In the Spirit of Nehemiah

On January 12, 2010 a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. In the days and weeks that followed, the devastation was unimaginable. An estimated 300,000 people lost their lives, and another 1 million were left homeless. Prior to the earthquake, Haiti was the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. This already fragile nation was utterly devastated by eleven earth shaking seconds. Esperandieu Pierre started Nehemiah Vision Ministries (NVM) in 2005 with little money and few resources. His vision: an international organization focused on transforming the lives of all people through education, health and spiritual development. While Aaron Elliott was leading his second medical relief team from Grace Community Church in June, 2010, Pastor Pierre asked if he would come and help for a longer period of time. To his surprise, the Elliott's agreed. Aaron and his family joined NVM in order to help train and equip Haitians to become involved in rebuilding the foundation of Haiti, which is in the spirit of the biblical character of Nehemiah who rebuilt Jerusalem and removed the reproach over her. (Neh.2:17-18). Currently NVM is home to a primary school with approximately 400 students, a Haitian-run medical clinic, a new hospital due to open in 2013, a strategic warehouse servicing the entire country, a ten acre agricultural project, and two children’s homes for orphaned or in-need children. Due to the massive response by humanitarians all over the world, NVM has grown exponentially in recent years. NVM hosts over 1,000 people annually as part of medical, construction, and various other mission teams. In 2011 Aaron Elliott lived with his wife and three young children in rural Haiti working among one of the poorest communities on the Western side of the planet. Upon his return, the most consistent question he heard was “are things getting better in Haiti?” This book gives a unique perspective through true stories, anecdotes, and the resulting spiritual musings that span the river of human emotions on life in Haiti and provides answers to this question. This is the story of one suburban family living in Haiti during 2011.