Mary & Edward Powers joined the show to talk about Brave Neighbor Homes, a company that approaches real estate from a relationship perspective and gives back to Kingdom causes.
Mary Powers follows Jesus alongside her husband Edward. They have been together for 30 years and have four adult children: Charles and Julia (biological), and Abby and Stephen (chosen). All four are awesome and thriving! Mary grew up in a loving home that experienced extreme poverty. Athletics dominated her high school and college years before she experienced severe knee injuries that halted those pursuits prematurely. She met and married Edward during college, and they chose together Edward’s commissioning in the Marine Corps. For over two decades, she dedicated herself to raising their remarkable children, while becoming the model of a supportive Marine spouse. She led the Marines’ families while Edward led the Marines. She endured years of deployments rendering her a de facto single mom and thrived in the midst of them. In 2019, as the nest emptied out and Edward retired from the military, it became her turn to explore her passion. Her passion is helping people find their homes and navigate the stressful world of real estate transactions in relationship, as a friend. Brave Neighbor Homes is the expression of her diligent efforts to do real estate differently, to do real estate according to Kingdom values as opposed to the predominant values of our culture. Mary is a tenacious friend who you will share your life story with within five minutes of meeting her (it’s amazing, really!). She loves watching movies snuggled with family, and she really, really, really loves looking at and remodeling homes, which is convenient.
Edward is a retired Lieutenant Colonel who served 22 years as a helicopter pilot in the United States Marine Corps. His career culminated as squadron commander of a Light Attack Helicopter Squadron. He served combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan and deployed throughout the Western Pacific during his time in uniform. Following retirement in 2019, he spent a year on mission with Pulse ministries, a non-profit organization that exists to make Jesus known, where he was their Partnership Director. Currently, his day job is leading a college faculty development team. He spends the rest of his time supporting Mary as a real estate agent for Brave Neighbor Homes, as well as providing personal leadership development coaching and mentoring services for Brave Neighbor Think. Edward is a learner, teacher, coach and mentor who enjoys gathering with people. He loves to play games with friends, run, hike and have deep philosophical discussions about how to change us so we can change the world.