A special message from Ken Bever, HFHC President
I am heartbroken to report that Jeantyrard Elmera, my dear friend and Haiti Director for Hope for Haiti’s Children (HFHC), passed away at his home on Tuesday, September 13, at the age of 67. It is difficult to express the magnitude of Jeantyrard’s foundational role in HFHC and in the kingdom of God. His passion for helping the poor and for mentoring others to start congregations with Christian schools and orphanages played a key role as we began HFHC together in 1995 with 13 children and expanded to now help more than 3,000 children in ten communities — encompassing Christian education, medical care, food programs, spiritual training, and orphan care.
Through his additional role as the Senior Minister at the Delmas 28 Church of Christ and widely recognized radio/TV evangelist, Jeantyrard led the effort of this church in planting more than 60 new congregations, resulting in over 8,000 baptisms. Additionally, more than 120 ministers have been trained at the Delmas School of Theology and are now caring for others and sharing the gospel of Jesus in their local communities.
Despite growing up in a poor neighborhood in Port-au-Prince and having been raised by a father who was an active priest in the voodoo religion, Jeantyrard’s faith in God and love for people was palpable, and he was considered a father figure and mentor to thousands of young people in Haiti. Those of us who had the privilege to work alongside him have been deeply enriched as we saw how he loved and cared for everyone he encountered despite the obstacles he faced.
We will all deeply miss our brother, but we thank God for his life and his tireless efforts to train leaders who are already following in his footsteps – working daily with our US team to manage our Haiti operations. We all want to continue his legacy to invest in the lives of young people trapped in poverty and provide them with opportunities to become outstanding leaders for God.
