Mark Penfold
January 2012
Mark remains on the faculty at the U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School at Fort Jackson, SC as Chief of the Training Execution Division and Course Manager of the Chaplains Advanced Course. Endorsing Agent John Schumacher visited with him and reports being “totally impressed” with the strong support of Mark from his supervisors at the School. Mark and Robin are deeply appreciative of your prayers in their behalf.
January 2011
Friends,
I am not sure I realized how long it has been since I sent an update until I started getting emails and phone calls from some of you asking. As best as I can determine, the last update was in September 2009. So I apologize and am thankful for those of you who have asked.
I had intended to send out a note in the November-December 2009 time frame, but on 12 December – just 2 weeks before Christmas, my dad died and went to be with the Lord. He died due to complications of his long-standing congestive heart condition. Dad had been going through a rough period that fall with multiple trips to the hospital. Our holidays were a like more somber as the Christmas message of a God who loved us and sent us a Savior brought peace and comfort. Then Robin went through almost five months of infections, three rounds of heavy-duty antibiotics and two surgeries.
The months of January to May were not without their challenges. For inexplicable reasons, Robin developed several serious infections at her surgery site with one in early May that led to emergency surgery at Portsmouth Naval Hospital. We cannot say enough about the great team of doctors and caregivers she had. She has had not experienced them since that surgery. She has continued to have quarterly checkups with her oncologist that show to date no recurrence of cancer.
For a little other news … on June 26, our younger son Matt got married. His wife Brianna is a wonderful young woman. They met in high school and we watched as God led them through college (Brianna graduated in May 2010) and as they have settled in as a young couple for Matt’s last year at Liberty. He has applied to several medical schools and they are waiting for God to show them the next step. Matt will graduate in May and commission as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. If med school doors open, he/they will have a four-year delay before coming on active duty.
The other big surprise for us was that I came down on reassignment orders last summer. So in December, we packed out, rented our house, and have now moved to Columbia, SC. I am now working at the US Army Chaplain Center and School (USACHCS) at Fort Jackson in the Training Division. I am thankful to the Fort Eustis Unit Ministry Team for all the support and the good experiences that we had there during the joint base development and early implementation. I learned a lot under Chaplain Rick Garrison.
In 2011 we are looking at being settled and serving here at USACHCS. We also gain another daughter (in-law) in February when our older son John and his fiancée Britney will be married in the D.C. area. We are so glad for them!
Those are all the highlights since the last email. I thank you for your persistent reminders and your prayers on our behalf. At times, I felt as if our experience with cancer was a detour in life but have come to a realization that it was part of the path and journey that God had for us. The truth of Romans 5:2-5 has become more real to us: “Through whom [Jesus Christ] we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
So as 2011 begins, thank you all for your emails, calls, prayers and encouragement. If you are in the Fort Jackson, South Carolina area, give a call. We would love to see you.
By grace,
Mark & Robin
May 2009
Dear Grace Brethren Friends and Supporters of the Eagle Commission,
As you know, these past twelve months have been challenging for me and Mark as we’ve had to rapidly come to grips with my cancer diagnosis, shift gears from moving back to Germany to a more “local” assignment for Mark and aggressively pursue surgeries, chemo, and radiation for me. God’s grace has been more than adequate to carry us to this point.
I’m still receiving a treatment called Herceptin. It is relatively new to the market and it targets the type of cancer cell that presented itself. A movie was actually made about the doctor at UCLA who made the discovery and pushed for its development. I am a direct beneficiary of those years of research which required serious funding, both from public and private sources.
My older sister and niece walked in the Susan G. Komen “Race for the Cure” in September on my behalf (and raised a tidy sum for the foundation in the process – thanks, Beth and Amy!!). My friends at the sports center where I used to work hosted a “Treadmill-a-thon” over a 24 hour period in November and raised over $3000 for the ACS. Now it’s my turn. I’ll be participating in the Relay for Life here in Williamsburg on May 29. I’m part of a team of ladies from this area who have been touched by cancer – either personally or by being by the side of a family member.
The purpose of the Relay for Life is to raise funds for the American Cancer Society as well as to honor those who have battled the disease. The ACS is the largest source of nonprofit, nongovernmental cancer research funding in the US. It has also funded 40 Nobel Prize-winning researchers.
The Williamsburg event will be held at a local high school track which will be lined with luminaria bags. They will represent the lives of our friends and family who have passed on, who are currently going through treatment or are survivors.
I have a good supply of luminaria bags which are available for a suggested minimum donation of $10 per bag. If you would like to participate, please make out a check to the American Cancer Society (those gifts are tax deductible) and mail it to me at the address below. (I have donation forms which I’ll fill out for each one of you and send it in with your check.) I will personally decorate each luminaria with a tag for “Robin’s Team”; they will represent the cheering section and prayer support I’ve had all this time.
Robin Penfold and "Hope"
So, what’s up with the sock monkey in the picture, you ask? She (“her” name is “Hope”) was given to me by Judy Galle (wife of retired Navy Chaplain, Jack Galle) after my surgery last May and has provided a good deal of humorous moments along the way. “Hope” participated in the Race for the Cure last fall with my sister and niece (her photo even appeared on the Susan G. Komen official website!) and has been to Germany for a visit with my younger sister. She perked up the clinic when I took her along for a chemo treatment and she’ll be with me on the Relay For Life walk as well.
As I’ve said many times before, I couldn’t have made it this far without God’s strength and the support of my family and friends all over the world. Priceless!
With love,
Robin Penfold
2800 Mockingbird Drive
Williamsburg, VA 23185
Email: armychapfam@hotmail.com
Note from Larry Chamberlain of the Eagle Commission: “Please send an email or card to Robin and let her know that you are praying for her and Mark. And please consider a donation for her participation in the Relay For Life!”
Chaplain Penfold was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel while serving in Iraq. Mark joined a unit already stationed in Iraq (Aviation) due to the early return of the previous unit chaplain. His tour was approximately 6 months. He returned with his unit to Fort Hood, Texas.
He has subsequently been given orders to be on the staff of the support command chaplain at Kaiserslautern, Germany. Robin has remained at their home in Virginia during this time. However, as of this writing, Robin is facing some health issues with breast cancer and will undergo surgery and treatments. As a result, he has been given a new assignment at Ft. Lee, Virginia, within commuting distance to their home in Williamsburg.
In a recent email, Mark writes the following, encouraging us to pray for Robin…
The year 2007 was a year of unplanned surprises since when I left Ft. Eustis and Virginia. I was on orders to go to one unit; however, upon arrival at Ft. Hood, I was reassigned to a different unit that had been in Iraq for 9 months already. I joined them in early August 2007. God provided me with good friends and great opportunities for ministry at Camp Taji and Robin was able to stay at our home in Williamsburg and see Matt off to Liberty University (he’s a pre-med major currently), and see John get out of the Army and start his job in the Washington DC area AND keep her job.
I returned to Ft. Hood, TX (from Iraq) on January 6th at about 10 a.m. in the morning. Robin had driven from Virginia and it was great to see her after our almost seven-month separation. After a short leave back home in Virginia, I returned to Ft. Hood for about 3 more months.
While I was in Iraq, I received an unexpected surprise about a 2008 summer assignment to Germany. Orders came in March and we began our preparations, to include routine physicals. It was during Robin’s visits that doctors discovered and diagnosed her with breast cancer that will require surgery and the other follow-on treatments.
The Army Chaplaincy has been incredibly responsive and helpful. My orders to Germany were revoked and I am now on orders to report to Ft. Lee, Virginia. It will be about an hour commute (one-way) but most of all, the assignment will allow me to be home as needed over the next months. We expect it to be a compassionate reassignment, which is usually a one-year assignment. That is what we hope for, because it will mean that Robin will be doing well and her cancer in remission.
As word has gotten out, we are thankful for the outpouring of love and concern. Christian friends around the world are praying. Thanks much in advance for your words of encouragement and prayers.
In the faith,
Mark
Email: mark.penfold@us.army.mil
John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 16:33 – “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Mark signs in to Ft. Lee on May 1 and Robin’s surgery is scheduled for May 12. Please pray for a full recovery and full remission.
