Follow the Leader

I was just on a prayer walk and was remembering back to the beginnings of Ncompass.  I remember the day before we had our first board retreat to map out our mission and vision I was meeting with Todd Newell a senior pastor at our church.  Todd had been a mentor and source of wisdom in my life on many occasions.  I was uncertain of direction at the time and Todd gave me a scripture that has stuck with me ever since.  "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."  Proverbs 16:9

I have seen this verse play out so many times in my own life as well as in the life of Ncompass these past eight years.  On my walk, I was reflecting on this verse and as I was thinking about it felt that God was changing my course and I turned left down a side street instead of continuing straight ahead as intended.  As soon as I did, a brisk wind swept up behind me guiding and pressing me into the newly chosen course.

I viewed the wind as a sign that when we listen to God's voice and take his path instead of following our own, he will often bring a wind to guide and push us in the right direction faster and with more power.  Not that it will be easier, but that he will provide us with a strength and sustaining spirit.   I am encouraged by the way the Lord has directed and guided our steps the past eight years, regardless of or shortcomings and failures.

Keep your eyes on him and follow his leading.

Joey

Grateful

Last Friday we had our 5th Annual Fundraising Dinner at the Tiffany Center downtown.  It was an incredible night and we were so blessed by the incredible generosity of our partners!

We entered the night with a matching grant from the Mission Increase Foundation for $15,000.  With the help of this grant we were able to walk away from the night raising over $32,000 for the kids in Haiti!  We had 16 kids who still needed their education sponsored and we are pleased to announce that every single child now has a sponsor!

We also highlighted some of the stand out partners who have helped Ncompass in deep and impactful ways this year.  Here is a list of our 2014 award winners:

Lamar Hurd:  Volunteer of the year
The Cancelosi Family:  Family Partner of the Year
Mission of Hope: Nonprofit Partner of the Year
Life Christian School: Education Partner of the Year
Emily Rose:  Jackson Ismorin Spirit of Service Award

Thank you so much to all of our incredible supporters who have helped make this night and this year such a blessing!  We are incredibly excited about what lies ahead and the impact we hope to drive for these children in 2015.

God bless and thank you!

Joey

8 Year Anniversary

As an organization we recently had our eight year anniversary.  I can't believe how fast the time has gone!  It has been such an incredible journey.  We have been so blessed with incredible donors and volunteers.  We have learned a great deal from those we serve and hope to continue to improve in our ability to impact the world for the better.

Over the past eight years we have served the homeless in Portland, created an anonymous gift program to bless strangers, partnered with Samaritans Purse through Operation Christmas child, supported the children in Haiti, and much more.  We are excited about the future, and desire to continue our partnership with you to serve God and his children.

Thank you for your donations, prayers, volunteer hours, and support and encouragement.  You all mean the world to us!

God bless,

Joey

Built to Last

Each quarter our board picks one book to read which will make us a better organization.  This past quarter was the book "Built to Last,"by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras.  As an organization our goal is to build a visionary company that will continue empowering and developing kids around the world long after we are gone.  We are not just thinking about the short term, but truly trying to create something special that has a long last impact.  The book was incredibly helpful in identifying small changes we can continue to implement to become better as an organization every day.  We are far form perfect and are always seeking ways to improve.

If anyone would like to join us in our 4th quarter read, we will be spending time on the book "Becoming a Coaching Leader," by Daniel Harkavey, CEO of Building Champions.  We have picked this book because we believe developing our team is one of the most important things we can do as an organization to continue to improve and create sustainable success.

We always welcome your ideas to help us become a better organization, so please feel free to share with us at any point ways we can continue to grow and improve.

Thank you and have an incredible week!

Joey

Renette Arrives Today!

We are so excited to welcome Renette back to Portland for the second year in a row.  She arrives tonight at 9:45pm and will be staying with us until next Tuesday.  We are having an appreciation dinner Friday night at 7pm for all of our wonderful Haiti supporters and are so thankful to have Renette here to be blessed by their warm welcome!

I am continually impressed with Renette every time I think about the incredible work she is doing in the circumstances she is in.  It has still been less than one year since she lost her beloved husband Jackson.  She has demonstrated true commitment to his vision in supporting the children in the orphanage and is such an incredible blessing to them.  What a gift from God she is and we are so excited to spend time with her this upcoming week.

Please pray this trip is a huge blessing for Renette!

Thank you!

Joey

Nicaragua Trip

In May Miles Dodge (Ncompass International Development Coordinator) and Danielle Schwartz (Ncompass Administrative Assistant) co-led an exploratory trip to Nicaragua to research possible partnership opportunities.  Between the two of them they used their experience of four previous trips to Nicaragua, and prior connections to identify and evaluate nine specific partnership opportunities that align with the mission of Ncompass; "To serve, empower, and develop today's youth to become the generation God created them to be through education and humanitarian efforts."  These opportunities ranged from large feeding programs with "Haiti-like" conditions, in communities like Cristo Rey, to supporting boys and girls rescue homes housing children survivors of rape/sexual assault near the former "garbage city" of La Chureca.

While the objective of the trip was to gather information for long term direction in Nicaragua the dynamic duo was able to deliver immediate positive impact.  Most notably we are proud to say Ncompass will be the primary supporter of a Child Psychologist (her name is Mabel) in Hogar Amistad, which houses 33 children, many of whom are survivors of child rape/sexual assault.  During their interview of Mabel they learned she has been practicing for over six years, primarily in the pediatric development of a hospital.  As a wife of a pastor, she formerly worked eight hours a week at Hogar Amistad and described her style as "incorporating the word of God" into her work; the kids only complaint about her was she was not around more.  With the support of Ncompass Mabel will be a full-time staff member year round and will work 48 hours a week.

Thank you for your support in this special mission and please pray for discernment as Ncompass evaluates the multitude of options on how to move forward in Nicaragua.

Joey

Nicaragua Campaign

While we maintain a strong focus and dedication to Haiti, we have also been considering work in Nicaragua for quite some time now.  On May 9th, Ncompass members Miles Dodge and Danielle Schwartz will lead our first trip to Nicaragua to further research potential partnerships moving forward.

They will be headed to Jinotega, Nicaragua to support an orphanage with 30 children.  Many of these children have been victims of sexual abuse and we see this as an opportunity to partner in the great work that Hogar Amistad (Home of Friendship) is doing for these kids. The teams goal is to raise $6,000 prior to their trip to pay for a full time child psychologist to assist in their critical healing process.  Miles has set up an indiegogo campaign to raise the money and there are only two days left to fund the campaign.  Please support this project and check out more information by following this link.

Thank you for your continual support as we pursue our mission "To serve, empower and develop todays youth to become the generation God created them to be through education and humanitarian efforts."

Joey

Recent Haiti Trips

We had two teams make trips to Haiti at the end of much.  Both trips were a massive success and accomplished many great things for the orphanage.

The first team was led by myself partnering with Life Christian School.  They were an incredible team and made a lasting impact on the kids in the orphanage.  We had five incredible high school seniors on this trip who all demonstrated amazing maturity as well as a life committed to the humble service of others.  The team purchased 21 new mattresses for the kids since many of them were sleeping on concrete floors or on extremely old and worn out mattresses.  We also fixed a septic tank pipe, painted the kids rooms, and much more.
   
The second team was led by Randy and Katie Matheny with Stephanie and Amanda joining them.  They had some amazing experiences with the kids and developed much deeper relationships with the orphanage staff.  They also received bids for our upcoming construction projects for a new boys dormitory as well as an upgrade to the kitchen.

We are very excited about the progress being made in the orphanage and look forward to deepening our impact in these kids lives this year.

Thank you for your support in this cause!

Blessings!

Joey

New Mattresses                                                          Old Mattresses

Spring Haiti Trips

We are very excited to be sending two teams to the orphanage in Haiti over the next two weeks.  I will be leading the first team partnering with Life Christian School, and Randy and Katie Matheny will be leading the second team immediately after.

There are many exciting things happening right now that we are looking forward to working on.  My team will be making education a primary focus to ensure we are providing our kids with the highest standards in the area.  We will be meeting with school leaders and creating new strategies to enhance the education our kids currently receive.

Randy and Katie will be meeting with a construction company to talk about the new boys dormitory we hope to build in 2014.  With 27 girls sleeping in one bedroom and 13 boys in another, we need a more space quickly.  By building a new boys dormitory on the property, we will be able to give the girls both  bedrooms in the current orphanage.

Both teams have many other projects and goals as well and we are very excited to continue impacting these children's lives and improving the way we support Renette and her staff.

We look forward to providing you with an update upon our return and would be very grateful for your prayers.

God bless,

Joey

Winter Board Retreat

We just finished our Winter board retreat and I could not be more excited to work with such passionate and caring individuals.  We made great progress in continuing to refine our focus and vision as an organization.

Each quarter we choose one book to read as a board to help challenge and make us better as an organization.  This quarter our book was Jim Collins "Good to Great".  Reading this book was perfect timing and very affirming of the changes we have been making this past year.  Our next book will be Simon Sinek's "Start with Why".  Feel free to join us in our reading.

We came up with some very challenging and inspiring goals for how to support the orphanage in Haiti this year as well as how to engage, challenge and empower kids through our KidStarter program.

We are committed to continually getting better as an organization and delivering impactful results to those we serve!

Thank you for your support!  Please feel free to reach out with any questions or suggestions.

God bless,

Joey

New Mission Statement

The past nine months has led to many incredible transformations in Ncompass.  One of which has been a complete shift in our mission and vision.  When Ncompass was formed over seven years ago, we started with the belief that God had blessed each of us a great deal and it was our responsibility to use those blessings for others.  We did not have a crystal clear vision at the time, but knew we needed to start doing something.

It has taken us a long time to narrow down our vision and calling for the organization, however we feel that we have finally started to zone in on our mission with great clarity and focus.  The past nine months we have performed a huge deep dive into our organization and our members.  We have reviewed strengths, passions, weaknesses, effectiveness and much more.  Through this process we have transformed into what we truly feel God is calling us into, which is a youth empowerment, mobilization and impact organization.  We have a passion for youth development and transformation, and this is where the majority of our officers have spent a bulk of their time over the years.

Our new mission statement is "To serve, empower, and develop todays youth to become the generation God created them to be through education and humanitarian efforts."

We are excited to move in this new direction with focus and clarity and ask you to join us in transforming todays youth.  We are looking forward to partnering with many great organizations like Twice Cleansed, Mission of Hope, and many more in our new KidStarter program.

More details on our new KidStarter program soon to come!

"Live out, to invite in"

I heard a powerful sermon a few months back by Troy Hoppenrath at Kaleo Covenant Church.  The sermon was about how we are called to "live out, to invite in.”   Ever since hearing this, I have had a constant awareness of the importance of this concept.  One of the core beliefs on which Ncompass was formed is that, "If everyone gives a little, together we can change the world."  

In order to inspire and mobilize people, you first have to live out the vision and calling God has on your life.  However, simply living out your calling will not always naturally draw people into it.  It is the first step, but you also need the second critical step- inviting people in.  Unfortunately, many people leave this step out. 

Our challenge this year is to do a better job inviting people to join us on mission to those we serve.  We want to live out our calling with passion and then invite people to live a life worthy of the calling they have received.  

God bless,

Joey

Haiti Update

At the end of December Miles Dodge led a team of five individuals to the orphanage in Haiti.  They accomplished a great deal and had an incredible experience.  It has been very difficult for Jackson's family after his passing last July in a tragic car accident and the team was able to bless his wife Renette and the rest of his family by accomplishing some great projects.

One of the team members is a dental hygienist and cleaned all of the kids teeth.  This was such a huge blessing as most of these kids have never had a teeth cleaning before.  The team was also able to help finish the construction of the surrounding security wall and install barbed wire on top to increase safety for the children.  

One of the most exciting aspects of this trip was that the team was able to purchase a basketball hoop in country.  The kids has an absolute blast playing with the team and we are so thrilled to be able to provide them with this opportunity.  

Among many other things, the team also fixed the water catchment system and painted a beautiful memorial to Jackson on the orphanage wall.  Renette was very excited to have the team in country and sends all of the supporters her love and thanks!

We have two more teams heading to Haiti in March to continue the work. Please keep them in your prayers and feel free to reach out if you are interested in helping or attending a future trip.

God bless,

Joey Jenkins

Welcome!

About seven years ago Ncompass was formed based on two main beliefs.  The first belief was that we were extremely blessed and that "To whom much is given, much is expected."  We had a deep desire to use the gifts, talents, and blessings we had received to serve those in the world less fortunate.  The second driving belief behind Ncompass has always been that "If everyone gives a small amount, then together we can change the world."  This belief has always been the reason behind why we ask for $10 a month in our fundraising campaigns and why we continue to attempt to make small impacts that we believe will eventually lead to global change. 

In the past seven years we have been extremely blessed to have many close friends and family support the work we do.  We have served the homeless in Portland, Oregon and have always felt the ministry was more of a blessing to us and the volunteers who join us than to those we serve.  We learn and grow so much from each conversation and interaction with those who live on the streets every day.  It always makes you thankful to have a warm bed and supportive friends and family.  Supporting the orphanage in Haiti has also been a huge blessing for us as we get to develop long term relationships and watch kids mature and develop into amazing young men and women.  Jackson's family has been serving the orphanage for over 8 years and have been incredibly faithful  working hard to provide a better life for these kids.  We are honored to serve by their side. 

God bless,

Joey Jenkins