to donate to World Renew, the disaster relief agency of the CRCNA which will be providing support to the communities that we have gotten to know and love in the southwestern peninsula.  Don’t forget to continue supporting the long-term community and church development programs that are so important to us.  Through programs like these we see a day where Haitians are better prepared for such inevitable natural disasters and empowered (through Haitian-supported and led organizations) to bring relief to their own communities in the place of the hundreds of foreign NGOs currently providing these services.

So as to not overwhelm the inboxes of our supporters, we will be posting updates on our blog.  Please check it out for more pictures and information in the coming weeks.

Hurricane Matthew through the Eyes of Job

“Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden; whom God has hedged in?  For sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water.  What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.”  Job 3:23-25

As pictures and reports of the situation on the southern peninsula of Haiti come in, we are beginning to realize that, like the earthquake of 2010, Hurricane Matthew will be a disaster that will define a generation of the people of towns like Jeremi, Les Cayes, Saint Louis de Sud, Port-a-Piment, Tiburon and all the places in between.  Many more in places that were not directly hit have lost their crops and had their homes severely damaged.  2016 will be a year marked by great grief and suffering.  It will be many days before we learn just how much was lost since cell-phone towers and roads have been destroyed.

The words of Job seem to encapsulate the emotions of seeing so much suffering and loss among a people so accustomed to suffering and loss.  Why?  Why do earthquakes and hurricanes without number continue to decimate this small country whose people are so vulnerable to the power of nature?  We will never forget the fall of 2008 when four hurricanes and tropical storms pounded Haiti, one after another (Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike), flooding several Haitian cities and causing untold damage.  Two years later, the earthquake of 12 January, 2010, the greatest natural disaster in Haiti’s history, killed hundreds of thousands in greater Port-au-Prince.  Now, six years later, Hurricane Matthew has delivered a crippling blow to the southwest of Haiti.  All of these natural disasters (and a few in-between like Hurricane Sandy) have all happened in the eleven years of our time in Haiti.

The answer God gave Job’s question remains harsh to the ear—“How can mortal men and women understand the mysterious council of the eternal God who formed the seas, the mountains, and the storms?” (chs. 38-41)  We will never be able to understand why God permitted yet another calamity to befall the Haitian people.  Yet as we sit in silence with Job, our thoughts turn to the Son of God who became man (Jesus Christ) and suffered tempests, betrayal, torture, and finally death.  Perhaps the only answer to the suffering of Haiti is not to answer at all; but rather to witness God in the person of Christ suffering with the people he loves.  And perhaps we too have some small role in showing this self-giving love to Haiti’s people.

For those who would like to donate, please consider World Renew (http://www.worldrenew.net/our-stories/world-renew-haiti-staff-assess-damage-hurricane-matthew), the disaster response organization of the CRCNA.  In the coming weeks, we hope to propose several small projects to World Renew to help affected communities that we have served with our long-term church development and training projects.

Pictures below were taken by our neighbor Tim Schandorff of Mission Aviation Fellowship

Hurricane Matthew Update

In the construction plans of the Vila-de-Woz church created by SONBEAM International, we used what many considered to be an excessive amount of trusses.  By God's grace, this paid off when Hurricane Matthew struck.

Dear friends, family and supporters,

As I write to you, the rain from Hurricane Matthew is steadily coming down since yesterday—so for over 24 hours, thus flooding is inevitable in some areas of Haiti.  I am wearing a fleece jacket because it is cool—this is very rare for me in Haiti.  Yesterday I made some yummy homemade hot chocolate for our family to warm them up from the inside.  We have closed our office and are at home.  The airports in Haiti are closed.   We have personally had minimal damage so far, but southern Haiti has been and is being hit hard.  Also, the rain is continuing to fall and we have had variable wind strength. 

Hurricane Matthew hit the far western tip near the village of Les Anglais in Haiti around sunrise this morning as a Category 4 hurricane with 7-10 foot storm surge, 140 mph winds, and torrential rains.  Communication is difficult or impossible in many places in the Grand Anse and South Department of Haiti which received a direct hit.  Essentially, the effects of the hurricane are worst moving from east to west on Haiti’s south peninsula.  Much of the greater Port-au-Prince area seems to have been spared, though it is still raining very heavily and flash flooding is an ongoing danger (we’ve had about 4-5 in of rain at my house).  Most of our employees have been contacted and are doing fine.  There is no reason to believe that those we haven’t been able to contact are in danger.  We had no power in Port-au-Prince last night and cell phones will soon be discharged for those without generators.

Our Sous Espwa office has not sustained any significant damage and hopefully will be put to use tomorrow.

We contacted several people from areas more seriously affected by Matthew.  It was difficult for us to have a conversation because of the winds, but we understood that many houses with wood trusses and tin roofs have been heavily damaged.  We have heard second hand reports about flooding in Les Cayes, a larger city near the path of the hurricane. 

We found out that the Vila de Woz church near Les Cayes that we recently helped to build in concert with SONBEAM International is the only building in the entire community that still has a roof.  Apparently all the inhabitants of Vila-de-Woz are now inside, safe from the high winds and torrential downpours.  See the attached picture of a ministry event that Sharon attended inside the new Vila-de-Woz church in 2014.

It may be sometime before we get an accurate picture of the damage since cell phone networks are not functional in some areas.  After the hurricane passes and we have a better idea of what the results of this storm are, we will try to send an update.

Segaar-King Update

Oct. 1, 2016

Dear Friends and Family:

Greetings from Haiti!  As the first hurricane to hit Haiti since Sandy in October 2012 nears, we are reminded of the power of our God to calm the storm.  Several times in Scripture God’s servants are nearly lost to the raging tempest.  In their moment of despair, God responds to their cries to calm the raging seas.  These moments of deliverance show that as Creator and Sustainer, God has power even over the most chaotic forces of nature.  By his power God can deliver Haiti from the destructiveness of Hurricane Matthew.  However, Haiti also desperately needs rain (in manageable amounts) to help relieve a multi-year drought.  Pray that the impact of Hurricane Matthew will be positive.

Please join us in giving thanks for:

1.   A good result for the national assembly of our partner the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti.  We give thanks that the CRCH is slowly but surely entering a promising new epoch in its ministry.

2.   A safe trip to Mexico for Zach where he learned about changes to come from the union of Christian Reformed World Missions and Christian Reformed Home Missions.  While we don’t know how this union will affect our work in Haiti, we pray that it will enhance the effectiveness of the CRC’s work in missions in the US, Canada and around the world.

3.   So far the presidential campaigning for the Oct. 9 election has been relatively peaceful.

4.  A new church construction project is set to begin in Granbwa, one of the most underserved and remote locations where we have ever done a church construction project.

Please join us in prayer for:

1.   Stability in Haiti for the “redo” presidential election on October 9.  A complicating factor is that there is a serious conflict between the US government and the Haitian government over legal protections against the money laundering.  The US is threatening to cut off all electronic financial transactions to Haiti in November if the Haitian government does not enact certain laws.  If this threat is carried out, our work in Haiti would come to a rapid halt.  Pray for cool heads on both sides.

2.   Interest from our supporting churches to send Service and Learning teams to Haiti.  We have an exciting project for 16-17 and we need your help. Contact us if you or your church are interested.

3.   Success in planning a conference on Christian Worldview October 18-20. Our co-worker in the spreading of the gospel, Harold Kallemeyn, has created new material in the form of a practical bible-study with an “action planning” component for this initiative.  Pray especially that no hurricanes or election instability will derail this major ministry event.

4.   God’s mercy on Haiti and other countries in its path as we anticipate the passing of Hurricane Matthew.

Hurricane Matthew

Dear Friends and Family:

We wanted to give you an update on Hurricane Matthew which is expected to hit the southwestern peninsula of Haiti on Monday evening.  Winds are beginning to pick up in Port-au-Prince this afternoon and cloudiness is rolling in.  We expect tropical storm conditions to begin tomorrow in our area (Port-au-Prince).  We are well prepared to whether a storm like Matthew as we are in a reinforced masonry house in a high elevation.  However, others that live in ravines and plains in houses constructed of wood and sheet-metal face dangerous conditions as heavy rains from Matthew will begin in less that twenty-four hours.  Thankfully, we are well stocked with  food, diesel for the generator, and plenty of electricity in our batteries.  We still appreciate your prayers, however.  The greatest concern is for the people of Haiti's southwestern coast which will take a direct hit from this category four storm.  Very few buildings will be able to resist the flooding and high winds if/when Matthew makes landfall at its current strength.  Pray that the storm would move further west in the passage between Haiti and Jamaica.  Our Internet may be down for several days so it is possible that we will not be able to update you on the situation in Port-au-Prince.  Thanks for your prayers!