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.

Greetings from the Carpenters!

Spring 2025

The wheels on the bus are prayerfully ready to go round and round! The Mexico missions trip is April 12-27. We are excited to have 33 people on the trip this year. As I write this praragraph, I’m seated at a desk in my room in El Paso, Texas. Tomorrow morning our group will cross the border and we will remain in Mexico for nine days. I have been reflecting on I Cor. 3:5-15. This is a challenge for us to be co-laborers; planting, watering, laying a foundation and building upon it. What a privilege we have to work alongside fellow brothers and sisters who are active about God’s work. Our prayer is to successfully drill for water in the village of 40 Casas. We hope to employ a drilling method we haven’t had to use before. Our two attempts in this village were unsuccessful last year, as a result of the unstable ground structure. We also intend to provide outreach to the children there. The group will then travel to the remote mountain villages of Bobicora. We have had the privilege of ministering to this village and their pastor for over twelve years now! We will administer day camp, women’s outreach, and construction work. Our hope is to complete the shell of a two story home. Work has been done on it over the last two years. It will be used for temporary housing for families in need and possibly groups like ours.

Operations: The Operations crew has been busy this winter on various projects and maintenance work; including vehicles and equipment. The snow and colder temperatures have added to the list. Praise the Lord for warm buildings and no major freezeups. The remodel project is nearing completion on the old Hungerford home. Siding and a deck will be worked on this summer. We have been able to sell three semi-loads of hay and donate one to the flood areas of North Carolina. Also, another load will be donated to a camp in Tennessee. We have been blessed to have enough hay to make this possible. The second turret at the Fort is planned for construction this spring. We are planning to have the shell of the turret and exterior grading completed for summer camp. Work is continuing at the Conklin property and the planning of our next steps is being evaluated.

Summer Camp: It’s coming fast! Operations has one SOWER volunteer group for June. Many teens are signing up for weeks this summer. Please pray with us for the ministry opportunities God gives us as we serve alongside these volunteers. Summer camp registrations are doing well, but we still have need of both guy and girl counselors. Shari has been very busy placing orders for the store and getting things organized.

Students: We were able to host most of the students for a movie night, orchestrated by Aaron. Aaron, our 2nd year student, is continuing his involvement in the media department. He has been taking pictures and creating videos while teaching fellow students in this field. Jonathan, our 1st year student, has been working in Operations this winter, but may move into a programming position for summer camp. Both of these young men have continued to grow closer to the Lord while seeking what He has in store for their future. We have also been blessed to have Jacob Roth with our group as a staff intern. He has been a great help to Mark in ministering to these young men.

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 brother-in-law, Carl, and nephew, Caleb, after the passing of Mark’s sister, Carol
• Spiritual growth of students and staff
• Mexico trip 2025
• Conklin project
• Volunteers
• Sale of vehicles
• and equipment

Praise:

• Healthy deliveries of two new granddaughters,
  Deborah Clement Rega (Alissa) and Thea Grace Guzman (Katelyn)

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.