GEOFFREY SHEPARD
I think life revolves around the relationships and communities that we are a part of. My first family I would like to introduce you to is my immediate family. I have been given the gift of two amazing parents, John and Kelley, and a beautiful sister Keegan. I am so thankful for the unconditional love that my family shows me. My dad is so loving towards me and I respect him so much for the wisdom that he has given me over the years. My mom is amazing and I love her sense of humor, spontaneity, and forgiving nature. Keegan, my sister, is pretty much the bomb. She is excels at so many things, she is incredibly smart, gorgeous, and is one of those people that you always want to hang out with. The pictures above where from a cruise I took with my dad and sister.
These guys here are some of my favorite people in the world. We are the “Vermont Guys” with the name being coined from the street that we lived on. They have been like a second family to me while I have gone to school at the University of Kansas. I had the honor of living with 9 other men of God for my senior and super senior year of college. Life in the house was always eventful and I have thousands of amazing memories with the guys. (Just a quick shout out to the Vermont House, love you Nathan, Andy, Brad, Grant, Justin, Aaron, Neil, Matt, Aaron, Tim, Chris, and Zach). This left picture was taken at our annual date night, where we all got a date and took them out to dinner as a house. While the picture on the right was at our duck week party, where we celebrated the life, purpose, and existence of ducks. Yea… that’s correct… ducks…
The third family / community that I would like to introduce you to is my fellow Cameroon Summer Project 08′ friends. During the summer of 2008 I had the amazing opportunity to spend 6 weeks living and doing ministry in Yaounde, Cameroon. This experience opened my eyes to what a true community can look like. We were able to live openly and honestly with each other and experience God’s power through our lives. We saw amazing things happen while we were there, such as my opportunity to be on the Cameroon morning radio program where we had the opportunity to explain what we were doing in their country and the impact that Jesus had on our lives. I will always remember these people and their impact will always be present in my life.
Now that I have introduced you to my families I suppose it is time to tell you a little bit about myself. To start it off if you are unsure how to pronounce my name it sounds just like “Jeff” however if you get it wrong it will not upset me. I was born in the great college town of Lawrence, Kansas home of the KU Jayhawks. Rock Chalk Jayhawk Go KU! I spent the majority of my life living in the same house in Overland Park, Kansas and had the blessing of attending my home church, Covenant Chapel, my whole life. In high school I began to think about God and the idea of Christianity on my own and came to the conclusion that this was something investing my life into. A lot of my understanding and formation in my Christian life came from an amazing man of God, Dave Partin, my high school youth pastor. It was through him modeling Jesus to me that I was able to grasp what a honest and realistic walk with God looked like. Once I got into college I became very involved in the campus ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ and have participated in many events with them. Most importantly I had the opportunity to go on three summer projects which last from 7-10 weeks during the summer. First I went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina then onto East Asia (look at picture above if you are unsure where this is), and then to Yaounde, Cameroon. Going through those three summers were the most amazing things in my entire life. The items listed below are a few of the experiences that I had.
– I have seen God change the lives of 100 students in East Asia when they accepted Christ.
– I was on national Cameroonian radio explaining why I was in their country and what God meant to me.
– Made disciples in Cameroon that continue to make more disciples, and have been able to stay in contact with them.
– Had a student accept Christ in East Asia, and within one week he lead 6 of his friends to Christ.
These things definitely were nothing of my own doing, I am a scrub in so many ways and the only way to explain the things that I have experienced is the transforming power of Jesus Christ. Through these experience I have found my calling and passion to be a missionary to the ends of the earth. Going into 5 year at university I began to search for organization that offered a life changing opportunity to go to the ends of the earth. A good friend of my mine, Stephanie Webster, told me about the World Race and I became immediately interest in what it was. I applied the next day, had my interview two days later, and then was accepted shortly after. I look forward to the life changing experience of the World Race and hope that God will use in to advance His Kingdom.
Random Facts about Me:
– Chipotle is awesome
– Lost is one of the best shows ever
– I absolutely love soccer and have played all my life
– KU basketball is one of the best things ever
– My name is spelled after my Grandma’s brother
– I want to see a British Premiership Football game before I die
– At some point I could see myself being a youth pastor
– Traveling is so much fun, and road trips are sweet
– I randomly met the man who did the pidgin translation and acting of Jesus in the Jesus film
– I almost went into Graphic Design and I enjoy computers and the fine arts
– I worked at the UPS Store my entire college career
The End
