Rick Shipway (Grandpa or Grampa) spent decades in India serving through the Good Shepherd Agricultural Mission (GSAM), which functioned as both a training centre and an orphanage, where his primary commitment was raising, protecting, educating, and equipping vulnerable children while building sustainable, self-sufficient community life through faith, agriculture, education, and leadership development. Almost six months ago, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer, which had spread to his lymph nodes and spine—a serious and confronting diagnosis—yet his doctors are now genuinely encouraged by his progress, with only a remaining breathing issue still under investigation. Rick’s life reflects resilience and endurance: decades of physically demanding mission work, hardship, danger, loss, and sacrifice, carried without seeking recognition or status, focused simply on service and responsibility. When he first told Cathy and I about his memoir while I was in Hong Kong, and shared that he had already started visiting publishers, we committed then and there to doing everything we could to help raise the funds to see his book published, on behalf of the GSAM family shaped by his life’s work. He is now retired and living in Canada. Let’s reach together, step by step, to preserve and publish a story that documents a rare life of service, endurance, faith, and real-world impact.

There will be many more updates coming, so please watch this space.

In the meantime, thank you in advance for your support and contribution. xoxo ❤️