My wife and I have been on three mission trips to Nicaragua, where we have built several relationships with people living in extreme poverty. Since that first trip, we have made fighting extreme poverty a life-long goal.

I have struggled to figure out how to use the gifts God has given me to do the work He wants me to do, which is how the seed of making a difference was planted for me and has now sprouted into a company: ResQrags.

My concept is to create shirts with a simple design that emphasizes a powerful message of hope and love. Every message is inspired by the Word of God. Every shirt has a purpose.

I donate more than 50 percent of the proceeds from ResQrags to causes I believe in. And if you purchase a shirt, you decide which program your purchase should support.

• Rescuing moms and babies
• Developing future leaders
• Disaster relief and stability
• Health and medical needs

10 Ways ResQrags Make the World a Better Place

1. “My shirt raises awareness.”
Whether it is about extreme poverty or the meaning of the shirt’s specific message, ResQrags raise awareness.

There are too many people who simply do not understand what extreme poverty means. People need to know that 1.4 billion people live below the poverty line of $1.25 per day.

ResQrags give you an opportunity to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. They allow you to share your faith and talk about things that matter to God.

2. “My shirt encourages others to take action.”
Many people want to make the world a better place but they don’t know where to start. ResQrags give you an easy way to get involved.

Buying a shirt provides financial support and wearing your shirt encourages others to take action. There is strength in numbers, which is why I have made ResQrags as affordable as possible.

The more people who wear the shirts, the more of a positive impact we can make in the world. Everyone needs to be encouraged.

3. “My shirt provides disaster relief.”
Whether it is a tornado, earthquake, tsunami or hurricane, when natural disasters strike, people come together and help each other persevere.

Compassion’s Disaster Relief Fund provides food, blankets, shelter and replacement belongings for children and families when disasters strike.

4. “My shirt feeds the hungry.”
The current global food crisis is being called by many a “silent tsunami” that could plunge an additional 100 million people on every continent into hunger.

Food prices have risen as much as 100 percent in some countries since 2006. Compassion’s Global Food Crisis program provides food for the hungry.

5. “My shirt fights deadly diseases.”
My shirt helps break the devastating cycle of AIDS and provides care for people who are often cast out by society.

Compassion’s AIDS Intervention program helps staff, partners and families understand and prevent the disease, care for children who have lost their caregiver to AIDS, and provide treatment and care for people who already have the disease.

Compassion’s Malaria Intervention program helps children and their families receive the resources they need to fight the deadly disease, including mosquito nets to protect children from mosquito bites, prevention education, and access to medical treatment.

6. “My shirt builds unity.”
When people join forces and support a common cause, that’s when mountains can be moved.

Companies, non-profit organizations, churches, governments, faith-based groups, schools, and other groups need to find more ways to work together to help those in need.

ResQrags brings people together and partners with people committed to fighting extreme poverty and providing hope to the hopeless.

7. “My shirt develops leaders.”
Compassion’s Leadership Development Program helps identify young men and women who have shown potential to become Christian leaders who can, in turn, influence their own churches, communities and nations.

The Leadership Development Program assists with college tuition, books, and room and board. Leadership is crucial to making a difference. ResQrags is committed to building new leaders.

8. “My shirt shows compassion.”
Everyone needs to show mercy and compassion. And Compassion’s Child Survival Program saves the lives of young, vulnerable children and helps set them on the path toward healthy development.

The Highly Vulnerable Children program provides food, clothing and a nurturing Christian home environment to children in poverty who are orphans or who have no adult caregivers. Compassion is God’s way of motivating us to do His will.

9. “My shirt gives hope.”
A common theme in poor villages throughout the world is hopelessness. Without hope we have no reason to live. We are told in Romans 5:3-5:

“Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Hope reminds us how powerful God is. When we rely on God and follow His lead, He will provide. Hope does not disappoint us.

10. “My shirt shares my love.”
Jesus tells us to love each other as He has loved us. If we did everything in love, the world would be a much better place. I often take love for granted and underestimate its power. Without love we have nothing. ResQrags remind people how important it is to love one another. After all, God is love.

Wear love well. Join the fight against extreme poverty at www.resqrags.com. And show us how you “Wear It Well” by sharing your photos with us on Facebook.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Gannon and his wife, Tina, are the founders and owners of ResQrags. They live in Fort Myers, Fla., with their twin 6-year old boys.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Most of us are feeling the pinch of rising prices in our own lives, but to the poor even the slightest increase can be devastating. In times like this, those of us with enough have the option of reducing what we purchase. But for the needy, who are often already trying to survive on only one meal a day, they have no option but to go hungry.

Compassion has already determined that we will be able to send additional funds to each country this month. We will put an extra $1 million in the child support pool. However, we realize that this will be offset by the growing needs for unsponsored children and the loss in purchasing power of the U.S. dollar. We will release additional funds in order to respond immediately to urgent proposals for food aid.

Please join us in this cause and consider a donation to our Global Food Crisis fund, with the hope that we can provide an even greater response to the specific needs of children in poverty in the months to come.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

1. Do you have a favorite Bible verse or story that has personal meaning to you?

Yes, I do. My favorite Bible verse is Lamentations 3:21-25. And if you read the whole chapter you’ll see why even more.

My favorite Bible story is the story of Joseph, for I can associate with how brothers (and sisters in my case) can disown you or treat you in a way that suggests that you are not part of the family, and how God uses all those bad experiences not only for His glory but also to lift us up and to bless others in the process.

2. What piece of the Compassion program had the biggest impact on you and your life? (Fellowship with Christians, having access to medical care, meals that were provided, educational opportunities, or something else?)

Gosh, it’s really hard to pick one program that had the most impact because all of them played a major role in my life as I was growing up, but the one that comes to mind was the Thursday Bible study I used to attend when I was 9 years old. It was here that I was exposed to the word of God, which gave me a chance to give my life to Christ (my best decision ever) and equip me with the basic foundation for the Word of God and fellowship with others – something I still treasure to date.

By the way, I can’t forget the meals (which tells you I love to eat … Ha!) coz honestly, this was the only place where most of us children from the slums had the chance to enjoy three meals a day.

And yes, educational opportunities, because I wouldn’t be where I am were it not for the chance to go to school.

3. Are there things Compassion could do to improve their service to young people and families?

Give more opportunities for many more young men and women to join the program, which in a way comes back to the issue of more sponsors, which are you and me.

4. Do you have any tips for sponsors, having been through the process from the sponsored child’s perspective? Was there anything your sponsor did that was especially memorable or meaningful for you?

Tips for sponsors:

• Please write those letters. You have no idea the impact those letters have. Well, maybe you do.
• Pray for your children. They face a lot and battle with a lot.
• If possible and God wills, try and visit your sponsored child. It will be like a dream come true for them.

Memorable moments:

• My first letter from my sponsor. (Unfortunately, this was during my time in the Leadership Development Program). By the way, I had that letter framed and it now occupies a prominent place on my bedroom wall, but don’t tell anyone … Ha!
• The other most memorable moment was a visit by my sponsor, which to date is still one of the best days of my life.
5. Where do you get your secretaries?

Most of them actually volunteered. I guess they saw I will be a very important person in the future and they want to position themselves strategically. Ha! If you want, Kelly, you can also send in your application, and I can see what can be done.

6. What is God teaching you personally right now?

Good question. The need to slow down, stop running and just let go and let God.

7. As you think back, are there children that were right there alongside you in the Compassion program whose stories have not unfolded as successfully as yours? Are there children who received the same loving care and benefits of sponsorship who have not thrived and overcome?

Yes, and sadly to say, many.

8. If so, what do you think was the difference? What are the factors affecting whether a child in Compassion’s program will succeed and overcome?

It’s really hard to point to just one thing, coz it’s a combination of many factors. But one thing that comes to mind (and from experience) is the environment you live in, the people that you surround yourself with and the “voices” that you listen to.

Most of the kids in the slum grow up in an environment that screams “you can’t make it,” “you will never amount to anything,” and if they aren’t careful they can end up believing this. That’s why one of the answers I gave as a tip for sponsors is to pray for your children and to write those letters to remind them to listen to the “voice of truth.”

9. What are your hopes for the future?

Many, but one thing is for sure: Take a chance on many more lives the same way my sponsor took a chance on me.

10. Paper or plastic?

Paper

11. Do you happen to like chocolate?

Is that a question or a test?

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

When I purposely expose myself to the ugly things in life, I open myself up to possibility that my heart will be hurt. It’s a scary, vulnerable place, but it’s exactly where God has called me to be.

My heart hurt badly last week when I read this in a crisis report from our staff in Bangladesh …

Approximately 95 percent of Compassion-assisted children are feeling the effects of the [global food] crisis. Many are living on one meal a day — receiving it at their child development centers — and struggling with feelings of guilt and sadness because their family members don’t receive the same benefit.

Did you get that? Our children are feeling guilty for eating one meal a day.

We just had our once-a-quarter meeting where all the different department leaders report their numbers for the previous quarter. Usually, this meeting is filled with exciting reports of how God has blessed Compassion beyond our expectations. We set high goals and God consistently exceeds them. And while last week’s meeting had its share of positive reports, the one issue that overshadowed everything else we talked about was what is being called the Silent Tsunami, or the Global Food Crisis.

Have you heard of it? If you haven’t, you’re likely not alone. But perhaps you’ve seen a glimpse of it here at home: “the rising cost of gas” or “economic recession” or “the creation of biofuels.” But whereas we here in the United States are facing inconvenience and sacrifice, our brothers and sisters around the world are facing death by starvation.

Does this upset you? It should. It obviously upsets me. We’ve got to start doing something about it now because this crisis is going to get worse before it gets better.

This Global Food Crisis is complex — it is not caused by one single thing but is the combination of many factors including:

• Diverting food towards the creation of biofuels
• Recent droughts and floods
• Higher gas prices
• Higher tariffs in export markets, especially rice

When several of these factors occur together, it creates a kind of “perfect storm” situation, with global consequences. Compassion Vice President of International Program, Mark Yeadon, says that while every person is affected at some level by this crisis, there are varying degrees depending on where in the world you live. Some are refraining from purchasing that new car or vacation home. Some are carpooling to work or riding their bike more. Some are adjusting their grocery list to accommodate the higher food prices. Some are wondering where there next meal will come from. Some don’t worry about where their food will come from because they don’t need to wonder — they know there’s no food.

I don’t mean to depress you. I want to motivate you. Compassion is in a position to make a difference. We have already sent supplementary funds to our two hardest hit countries, Haiti and Bangladesh. We are in communication with our staff in other countries at risk and will address the issues based on the level of severity.

If you are interested in giving money to our Global Food Crisis fund, you can do that. But this is NOT an appeal for money … this is an appeal for your broken heart.

Our family is hurting, and I hope you are not okay with that.

Here are some small things you can do:

• Pray for God to show you what you should do.
• Learn about the crisis and then tell others what is going on.
• Write to your sponsored children in Bangladesh and Haiti to encourage them and love on them.
• Pray hard about which candidate to support in the upcoming presidential elections.
• Talk to your own children about what is happening around the world.

While it’s hard not to get overwhelmed at the situation, God is so much bigger than this, and none of this is out of His control. So what is it that He’s asking you to do?

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

I’ve been planning a trip to Haiti for several months, and this small Caribbean country has gotten to me. I’ve studied up on the language — Bonswa! I’ve tried Haitian recipes and read stories of its people. I’ve even packed and repacked my suitcase, so excited am I to meet this culture face to face.

Well, all my bags are packed, but I’m not going anywhere. I was supposed to leave on April 12th, and I was hoping to pack you in my suitcase to experience Haiti with me through this blog, but the situation is too unstable to travel right now.

The Haitians are calling it Clorox and Battery Acid — a famine that leaves their mouths white and dry from hunger, like powdery Clorox, and leaves their intestines feeling like they are being slowly eaten by battery acid. Unlike many famines, though, there’s plenty of food on the store shelves in Haiti. The people just can’t afford it.

Because of inflated food prices over the past three months, the 80 percent of Haitians who live in extreme poverty are getting desperate. In January, it cost $2 for a bag of flour. Now it costs $3. It might not seem like a lot to us, but when you live on $1 a day, this 33 percent increase hurts. Thousands of Haitians have taken to the streets in the past week protesting, some holding signs saying “We’re Hungry.” Most are peaceful, but some are getting violent, burning tires and breaking car windows.

The good news is that no Compassion project activities have been affected, although each family is affected by the rising prices as they struggle to feed all their little mouths.

Would you join me in praying for Haiti?

• Pray that the Haitian government can effectively address the situation.
• Pray for the survival of those who are starving.
• Pray for the safety and the health of all the Compassion-assisted children, their families, and Compassion staff.

The trip I was going to attend was called “It Works,” a 5-year interval trip, on which we follow-up on the stories of sponsored children to find out if, indeed, sponsorship works. I hope to still travel to this needy country that has wheedled its way into my heart. I hope to hear the story of Yvette, a former sponsored child who is now a doctor, and of Jean Robert who five years ago was studying accounting through Compassion’s Leadership Development Program, and, of course, I hope to still see the faces of the precious children, who in a glance, despite poverty and beyond reason, remind us of what joy is.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates