The Crisis Felt Around the World

Rising gas and food costs seem to be the topic of discussion these days.

$4 for a gallon of milk.

Over $4 for a gallon of gasoline.

A loaf of bread has doubled in price from a year ago.

Iowa, our country's No. 1 state for corn production, has lost 2 million acres of soybeans and 1. 3 million acres of corn due to the recent floods. Sixteen percent of the state's tillable farmland is underwater.

Clearly, things are going to get worse, before they get better.

And while our family has felt a slight squeeze on the pocket book, we're still more than getting by.

That's not the case for other people around the world.

We're in the midst of a Global Food Crisis.

The increased price of food has left many people starving. Other people rioting.

People who are surviving on $1 a day (that's about half of the world's population, by the way) are being forced to spend nearly 80% of that $1 on food. Imagine spending 80% of your paycheck on groceries. That leaves little for anything else. As food prices continue to rise, more and more people will be affected (some reports have predicted up to 1 billion people).

Compassion International has started a Global Food Crisis Fund to aid those most adversely affected by rising food costs. But, perhaps even more importantly, they have set aside tomorrow, June 25th, as a day of prayer and fasting to honor and pray for victims of this crisis.

Not everyone will be able to offer up funds, but most everyone can offer up a prayer.

Please consider doing what you can to help.