Fred & Shirley Redekop

Pastor · Writer · Community-Builder · Adventurers · Seasoned Travelers · Storytellers

Fred and Shirley share a lifelong passion for faith-filled travel and cross-cultural connection. Since 2003, Fred has led more than ten TourMagination journeys—beginning with Exploring the World of the Apostle Paul and including two tours tracing the Mennonite story in Uzbekistan’s ancient kingdom of Khiva. Shirley’s love of purposeful travel began with service trips to the Dominican Republic, Scotland, and the Netherlands, where she met Fred through the MCC-sponsored InterMenno program. Together they spent three years in Thailand supporting Southeast Asian refugees moving to Canada and have since guided numerous memorable tours—most recently walking over 100 miles of Spain’s Camino Trail to Santiago de Compostela and leading a 2025 family tour celebrating 500 years of Anabaptism.

Fred recently retired after nearly 40 years as a Mennonite pastor in Ontario and Pennsylvania and continues to write devotionals and his blog Ponder Anew. Shirley works part-time with Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) and has served in multiple Mennonite leadership roles. Married for decades, they are parents of four adult children, a daughter-in-law and son-in-law, and proud grandparents of two grandsons—with another grandchild on the way.

Fred and Shirley love meeting people, sharing stories, and helping travelers discover fresh insights on every journey.