|PIC1|Irish modern hymn writers and recording artists Keith and Kristyn Getty recently travelled to Ecuador as part of their ministry alliance with Compassion International. The Gettys visited various Compassion project sites and were also able to meet their sponsored child.

The couple visited the El Shaddai Student Center, spending time with children at the child development programme in Quito. Among other activities, the Gettys also toured a leadership development programme designed for students over the age of 18.

A highlight of Keith and Kristyn Getty’s trip was meeting Jhon, the 12-year-old child they sponsor through Compassion. In addition to visiting Jhon, the couple met his family and saw firsthand how their Compassion sponsorship has allowed many physical and spiritual needs to be met in the young boy’s life.

“The places we saw were often hard to see and understand—there is a great lack of things I would call essential and yet you can find beauty and dignity and fun in all the grey and dust,” says Kristyn. “It's difficult to convey the difference Compassion makes in just one family. A glimmer of hope through the concrete; the joy of a parent seeing the strengthening of their child in mind, body and spirit; the pictures of Bible stories on the grey walls; the open welcome in the eyes of children who want to be close to you, who want to play, who want to hold your hand.

“It is easy to become cynical and overwhelmed in the vastness of the need,” she continues. “But the joy of those we met, who time and time again welcomed and thanked us in the name of the Lord, cracks through these barriers and we were challenged head and heart by the effectiveness of Compassion.”

Keith and Kristyn Getty’s latest recording, Awaken The Dawn, released in August and features “Compassion Hymn”. Penned by the couple along with Stuart Townend, the song has already been used by Compassion International in Europe as part of an awareness campaign for the organisation.

Produced by Grammy Award-winner Phil Naish (Steven Curtis Chapman, Point of Grace), with orchestral arrangements by Rob Mathes (Pavarotti, Eric Clapton), Awaken The Dawn marks a return to the traditional Celtic sound of the Gettys’ homeland. A chronological journey through a service of worship, the album comprises 12 fresh hymns and new songs for the church.

Keith and Kristyn Getty have shared their music in churches and at conferences throughout the US and abroad. They have also performed at the Pentagon, Focus on the Family, Franklin Graham Crusades, the National Prayer Breakfast Media Dinner, and the GMA Dove Awards.

Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults. Founded by the Rev Everett Swanson in 1952, Compassion began providing Korean War orphans with food, shelter, education and health care, as well as Christian training. Today, Compassion helps more than one million children in 25 countries.