Alex Compton- Co-Founder
Alex was born in Durham, North Carolina, in 1978 and raised in Spring, Texas. At the age of 15, he went on his first missions trip to another country. It was then that he felt called to the nations.
After moving to Norcross, Georgia, he studied at River of Life Bible College and later met his wife, Holly, in 2005. They began their Peru journey together in 2004 when they went on their first mission trip while engaged.
In 2007 Alex and Holly moved to Peru as missionaries. They spent 2 years living in Peru. During that time they helped build Pats Place, A church in Jicamarca, and helped run Hope House (girls orphanage).
Alex's love for Peru continues to grow year after year, which he prays will be his family legacy.
Holly Compton- Co-Founder
Holly was born in 1978 and raised in Townsend, Massachusetts. She received a Bachelor's Degree in English Writing and Literature and Mathematics from Wheaton College in Norton, Mass.
She studied at Andover Newton Theological School of Newton, before moving to Norcross, Georgia in 2002 to attend Raffa Discipleship School, where she met her husband, Alex. Today they reside in Cumming, Georgia, with their three children, Eden, Elianna and Esaias.
She is a stay-at-home mother who's heart's desire is to exhibit the love of Christ in Peru and pass that love on to her children.
Tim Koenning - Director of Missions
Tim was born in Houston, Texas on July 15, 1964. As a corporate family, they relocated often. Living in Caracas, Venezuela, Lima, Peru and Mexico City, Mexico, Tim was well equipped with Spanish at an early age.
After moving to Miami to attend high school, he came to Georgia and graduated from Oxford College of Emory University in 1984 with an AA and then a BBA from Georgia State University in 1986.
Tim has two adult kids, Kaitlyn and Grant. Kaitlyn is now a veterinary doctor and Grant is a musician with a degree in music composition. Both graduated from the University of Georgia.
Tim has been in the financial services industry since 1986 and currently works with Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc in Johns Creek.
Laura Ali- Director of Pat's Place
Laura has lived in San Juan de Lurigancho for more than 45 years. She has been married to her husband Javier "Vico" for 25 years, and they have two daughters, Estefania age 24 who is a lawyer like her father, and Alessandra age 19 who is studying to be a lawyer. Laura recently began a grandmother too.
Laura has a psychology degree and has served as the Director of Pat's Place for the last 8 years. Her work there is her passion and an integral part of her family.
Laura also serves as our home coordinator and mission team chef when we have groups in Peru. Her previous profession of travel agent is instrumental in arranging our trips and mission excursions.
We lovingly call her "Mamita" (little mother in Spanish) because she takes care of not only all the women and children at Pat's Place, but also all of short-term mission participants while they are there.
Carolyn Canouse- Board Member
Carolyn was born in Connecticut in 1968, and studied Finance at Stetson University in Florida.
She has been serving in Peru since 2009 and has 3 daughters and a husband who also love mission work. In 2015 she co-founded Make a Miracle, a ministry that provides scholarships to young people in Peru. Currently, several women at Pat's Place have received scholarship funds to attend university and pay for trade school training.
Make a Miracle has also established several community centers in San Juan Lurigancho and has been instrumental in building dozens of homes in those impoverished communities too.
Pat’s Place has won Carolyn and her husband, Jack's hearts from day one, and they love the women and children like family.
Pastor Luis Marcial Ojeda - Church Plant- Paraíso
Pastor Luis. He is a man after God's own heart, a true servant to the people of San Juan de Lurigancho in Lima, Peru. We have been working with him now for more than 12 years; he is our friend, pastor, translator, teacher and guide, with a heart for reaching the lost. Here he shares that heart and the reason why we do missions in this place.
He is very involved with our mission teams and is instrumental in preparing for or visits to Paraíso, where he has planted a church. Along with the community leaders, he helps select the deserving families we build houses for and coordinates all the preparations for our school visits, our interactions with the community, and the materials required.
Pastor Luis is also one of our team's translators and is essential when teams visit churches to speak to the people.
Nathan Simpson- Board of Directors
Nathan graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2012. After graduating, he split his time working as a marketing and advertising specialist for a multinational publishing company and doing volunteer work to assist a political campaign.
Nathan brings a diverse knowledge to the company after studying everything from French literature to economics to political science. Now a registered investment advisor representative, he handles the trading and operations here at Howard Capital Management.
Outside of work, Nathan has a passion for traveling. Fluent in French and Spanish, he has visited many different countries, and has even lived in Paris and Montreal. Other than that, Nathan is a diehard soccer fan (go Chelsea!) and catches as many games as he can. He also enjoys trying new food, having eaten everything from reindeer to silk worms. Nathan loves working at Howard Capital Management!