Summer 2025 Update

We are so thankful to each and every one of you who support our ministry! We love and appreciate all of you so much!! God has bleesed us in so many ways and we are tremendously grateful. This year has been full of many highs and lows with Linda's back surgery and recovery as well as many other wonderful exciting opportunites! We are thankful for everything God is doing and the doors he is openign. Isaiah 43:19 Behold I am doing a new ting now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert

Haiti: Where our heart truly lies. We know God has not forgotten Haiti...our beloved. We continue to serve as missionaries with World Outreach Ministres and remain afflilate members of Mission Flights International. The airport in Port au Prince remains closed due to civil unrest. It is not expected to oepn until at least March of 2026. Cargo shipments and alternate transport are $4.25 a pound (subject to change). Please pray that the country would stabilize for the safety of everyone and the airport could open again. Leanne's husband has suffered a stroke. He has returned home and is learning to walk again. Please keep Efran in prayer. The family continues to care for the abandoned baby from the streets.

Our amazing Kia truck continues to run and be a useful transport for food from the village into the city. Somehow they have been able to get through gang territory. This by itself is a miracle. Praise God! Linda continues to counsel individuals via zoom that have been traumatized by assault, kidnappings, fleeing their homes, and loss of loved ones. We are praying about the logistics of seed distribution again this fall and whether we can get the seeds into Haiti without putting people at risk traveling to pick up a shipment. Please pray for discernment and clear guidance on all the details. We absolulely love the book When Helping Hurts. Sometimes we may "want" to do things that appear to help, but it actually hurts people. It is not always easy to make those kinds of decisions especially during these extremely dangerous cirumstances. Please pray for current flooding that is contributing to the difficulties in Haiti.

Guatemala: Linda will be traveling to Guatemala August 16th during our summer closure for gymnastics. She will be assisting with various projects some of them related to the recent significant earthquake in Santa Maria de Jesus. We hope to gather supplies for the village of: Gloves (M/L), Tegaderm, Glucometers with strips, Electrolyte pakets, zince diaper rash cream, lice treatments. Any donations of these items or funds to purchase these items would be greatly appreciated! The biggest issue right now is water. Please pray for the water supply to be restored to normal function. They are told it will be several months before clean water will be available.

We have also received a donation (thank you Sylvia) of Jesus dolls and will be distrubuting them. This trip will support some of our long standing conntections including Angelo with Casa Mi Abuelos and the family of Javier Castillo. Please keep the family in prayer. It has been three months since Javier suffered a fatal accident falling off a cliff while fighting a forest fire. This has been a huge loss for the family, the community, the fire fighters, and for us personally as well.

Georgia: The cabin is up and running! We are so thankful for what the Lord has done in providing a safe place of retreat to recharge and relax. We are currently planning women's retreats for 2025/26. These retreats will help support adoptive/foster families learn strategies for raising kids from hard places, missionaries preparing to go on the mission field (homeschooling and parenting on the field), missionaries integrating back to life in the USA temporarily or permanently, and various other retreats geared to support those in need. Please contact us if you are interested in bringing a group or joining a retreat. We are in process of remodeling and opening a Tea House in Washington, Georgia to help support missions. Our goal is to have it up and running by March 2026. Please be in prayer as many costly renovations must be done to the large historic home. We are also restoring a home into a pink cottage. This will be a relaxing location for healing from trauma.

North Carolina: We continue to serve local ministries that support the community. We are blessed to own Union County Gymnastics where we host various Special Olympics events. Christelle, Melissa and Phuong all competed in the State Games for Gymastics this year and did very well bringing home many medals! The team is growing and God is good! The girls also attended their first prom. We are very blessed!

In August Ron will be traveling to Oregon to pick up our van from Calvery Chapel Hillsboro. The van will be used for Special Olympics as well as other community projects. Please pray for safe travels as well as funds for fuel and that the van makes it across the USA safely.

We pray the Lord blesses each and every one of you! If you feel called to donate, please consider making a contribution for our programs in Haiti, Guatemala and the USA. We greatly appreciate your continued love, prayers and support! In His Glorious Name, Ron, Linda and the entire Sheppard Family

Welcoming the new year of 2025

The Sheppard Family

January 2025

Dear Friends: 

First, a big thank you! We miss everyone so much and appreciate all the love and prayers!

As we enter the new year, we reflect upon this past year. Life has  been full of joy and also full of challenges. We continue to be missionaries for World Outreach Ministries and members of Mission Flights International (for supply distribution). It is difficult, but God is bigger! We  are continually amazed by the Lord opening doors and making a way when there seems to be no way (Isaiah 43:16-18).

Haiti: This amazing country of our heart continues to struggle. We know God has not forgotten Haiti. Due to JetBlue, American and Spirit Airlines all being struck by bullets within a 24 hour time frame, the FAA has placed a ban on any planes landing in Port au Prince. Our beloved Bernard Mevs Hospital was burned to the ground just 2 weeks ago. LeAnne and her family have taken in an abandoned infant. Linda continues to counsel individuals who have been traumatized by assault, kidnappings, fleeing their homes, and loss of loved ones. Our Kia truck continues to run (Praise God!) and transport food from the villages to the city amidst  gangs and fuel shortages. Please keep LeAnne, Stephana, Vildens, Osner, Jean-Marc, Tiana, Rudy (and their families) in prayer! 

Guatemala: We continue to bring in medical teams, mental health services and provide trauma training.  Linda traveled this past year and was able to help in quite a few of the elderly homes run by our long time friend Angelo who does an amazing job!  Angelo has been a friend for many years and with projects in the villages over 15 years ago.

North Carolina: We continue to serve in local ministries to support the community. We are blessed to own Union County Gymnastics. Linda leads the County Special Olympics Gymnastics program and the gym also hosts the Cheerleading program. Christelle, Melissa and Phuong are all a part of the programs. Naomi is becoming a Unified Partner and is a Volunteer. Melissa was honored to be one of only two athletes in the State to carry the torch at the State Games in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

Georgia:  Bear Lodge Cabin is up and running. Yay! We are hosting our first ladies missionary gathering the first of January. Our hope and prayer is that this location can be a place of healing, restoration and retreat for prospective missionaries, restoring those currently on the field, and a support to families struggling with the challenges of parenting children from trauma. 

Ron continues to do drafting, coordinates Haiti projects, and assists in gym management. Linda is recovering from another back fusion surgery. The kids are growing up with only 4 left at home. Eight of them are residing in North Carolina, David is in France and the rest live on the west coast. God is good and we are very blessed! We pray the Lord blesses each and every one of you this year and the years to come!  If you feel called to donate, please consider making a contribution to our programs in Haiti, Guatemala, and the USA. We greatly appreciate your continued love, prayers, and support!

In His Glorious Name,   

Ron, Linda, and the entire Sheppard Family