Organic Outreach Training in Asia & East Africa
Thank you for your interest in receiving updates on this Organic Outreach International training trip to Asia and East Africa.
November 12 – Update #16
Please continue to keep Walt and Liz in your prayers as they take the next week to rest and reflect on the impact of this trip. Very shortly, we look forward to sharing Pastor Walt’s insights as a wrap-up from this journey. In the meantime, here are some interesting teaching tour stats from Pastor Walt:
Days: 28
Flights: 19
Flight Miles: 31,428
Driving miles: 702
Hotel rooms: 11
Sermons: 3 (850 attendees)
Countries:7
Other countries
Represented: 3
Pastors/Leaders: 1,210
Once again, thank you all for your prayers. You were a huge part of this journey and should accept some responsibility for the success.
I also want to express my deep appreciation for the OOI Team at home (Erika, Robin, and Blake) for coordinating communications and holding down the fort in my absence.
And finally, my wife Liz has been my anchor. I am so happy she was able to join me and do some teaching for the last two events.
Blessings to you all,
Pastor Walt
If you are interested in partnering with us to meet the expense of training and supporting the movement internationally, click below.
Updates
November 10, 2024
Mbale, Uganda
It is Sunday evening, and we are awaiting our flight out of Entebbe, Uganda, bound for respite and recovery through the 17th.
Yesterday, we taught at Bishop Andrew’s church in Mbale. There were about 96 in attendance. This was the last teaching event of the tour and it went very well. Andrew covered several of the Markers of Spiritual Growth and Liz taught on Passionate Prayer. Everyone was totally engaged and you could almost see the wheels spinning as they considered this new paradigm and the prospect of truly equipping the saints and releasing them into the harvest fields.
At one point, a gentleman came into the back of the worship center and was trying to make his way to the front. The ushers had been watching him as he appeared to have something on his mind other than the teaching that was happening. They confronted him as he attempted to approach and told him he was welcome to sit in the back where there were a few empty seats. He insisted and attempted to proceed. They restrained him and discovered that the cane he had was concealing a sword that he apparently intended to use. The ushers contacted the police who came to remove him from the premises.
Here’s the thing. I was so focused that I didn’t even register that anything was happening. I got the whole story from Liz and others after we were finished. Once again, we can not thank you enough for your prayers on this journey. Only God knows the extent to which you have participated in protecting us throughout the trip.
This morning, I had the privilege of preaching the first service at Andrew’s church (this is the second time I have been blessed by this opportunity). We were so warmly welcomed and they were delighted that Liz was able to join me this time.
Please continue to pray for the churches throughout Uganda. Andrew pointed out a complex in Mbale that used to be a Christian school that the leaders could no longer keep up financially. It has now been occupied and expanded by another growing religion in the country that is using it as a school to begin indoctrination into their beliefs which are far from the truth of Jesus. They have learned from Christianity and are now filling in the gaps of charity in the community that have been left as a result of a lack of resources for local churches and ministries.
Bishop Andrew and his wife Judith have become dear friends in addition to being partners for Kingdom growth. Their five sons (ranging from 12 to 27) are so deeply committed to God and Jesus.
They were the perfect hosts. Andrew will continue to work with pastors throughout Uganda, as well as partnering with the bishops in Rwanda and Nigeria, furthering Organic Outreach, Organic Disciples, and Organic Prayer.
Grace and blessings in abundance,
Pastor Walt & Liz
November 9, 2024
Mbale, Uganda
Yesterday (Friday), we drove about 75 minutes to a town northwest of Mbale to teach. The roads outside of major towns and cities are dirt, narrow, and riddled with pot ho… scratch that – craters. They refer to driving on these roads as a “Ugandan massage.” Needless to say, we were literally quite shaken up by the time we arrived.
There were about 106 people in attendance; some came from quite a distance.
The teaching went well with Liz covering in prayer and Bishop Andrew covering part of the load. He has really come quite far in his ability to teach this material well.
Andrew will follow up with this group, teaching and coaching. He will work to form a small group of pastors in that area to meet at least monthly as they implement the teachings in their own churches and become equipped to teach and coach others.
The questions and testimonies of what stood out to those in attendance made it clear that the teaching was well received. They were very excited about the prospect of bringing these new, Biblical approaches to discipleship and sharing Jesus back to their leadership and churches.
Today (Saturday), we will be teaching a new group here in Mbale at Bishop Andrew’s church.
Keep up the prayers! They are definitely having an impact!
Peace, Grace, and Blessings to all,
Pastor Walt & Liz
November 8, 2024
Entebbe, Uganda
Praises – Bishop Andrew, his wife, and I arrived at Entebbe airport at 9 p.m. last night and Liz arrived safely 2 hours later.
In an hour we will head out for the 6-7 hour drive to Mbale. Tomorrow we will be teaching outside of Mbale in a more remote village. Saturday we will be teaching in the city itself.
The last time I was here (2022), there was a severe flash flood the night before our day of teaching. There were over 100 lives lost. The city is right on the base of a mountain and all of the runoff caused the main river running through the city to overflow and in some places swept vehicles off of bridges.
Pray the rains will remain in check and everyone is able to make it to the training safely. Also, pray for our journey on the road today. It is a two-lane highway almost the entire way and there are a lot of trucks. There is no air travel into Mbale, so everything comes by road.
More tomorrow after the teaching.
Blessings and Grace to you all!
Pastor Walt
November 5, 2024
Kigali, Rwanda
I just finished teaching in Kigali. We had about 215 present. Everything went exceedingly well, although we ran a bit over. No one seemed to mind
The bishop is eager to build upon this training with ongoing support and coaching. Bishop Mutengu (Uganda) will be assisting her with that.
Please add my wife Liz to your prayers. She will be boarding a plane today and will meet me in Entebbe, Uganda, late Wednesday night. We will all drive the next morning to Mbale, where we will then teach together all day Friday and Saturday in two different locations.
Please pray for traveling mercies for me, Liz, Bishop Uahomo, Bishop Mutengu, and his wife.
Before we fly out tomorrow, we will go over the path forward with Bishop Margaret here in Kigali.
Blessings to you all!
Pastor Walt
November 4, 2024
Kigali, Rwanda
It is early morning on Monday the 4th of November and I am composing this from Kigali, Rwanda.
I left Chingola, Zambia on Saturday morning for the two-hour drive to Ndola to catch my first flight for the day. Everything went smoothly as I flew from Ndola to Nairobi to catch the last leg to Kigali just after midnight. Unfortunately, in Nairobi, they are an hour ahead of Zambia and I failed to account for that, barely missing my flight. I secured a hotel room for a few hours of sleep before rising at 5:00 a.m. to catch a 7:40 a.m. flight.
Arriving in Kigali at 8:20 a.m., I was taken to the apartment afforded to us by the host bishop. Andrew and Judith Mutengu (OOI leaders in Uganda) had arrived two days earlier to make final preparations for the conference on Tuesday. As soon as I could refresh from the long day and night, we proceeded to the host church where I delivered a sermon to about 350 people. Overall, it was a very moving service. A full half hour was devoted to recognizing and praying for a young man who had come from absolutely nothing and had just received his college degree, largely due to the generosity of the church. After my portion was complete, Bishop Andrew took to the pulpit and gave some amazing encouragement to the church to embrace a lifestyle of showing Jesus to the world. He followed it up with an altar call and three people came forward to give their lives to Christ.
Archbishop Sunday Uahomo arrived just after midnight this morning to observe the conference. He is from Nigeria and I have been working online with him and six others in his country for the past six months, teaching them Organic Disciples and Organic Outreach. Please pray for him and his experience here.
I have nearly fully recovered from my cold after a long nine days. Thank you for your prayers!
Today Bishop Andrew and I will work on preparing certificates for tomorrow’s attendees. We will also set up our host church on the OOI website so they are ready to go and can help other churches in the city do the same.
Please pray for the Tuesday event (perhaps it will help distract you from the election), that those who need to be there will be led to attend, and that hearts and minds will be opened to the need for them as leaders to jump-start spiritual growth in their churches and to send their congregations confidently into the harvest field.
An interesting fact about Rwanda: the last Saturday of every month, everyone goes out into their cities, towns, and villages to clean and restore, including the president. The city of Kigali is the cleanest city I have seen in the developing world and one of the most beautiful.
Blessings to all y’all!
Peace and Grace,
Walt
October 30, 2024
Lusaka, Zambia
Yesterday’s event was well attended with over 85 leaders! Amazing worship throughout the day, including dance performances by a youth Gospel team and a heart-rending rendition of Oceans played and sung by the host’s daughter.
Thirty minutes into the teaching, they were on the edge of their seats and I could see the light bulbs going off.
At the end, the testimonials resounded with an eagerness to break from the traditions and follow discipleship and the Great Commission the way Jesus demonstrated and commanded.
I met again with the host bishop this morning. He is already praying for discernment to identify the best pastors for the initial cohort to begin monthly meetings of accountability, inspiration, learning, and planning.
Also, as it turns out, the bishop’s son lives in Bellevue, Washington, and is a pastor there. In his role, he is deeply involved in helping to develop pastors in Latin America. He had just arrived that morning from the US and after long hours of travel, he and his kids were ready for some rest. But, as they were landing, he felt a compulsion to rally and attend the conference. We had a great conversation afterward and he is eager to incorporate Organic Outreach into what he is doing in Latin America AND Bellevue!
Despite obstacles that arise, God is blessing this trip with connections and outcomes far beyond what I had prayed for. I guess I need to be bolder in my prayer requests when it comes to this ministry and my life.
When we trust and rely on Him, and we are praying for His will, HE SHOWS UP!
Thank you so much for all of the prayers. They are certainly sustaining me and impacting outcomes. Please keep my health in your prayers. I continue to battle a nasty cold. If it continues to persist, I will assume walking pneumonia and take the doses of Azithromycin that I brought for exactly this possibility.
In spite of this, when I get to the venues and begin to teach, God focuses me entirely on the message I am bringing and He sustains me.
I am awaiting my flight to Ndola, Zambia, followed by a drive to Chingola where I will be teaching tomorrow (Friday, 11/1). The time zone here is 7 hours later than Houston and 9 hours later than the west coast. Teaching begins at 9 a.m. CAT (2 a.m. CDT/12 a.m. PDT).
Blessings,
Walt
October 29, 2024
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
It has been a whirlwind over the past few days. The schedule is catching up with me as I battle a cold. Keep up the prayers!
Yesterday we taught all day in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. There were about 96 in attendance including a bishop from the island country of Zanzibar.
In East Africa, they have ministerial associations for various geographic areas which include multiple denominations as well as non-denominational churches. The one chosen to lead the association is referred to as a bishop. The typical size is between 80 and 250 churches, although some (like the council in Addis Ababa) cover a country-wide geography and thousands of churches.
As ever, the teaching was a revelation for them. Some of the greatest moments in the teaching are when we introduce something that challenges the normal way of thinking and then back it up right out of Scripture. There is so much enthusiasm for the new ways of thinking that it is palpable.
We have already been urged to come back and teach in the Capital of Tanzania (while the largest city in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam is the commercial center of the country, but not the capital). We have also been invited to bring the teaching to Zanzibar.
All of this future opportunity relies upon the generosity of those who believe in the work we are doing (was that subtle enough?). I truly believe that Organic Outreach International has the greatest opportunity to leverage funds for the broadest and deepest kingdom impact. As we raise up leaders to raise up leaders to equip the workers for the harvest field, the downstream potential for impact is exponential.
Please pray for the countries of Tanzania and Zanzibar as these leaders begin to implement what they have learned. I am confident we will have at least one core of leaders in the country to engage in ongoing online equipping to prepare them to form other small groups of leaders and equip them.
The results we are seeing in Kapsabet, Soy, and Eldoret after more than four years of involvement, gradually shifting the lead to those in the country, are undeniable. God is at work here.
Tomorrow, I am teaching solo in Lusaka as this is our first time here. Please be fiercely praying that my health will allow me to teach in the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
Pray for the hearts and lives of leaders to be reinvigorated and encouraged in the equipping and sending of the saints.
Blessings and prayers of thanks upon all of you who have faithfully followed…and even if you have been lucky-dipping. Everything from you, through God, sustains me in this mission field.
Peace and Grace,
Pastor Walt
October 27, 2024
Kitengela, Kenya
It has been an event-filled couple of days.
We arrived in Nairobi at 9 p.m. and then met over dinner with key leaders from in and around Kitengela. We finished and headed to the apartment we had reserved around midnight. When we arrived, we discovered that the host had a falling out with the booking agent and our reservation was lost in the process. By the time we found other accommodations, it was after 2 a.m.
We rose at 6:30 a.m. to get to the teaching venue early enough to ensure everything was set. Unfortunately, the car we hired arrived two hours late and we barely made it in time.
Even with all of this, God is good.
We had 152 pastors in attendance. Bishop Peter Simwa did an amazing job covering 85% of the teaching. He is truly gifted and has an absolute passion for Organic Outreach and Organic Disciples.
There was so much enthusiasm that we were there for almost three hours engaging in conversations after we had finished the event.
We had booked other accommodations close to the airport in anticipation of our flight to Dar es Salaam today. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the airport we were informed that because Peter did not check in online and they had oversold the flight, there was no seat for him.
We are scheduled to meet with leaders in Dar es Salaam shortly after we were to arrive. Because Peter has already been working with them and I have complete confidence in him, we switched so he could take my seat and I will be taking a flight at 8:30 p.m. instead of the original 12:50 p.m. flight.
No matter what challenges arise, as we calm ourselves and pray for wisdom and guidance, God comes through. It is almost to the point that I look forward to whatever the enemy dishes up because I know God has the perfect solution every time.
I had informed Liz late last night of the lodging dilemma and she immediately involved a war party in prayer. Thank you good and faithful warriors!
Satan does not stand a chance.
Please be praying for our teaching event tomorrow (Monday) in Dar es Salaam.
Also, as a follow-up, I have been informed that the pastors in Addis Ababa were so encouraged by the teaching that they are already teaching other pastors throughout the country what they have learned. In addition, the Ethiopian Gospel Believers Churches’ Council has officially established Organic Outreach Ethiopia with Rev. Dr. Gezu Mossissa leading the movement. Please be praying for Gezu and the council leadership as they charge into the battlefield.
Thank you all for your faithfulness in joining me on this journey and for your powerful prayers.
Peace and Grace,
Pastor Walt
October 25, 2024
Kakamega, Kenya
I want to begin today by thanking our team back home for all of their work handling communications for this teaching tour: Robin Maguire, Blake Kelly, Erika Atkins, Liz Bennett, and Lisa Marie Griggs. All I do is write, upload, and hit send. These folks coordinate everything from that point on, editing, selecting photos and videos, and updating the web page. Without their hard work behind the scenes, I would feel like I am detached and separated from the world back home, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity to pray over the work here or share in this journey.
Yesterday (Thursday), we drove 2 1/2 hours to Kakamega for a full day of teaching. We had 224 pastors and leaders in attendance. Everything went smoothly despite a huge thunderstorm that broke out in the afternoon (we were just under cover with open sides all around).
Pastor Okeyo and Bishop Simwa taught more than 75% of the material and did an outstanding job. I am so thankful that we have leaders here who can continue to take on more of the work to spread Organic Outreach, Organic Disciples, and Organic Prayer throughout the country of Kenya. In the future, our trips to Kenya will be primarily to encourage, support, and hear stories of what God is doing.
We had two groups from towns over 4 hours away, and a few individuals traveled farther. The two groups came because of previous exposure to our work. I have been communicating with them over WhatsApp for a few years waiting for an event close enough that they could reasonably attend. It was a great blessing to finally connect with them in person. They will now be taking what they have learned back to their towns and begin sharing with other pastors and leaders there. I gave each of them a flash drive that contains ALL of our online content (including our series of three teaching videos) since their internet is not always reliable. Please add Pastors Joshua Oendo (from Kisii) and Frederick Barasa (from Bungoma) to your prayers as they begin to lead in their towns
Today (Friday 10/25) we are headed to Kitengela (in the Nairobi rural area).
I pray that these updates and the photos and videos give you some of the same feelings of encouragement that I have. If you ever have a desire to join on one of these trips, please contact us.
Peace and Grace,
Pastor Walt
October 23, 2024
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Please be praying for a flourishing relationship between OOI and the Ethiopian Gospel Believers’ Churches Council.
Please also add Rev. Dr. Gezu Mossisa (who coordinated the teaching in Addis Ababa) and Rev. Dereje Jemberu (the General Secretary of the Council) to your ongoing prayers for wild success in their ministry work.
Yesterday (October 22nd), I traveled to Eldoret, Kenya, and connected with Bishop Peter Simwa and Stephen Matinde.
Today, we had two graduation ceremonies for pastor cohort participants and leaders who have gone through two years of monthly inspiration, accountability, learning, and planning regarding the implementation of Organic Outreach in their personal lives and their churches.
The testimonies given brought tears of joy to my eyes as one after another they shared about the transformations taking place and rejoiced over all the new believers that have been joining their churches.
Tomorrow, we will travel two hours by car to Kakamega for a full day of teaching. Our key leaders here in Eldoret will do 75 – 80% of the teaching, and I will handle the remainder.
Please be praying for Pastor David Okeyo and Bishop Peter Simwa as they prepare for their portions of the teaching. Also please pray for the pastors who will be in attendance, many of whom are already traveling to reach Kakamega in the morning.
I continue to feel the power and strength of your prayers. We are all on this journey together and I am grateful for your partnership.
Peace and Grace,
Pastor Walt
October 21, 2024
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Gospel Believers Churches Council represents and resources over 4,000 churches in Ethiopia. They are made up of 14+ denominations.
From this collection of churches, 40 key Pastors were selected to attend the teaching today. Although this is a smaller group than I am used to, I actually relish these opportunities when they arise. We are able to have much more interaction and have a lot of Q & A time throughout the day.
The day went very well and it was clear that everything was well received.
We actually ended up needing to finish 30 minutes early because the General Secretary, having heard some reports of what the teaching was about, requested to meet with me at 4 pm.
As we met, [the General Secretary] made it clear that what we are teaching matches up perfectly with their primary initiative in the council today – getting the workers into the harvest field. He is very eager for us to help them get the teaching out to all of their pastors. They committed to beginning a coaching cohort with me and six of their key pastors to begin equipping them to take the teaching and coaching to others in the council who can then take it to others…
He also asked us to help connect them with other leaders in Africa who are pursuing Organic Disciples and Organic Outreach in their countries so they can collaborate together.
Finally, he asked if it was possible for us to engage with Ethiopian churches in the US.
Absolutely! Just help connect us to them!
It was an incredible day with God clearly laying the groundwork – all glory to Him!
I pray that you feel partially responsible for how these sessions are going. Your prayers are greatly appreciated and give me boldness as I proceed forward in the work of the Gospel.
Tomorrow I will travel to Eldoret, Kenya to continue our work there. Thank you for joining our ministry on this journey and thank you for your continued prayers.
Peace and Grace,
Walt
October 20, 2024
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Great day! Today, I preached at one of the largest churches in Addis Ababa. We had 500+ in attendance with standing room only. It was a special Sunday for the church as it was the closing week of a campaign raising money to purchase a home for the wife and two young daughters of one of their pastors who passed away shortly after a cancer diagnosis at the age of 50.
I preached on Organic Disciples, giving extra attention to Joyful Generosity. After the message, they were moved to take up an additional offering for this family and nearly everyone came forward to give sacrificially, above and beyond what they had ever planned. It was an incredible moment for everyone.
Shortly after we concluded the services, the representative from the Ethiopian Gospel Believers Churches Council received an invitation for me to meet with the General Secretary of the organization after the teaching event tomorrow.
Please be praying for the teaching tomorrow, and for God to open the door for deeper collaboration with this council that has deep connections throughout Africa.
Today God’s timing was on clear display in multiple ways.
Pray for His continued blessing upon this ministry’s work here in Africa.
A special shout out to Ada Bible Church, in Grand Rapids Michigan for their passionate partnership and generous support of this ministry trip! It is an honor to serve side-by-side with you.
Blessings,
Walt
October 19, 2024
Bangkok, Thailand
Saturday was purely a travel day: Yangon to Bangkok to Dubai to Addis Ababa with long layovers in between.
I left Yangon at 6 pm Friday and arrived in Addis Ababa at 3 pm Saturday.
I connected with Rev. Dr. Gezu and Pastor Abeshir Ketama and settled in at the hotel.
It is Sunday morning now and I will be preaching this morning at Pastor Ketama’s church, one of the largest in Addis Ababa.
Please pray for those who hear the sermon today, that they would feel encouraged to pursue their own discipleship with renewed vigor and that they would gain boldness in their relationships with non-Christians.
Tomorrow (Monday), I will be teaching pastors and leaders at the Gudima Tumsa Conference Center. This event is presented in partnership with the Ethiopian Gospel Believers Council and we will have key pastors from around the country in attendance.
We will begin at 9 am and continue through 4 pm, with breaks for tea and lunch.
Pray for those attending, that they will lean into what they learn and begin to apply it in their own lives, followed by application within their churches.
Pray also that we have 6 to 10 pastors desiring to engage in monthly coaching over the next two years to prepare them to teach and coach other pastors and leaders.
Thank you for joining our team on this journey and for all of your prayers.
Every time I tell these leaders of all those praying for them, they are deeply moved.
Blessings,
Walt.
October 18, 2024
Yangon, Myanmar
Great day today.
There were 107 pastors and future church planters in attendance at the Myanmar Evangelical Church.
I took the morning teaching Organic Disciples, and Pastors Che Ko and Hama took the afternoon sessions.
The content was very well received. We left them with homework to get them started on the path to transform how they personally engage in discipleship and make disciples so that they can effectively lead their churches in the same transformation.
We had some great testimonies from people who have been impacted deeply by Organic Outreach since my last trip here four years ago.
Prayer points:
– pray for those who were in attendance today, that they will take what they have learned and turn it into executable strategies to help their church members be more intentional in growing to be more like Jesus so they can more naturally help others see who He is through both actions and words.
– Pray for this country. Shortly after my last trip here four years ago, there was a military coup. They removed EVERYONE from every department of the government and replaced them with military personnel who have absolutely no experience managing the infrastructure of a country, not to mention all the towns and cities. As a result, hospitals are failing and severely reduced in the care they can provide, the school system is failing, and prices for everything have increased over 400% in the last four years. On top of this, jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate as foreign investment has dried up and major companies have pulled out of the country entirely at the same time that businesses are failing. Driving through the streets of Yangon is a completely different experience from what it was four years ago. Many residents of the cities fled to the countryside to try to find work, but they and many others have come back to the cities because of the fighting happening in the rural areas.
– Pray for Pastor Va Bi, lead pastor of the host church. He suffered a heart attack soon after my last visit here. He was still recovering from that when he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. This causes him to periodically have complete short-term memory loss at random times. Pray for his healing, for him and his family to have peace through the recovery process, and that the Great Physician would bring complete healing to him and his family.
– Finally, pray for my time tomorrow with pastors Hama and Che Ko as I walk them through our newest resources for their churches. Also pray for my continued journey as I leave tomorrow evening headed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Peace and Grace,
Pastor Walt
October 17, 2024
Yangon, Myanmar
I arrived in Yangon, Myanmar Wednesday morning and met with Pastor Che Ko and Pastor Hama, the principal of the Bible school they run at their church. These two pastors have been teaching Organic Outreach to pastors and leaders in the rural areas around Yangon as far as 100 miles away. They have also been using Organic Outreach in their church and have had 43 new believers added to the flock in the last six months. This represents 20% growth and they haven’t yet been introduced to Organic Disciples. Most of these new believers came out of Buddhism to follow Christ.
