Katy Harlan

Katy joined our staff in January of 2021. She has previously served as summer staff and volunteer during our summer camp season for multiple years. As resident staff Katy will be serving in the Guest Services department in the area of Hospitality. Her principle focus will be preparing our facilities for guest along with minor facility upkeep, she will also assist in hosting our guest as well as having direct one on one ministry with our students and summer volunteers.

Katy’s Newsletter

Fall 2024 Newsletter

Hello, dear family & friends!

This past year has flown by, and I can hardly believe that it is November once again! Thank you for your patience with my long-delayed updates. ☺

Preparing for summer camp was wonderfully chaotic, as usual. With help from family & friends, I edited, printed, folded, packed & mailed over 1,400 support letters for the summer staff! (Our summer staff write letters to help raise their own support for the summer, which aids in offsetting the cost of summer camp). I am responsible for making sure that the staff have the proper clearances, permits & employment papers to work, so I spend quite a bit of time in my office taking care of that. Because of this, I have found that it can be easy to grow weary in that kind of isolation. But I have also learned the importance of stepping out to remind myself of why I am doing that work – it is wonderfully refreshing to take a walk and see the staff working with the kids & having fun building friendships! One of my favorite things is worshipping together at evening chapels though. It is so encouraging to my heart.

God blessed us with a wonderful group of young people for our summer staff team this year, and it was amazing to witness them use their talent to serve the Lord & grow through the challenges of summer camp. I was able to mentor three young ladies this summer, as well as the three young ladies in our Counselor-in-Training program. This is always one of my favorite parts of the summer! MMR emphasizes life-on-life discipleship, which gives mentees a space to meet weekly, ask questions, seek counsel & go to the Lord in prayer together. The CIT program is quite similar, but with the addition of meeting with each of the girls daily, go over their assignments & projects and study scripture together. I really enjoy getting to see His grace in other’s lives.

It is amazing to see how God uses our weaknesses to display His strength! When I was tempted to dwell on the trials that came up over the summer, or my failures, I was humbled & encouraged by Philippians 3:7-10. God has used my weaknesses to teach me a lot over the years, and during the summer it becomes more apparent due to the often-intense schedule and challenging situations. Finding contentment with His providence is something that I hope to mature in, and the apostle Paul’s writings have certainly been a source of comfort. Perhaps this passage can be an encouragement to you too!

“But whatever gain I had I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I might gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” Phil. 3:7-10

More blessings from this summer: I got to celebrate my birthday with my family for the first time in seven years! They arrived a day early and surprised me, which was awesome. ☺ My brother Stephen served as an Assistant Counselor this summer, and I loved getting to work alongside him! It has been a joy to see my younger siblings have a desire to serve (my sister Erin was a Counselor last summer as well and came back for a week and a half to counsel again this summer!). My mom also served as a camp nurse for 3 ½ weeks, my dad got to speak for the week 5 chapel sessions, and some ladies from my home church in Indiana also served as nurses throughout the summer. I am so thankful to have had the chance to visit with all of them!

Summer camp ended well. Overall, we welcomed around 1,200 kids during the season! About a week later, we said goodbye to our graduating School of Discipleship class. I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for them! Since then, we have welcomed our new class & are enjoying getting to know them. Our fall retreat season has been lovely, with a full calendar of Family camps, Homeschool day, and Horse Lover’s Retreat, as well as our Ladies Retreats. Our Ladies Retreats are pretty involved across all departments, and both were successful thanks to the effort of the wonderful staff & students! We hosted about 160 ladies over two weekends, and our annual Harvest Party followed shortly thereafter. Next up, we have Hunter’s Retreat and our annual Christmas party!

Friends, thank you for your support for these past few years. Your kindness & generosity has allowed me to spend another year in this wonderful place, for which I am so grateful! And as we enter a new year, I am hoping to expand my support base. If you are unfamiliar with how you can give support but would like to learn more, here are some ways you can get involved: first and foremost, I would appreciate your prayers! Prayers for safety and health, that I would serve faithfully, and for the Ranch as a whole. Secondly, you can partner with me in my ministry at the Ranch through financial support. As you may know, MMR Staff (including myself) rely on mission support for income. The standard goal for single staff is to raise $1,500 per month, and I am currently about 20% of the way there. If you would prayerfully consider supporting me, I would be so grateful! The Ranch has provided me with a unit to live in, so whatever I raise in mission support goes towards groceries, traveling, and other costs of living. There are a variety of ways that you can send support either online or via check, and I have attached details at the bottom of this page. There is also a link to our website’s staff page, where you can give online or set up a recurring donation. Please reach out if you have any questions! You can contact me personally or call MMR’s main office at (814) 664-7673.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, friends! I hope that each one of you is well, and I hope to see you again soon! 🙂

In Christ,
Katy Harlan

Online: For more information on how to give support online via electronic funds transfer, credit card, or bill pay, click the button below.

Mail: You can send donations via US mail to Miracle Mountain Ranch – 101 Rodeo Drive, Spring Creek, PA 16436. Please include a note specifying whom you are supporting.