A Witness

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti buried Renee Splichal Larson in concrete rubble, killing her husband and leaving her a widow at age 27. Surviving only to be overwhelmed by loss and trauma, she wondered if life was still possible for her. Even as she trained to become a pastor, her faith in a loving God was shaken and battered by the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince and took the lives of many thousands. This is Renee's moving story of love, grief, survival, and new life. It is an account of the lives of three young people, their experience of the challenges, beauty, and hospitality of Haiti, and the tumult that overthrew all they held dear. After years of struggle and healing, aided by remarkable signs of the love and presence of God, Renee offers us an intimate look at her young romance, her experience of the earthquake, and the journey that followed. Most of all, she proclaims her hard-won witness: that in Christ, love and life conquer death.

Renee Splichal Larson is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Born and raised in North Dakota, Renee is a graduate of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, and Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. She is married to Jonathan Splichal Larson, who is also a pastor in the ELCA, and their son is named Gabriel. Renee and Jon are both survivors of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. A Witness is Renee's first book.

Jennifer Agee is a freelance editor. Her MA is from Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. Systematic Mythology is her first book.


Norma Cook Everist is Professor of Church and Ministry at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, and a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. A widely known theologian, lecturer, and workshop leader, she has published over a dozen books, including The Church as Learning Community; Church Conflict: From Contention to Collaboration; and (with Craig L. Nessan) Transforming Leadership.