Outward Apologetics School Fall 2018

I am real excited about my upcoming Outward Apologetics School which starts this September. Presently we have 10 students enrolled.  What I am super excited about is that 5 of the students are not even in YWAM, but people whom have been involved with Gospel Focus here in the city, and they feel the need to do the school to get better equipped! The great thing is almost every aspect of this school is connect with the different things we are doing with Gospel Focus.  Check out he link to remind you about what the school is all about.  http://www.ywamsalem.org/outward-apologetics-school/

The Toolbox

The past two months we have had a fantastic time and turnout at the Toolbox. In June we looked at the power of prayer in evangelism and actually had a man who volunteers with us lead our time.  He brought a person with him whom he led to Christ a while back...but it took many months after their first conversation.  Prayer changes lives.  This month we will be looking at different styles of evangelism and how we can adapt our approach, but the message is the same.  Please continue to pray for the Toolbox.  We have a great small group of people who have been consistantly coming, and lately a few newcomers come each time. We have a great laid back atmosphere where people can be real, honest, etc.. What I love seeing is people form the Toolbox then taking the next step and coming out with us on the streets to do evangelism.  

What Weeping John Taught Me

The above picture is of my good friend from South Sudan, John Alfonse.  If you look closely, you will see tears running down his face.  I took this picture a few weeks ago during our Thursday morning YWAM Salem intercession prayer time.  This particular day, we were praying for the nations of North and South Sudan. As we began to pray, we layed hands on john and prayed for his family members who have been caught up in the wars, etc.. He began to weep. As I looked at him weeping, I felt bad in a way that I myself was no weeping.  But then, I began to think about how John can identify with the Sudanese people in a way I never can. What a picture of how our Savior humbled himself and became like us to identify. We are approaching our 20 year mark in YWAM next October, and I absolutely love our mission.  Over the years, this mission has given us God's heart for the nations, and what a blessing to be able to serve alongside people like John Alfonse.

Another bonus and excited time on our YWAM campus as we graduated more DTS students.  Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall...four times a year we run DTS's here and I get the honor of having all these students come through Gospel Focus for their training in evangelism to help prepare them for the nations they will be going to. 

Summer Evangelism

This summer we have seen God do amazing things through our Gospel Guy outreaches.  Three days a week we are on the streets with local believers doing what we do: Equipping them to share the gospel, Engaging non Christians, and Evangelizing.  To be honest, it is so hard to try and sum up all the great things God has done.  At the same time, it has also been very difficult with opposition coming from all sides.  We ask that you continue to pray for us and all those involved that hit the streets with us to share the gospel with people of our city.  

Great discussion starter we call "True or False".

Building Relationships and sharing the Gospel through Temple Talks

The above picture is of myself with my two friends Jaktar, and his son Harky.  They are Sikh, and through our many Temple Talks, the Lord has developed a great friendship with them.  Our temple talks continue to be such a dynamic impacting part of Gospel Focus.  I ask you to pray for these guys to come to know Christ. Aside from doing a Temple Talk the last Tuesday of every month, we have also been doing them for our current summer DTS students, and our Mission Adventures students.  These Temple Talks have given us so many open doors to share the gospel with people in our city, not to mention get Christians out of their bubble to actually engage the lost.

This is a new place we went to.  It is a religious science church.  I took some of the Mission Adventures staff for part of their staff training. 

Having discussions with Rev. Moore of the Religious Science church.  Pray that he would come to know Christ. 

The above picture is of our last group we took on a Temple Talk.  Within this picture are YWAMer's, local pastors, and Christians from various churches in our city. This group I took to the Christian Science Church.

Family News and Prayer Requests

Summer is in full swing here in Oregon.  The above picture is of the kids after we picked 36 pounds of blueberries!  A Walter family tradition.  You can pick a lot of berries with this manpower! 

Our little Annie Rose turned seven on June 28th

The 2018 Civil War Reinacting Season started up.  The boys and I really enjoy doing this.  Yes, its a bit nerdy., but we love it. 

Anders turns 16 on July 26th.  He had a early party with his buddies as he flies out to Osh Kosh Wisconsin for a week long advanced air academy fly in he was selected for. He super excited.

Sarah and I on a hike without the kids! Miracles do happen!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1. Continued health

2. Pray for increased monthly support for our family

3. We will be driving out to Colorado at the end of August to meet up at Mese Verde National Park with Sarah's parents. Please pray for safety as we travel.

4. God's leading and guiding as we run Gospel Focus Ministries

5. Spiritual growth us and all the kids.  

6. September starts my fall Outward Apologetics School.  Pray for me and our staff as we prepare for this amazing 3 month school.