Our Mission
To provide young women, ages 18 through 26, a non-denominational Christian home where they will receive professional help, loving support, housing and education during their pregnancy. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11
Our Newsletters
There are so many people to thank. So many facets to consider. We just can't summarize enough here. Our newsletters provide a great view of our history, concerns, and plans.
Many, many thanks go to Nancy Davison for creating our newsletter for us!
The newsletter is posted in Adobe PDF format. Click the icon below if you need to download the free Adobe Reader.
Our [love] story ...
Some great ideas jump from thought to deed in no time at all. But most are more like seeds that need to germinate and grow before they even become visible.
Our Founder, Sheila Powell, took care of women facing crisis pregnancy in many ways over many years. Sheila is a tiny lady, but her heart can fill an Idaho mountain valley. Sheila took girls into her home one at a time to give them shelter, informal counseling, and love. After Sheila adopted her first son, she became a strong advocate for open adoption -- based on her desire for the birth mothers to see the beauty of family creation rather than having their pregnancy treated as a purely medical condition. Sheila also worked to match potential adoptive parents to her network of friends and colleagues who were helping young women deal with a crisis pregnancy. And all of Sheila's efforts were an expression of her Faith -- her desire to let Christ work through her to help women in need, to protect their precious babies, and to unite families. Sheila's story is quite a love story.
A number of things had changed enough by 1998. Enough for Sheila to begin pursuing a full time dedication to a dream -- a calling, actually -- that she'd had for years. It was time to start a facility that could help more than one woman at a time, and with a more formal, complete program.
God brought many events and people together in the next years. The Inn was incorporated in 1999. Sheila "collected" a diverse group of friends she new through church service activities, through her work on open adoption, through her work as host to women in need, and through her matchmaking of parents and their adoptive child. That founding Board quickly received 501c3 recognition for the Inn's charitable work, and was able to purchase the facility -- and pay off the mortgage within less than two years. God showers us with blessings when we work to spread his love!
Women and their babies have been helped at our facility since 1999. It is important to note that the Shepherds Inn is NOT an adoption agency. All our residents receive both parenting instruction and information about the adoption option. Roughly half the women we've helped have chosen to parent, and half to allow their baby to be adopted. The Inn can work with many different agencies if the birth mother chooses the adoption route.
Sheila moved on once the Inn had completed it's transformation from a one person dream to a team ministry. Still serving as role model to women, Sheila returned to school to finish a college degree begun many years before. (A successful endeavor. Sheila did graduate from ISU in 2003!)
A number of faces have come and gone in their support of the Inn (whether Board members, volunteers, donors, etc.). Life does go on for everyone. But ties of hearts to the Inn (ties that run in both directions) never do go away. It is very, very special to help a mother and child find love and opportunity in the world.
Our current House parents, Dale and Barbara Swenson, joined the Inn in April of 2002. They are a delightful couple remarkably suited to the job they do. They've raised their own children and now enjoy their grandchildren. They've always reached out to help folks. They have their own stories of life challenges and changes. The Swensons love the Lord, each other, their family, and the women they get a chance to help. You can learn more about -- and from -- the Swensons in the newsletters.
The Shepherd's Inn is independent and non-denominational. But we particularly thank the Loving and Caring organization and the Christian Life Home of Raleigh, NC, for their mentoring; and many churches for their prayers, volunteers, and financial support.
