CompassionChild - Corinth United Methodist Church 275 Main Street Corinth, Maine 04427

October 2008,

FOOD CRISIS ALERT: Most of us are feeling the crunch right now with soaring food prices and concern for the choices we will need to make as to what we will spend our money on with winter coming and the cost of gas and oil challenging our budgets. Looking at car pooling and conserving the number of trips to town or meetings etc.

In a lot of areas where Compassion ministers, the choices we are facing would be luxuries for them. In fact they are faced with the basic choice of will we be able to eat at all today, not what will we eat. For many children in the Compassion projects, the meal they are provided at the center is the only meal they will eat today.

In Haiti alone, inflation rates have risen 40% pushing up food prices. With 8 out of 10 Haitians unemployed, buying food is nearly impossible for most families. All 60,000 children Compassion serves in Haiti have been affected. Estimates project Compassion Haiti will need at least $2 to $6 million to feed registered children and their families over the next few months.

In Bangladesh, 95% of the 11,782 children in 82 Compassion-assisted centers are affected. The country has requested hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide immediate food relief to children in need.

These are just 2 examples of the countries Compassion ministers within. I am here to share this information and ask that you please consider giving a gift to Compassion's Food Crisis drive. You do not have to be a child sponsor to get involved in Compassion. There are several initiatives you can support. I could continue to list more facts and statistics but would that make a difference? WE all need to listen to God and remember or seek out his word and instruction to us and respond accordingly remembering that what we do to the least of these we do to Jesus. Please go to Compassion's website www.compassion.com/gfc and consider giving a gift online of any amount or you can call 800-336-7676.

CELEBRATION: I was able to support Compassion at 3 events in September whereby Grant Norsworthy was in Maine sharing from his heart in word and song about the true meaning of worship. Grant is originally from Australia and has a unique and powerful testimony that he shares. Grant is also a strong advocate of Compassion Internationand has seen first hand the work of Compassion and the difference this ministry is making in the lives of children affected by poverty. He was able to speak a number of times that week and I know that in just the 3 times I attended his services we were able to pick up 42 new sponsors helping to release 42 more children from poverty and provide hope for a better life, Praise God. Please check out Grant online if you would like, for more information about his ministry and don't forget to check out Compassion's website as well. We thank all of our sponsors and welcome new sponsors to join us in our fight to release children from poverty.

Passionate for Christ, Compassion and the children
Patti Rollins

(information on the global food crisis was taken from compassion network newsletter dated July 2008)