Mark and Shari Carpenter
Mark and Shari came on staff in 2001. Mark is the Director of Operations. Mark heads up all construction and maintenance, in addition to teaching the School Of Discipleship class on Servant Leadership. Shari enjoys assisting in the Buckboard store and hosting in their home. God has blessed them with six adult children (five of them married), and 10 beautiful grandchildren.
Carpenter Connection
Fall 2024
Greetings from the Carpenters!
We had a great summer camp. Most weeks were full. There were over 1,150 ranchers in total throughout the summer. This was Shari’s first summer running the Buckboard without Sandy. God blessed her with Cheri Fitzpatrick and her granddaughter, Emiliee Freeland; Sarah Logan, a first year student; and several young staff children. It is so enjoyable to see the excitement of the children when it is their turn to go to the Buckboard! Mark also had a great volunteer crew of young men. Kenton, Tucker, and Cory, students in operations, were a huge blessing to us this summer! They exemplified great leadership, a good work ethic, and most importantly, spiritual leadership. Two of our volunteer boys, realizing their lost condition, surrendered themselves to Christ! We praise God for doing this work in the lives of these young men!
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
Operations
Thanks to many hands, including our son, James, Fort Wilderness was up and running this summer! Hay making operations went very well this year. We have an abundance and hope to sell some to help with fertilizer costs. We also have connected with a camp affected by Helene and needing hay. Work has been started on the Conklin property. Roads have been constructed to access the ponds and harvest timber. We opened up a gravel pit that will be helpful with future road construction around the ranch and on the property. We hope to start work on the Conklin home as soon as finances are available. We are working on a floor plan with the existing home and what is needed to provide stafff housing. This project will be our end-of-year fund-raising campaign.
Mexico
The Mexico missions trip was great this year! The group continued with construction on a guest housing project. Work continued on the block and we were able to get a temporary roof structure completed. Our goal would be to complete the second floor and permanent roof system this next spring. Sadly, the well drilling was not successful. We drilled two holes, but couldn’t get deeper than 55 feet due to unconsolidated soils. We have plans to overcome this situation the next time we return to drill. Many other work projects and day camps were a great success.
Students
Our family has two S.O.D. students this year. Our first year student is Jonathan Coleman from Montrose, PA. Our second year student is Aaron Hamilton from Washington, PA. We have really enjoyed getting to know these young men. Jacob Roth, who was our student last year, has decided to stay on staff and will be joining our advisor group, also. The ranch is blessed with 26 students this school year; 17 girls and 9 guys. Please pray for these students as they study God’s Word and serve here alongside staff.
Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support. We could not serve here without all of you. We feel so blessed to have your partnership in the work here and we pray God will continue to bless each of you.
In His Service,
Mark and Shari
Prayer Requests:
- Mark’s sister, Carol, healing of her body from cancer
- Healthy pregnancies for Alissa (Dec.) and Katelyn (Mar.)
- Spiritual growth of students and staff
- Mexico trip 2025
All gifts are tax deductible and can be made out to MMRM, designated for us, and sent to the Ranch at 101 Rodeo Drive, Spring Creek, PA 16436 or online using the ‘donate’ button below.