Caitrin Allen

Caitrin graduated from the School of Discipleship in August 2022 as a 1st year student. She then came on staff in the Guest Services department in the main office where she helps register guests for events and summer camp throughout the year as well as doing other office work. She is also in an advisor position mentoring students in the School of Discipleship program.

Caitrin’s Newsletter

Winter 2025

I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year! Things have picked back up at the Ranch after the holidays. This January we held several youth retreats at the Ranch and will continue to have various retreats almost every weekend through the Spring. We’ve been accepting summer camp registrations since November and already have over 400 kids signed up! We are also doing a bit of remodeling around the office. We’re currently working on ripping out and replacing flooring in the office kitchen, as well as painting and replacing cabinets. Between this project and keeping up with retreats, summer camp registrations, and other miscellaneous office tasks, I have been able to stay pretty busy this winter. The students all seem to be doing well and have settled into their chosen departments for the year. I do not have a guest services student this year, but Evelyn (one of my advisees and a Programming 2nd year) is working with me occasionally. My advisor group has been enjoyable this year, and it has been fun to get to know the girls better and to co-advise with the Chundrleks again. Every year, I am so blessed to be able to spend time with them and the students we are advising. It has been great getting to get to know all the students better and seeing them grow closer to Christ as the school year wears on!

This past September, I moved to different housing on the Ranch. I am now living with just one other person, Anna, who was a student with me in 2021. Although I was not happy about the move at the time, it has turned out to be an appreciable change. It allows me to be closer to the office, kitchen, and students. The proximity to the center of camp and the girls’ dorms has also provided a lot more opportunities to connect than our previous housing arrangement.

2025 is looking like a pretty busy year for me as I look ahead towards my future plans, and it has already contained plenty of excitement! At the end of January, I went on a vacation with a friend from my student year and several other girls. We went on a 4-night cruise to the Bahamas and spent a couple of nights in Florida upon returning. This trip was very fun, and the sunshine was lovely! I really enjoyed the opportunity to get to spend time with Jazlyn, who I do not see very often, and make new friends! During this trip, I also had the opportunity to visit and catch up with a couple of students from previous years.

At the end of February, I will be attending a three-day Christian camping conference at a retreat center several hours from MMR, with people from different camps in the surrounding area. I have also been becoming more involved with the youth group that I help with and have enjoyed the opportunity to spend more time with the kids and other leaders. Things are going well with the group. We recently had one boy profess faith in Christ! We have also had several fun events in the past few months, including a Christmas party and caroling time in December, a bowling night in January, a snow retreat for the older kids a few weeks ago and we are going to be taking the younger class snow tubing this week!

One big update in my life that I am excited to share about is the opportunity I have to go on a three-month mission trip at the end of August! This trip will begin with several days of training in Georgia, and then we will go to Africa, spending time in two countries: Eswatini and South Africa. I have always wanted to have a chance to go on a slightly longer overseas mission trip! I think that it will be a blessing to be there long enough to become more familiar with the people and their culture, as well as to have more time to build relationships with them. I am especially excited about the Eswatini portion of the trip, as I have been told that the plan is to do a lot of work with the local children there. I have found myself drawn to helping and ministering to children specifically, as I have gotten opportunities to work with them and see the needs they have. If you are interested in reading more about this opportunity and/or financially supporting me for this trip (it is not through MMR) you can find information through this link https://caitrinallen.theworldrace.org/. I have been given a personal blog space to write about the trip and provide updates once I am overseas, so there will be new posts on there from time to time. From this page, you can also subscribe to be alerted when new posts are made, if you would like!

Once this trip is over, I plan to return to the Ranch at least for the time being. However, my specific job description within the Ranch ministry may be evolving a bit in the coming months to allow for more growth and leadership opportunities.

I appreciate your faithful prayer and support as I continue to work at the Ranch and explore new things! As always, you can find this newsletter and more information about financially supporting my work on my staff page on the Ranch’s website if you are interested in doing so.

God Bless,

Caitrin Allen