How do you eat an elephant? 

As Compassion UK, we loved being at Spring Harvest 2023! It was so good to meet loads of the Spring Harvest family in Minehead and Skegness, to share Compassion’s vision and of how God is on the move through his local church, releasing children from poverty right around the world.

So many of you that attended decided to take action and sponsor a child – in fact, more than 300 children have been sponsored through Spring Harvest this year. Thank you so much for stepping in to join the team to provide wraparound support through the local church!

Monica’s story 

At Spring Harvest we introduced you to Monica and shared a film of her incredible testimony (watch the film here and share with your friends!)

When Monica was enrolled onto the Compassion programme, she found herself surrounded by an incredible wraparound support package. A team of family members, her local church, school teachers, healthcare professionals, Compassion project mentors, spiritual advisers, and friends. 

That team have joined together and empowered Monica, a shy but determined young girl whose family have faced significant challenges after her father left her mum to care for four children on her own.  

“If I didn’t have a sponsor, maybe I wouldn’t be in school for now. Maybe I would be like the street girls. Maybe something bad would have happened to me,” shares Monica. “But having a sponsor has helped me. And it has helped me because if I didn’t have a sponsor, I wouldn’t hear the word of God. I wouldn’t go to church. It has helped me in my education, in my spiritual aspects. I’ve learnt skills from the church and how to interact with people.”

As Cathy Madavan, Spring Harvest host, remarked after she’d met Monica, “When you sponsor a child with Compassion, what you are really doing is standing with a church community. What you are really doing is holding hands with some volunteers, with some carers and some parents and saying, ‘I'm in it with you. I want to pray for your child and stand with you in the best way I can,’ and you get to be part of this wraparound support package, which not only blesses that child, but it ripples out into the community, into their families, and makes a tangible difference.”

So, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you tackle a problem like global poverty? We begin with a child. A child like Monica. 

Spring Harvest, in partnership with Compassion, is releasing a song at the end of the month. You’ll be able to find it on our digital streaming platforms and on Youtube. All the streaming profits from the song will be split 50/50 between Compassion and Spring Harvest.

Compassion also have some brilliant resources for all ages on offer. One in particular that we have been loving is this resource looking at 10 powerful prayers you can pray over your children. Check it out here.

About the author: Luke works for Compassion UK as head of partnerships. In addition, he is church planting alongside his wife Kaz in the city of Derby. Luke is a pastor with the Assemblies of God and loves coffee, especially when it is paired with a great conversation with leaders/friends.