We are comforted to know that Davis Ray Zachary, founder of Real Hope for Haiti, entered into the fullness of the Presence of our Heavenly Father peacefully in his home surrounded by his loving wife and family on November 18, 2021.
Once, Zach heard a story about a funeral where a woman jumped up on a table, broke out a saxophone, and started a bona fide party because she was convinced a saint going home to glory was worth celebrating. He said he wanted that lady to play his funeral to remind everyone that there was no reason to be sorrowful and every reason to rejoice. Zach believed he was washed in the blood of the Lamb and was confident that to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord. The only place he would rather be than Haiti was Heaven! I don’t play the sax, but let’s have a virtual party right here and now to celebrate his homecoming. Wherever you are reading this, shout, “HALLELUJAH!” or yell, “PASSION!” or, if the thought of Zach hollering those phrases spreads a smile across your face, maybe say both at the top of your lungs.
There is a reason the fire for the Lord burned bright in him. In his late 30’s, addicted to drugs and chasing all the wrong things, a vision of Jesus dying on the cross appeared to Zach. Forgiven and filled with faith, the power of God set him free by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. The supremacy and sufficiency of Christ became crystal clear, as scales of blindness fell from his eyes to see the horror of sin and the beauty of Christ. The intense, insatiable yearning Zach possessed to serve God and serve others was rooted in the person and work of Jesus. He often explained his commitment to “shout it from the rooftops that Jesus is Lord” was tied to his conviction that Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, and Zach owed a debt he could not pay. His unwavering passion sprang forth from the reality that he had been dead in sin but was made alive in Christ.
God, in His Providence, led Zach and his family to Center of Faith Church in Anderson, IN where Pastor Brad Brizendine mentored and discipled him. Zach and Gretchen began to serve in the church immediately, and their zeal for sharing and showing the love of Christ blossomed. After several short-term mission trips to Haiti, Zach and Gretchen trusted the Lord, auctioned off their farm, and moved to Haiti to work with Global Outreach in Titanyen, Haiti. After some years there, Gretchen asked the Haitian Health Department director if there was another area that had no access to medical care. The director told her Cazale, to where the Zachary family relocated and has remained since 1998.
A guiding principle for him was, if you see a need, then fill it. Such tremendous need led to rapid growth for the clinic and the Rescue Center. The volume of patients that Gretchen, Lori, Licia, and staff treated required a substantial amount of medication, food, and supplies. So, when Zach was not preaching in the pulpit in church or as an outdoor revival, he was busy securing and transporting critical supplies that saved and supported countless lives. Whether it was loading up containers in the USA or transporting loads on bumpy roads and through rivers to Cazale, the joy of the Lord was bursting forth from him. Zach shared his love for Christ with anyone and everyone he met along the way. To this day, we have people in stores, banks, churches, other missions throughout Haiti that ask us about Zach. There was no doubt how much he loved God and how much he loved people. He left a strong impression wherever he went and left a legacy that will not fade.
Being a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a challenging calling in life. There is ample opportunity for doubt and discouragement with all the battles along the way. It is important to remember when our hearts are heavy and our heads are hung low, that God holds our hearts in His Hands and He is the Lifter of our head. Early in ministry, God used Zach’s wife Gretchen to ground him and cover him in prayer. Gretchen passing away suddenly in 2005 devastated Zach. The Lord continued to care for Zach through his daughters Lori and Licia, who were pillars for him, strengthening and helping him in every way to continue the important work being done in and through Real Hope for Haiti. Providence also surrounded Zach with a fantastic team of Haitian employees at Real Hope for Haiti, assisting him to continue to make a deep and lasting impact in the village of Cazale. Our Savior used many of you, brothers and sisters in Christ and supporters of Real Hope for Haiti, to encourage and enable Zach and RHFH to thrive and be effective in making the love of Christ known in tangible, life-preserving ways. In 2012, our great God blessed Zach with a wife, Lorraine, who proved a tremendous help mate to him in ministry, and a loving, sacrificial caregiver for him as he battled Lewy-Body Dementia at the end of his life.
Many Haitians on our staff and in the community shed tears when they heard the news that Papa Zach went to Heaven. They called him “bout fe” which means “iron bar” or “crowbar,” because they perceived he was tough and strong and seemed unbreakable. They witnessed Zach stick with them through famines and floods, earthquakes and cholera, political coups and economic instability. And through all those difficult, seemingly impossible times, our merciful God equipped Zach with every good gift he needed to see many lives, both physically and spiritually, transformed and saved. A lot of time and energy and effort produces a lot of history, and in Haiti, that history seems to possess significant weight and substance. Zach’s extraordinary life and fruitful ministry mattered, and it was one of the great blessings of his life to share it with the Haitian people.
Thank you again to all of you who have loved our dad well over the years. While this is a challenging season for RHFH and our staff, we cannot help but see the strong hand and goodness of God throughout the entirety of the legacy he leaves here in Haiti. God deserves all the credit and glory for all lives touched and transformed through RHFH, and that is precisely where Zach would want it directed.
Zach’s earthly life is complete, but the seeds he planted, by the grace of our Savior, continue to bear fruit for the glory of Christ. Three of his adult children (Lori, Licia, and Casey) remain in Haiti and remain committed to keep watering and weeding and doing whatever the Lord wills and requires to continue serving those in need and expanding God’s Kingdom. Zach’s wife, Lorraine continues to work from MN to coordinate and compile supplies to support all the programs and services of RHFH. We, along with all of you, are determined to be used of God to strengthen families, build community, and see souls saved here in Haiti. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to us and connected with a word of comfort or lifted up a prayer on our behalf. We love you and feel deeply loved by you.
If you chose to offer a memorial note or condolence message, please send to:
Lorraine Zachary
205 7th Ave SE
New Prague, MN 56071
You can also read more service details and leave messages here on his obituary page.
The November 30th service at 11:00am can be followed on the church’s facebook link here.
