Stand and Defend coming September 2014!!!!

I am very excited to announce a new school that I am forming here at YWAM Salem.  The "Stand and Defend" School will be starting September this year.  I dubbed it Stand and Defend to basically give the meaning of Standing for the truth of Jesus, and defending the Gospel.  To make a long story short, over my years in ministry I have noticed in my own life and the life of many Christians a gap in their ability to defend the Christian faith while speaking with others.  Since I started the Gospel Guy, I have been challenged so many times by honest tough questions that have caught me off guard.  Thus, was born my desire to start this school.  It will be a second level 7 week school registered under YWAM's University of the Nations.  Technically it will be called a seminar, because it would need to be 12 weeks to be a school.  I am very excited about this.  The school will be very intense both academically, and also practically as all students will be getting a ton of practice speaking with people. Please begin to lift this school up in prayer.  I have a TON of work i need to do from scheduling speakers, budgeting, curriculum formation, outreach implementation, recruiting students, etc... Add on top of this our regular Spring Break and Summer Mission Adventures groups, and life with the kids...2014 is going to be a busy one for the Walter tribe!!

Proceeding On is Almost Here!

I am real excited to announce that I am in the final stages of seeing my devotional I have written become published!  "Proceeding On" has been way more work that I ever thought, but has truly been a wonderful experience.  I am looking at probably about a month or a bit longer before it is published.  Above is an image of what the front and back cover will look like.  Overboard Ministries the publishing company has been great to work with, and I feel blessed to have been able to do this.

New Year Starts as a Busy One!

The new year here at YWAM Salem has started in full swing.  Our Winter DTS began, along with the School of Biblical Counseling.  It is always exciting having new students from all across the globe.  Last week I counted over 10 different nations represented in our meeting room.  The Fall DTS teams are all on outreach, and we have been hearing amazing reports. One group, has went into a village where there recently has been animal sacrifices, and rumors of human ones.  Pray the the Gospel would shine and the students would be safe.  I am speaking again in March on Evangelism in the Winter DTS.  I always look forward to those opportunities.  Pretty soon, we will be hosting Spring Break Mission Adventures trips.  We have around 60 students signed up rite now, which I am real excited for.  The Gospel Guy will be kicking into high gear next week as well.  Life on the home front is super busy as well.  All in all, we are doing great and thankful for this new year and for what it holds.  Stay tuned as I have some exciting news of a new ministry I will be starting up this coming fall here at YWAM Salem.  Above picture is of us two weeks ago when we took the kids ice skating in the mountains.

Merry Christmas!

As we bake Christmas cookies, drink cider, and listen to Bing Crosby, Christmas time is always a fun time here in the Walter home.  I am a big "traditions" guy, so I have probably "forced" a bit to many on the family. We have the classic prefered music list, the Finnish reindeer cookies we make, the watching of "Christmas at Plum Creek" on Christmas eve, and a few others. Oh well, when the kids get older they can ditch the ones they don't like, but for now, they will have to like them!  This is the time of year where the Gospel story rings home more than ever.  We would like to wish you all a wonderful blessed Christmas, as we all rejoice in the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas everyone! Love the Walter tribe!

Three Cold Days in Minneapolis!

I just got back from our yearly North American Mission Adventures Leadership Team meeting, which we had in Minneapolis.  The temps averaged around -5 degrees.  It was a great time and we accomplished a lot.  I even managed to roll around in the snow and jump in a suana.   Brought back memories of growing up as a kid with Finnish grandparents. Mission Adventures in North America has seen a recent surge of interest in YWAM bases around North America who desire to start MA at their locations.  We had lots of meetings and prayer times in which we planned out our next 2014 year goals for our region. These times for me are always very encouraging and refreshing, as they remind me of the "Big Picture" we are working towards.  This is going to be a very action packed exciting year for Mission Adventures!  Our next big even will take place April 27-30 when we gather in Vancouver, BC for our yearly WAVES gathering.  Anyone interested in going?  Let me know!  Your more than welcome!  Sarah as usual managed the kids great, and it was so good to get back home to them!

Let it Snow!

The Lord blessed us with some nice cold temperatures and some snow.  Just enough for the kids to go out and do some sledding and build some small snowmen!  We do not often get snow here in the valley, so it's a big treat!  Please be praying for Sarah and the kids as I will be leaving Sunday for 3 days to Minneapolis for our North American Mission Adventures Leadership Team (NAMALT) annual meeting.  Also, pray for those meetings as we pray and commit Mission Adventures in North America to the Lord these next few days.

Encouraged by a Surprise Prayer Warrior

The above picture is of myself with my friend Tim.  Tim works for the city of Salem, and basically walks around checking for parking violations. I met him a while ago, and the other day he mentioned something to me that was so encouraging.  He said, "Tim, I see you and the other guys out here all the time, and I just want you to know that I lift you up in prayer every time I walk this block."  How awesome to have prayer covering the Gospel Guy outreach!  It is guys like Tim that shake the heavens through their committed prayer life to seeing Jesus glorified!  By the way, don't show this picture publicly or else the city might fire him!