Meet the Team

Back row: Steve Schafer (team leader) Grant Brown. Front row: Shellie Shaw, Sonya Witmer and Jubilee Witmer

Our team is headed to Kiev, Ukraine.

We will be at the University of Kiev from

March 7-21, 2016.

We are partnering with the Cru Staff at the University of Kiev to help teach their English Club. We can't wait to meet the Cru staff and students.The picture above is part of our team. The yellow and blue gloves represent the Ukranian flag, fields of grain under the sky of blue.

 

Team Members

Steve Schafer and his wife Kelly

Steve Schafer is from Medford, Wisconsin.

Steve is our Team Leader. He grew up dairy farming and is now farming near Medford. He went to school for farm management and agricultural mechanics and then enrolled for a year of Biblical studies. He has worked as a tractor mechanic and has experience rebuilding combine harvesters. Steve spent seven years working in Ukraine (Kiev, Zaporozhye and Krivyorog) helping school teachers and college students understand the Bible. Steve met his wife of 14 years, Kelly, in Zaporozhye, Ukraine in 1997. Steve's life is full with two dogs, several barn cats, 120 cows and nephews and nieces. He enjoys going to tractor pulls, sleeping and eating ice cream.

John Kappleman

John Kappleman is from Cedar Grove, Wisconsin.
John works as a commodity trader with the Cereal Byproducts Company. John was formerly an Eastern Wisconsin dairy farmer for 32 years on his family’s dairy farm, prior to his retirement from dairying. For the past 15 years John has also done international dairy development consulting work in Moldova, Kosovo, Kurdistan in Northern Iraq, Ukraine, and Romania. John writes regularly for Hoard’s Dairyman Magazine, an international dairy magazine, published in 17 different languages, with worldwide distribution. John is married to his wife, Chris, and they have two daughters, and two sons, along with four grandchildren.

Shellie Shaw

Shellie Shaw is from Medford, Wisconsin
Shellie started attending First Baptist Church in Medford the first weekend the family moved from Missouri in June of 2015.  At First Baptist she has taken part in Bible studies and helped with the food pantry. Before moving, she worked as a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist where she found opportunities to minister to sick and hurting people. Shellie grow up on a small farm in rural Missouri. She and her husband Greg have five children, three at home and two in college. She enjoys taking walks with friends and reading. Once spring arrives Shellie will be busy with a large garden and small farm animals.

Paul and Cheryl Currier

Paul and Cheryl Currier are from Rifle, Colorado 

Paul is an engineer and owns his own firm, Water Resource Consultants based in Rifle. He grew up on a farm in Western Colorado and enjoys camping, hiking and investing the the lives of the families of the volleyball team he is coaching with United Volleyball Club of the Rockies. Cheryl is a teacher and writer. She has taught adult ESL classes at Colorado Mountain College and through Literacy Outreach, a local non-profit organization. She is learning all about aquaponic gardening and helps out the Youth For Christ student ministry at Rifle Middle School. Paul and Cheryl are excited to meet students from Ukraine and participate in the English Club. They have two grown daughters Mary and Christa who both grew up in Rifle but now live in Denver and Pennsylvania, respectively. Paul and Cheryl are friends with Grant and Fern Brown from the Brown's pastoral days in Redvale, Colorado.

Grant and Fern Brown

Grant and Fern Brown are from Medford, Wisconsin
Grant was born in Boston and grew up in South Africa. He went to college in Kansas City and met Fern there. They were married in 1973 and have two daughters. Grant has worked in many occupations, from a few hours as a fashion model to building trucks, door to door sales, and college instructor. For the most part he has been a pastor and is currently a hospice chaplain. He enjoys reading, woodworking, and swimming.

Fern was born in Wisconsin and grew up on a dairy farm. She met Grant at college in Kansas City. They have two grown daughters, Heather and Laura. Fern has worked as a CNA, shoe painter, and baker. Mostly she has been a middle school teacher, from which she recently retired. She enjoys playing the ukulele, photography, and quilting. 

Jubilee Witmer

Jubilee Witmer is from Medford, Wisconsin 

Jubilee is the youngest in a family of six children. She is a student at Northcentral Technical College and is employed at Hall's Manufacturing as a shipper/packer. Baking makes her happy and she loves to discover and create different flavor combinations. Jubilee is honored to be a part of the ministry at the University of Kiev and is excited about the many possibilities to share the gospel with Ukranian students.

Sonya Witmer

Sonya Witmer is from Medford, Wisconsin
Sonya works for HealthView Eye Clinic in Medford. She loves strong coffee, old books, God and people. Sonya enjoys spending time outdoors with her camera in hand capturing the beauty of God's creation. She also invests time with her nephews and nieces and the youth group students at First Baptist Church. Sonya is excited to join the team heading to Ukraine and begin building relationships with university students. She can't wait to see how God uses the team for his glory.