Mark and Jen Brenner

Mark is the Chief Financial Officer and teaches Christian Ethics classes for the School of Discipleship. He is currently pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Religion from Liberty University. Jen volunteers in our landscaping department. Mark and Jen are both graduates of the School of Discipleship.

Brenner Family Update

January 2022

Stephen has passed the boot camp phase of his US Air Force training. He would like to be in the Special Forces. The Special Forces job that he is trying out for is called SERE instructor, (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape). This is an elite group of soldiers, and highly selective. They train soldiers in the above skills. He is now in a SERE selection course where they are trying to weed out most of the applicants through overwhelming physical, mental, and psychological demands. His class started out with 38 applicants and 5 quit within the first day. For the next several weeks, he will be running on little sleep and will be pushed to the limits, as they try to whittle down the remaining 33 applicants to about 5. He has a 75lb rucksack that he has to wear anytime they leave a building. His shoulders are black and blue. He is doing 500 pushups a day, and marching miles with the rucksack, among other fun things! Go Stephen! We are rooting and praying for you!

• Pray for his participation in this selection course, that he will have the strength of spirit to give it his all as they try to break him.
• Pray for his physical health as he is getting about 4 hours sleep
• Also pray that he will grow in his relationship with God as he is put through all kinds of circumstances that are different from growing up at home.
• Pray that God will direct good Christian people into his life for fellowship and encouragement.

Rachel graduated from Mercyhurst University with an associate’s degree in business. She graduated at the top of her class. (Not bad for a person who was not sure if she could do college level schoolwork.) She decided to pursue EMT training and was hired on full time at Emergycare in the fall of 2020. She has a heart toward missions, and is planning on doing a year-long mission trip called The World Race in 2023. She has been diligently studying Spanish and might do some further schooling with an eye towards being a translator.

• Pray for Rachel to be a good testimony at work. The work environment is often stressful, but there are a lot of opportunities to minister.
• Pray for her opportunity to join the World Race in 2023. There are a lot of factors up in the air, especially concerning vaccine requirements and traveling. Sometimes it is discouraging to see the state of affairs in the world, and realize that your dreams are coming into conflict with the upside down world.
• Pray for direction for Rachel if she is to continue her education, and in what direction. Spanish translator??
• Pray that God will bring along godly friends to sharpen and encourage her.

Michael graduated with a BS in Biology. He has been working full time at a medical testing laboratory. Michael is part of the leadership team for Meadville Area Young Adults Bible Study. He is driven towards pastoral and teaching type ministry. He is active in his church, and has started courting a nice young lady. Michael has applied for an accelerated nursing program, and a physician’s assistant program and will likely start furthering his medical education in the fall of 2022.

• Pray that Michael will have clear direction in his pursuit of a vocation.
• Pray for his interviews in the accelerated nursing program and physician’s assistant program that he is applying for.
• Pray for his continued growth and ministry in the Bible Studies that he is a part of.
• Pray for him as he gets to know the young lady that he is interested in, and that God will direct them in His plans for them.

Jen is doing very well. She is our household prayer warrior. She is teaching Sunday school for children at the First Baptist Church in Corry, and assisting Sandy Hungerford in some of the horsemanship instruction for the School of Discipleship. She meets with and disciples our students, we currently have one young lady, Lauren Miller. Jen heads up our Mexico Mission trip day camps, and ladies ministry. She does a great job of keeping our home running smoothly and we appreciate her hard work and effort.

• Pray for Jen that she will have a sound mind and clarity to process the daily things that come into her life.
• Pray for her children’s ministry both in Sunday school and concerning the day camps during the Mexico Missions trip.
• Pray that she will find peace and joy in doing the things that she loves and is good at, i.e. crafts, writing, teaching, gardening, art, etc. (She often feels guilty and an internal pressure to forgo normal good things, related to mental struggles that she has had for many years.) I am always telling her to, “Do Fun Things!”.
• Pray for her as she learns how to help her parents in their older age, both are in their 80s.

Although my job title is CFO, and I do help with some of that type of financial work, I am more often than not working on special projects. Sometimes those projects are related to finances, and often they are related to operations or other aspects of the ministry. Problem solving related to electrical, HVAC, and engineering type situations are right in my wheelhouse. I am currently managing the construction of our new bunkhouse, ordering materials, working with the architect, meeting with inspectors, hiring contractors, and working through code issues to keep the project rolling. I try to keep the wireless Internet working and help anywhere else I am needed. I also organize the Mexico Missions trip with Mark Carpenter, and assist his department regularly as needed. I try to stay in shape through the hobby of long distance cycling, and have a group of Christian guys that I do that with. Last year, I bought Jen a bike that has a battery assist and pretty good range, about 70-miles / charge. We have done quite a few long rides together, and it is great for her to be able to keep up with me! I am also coaching volleyball in Corry with a great group of people that are dedicated to the development of the kids in our Corry area. This has been a needed point of contact for people at MMR to get to know families in our area. Nearly everyone on my volleyball team has gotten connected to Miracle Mountain Ranch through summer camp.

• Pray for a great group of people to attend the Mexico Mission Trip. We need 30-35 people to have enough help to make the trip run smoothly.
• We need to find churches and individuals to support the drilling of two more wells, about $7000.
• Prayer for Pastor Alex and Irene, from the Church plant in Babicora, Mexico, that they will be able to get a visa to come to the US to visit their support base.
• Pray for the building plan approval process for the new bunkhouse at MMR. We are currently waiting on the Dept. of Labor and Industry for a building permit.
• Pray that we will be able to locate all the building supplies we need for the bunkhouse and have it operational by summer camp.
• Pray for me to have an impact in the lives of those young ladies that I am coaching in volleyball, and for it to draw the local people to Christ and to the ministry of MMR.
• Pray for me to discover and roll with God’s plans for me as I enter a new phase of life with all adult children.

Love,
Mark, Jen, Michael, Rachel, and Stephen