Wednesday Letters: Dear Haiti

Dear Haiti,

I wish I had words to speak that would bring healing, comfort, even just the basic emotion of feeling safe. I wonder what it must be like, to feel the earth move beneath you, followed by the chaos of struggling to survive.

I am sure you felt that struggle long before the ground shook. I am sure your faces have woken up to the kinds of sunrises we dream about here beneath the florescent lights of our offices, and longed for the kind of food we consume in our rush between meetings. I am sure that sleeping beneath the stars last night was not so very different for many of your people. I am sure that a majority of us who saw your rubble on the news this morning do not know you are the poorest nation in our hemisphere.

Or sadly, we do, and yet it took the literal moving of the earth for us to send so many to your rescue. I'm sorry, Haiti. I'm sorry that I am one who did not pay attention. I'm sorry.

So now, late but not too late, you are in our prayers, our thoughts, our pleads to the God of love. Let us be the hands of Jesus as we descend upon your land.

Here's more info about Haiti from One Day's Wages:

Haiti ranks as one of the least developed countries in the world, and has an approximate population of 10 million, with most citizens living below $2 per day. According to the World Food Program, more than half live on less than $1 per day – in extreme global poverty…One Day’s Wages has committed $5,000 from our General Giving Fund to aid in the relief efforts and now, we invite you to join us.

*There are many ways to help Haiti today. Here are a few:

- Compassion (or click the button, top right)

- American Red Cross

- Samaritan's Purse

- Donate $10 to be charged to your cell phone bill by texting "HAITI" to "90999."

- One Day's Wages

- UNICEF

- A list of 11 more from Desiring God

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Why Wednesday Letters?

When I moved recently I found a book my mom gave me once called The Wednesday Letters. It's one of those sweet little Christmas or beach reads about a man who wrote his wife letters every Wednesday of their married lives. I've also come to love reading Patricia's Monday letters to her daughters over at Jonesbones5.

My friend Tara and I recently decided to become pen pals and send real letters, using actual pens and stationary because that art should not be lost in these days of micro-blogging & texting. My handwriting looks like that of someone my grandmother's age, and somehow I feel the need to preserve the beauty of cursive script & the way words flow over pages you can feel between your fingers.

On the other hand, I do so love to blog. So I've decided to institue Wednesday Letters here. I like Wednesdays (and not only because the aforementioned Tara's dog is called by the same name), and I love the format of a letter written. And so, this was the first one.