Haitian Missionaries Heed Call to Prayer

On Friday, Rev. Bruce Adema, director of Canadian Ministries for the CRCNA, asked churches across the denomination to include the churches and people of the hurricane-ravaged Caribbean and Gulf Coast of Louisiana in their prayers this Sunday. 

Adema says the request for prayer comes from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, which has many member church organizations in the region that has been battered by several storms and hurricanes in recent weeks.

Among those who will be praying are Zach and Sharon Segaar-King, who serve as church and leadership developers in Haiti for Christian Reformed World Missions. They say that Haiti especially is in current need of prayer, which is “a powerful tool that mobilizes God to help his people,” according to Zach Segaar-King.

As CRWM missionaries, the couple who met while attending Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., have worked and traveled the length and breadth of the country over the last few years. They say they know firsthand how vulnerable Haiti is to the storms that sweep in off the Caribbean, washing out roads and causing floods that fill ravines where homes have been built.

Although they are not currently in Haiti, the CRWM missionaries are carefully monitoring events there, where, according to news reports, tens of thousands of people in the area around the flooded region of Gonaives have not eaten in days. Hanna, the third of four storms that have threatened the area, swirled over Haiti for four days bringing heavy downpours that submerged areas in more than two meters (over six feet) of water and effectively cut off the area, aid agencies said.

“The storms have dumped a lot of rain and caused destruction in Haiti. Quite a few Christian Reformed Churches on the southern coast of Haiti have been affected,” said Zach Segaar-King.

The United Nations has warned that Haiti is facing a catastrophe, after three storms killed more than 200 people and left thousands homeless in less than three weeks.

"Haiti was first hit by Tropical Storm Fay three weeks ago, followed by Hurricane Gustav, which killed dozens after wreaking havoc with floods and mudslides. On Tuesday Haiti was hit by another tropical storm, Hanna, which killed at least 61 people and flooded the northern city of Gonaives. Now, another strong hurricane, Ike, is approaching the region," according to news reports.

From the Segaar-King’s experience, the Haitian people will already be rallying in many ways to help their neighbors whose homes and lives have been devastated by the storms, says Sharon Segaar-King. “We have seen an incredible sense of giving and sharing. The people don’t have much, but they reach out to one another. We’ve seen this exemplified again and again.”

In their work, the Segaar-Kings train church leaders, help coordinate visits from church people who want to come to work and learn in Haiti, and play a role in overseeing construction of church buildings across Haiti. In addition, they are currently trying to help expand the reach of the CRC’s Back to God Ministries International outreach and follow-up in Haiti.

Much of the work that they do is done under the name of Sous Espwa in conjunction with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, which performs literacy and other types of development work in Haiti.

They also must work to develop materials that can best meet the educational needs of church leaders and church communities. “We struggle to get things to the level that they should be. We are making materials to open people’s eyes to Scripture,” says Zach Segaar-King.

Adema says that the World Alliance of Reformed Churches put out a statement on Friday calling “upon our churches on the Lord’s Day this coming Sunday,September 7, to pray and to respond to this devastation, to bow and unite our hearts, praying for those who lost loved ones; those who are missing; those who lost their homes, church buildings, and businesses; first responders, rescue workers, relief agencies, church aid workers; hospitals, doctors, nurses, and those evacuated or needing to evacuate."

In addition, the statement says, “We extend our love and prayers to our sisters and brothers of the affected areas, and our solidarity with them for the facing of this hour,” the statement goes on to say.

“Almighty and gracious God, calm the storms, outside and inside us. Bring the waters down. Extend your loving-kindness, mercy, and compassion upon all, we pray. Thank you for aid workers, first responders, churches, communities, and families who are extending a loving, helping hand to one another. Grant us your grace that we may respond in love, with kind and determined action and with fervent prayer; mourning with those who have loss, laboring with those who seek to rebuild, and aiding those who seek to prepare for the next storm. Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the ministry of Zach and Sharon Segaar-King can call 1-616-247-0578, or 616-295-0431.