August 27, 2007

Dear supporting Friends:

We are back in Kinshasa after a brief vacation in the States. How glad we are to be in a house, instead of the street. As you know, our landlord went for the U.N. money and the many big operators who are coming to Congo for the copper, and he decided to ask us to leave in his quest for big bucks in rent. This happened just before we left for vacation, so we became packing animals! But the church moved us out and into a house on the campus of TASOK, the American School of Kinshasa, where our two kids attend.

Now we are unpacking and organizing, a bit of a challenge when you are moving to a smaller place. But we are grateful to be back, and we are so grateful for the time with family. In Knoxville it was our delight to meet new friends from one of our supporting churches. At the airport in Atlanta, we met another couple, the Weimars, from Conyers, Georgia. They treated us to lunch, and we got to know some representatives from another church. It is always such an encouragement to meet with folks who never knew us, and yet they are enthusiastic about their church’s support for our ministry out here! We are so grateful!

We are missing out on a huge thing that is happening throughout the PC(USA). It’s called Mission Challenge ’07. A lot of work and planning has gone into this event that will be a nationwide sweep of some 700 churches in the month of October, in which speakers will be sharing the good news of what your mission team throughout the world is privileged to be doing in Christ’s name. All 10,884 churches in the PC(USA) will be getting a “heads up” in mid-September on all the materials, including bulletin inserts and a DVD featuring the new director of World Mission, Hunter Farrell. So be on the look out, and alert your church office about the big Challenge so that your local church can take advantage of all of it!

While we won’t be in your church speaking, we will be thinking about you guys in this big October “mission emphasis.” Please, when you pray, remember the courageous folks who represent the Lord Jesus in some heroic work. We just got news of a team from Highland Park Presbyterian, where my dad was on staff for many years. This team of folks from Dallas went to Kenya this summer on a short-term mission trip, and they were badly treated by some bandits. Pray for the courageous folks who live with the danger in the developing world as nationals, who are willing to stick their necks out and live lives of integrity when all about them are part of the corrupt world system. We are meeting some great men and women who are saying “no” to the greed and dishonesty that is running rampant, as they experience the cost of identifying with Christ and His way of doing business in His church.

With lots of love from us to all of you who support us in your prayers, especially!

Walt and Val Shepard

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 313