Minn. Man Recalls Haiti Quake That Killed Cousin
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Wednesday will mark one year since the earth shook in Haiti. More than a quarter of a million people lost their lives that day. One of the victims was a young Minnesota man studying to be a pastor.
Ben Larson's cousin, Jonathan Larson, was just feet from Ben when he died in the earthquake. He talked to WCCO-TV about what he remembers from that day and why he knows he'll be back to Haiti.
Music and ministry filled Ben's life and family was his foundation.
Ben and Jonathan were close cousins, born just two months apart.
"We were best friends our whole lives," Jonathan said.
Both were fourth year seminary students from Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa certified for ordination. So, was Ben's wife, Renee.
The three left Jan. 4 of last year for a mission trip to Haiti, helping to get a Lutheran church off the ground.
"Each day has memories attached to it," Jonathan said.
Nightfall on Jan. 12 will always be the memory that changed everything.
"It was violent shaking. We didn't know what was happening initially," he said.
The three were inside an orphanage near Port a Prince, standing close together. Jonathan would cling to a cross on the building as the shaking continued, until he saw Renee.
"We found each other in the darkness, in the dust," he said.
Of the 20 people inside, everyone got out, except Ben. He'd been buried in the rubble. They could hear him, singing before he would forever be silent.
Searchers would find his Ben's body two weeks later.
"As we wake in the morning, we remember Haiti. That will be something we always awake with," Jonathan said.
Jonathan is now leading a youth group in Duluth, in the same city Ben's parents are pastors.
He admits it's been hard to watch Haiti struggle in the last year, a hurricane that brought widespread flood waters and a cholera outbreak that's killed thousands.
"If they have faith that continues in the wake of such devastation, we can too," Jonathan said.
It's why he knows he'll be back to rebuild. He's sure it's what Ben would want him to do after a powerful moment that still wasn't strong enough to shake a family's faith.
Ben was 25 years old. His widow, Renee, is a pastor of a Lutheran Church in North Dakota. On Wednesday, the anniversary of the earthquake, Ben's family will all gather at this grave at 3:53 p.m., the time the quake hit. They'll be singing the same song Ben sang before he died.
To know more about helping Haiti rebuild and the organization the Larson family is supporting in the effort click here.
WCCO-TV's Liz Collin Reports
