The new school year started Tuesday, August 19, and so did the 2008-09 ministry of The Compass. We're off to a great start. The children we have coming, all mesh together really well and are already finding ways to help one another with their homework, sharing and taking turns during free time/playing games, and overall seem to sincerely enjoy spending time together. It's great to "be back." We have thoroughly enjoyed seeing familiar faces, and new ones too.
A week before the school year began, we had room for an additional 6-8 children. At this point, we are at capacity and have now formed a waiting list. We are celebrating with God the harvest He has brought us -- we couldn't be more excited about that. We continue to pray and wait upon His provision for the remainder of our volunteers to help us accomplish the plentiful work God has set out for us.
Another place we are celebrating, has been how God took a rivalry from last year between two students, helped them see one another differently this year (and all they have in common with one another), and is now forming a budding friendship! Only God has the power to accomplish that; and that is a total "Yeah, God!"
We continue to appreciate your prayers for this ministry, the children and their families, and the volunteers who give their time and resources to minister to the children. We also continue to prayerfully anticipate God doing more, and above, anything we pray, or can think to ask or imagine, as we begin our 2008-09 after-school ministry here at The Compass.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
7 Days of Prayer and Fasting
Won't you join us? We are planning to pray and fast for The Compass ministry starting today, Tuesday, August 12, at 3:00 p.m., to Tuesday, August 19 until 3:00 p.m. We welcome anyone wishing to join us in prayer and fasting for the next seven days for this important God-appointed ministry.
The vision of the ministry of The Compass is based on the scripture of Mark 2:2-12. Below are a few other passages that have given us specific direction of this ministry and assurance of God's involvement.
"...the Lord has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent to me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord's favor has come." Isaiah 61:1-2a [NLB] see also Luke 4:18-19
"....be strong and courageous and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you... The various divisions will serve....God. Others with skills of every kind will volunteer...." I Chronicles 28:20-21 [NLB]
"I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!" Isaiah 65:24 [NLB]
Fasting is simply to give up something (TV, computer time, reading a book/magazines, etc.) and replace it with time spent with God. Prayer is simply listening to God through His Holy Spirit, His Holy Word, the Bible, and talking to God, by praising Him for who He is, what He has done, what He can do, and petitioning Him with specific requests. Prayer and fasting, we believe, is most effective when God's word is applied during a set aside time alone with Him.
Please join us in petitioning these requests during your time of prayer and fasting:
1. God would raise an army of prayer warriors for the ministry of The Compass, the children, and the families they represent.
2. God would supply all of the needed volunteers, with a heart for God and children, for the 2008-09 school year.
3. God would supply His desired will and direction for each area of ministry for The Compass in the upcoming year.
Our hope in sharing the above scriptures is to encourage you. God has shared with us during previous times of prayer and fasting and we are confident He will do so again, to each participating individual. We desire for the Holy Spirit to lead each of us individually in what He desires us to hear and to lead us individually in the petitioning of our requests. Please don't limit your requests to those we are asking you to join us in praying -- allow God's Holy Spirit to lead you in how to pray for The Compass, its ministry, the children and their represented families.
We look forward to hearing from many of you, and all that God reveals/impresses upon you; and we thank you in joining us in prayer and fasting for this important God-appointed ministry the next seven days. We have confident hope that, "....God, who is able through his mighty power at work within us, [will] accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. [and bring] Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen." [NLB] Ephesians 3:20-21 (paraphrased)
The vision of the ministry of The Compass is based on the scripture of Mark 2:2-12. Below are a few other passages that have given us specific direction of this ministry and assurance of God's involvement.
"...the Lord has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent to me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord's favor has come." Isaiah 61:1-2a [NLB] see also Luke 4:18-19
"....be strong and courageous and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you... The various divisions will serve....God. Others with skills of every kind will volunteer...." I Chronicles 28:20-21 [NLB]
"I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!" Isaiah 65:24 [NLB]
Fasting is simply to give up something (TV, computer time, reading a book/magazines, etc.) and replace it with time spent with God. Prayer is simply listening to God through His Holy Spirit, His Holy Word, the Bible, and talking to God, by praising Him for who He is, what He has done, what He can do, and petitioning Him with specific requests. Prayer and fasting, we believe, is most effective when God's word is applied during a set aside time alone with Him.
Please join us in petitioning these requests during your time of prayer and fasting:
1. God would raise an army of prayer warriors for the ministry of The Compass, the children, and the families they represent.
2. God would supply all of the needed volunteers, with a heart for God and children, for the 2008-09 school year.
3. God would supply His desired will and direction for each area of ministry for The Compass in the upcoming year.
Our hope in sharing the above scriptures is to encourage you. God has shared with us during previous times of prayer and fasting and we are confident He will do so again, to each participating individual. We desire for the Holy Spirit to lead each of us individually in what He desires us to hear and to lead us individually in the petitioning of our requests. Please don't limit your requests to those we are asking you to join us in praying -- allow God's Holy Spirit to lead you in how to pray for The Compass, its ministry, the children and their represented families.
We look forward to hearing from many of you, and all that God reveals/impresses upon you; and we thank you in joining us in prayer and fasting for this important God-appointed ministry the next seven days. We have confident hope that, "....God, who is able through his mighty power at work within us, [will] accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. [and bring] Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen." [NLB] Ephesians 3:20-21 (paraphrased)
Saturday, June 28, 2008
A Great Finish
We had a great finish to our first opening of the Compass. We would like to thank all of the volunteers, board members and families for your support of this exciting ministry!
During the summer months, we will actively be praying and seeking additional volunteers who would like to join us for the upcoming 2008-09 Wa-Nee school year. We are actively praying for the volunteers, children, and their families, God will bless this ministry with; and we are eagerly anticipating a full year of participating in the work God is going to do in and through the lives of the children and their families.
During the summer months, we will actively be praying and seeking additional volunteers who would like to join us for the upcoming 2008-09 Wa-Nee school year. We are actively praying for the volunteers, children, and their families, God will bless this ministry with; and we are eagerly anticipating a full year of participating in the work God is going to do in and through the lives of the children and their families.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
A Helping Hand
Once a year, KeyBank employees volunteer for an afternoon within their community. We here at The Compass were given a helping hand yesterday by some of them. We were blessed to have a group of people give their time and our landscaping looks wonderful as a result.
The next time you go by The Compass, check out our weed-free, newly planted flowers, and new mulch landscaping. We are so grateful for those who volunteered to bless us with a more 
attractive setting outside. We would like to thank Steve Bell for the donated mulch. We would also like to extend A BIG thank you to our KeyBank volunteers!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Hooray!
We have several things to celebrate at The Compass this week. The children have been commenting on the daily devotionals by giving feedback and asking further questions because they seem to want to understand. We experienced this several times, regarding several devotionals this past week. In fact, one of the children, almost exactly 2 hours later, made a comment about a particular day's devotional. That was exciting first of all, because God provided proof that they were listening and "getting" it. Secondly, we were excited and encouraged because God also let us see He was still being thought about. We gave the illustration of a rain coat, how it shields and protects us from the rain, getting wet, etc. and that God is like a rain coat. He shields and protects His children from the things of this world that try to pull us away from Him, would harm us, etc. We also talked about the fact that just like we have to put on a rain coat when it's raining, we also have to ask God to be a part of our life every day so that He can help us, protect us, etc.
As mentioned earlier, one of the children, several hours later, was talking about that with me. As we sat there coloring together, she decided that it was kind of like coloring. "We," she said, "are like the picture. We are just blah and boring without being colored. But then God comes along and colors us. Even in bad times, He still adds more colors. He's always with us and when He's all done with us, we'll be a pretty picture." Please keep your prayers coming for these children, God is at work!
Speaking of work, we have a work team coming from KeyBank tomorrow. You may notice some pretty flowers and a lack of weeds within the landscaping, cleaner windows, and a stick-free yard provided it doesn't rain between 1 and 5:00. We are grateful to Melanie Weldy for thinking of us and suggesting us to her co-workers. We are looking forward to "hosting" our first community work day tomorrow.
Several of our families continue to comment on their appreciation of the study time we provide at The Compass. They continue to be grateful for the homework time we provide for their children and the family time they experience at home as a result. What an encouragement!
As we finish up the last seven days at The Compass, we pray we continue to be an encouragement to the children, and the children's families, through God's Word, your prayers and ours, and by being the hands and feet of Christ. We are also praying for a continued growth in our volunteer base.
As we share with the Wakarusa Lions Club this evening, please pray for our words to be God's words. Please also pray for any God may be calling from this group to be involved at The Compass, to clearly hear and respond to the invitation.
As you can see, we have many things to be cheering about. We have many things to be praising God for -- and we are, and we do!
As mentioned earlier, one of the children, several hours later, was talking about that with me. As we sat there coloring together, she decided that it was kind of like coloring. "We," she said, "are like the picture. We are just blah and boring without being colored. But then God comes along and colors us. Even in bad times, He still adds more colors. He's always with us and when He's all done with us, we'll be a pretty picture." Please keep your prayers coming for these children, God is at work!
Speaking of work, we have a work team coming from KeyBank tomorrow. You may notice some pretty flowers and a lack of weeds within the landscaping, cleaner windows, and a stick-free yard provided it doesn't rain between 1 and 5:00. We are grateful to Melanie Weldy for thinking of us and suggesting us to her co-workers. We are looking forward to "hosting" our first community work day tomorrow.
Several of our families continue to comment on their appreciation of the study time we provide at The Compass. They continue to be grateful for the homework time we provide for their children and the family time they experience at home as a result. What an encouragement!
As we finish up the last seven days at The Compass, we pray we continue to be an encouragement to the children, and the children's families, through God's Word, your prayers and ours, and by being the hands and feet of Christ. We are also praying for a continued growth in our volunteer base.
As we share with the Wakarusa Lions Club this evening, please pray for our words to be God's words. Please also pray for any God may be calling from this group to be involved at The Compass, to clearly hear and respond to the invitation.
As you can see, we have many things to be cheering about. We have many things to be praising God for -- and we are, and we do!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Gifts...
We've been receiving gifts at The Compass this past week. We've been given drawings and pictures created and colored for us. We've been given art projects and poems made and written for us. And most importantly, we've been given the gift of sharing.
One of our volunteers had the opportunity to share about God's invention of marriage and that it means waiting for that someone special. They also got to share that God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman. Because of a girl's questions, we were able to explain that we know these things because God's Word, the Bible tells us and His Word is completely true.
We were also given the gift of sharing about the upcoming election. Tuesday's primary sparked a conversation and questions among several of the children coming to The Compass. We had the opportunity to share what each presidential candidate stands for and why we did, or did not, agree with a particular candidate's viewpoint -- again, because of caring about what God has to say about the issues according to His Word, the Bible.
We asked you to pray for teachable moments and for the volunteers not to miss them. God is providing the opportunities and it's been a blessing to share -- thank you for your prayers! Most of the children aren't aware that God's Word "says that?" or "it talks about this too?" concerning current issues we face in our daily living. Please continue to pray that we will seize every teachable moment God gives us for the remainder of the year. Please also pray that the words/seeds of truth planted in these children will take root and blossom into deep living in Christ!
One of our volunteers had the opportunity to share about God's invention of marriage and that it means waiting for that someone special. They also got to share that God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman. Because of a girl's questions, we were able to explain that we know these things because God's Word, the Bible tells us and His Word is completely true.
We were also given the gift of sharing about the upcoming election. Tuesday's primary sparked a conversation and questions among several of the children coming to The Compass. We had the opportunity to share what each presidential candidate stands for and why we did, or did not, agree with a particular candidate's viewpoint -- again, because of caring about what God has to say about the issues according to His Word, the Bible.
We asked you to pray for teachable moments and for the volunteers not to miss them. God is providing the opportunities and it's been a blessing to share -- thank you for your prayers! Most of the children aren't aware that God's Word "says that?" or "it talks about this too?" concerning current issues we face in our daily living. Please continue to pray that we will seize every teachable moment God gives us for the remainder of the year. Please also pray that the words/seeds of truth planted in these children will take root and blossom into deep living in Christ!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Continuing to Grow
We are winding down at The Compass, in a matter of speaking. With only a month left to go (The Compass follows the school year calendar), things will quickly be winding down for the children coming to The Compass. Things will continue to take up Jeff and Lisa's time, in regards to The Compass, as they share with others, recruit volunteers for next school year, search for devotionals for the children, create devotional lesson plans, coordinate volunteer schedules, etc. With all of that said, Jeff and Lisa, along with The Compass board, would appreciate your continued prayers during the summer months for The Compass. We ask you to join us in praying for further opportunities to share about the ministry of The Compass, for God's further provision of regular and committed volunteers (we are so thankful for the committed volunteers He has already provided). We are also asking God to provide direction and discernment for the words, from His Word, He desires to have shared with the children as we search and plan for next year's daily devotional time.
Although our time with the children is winding down, we continue to add new students almost weekly at The Compass. God continues to grace us with His presence as well as bring us new, appreciative families. We are thankful that the word continues to spread regarding The Compass and we have the opportunity and blessing to serve our community's families and their children. Please continue to pray for the children, and their families, of those who attend The Compass. We have a few families in difficult situations right now; please pray that they would daily encounter God's love and provision for them. Please pray that all of our volunteers would look for, and seize, "teachable moments" to share God's love, care and provision with the children. And finally, we ask that you would join us in praying that further opportunities would be provided to share of God's love, care and provision with the children's families -- whether it comes through a given word of encouragement, a smile or a hug, praying with a family, or a family's own question/curiosity as they experience God's presence in their daily lives. We continue to trust with expectancy God will answer prayers and continue to work in the lives of the children and their families -- we can't wait to see what He does with the time we have left! Thank you for your faithful prayers, they are appreciated more than words can say. We have been blessed with, and are grateful for, God's faithfulness and we continue to give Him the glory for all the great things He is doing at The Compass!
Although our time with the children is winding down, we continue to add new students almost weekly at The Compass. God continues to grace us with His presence as well as bring us new, appreciative families. We are thankful that the word continues to spread regarding The Compass and we have the opportunity and blessing to serve our community's families and their children. Please continue to pray for the children, and their families, of those who attend The Compass. We have a few families in difficult situations right now; please pray that they would daily encounter God's love and provision for them. Please pray that all of our volunteers would look for, and seize, "teachable moments" to share God's love, care and provision with the children. And finally, we ask that you would join us in praying that further opportunities would be provided to share of God's love, care and provision with the children's families -- whether it comes through a given word of encouragement, a smile or a hug, praying with a family, or a family's own question/curiosity as they experience God's presence in their daily lives. We continue to trust with expectancy God will answer prayers and continue to work in the lives of the children and their families -- we can't wait to see what He does with the time we have left! Thank you for your faithful prayers, they are appreciated more than words can say. We have been blessed with, and are grateful for, God's faithfulness and we continue to give Him the glory for all the great things He is doing at The Compass!
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