Grammy Award winning artist and spokesperson for Compassion International Rebecca St. James is lending her voice to the cause of the poor and vulnerable in Africa. The Christian recording artist recently returned from a trip to Kenya and Rwanda where she taped a television special for Compassion, a long-term Christian child development ministry with whom she has been associated since 1996.

Rebecca St. James is one of more than 100 Christian artists taking up the cause of the poor and speaking out for those suffering from poverty as a part of Compassion International's Music Program. Through her work with Compassion, St. James has helped to find more than 23,000 sponsors for children in 24 poverty-stricken countries around the world.

In addition to speaking at her concerts on behalf of those suffering from poverty, St. James currently sponsors two children of her own through Compassion's program. She had the opportunity to meet Samuel, her 12-year-old sponsored boy in Rwanda, during her recent trip.

"Meeting Sam was a life-changing experience," St. James said of her trip. "The highlight for me was when I was sitting in his house, asking him questions through his translator and he started gently patting my head. I truly saw in action today the Bible scripture that says, 'He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.'"

"My involvement with Compassion has shown me that one person really can make a difference in the fight against poverty by reaching out to an individual child," said St. James. "Because of my sponsorship, Samuel's life will never be the same. After this trip, mine will never be the same."

Compassion's President and CEO, Dr. Wess Stafford praised St. James' commitment to children in poverty and Compassion's mission. "Rebecca St. James has one of the most compassionate hearts of anyone I know. She is the real thing," said Stafford. "She uses her gifting and music to change the lives of children all over the world. I am proud to have someone like her representing the work we are doing and speaking out on behalf of our children in poverty."

On February 2, St. James will launch her ambitious If I Had One Chance to Tell You Something tour, scheduled to feature BarlowGirl and set to reach more than 40 concert markets throughout the U.S. The tour celebrates the release of her latest CD of the same title. According to St. James, the tour will give concert-goers a deeper look at her passion for the international work of Compassion. Her personal insights into the mission as well as visual images from Rwanda are expected to be highlights of Rebecca's time onstage, as is her performance of "Beautiful Stranger," a song inspired by her work with the child development organization.

Compassion International is one of the world's largest Christian child development organizations, working with more than 65 denominations and thousands of indigenous church partners in Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Since 1952, Compassion has touched the lives of more than 1 million children and has been recognized for its financial integrity with top ratings and recommendations by several of the nation's leading not-for-profit "watchdog" organizations. For information about sponsoring a child, contact Compassion online at http://www.compassion.com or by calling (800) 336-7676, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., MST.