Carpenter Connection

Miracle Mountain Ranch 2013 Edition 2 Dear friends and family: Wow! Where do I start? So much has happened since our last newslett er. S eeing Gods hand, not just in Summer Camp and the fires, but also in my brother (Jeff Carpenter s ) heart situation, has brought me to reflect on understanding Gods economy. I often find myself evaluating things from an accountants FIRE UPDATE perspective with debits and credits and reconciliation statements. Although I know in my heart this is not As all of you probably Biblically sound thinking, its still where my mind know, the Ranch had wanders. To quote Tony Evans, T hats stinkin thinkin ! someone arson three John 9 tells the story of a man blind from birth, whom buildings, destroying two Jesus heals. The disciples and the Pharisees believed that it was either the result of the mans sin or his parent s sin. completely and significantly Christ blew everybodys mind by saying, Neither hath damaging the third. We this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of also lost some equipment

Fear thou not; For I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10
God should be made manifest in him. Are we willing to humble ourselves and allow Gods Will to be manifested in our lives no matter the circumstances? APPRENTICES: We have really enjoyed our guys this year! Hard to believe graduation is over. They have all grown closer in their walk with the Lord this year. We saw tremendous changes in their lives. We were very blessed by watching their interaction with the Ranchers this summer, as well as with our own children. They did very well in their summer positions. Rob Jackson will be going back to South Carolina to work this fall and will be taking Justin Cooney with him. Kyle Bron will be returning to Canada and will be getting married in September. Austyn McLaren will be staying here for a second year and will be working in the programming department.

and 6,000 bales of hay. The

same day, it was discovered that a 16 year old volunteer was the arsonist. Please lift up him and his family that they would accept Gods grace and mercy during the months ahead. We have seen Gods hand through each and every step of this

journey. We have been

blessed by donations of hay, pallets to store the hay on, and volunteers hauling hay and helping with cleanup. We hope to have plans for rebuilding one barn within the month and will have updates on the Ranch website.

FAMILY: Jacob and Ashley continue to live and work in Butler. They love being involved in their local church. Alissa continues to work at the Corry Hospital. She was still able to help with vaulting camp and housekeeping here and there this summer. She is now courting a young man on staff here, Timothy Rega. We are very excited to see what the Lord is going to do in their lives. Joshua lives with Mark s dad and works construction. He would like to eventually work towards being a Youth Pastor. Katelyn is in 11th grade and is playing volleyball. She had the opportunity to work in the Ranch Buckboard store this summer, as well as be a Counselor-in-training for two weeks. Lindsey is in 5th grade and got to help in the Critter Corral this summer. James is in 4th grade and was able to help a little bit with paintball camp. It is such a blessing, as a parent, to see your children excited about serving the Lord! SUMMER CAMP: We again saw continued growth with Summer Camp attendance being just shy of 1,200 Ranchers. Our Scholarship Program continued to grow also. I was blessed to have the opportunity to speak for 2 Sunday Chapels and 1 camp week. For more information on Summer Camp and Fall Retreats, please visit the website at mmrm.org. OPERATIONS: With increased growth in Summer Camp, the Operations Department worked at renovating another bunkhouse to meet the demand. We were also able to remodel the Ranch Hand Bunkhouse, which has been in dire need of attention. We had well over 20 volunteers who assisted in helping to get the work done this summer. We also had 5 M.M.A.P. couples spend 3 weeks in July, performing construction, repairs, and painting. Thank you all for your continued prayer and financial support. We could not serve here without all of you. You are all a blessing and we pray God will continue to bless each of you. Please feel free to come and visit our home or the Ranch. We would love to show you around and enjoy fellowship with you. In His Service, Mark, Shari, Alissa, Josh, Katie, Lindsey and James Brian PRAISE AND PRAYER REQUESTS: Praise for full summer camp Prayer for Jeff Carpenters heart situation Praise that no one was injured in the fires Prayer for reconstruction of the barns and a second crop of hay Praise for summer staff and volunteers Contact Information: 3351 Eldred Hill Road Spring Creek, PA 16436 (814) 665-6084 marksharicarpenter@yahoo.com All gifts are tax deductible and can be made out to MMR, designated for us, on a separate piece of paper, and sent to the Ranch at 101 Rodeo Drive, Spring Creek, PA 16436. Gifts can also be made on-line through the Ranchs website at mmrm.org. If you would like to start receiving our newsletter via e -mail, just send a request to our e-mail address.