TourMagination Tour Leaders: Expert-Led Cultural & Heritage Tours

Private: Tour Leaders

Enjoy a richer experience in a new place by learning from our expert tour leaders. Many of Tourmagination’s tour leaders have travelled to, worked or lived in the countries we visit. They can often open doors to experiences you could never have on your own. Their wisdom, insight, and fresh perspective on the destination offer you a transformative travel experience.

TourMagination Tour Leaders

Nelson Kraybill

Nelson Kraybill is a pastor and theologian who served as scholar-in-residence at Bethlehem Bible College in Palestine (2022–2023), as president of Mennonite World Conference (2015–2022), and as president of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (1997–2009).

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He taught high school in Puerto Rico, pastored churches in Vermont and Indiana, was program director at the London Mennonite Centre in England (1991-1996), and has taught widely on issues of mission, allegiance, early church, and the book of Revelation. He received a PhD in New Testament from Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Virginia and is author of the book Apocalypse and Allegiance: Worship, Politics and Devotion in the Book of Revelation. His most recent (2023) book is Stuck Together: The Hope of Christian Witness in a Polarized World. He and his wife Ellen are parents of two adult daughters. Follow Nelson’s blog with pictures and commentary on biblical sites at peace-pilgrim.com.

John Sharp

John Sharp is a recently retired historian who taught at Hesston (KS) College. He is a former director of the Mennonite Church USA Historical Committee and Archives. John holds an M.Div. from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and has 15 years of experience as a pastor.

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John has been an instructor of Road Scholar (Elderhostel) courses on Amish life and culture and a frequent presenter for lifelong learning programs. Books include My Calling to Fulfill: The Orie O. Miller Story (Herald Press, 2015); and The Bible as Story: An Introduction to Biblical Literature (WorkPlay Publishing, 2017). Since 2000, he has led various TourMagination heritage tours to Western Europe, Prague and Poland, and Central Asia. He is married to Michele Miller Sharp, a former physician assistant in family practice and currently Compliance and Eligibility Officer at Hesston College. Their family includes two living daughters and four grandchildren. Recently, his storytelling has focused on the life and work of his son MJ, who in 2017 was abducted and murdered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo while on a UN mission. As for travelling, John says there’s nothing like hearing stories on-site. As always, I eagerly anticipate the stories, landscapes, and fellowship that await us!

Ayold Fanoy

Ayold lives in the Netherlands and works for a Mennonite congregation in Haarlem as a custodian. He enjoys adventure travel—including an annual snowshoe trek in Norway.

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Through his theological studies at the Dutch Mennonite Seminary, at the VU University in Amsterdam, he became interested in European Mennonite History. Wanting to share this interest, he began organizing Mennonite Heritage Tours. “For me a Mennonite Heritage Tour is not just a heritage tour, but also a spiritual journey into the faith and life of our forbearers,” says Ayold. His tours help people explore what early Anabaptists discovered about Jesus, that would make them want give up their homesteads and their lives.

Michele Miller Sharp

Michele Miller Sharp has been a teacher, health care provider and administrator. Currently she is a compliance officer at Hesston College and a freelance management analyst. Her preferred free-time activities are reading and spending time with their four grandchildren— two nearby and two in Denver. She is married to John Sharp.

Fred Redekop

Fred has led tours for TourMagination since 2005. He has co-led “Exploring the World of Paul” many times. He has also been to Uzbekistan twice, to learn about the Mennonite presence there. After 30 years of being a pastor in Lancaster and Floradale, Ontario, Fred worked for Mennonite Central Committee Ontario.

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Fred is now the pastor of Poole Mennonite, where he writes a daily blog for the church. He is married to Shirley Stauffer Redekop, and they live in Elmira, Ontario. They have four children, a daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and two grandsons. His hobbies include cross-stitch, writing, reading, cycling, and cheering for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Audrey Voth Petkau

Audrey Voth Petkau joined TourMagination in 2002. With a passion for history, and travel and the desire to help others engage with people of different cultures, Audrey took the helm of the company in 2016, continuing to drive its success with dedication and vision.

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Under her leadership, TourMagination flourished as she orchestrated numerous tours annually, fostering community and making friends around the globe. Audrey’s late husband, Terry, also joined her occasionally, travelling with clients and sharing lasting memories.

Having recently sold TourMagination to new owners, Audrey will remain involved for one year in a consulting and advisory capacity. She will also continue to offer her leadership on select tours, ensuring a seamless transition while maintaining her commitment to enriching travel experiences.

Shirley Redekop

Shirley grew up on a farm in the heart of Lancaster County PA. She went on a Medical Group Missions trip to Dominican Republic in high school, and was hooked on travel. She lived for a summer in Scotland with Teen Missions, and then moved to the Netherlands for a year with Intermenno (MCC sponsored), working as an au pair.

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This is where she met her future husband Fred, from Ontario, who lived in Switzerland and France. Together they lived 3 years in Thailand through MCC, supporting SE Asia refugees moving to Canada. Their first son was born there. Since moving to Elmira, Canada, Shirley has worked for Mennonite Church Canada as Director of Christian Service Ministries, and for the past 14 years works as a Family Outreach Worker with House of Friendship for families experiencing low-income in Waterloo region. Shirley’s husband Fred was a pastor at Floradale Mennonite Church for 25 years where she was youth pastor, worship leader, Sunday School teacher and Bible Study leader. They now attend St Jacob’s Mennonite Church. Shirley is presently President of Mennonite Women Canada. She and her husband have four amazing adult children, one daughter-in-law and two grandsons. Her travels have taken her to Europe, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Central/South America, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, India, Turkey and Greece. Shirley enjoys reading, talking, coffee in outdoor cafes, movies, travel and motorcycling.

JB Miller

I was bitten by the “travel bug” when at 14 years old I traveled alone, by train, from Richmond VA to Sarasota FL. That experience confirmed travel would be an important part of my life. Trips with my family to various parts of the US helped me understand there’s a big world out there waiting to be explored.

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Thanks to travel companions, including family and friends, I’ve had the opportunity to see much of North America, parts of Europe, Central and South America, Africa, the South Pacific, and the Middle East. There’s still so much more for me to see and experience. After retiring, I returned to my hometown of Sarasota, FL and began organizing “people to people” trips to Cuba. Learning to know Cuban people and the rich culture of the island, which is often seen as off-limits, proved to be an enriching experience for many “people to people” participants. Isn’t that the benefit of travel – expanding our horizons, and hopefully making us better citizens of the world? Group travel holds a particular attraction for me. I enjoy getting to know new traveling companions, hearing their stories and participating in the enjoyment of being exposed to new cultures and the people who help create the rich tapestry that make up our world.

Conrad Stoesz

Since his teenage years, Conrad has been a student of Mennonite and Anabaptist history. He has turned his passion into a career in his role as archivist at the Mennonite Heritage Archives in Winnipeg where he is also a faculty member at Canadian Mennonite University.

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Touring locations that have a role to play in the Mennonite and Anabaptist story is an ongoing process of discovery. Join Conrad as together you can partake in the stories of the past that can influence, shape, caution, and inspire.

Michelle Stoesz

Michelle’s love of travel began when she was 9 years old on an assignment with Mennonite Central Committee in Nigeria with her parents. She has continued to travel primarily with family in North America and for her, trip planning helps build excitement and anticipation. She is excited to be part of TourMagination Mennonite heritage tours.

David Y Neufeld

David Neufeld is a professor of history at Conrad Grebel University College, where he directs the Institute of Anabaptist and Mennonite Studies. Extended stays in Europe and Latin America early in his life sparked an enduring fascination with cross-cultural relationship building, language learning, and study of the past.

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More recently, his scholarship on the life and thought of early Anabaptists has taken him to archives and historical sites across Switzerland, France, and Germany. On tour, he is excited to share fresh insight about who these people were and what their stories might mean for us today. He looks forward to joining others in exploring old places with new eyes, focusing both on what these sites teach us about the past, and what they reveal about the dynamic, changing communities in which they are preserved.

Troy Osborne

Troy Osborne teaches European, Reformation, and Mennonite history at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. He has also taught at Bluffton University, Gustavus Adolphus College, and the University of Minnesota, where he earned a PhD for his study of seventeenth-century Dutch Mennonites. In 2024, his book Radicals and Reformers: A Survey of Global Anabaptist History will be published by Herald Press.

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It was on a college travel course that Troy first encountered the captivating past and vibrant present of European Anabaptists. Inspired by the friendships he made on that first trip, he lived and worked with Mennonites in the Netherlands and Germany during two terms with the InterMenno exchange program, which eventually led to over thirty years of traveling in Europe and studying the Anabaptists’ story. He looks forward to sharing his passion for the history, people, and culture (especially the food) of Europe with others.

Kimberly D. Schmidt

Kimberly D. Schmidt is an Affiliate Professor of Gender History at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) and directed EMU’s DC program, the Washington Community Scholars’ Center, for over twenty years. She has a long and demonstrated engagement with women’s history, especially on topics relating to Anabaptist and Mennonite women and gender dynamics in Mennonite communities.

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Her current research focuses on the intersections between Mennonite and Cheyenne women’s history, 1880-1950. She has lived in German-speaking areas of Europe and has led Reformation History tours for EMU students, most recently in 2017, the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. “I never tired of witnessing student transformations in identity and thinking that resulted from deeply engaging and significant cross-cultural and history travel opportunities. I intend to foster transformative experiences for tour participants in 2025.”

Mary S. Sprunger

Mary S. Sprunger, Chair and Professor of History at EMU, has been teaching World, Women’s and European History since 1992. Her scholarship on Dutch Anabaptists and Mennonites in the 16th- and 17th-centuries has led to many extended stays in Amsterdam. She has also lived in England and Germany and travelled extensively in Europe as well as Turkey and Morocco.

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In 2018 she co-led an EMU intercultural semester in China. “History comes alive on site, so I’m really looking forward to connecting story with place. The 500th anniversary gives us a unique opportunity for reflection on a tour like this. In my Mennonite History and Thought course, I love getting students to think about how the past informs the present and how the present informs what we look for in the past. What do we want to take away from the early Anabaptist movements, and what do we do with those things in our history that we would rather forget? Both are important as we confront present realities and look to the future.”