May 15, 2025 • 24 mins
Michael Walt shares his incredible journey from South Africa to Austin, Texas, where he and his family are preparing to join Shoreline Church in full-time ministry. His story reveals how God's divine timing and unexpected open doors have confirmed their calling to uproot their lives for ministry across continents.
• Grew up in a small South African town where his youth leader inspired his passion for ministry
• Built carbon fiber sailing catamarans in the coastal town of Knysna while developing his technical skills
• Received an unexpected text invitation to return to full-time ministry at Shoreline Church
• Now works remotely with Shoreline's online ministry team while awaiting permanent relocation
• Experienced miraculous visa approvals and confirmations that validated their decision to move
• Learned that God only illuminates the next step of faith—you must start walking to see what follows
• Currently preparing to relocate with his wife and twin 10-year-old sons to Austin by August
Keep the faith and join us for more sidewalk conversations as we explore the intersection of faith and life together.
Learn more about our amazing sponsor Shoreline Church.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Michael Walt (00:00):
And then the one day, on the way to a band
practice, a girl with aVolkswagen.
Piet Van Waarde (00:06):
She drove right in front of me and I hit and I
went over the front of the carand then her dad, because she
didn't have a license.
Michael Walt (00:15):
At that point Her dad felt so bad.
He was like listen, let's notcall insurance or anyone, I'll
handle this.
And I had a broken rear but Iwas okay.
And then a few weeks later hephones me.
He's like come fit yourmotorbike.
And he sent that to a guy thatredid that whole thing.
It was already rusted and dentedand he thought that was because
(00:40):
of the accident.
And I got a brand new motorbikeback which was such a blessing,
nice yeah so I love S-Bus hey,thank you for joining us for
(01:03):
another Sidewalk Conversations.
Piet Van Waarde (01:05):
I am your host, pete Van Ward, and I'm excited
about my guest today, who'sprobably been no guest, who's
traveled the furthest to come onthe podcast.
But before I introduce ourguest, I want to just say thank
you to our sponsor, which todayis Shoreline Church.
Shoreline Church has beenfaithful about supporting this
podcast, along with the otherprojects that we do for cancer
(01:26):
patients, and so if you'relooking for a church and you
happen to live in the Austinarea, I would like to give a
recommendation for Shoreline,and even if you'd like to watch
online, you can find them atShorelineorg.
All right, today we haveMichael Walt.
Michael Walt (01:44):
That's a good pronunciation, well done.
Piet Van Waarde (01:46):
Yes, we should probably start in Dutch.
Goeiemorgen.
Michael Walt (01:48):
Ja, goeiemorgen.
Piet Van Waarde (01:52):
So Michael is from South Africa and he is here
visiting in the States.
Thanks, Pete.
Yeah, thank you, for I mean,you've been like crazy busy
looking at houses and all kindsof other things and so you'd
take time to do this.
I really I'm grateful.
Michael Walt (02:06):
Thanks, it's amazing to be here.
Thanks for the invite.
Piet Van Waarde (02:10):
You're welcome, all right.
So one of the things I likedoing at the start of our
interview is just kind of talk alittle bit about how you grew
up, where you grew up, and soyou might have an especially
interesting story because yougrew up overseas.
So why don't you start withthat?
Who was some of your keyinfluences?
Where did you grow up?
Tell us about that.
Michael Walt (02:29):
So yeah, like you said, I'm from South Africa,
married and I've got two boys,twin boys.
They're 10 years old.
But to go a little back further, I grew up in South Africa in a
small town called Sekunda, andthe town actually exists because
(02:51):
of a big factory that was intown and my dad used to work
there and he was a very hands-ontechnical guy and I had a lot
of my hands-on technicalexperience through him.
But then in that little town Istarted joining a youth group,
(03:13):
grew up in a Christian familyBaptist church and then
eventually went to this youthgroup.
That was part of another churchand one of my biggest
influences in life was probablythe youth leader at that point,
bernhard Liebenberg.
the difficult one to pronouncefor you guys, but he was a guy
(03:36):
that he would meet us youngsterswhere we were at, but also take
us to a deeper understanding ofGod and the Bible, and I think
for me that foundation was, youknow, was amazing.
And that actually got me intoministry, which is, you know,
(03:57):
the rest of our story.
Piet Van Waarde (03:58):
Yeah, okay.
Michael Walt (03:59):
But because of him I got encouraged to hey, don't
you want to join, you know, as aleader.
Hey, don't you want to join asa leader, and don't you want to
join the band.
And then things startedprogressing from there, and
along the way there's beenothers.
But I think that's also broughtthe love for the youth and the
(04:23):
next generation into my heartand my wife's as well, and the
influence of one guy can beamazing.
Piet Van Waarde (04:31):
It's amazing, isn't it?
Michael Walt (04:32):
The ripple effect of that.
Piet Van Waarde (04:34):
Yeah, I started off in youth work and then did
some college ministry and thatwas, I don't know back in the
late 80s, so a number of yearsago, and I still stay in contact
with some of those people.
And they continue to say youknow, that group and that
ministry was so influential forsetting the trajectory of my
(04:56):
life, so we can neverunderappreciate those people who
made those?
Early investments in our life.
Michael Walt (05:03):
Yeah, and I think sometimes people working with
these youth they don't alwayssee the fruit Right, but
honestly, there's some amazinginput.
Piet Van Waarde (05:13):
Yeah.
Michael Walt (05:14):
And there's fruit that we're not always aware of.
But me and this guy, we'restill in contact as well.
I love it.
Piet Van Waarde (05:21):
Yeah, contact as well.
Yeah, so you um, you also have.
When we've talked before you,you told me a little bit about
some of your job opportunitiesand different career tracks and
you have had a very like.
You have ministry, but you alsohave this other side of you
which has included.
You know things like shipbuilding and all that so tell me
(05:43):
me a little bit about thecareer path that God has taken
you on.
Michael Walt (05:47):
It's difficult, I don't know how much time we have
, but yeah, I've been around,some of them just basically
because I wasn't 100% sure whatI want to do with my life.
But this calling on my life todo ministry has always been
there, and every now and then Iwould somehow just stray off
(06:10):
that path a little bit and endup in ministry again.
So, yeah, I've been dabbling ina few things.
Well, I actually started offwith an electrical background,
with my electrical trade, andthen started working for a
company in a city calledPretoria in South Africa, and
(06:34):
then, about five years ago, Imoved down to Nisna, which is a
beautiful coastal town in SouthAfrica, beautiful coastal town
in South Africa.
And yeah, for the past fiveyears we've been there and
enjoying it.
But what took me to Knysna wasthis incredible company that
(06:55):
builds these 54-foot carbonfiber sailing catamarans.
And I've always had the passionfor sailing sailing and that's
what got me there.
And I grew up with my dad whoyou know that was before google
and all of that he would teachhimself how to sail from books.
Piet Van Waarde (07:15):
You know that he got from the library, yeah,
yeah.
Michael Walt (07:17):
So he's got this saying like, yeah, he learned
how to sail, you know, lyingflat on his back on his bed
reading books.
And that got me into it.
And as a teenager I would buythese old boats, small little
sailboats, dinghies, and fixthem up and sail with them, and
(07:39):
then sail them again and then Istarted, you know, getting into
this.
Hey, I can fix things up andsailing would be a passion, but
I think at the end of the day,if it comes to a choice, it will
always be ministry People.
My love for people would be theone thing.
Piet Van Waarde (07:58):
The ultimate trump card?
Michael Walt (07:59):
Yes, but to have sailing as a hobby is not a bad
hobby.
Piet Van Waarde (08:04):
No, that's right.
Michael Walt (08:05):
Or second passion in life.
Piet Van Waarde (08:07):
My dad was really into sailing too, did the
same thing when he was growingup.
He would he even.
One of the stories he told mewas that he would take this
cardboard box and he and hisbrother would waterproof it and
then use it outside of Rotterdamin the harbor there.
Michael Walt (08:25):
Oh yes, yeah, that sounds risky.
I hope they were wearing lifejackets.
Piet Van Waarde (08:31):
Well, you know, he was always pushing the
envelope, oh wow.
All right now you're talkingabout coming to the States.
Michael Walt (08:38):
Yes.
Piet Van Waarde (08:39):
So that's no small decision.
Michael Walt (08:41):
No, it's not.
Piet Van Waarde (08:42):
How did you come to that conclusion?
Come to that.
That's no small decision.
No, it's not.
How did you come to thatconclusion?
Come to that.
Michael Walt (08:44):
So many, many moons ago, me and my wife, we
were both in full-time ministryat a church in South Africa, and
we met Yuri and Karin Krill.
Piet Van Waarde (08:58):
She was sitting here a few weeks ago, yeah,
Really enjoyed that Sitting herea few weeks ago.
Michael Walt (09:05):
Yeah, really enjoyed that.
But we were in ministrytogether and it was one of those
relationships that went overand beyond just being colleagues
and working for the same church.
And then our paths wentdifferent ways and a few months
ago Karin sent this text to mywife, eliska, saying just out of
(09:30):
the blue, listen, would youguys ever be interested in going
back into full-time ministry?
And immediately somethingjumped you know in a good way.
Yeah, and we started pursuing.
You know, like, what does thisentail?
I mean, for us it was a bit ofa shock when we had that first
conversation and they were like,oh yeah, no, we've been in
(09:54):
Austin for a few years and thisis where the church you know
situated, and this is actuallyShoreline who's our sponsor
today you spoke about it earlierand we were so honored to be
invited for their December andtheir big Christmas services.
(10:17):
And they said we need to bringthe boys as well and see what
it's like, and I think they needto get an idea of you know who
we are, and we need to get anidea of who they are you know,
the church and leadership withPastor Rob.
So we enjoyed December with themand the church and I think what
(10:39):
happened there was because ofhaving been in different
churches and full-timeministering in different
churches.
I honestly had a bit of a thingin the back of my mind like I
wonder how they do this and Iwonder how they approach this
Not a negativity, but I wouldlike to see how they do this and
I wonder how they approach this.
Not a negativity, but, like, Iwould like to see how they do it
(10:59):
.
Piet Van Waarde (11:00):
There's a something you see on the
foreground, and then there's thebackground how will you know
the background if you're notbehind the curtains, kind?
Of.
Thing.
Michael Walt (11:11):
And immediately when we arrived and we started
hanging out with the staff andthe leadership team and stuff,
we could see that there'ssomething that just resonates
with who we are and what webelieve and how we do things.
And I think what was amazing isthat Pastor Rob's and Pastor
(11:33):
Laura's their heart is forpeople.
It's not hey, let's have a bigchurch.
It's hey, how can we impactpeople?
You, know, and just create thatspace where God does the work.
We just, you know try tocooperate, not get in the way
and then, yeah, we loveShoreline and the people and
(11:57):
luckily they liked us, so wealready started working remotely
.
Piet Van Waarde (12:03):
So you were here in December, and then we
went back to South Africa.
And then you started workingfor the church from there.
Yes, started working remotely.
Michael Walt (12:12):
And how that works is.
I'm part of the video teamunder the leadership of Kyle
O'Neill.
He was also here a few weeksago.
And my wife.
She's very creative, so shedoes all the graphic designs and
the social media and the webdesigns and stuff.
(12:32):
And another part that we wereentrusted with which is amazing
is Shoreline's online church andit's incredible what God's been
doing on that platform.
We're having an online churchbroadcasted on three different
platforms each service.
(12:55):
There's an online church inplaces like the prison we call
it, god Behind Bars.
And seeing how Shoreline justgoes beyond the walls of the
church, and I said to one of thepeople the other day the
incredible thing is the onlinechurch.
(13:15):
We're reaching people thatwould otherwise not come to
church or they're not physicallyable to, and our online church.
There's no capacity limit.
Piet Van Waarde (13:28):
There's no seats that you will run out of.
Michael Walt (13:31):
So, yeah, we're part of that and also we've got
this incredible team of peoplethat's our online hosts.
So people will watch theservice online and they would
say listen something in thismessage.
You know it stirs and.
I need prayer and these hostswill have prayer moments with
(13:52):
them individually.
And that's incredible.
Yeah, I love it now coming downthis time only we're here for
three weeks again, um, againblessed to be here for the
easter services and andeverything, um, you know around
that.
But then we met some of thesepeople.
Oh, they've got the hearts ofgold because, they, they want to
(14:16):
serve.
You know, and for us, that wasamazing.
And then, like I said, I'mdoing the video and she's doing
the graphics.
Together we're doing the onlinechurch and see how we can, you
know, grow that.
But also we're very passionateabout ministry and I love
worship and music.
My wife loves teaching andshe's a good communicator, so
(14:43):
we'll start getting our feet wetwith that as well in the near
future.
Piet Van Waarde (14:51):
Now I'm always curious because you hear some
people get called into doingsomething a little bit outside
of their comfort zone and yousay, oh well, good stretch of
faith.
But when you talk about pickingup your family and moving
thousands of miles, away to adifferent culture, with another
(15:12):
language.
I mean, that's a big deal.
And so you can say well, wefelt the Lord prompt us to do
this and you have the goodrelational connection.
But were there some otherthings that happened that
convinced you?
This was not just a good idea,but this was really a God idea.
Michael Walt (15:32):
Yeah, it is a big thing obviously.
And we had to be sure that thisis from.
God.
Obviously, initially, the firstthing we would do is we'd pray
about it and see God needs toopen the right doors and the
timing needs to work out, andall of that that just started
(15:55):
happening.
The doors are opening for us tobe here.
At that point, when we gotinvited for the December, I
think we were here for two weeks.
At that point, me and my wifeboth had visas because of well
visiting visas, because of ouremployment at that stage, but we
(16:16):
need to get visas for the kidsand the timeframe you know
flights- that was very short andwe said, well, if this is from
God, this will happen.
And miraculously, we got theirvisas within a week.
Wow, and the people withinSouth Africa would know that.
That's just unheard of, I meaneven the lady that gave us the
(16:39):
passport.
Her words were something like Idon't know how you guys did
this, but I've never seen thishappen.
Anyway, here you go.
We took the passports and headto the airport.
That was literally in the sameday.
But yeah, ever since thingshave just been falling into
place, my current work situationwas deteriorating a bit, you
(17:04):
know, within the company andtoxic environment and stuff.
But then, a few months beforewe had that text from Karin, we
started praying and we saidwhatever, whatever it takes.
And we also.
When we moved to Nisner,incredible healing happened
within our hearts and in ourrelationship and that was like a
(17:28):
time of, you know, just being afamily and getting healed and
then being ready to thenminister again.
So the timing of this just wasincredible.
Piet Van Waarde (17:42):
Isn't that how cool it is, Like when you're
going through a really difficultseason and all you can see is
that situation, and then youcome through it by the grace of
God, and then on the other sideof it there's something God does
that makes all that make sense.
Michael Walt (17:58):
It does.
No, no, there's so much I'velearned in that process and it
had to happen.
And also, it's not somethingthat we were looking for and
pushing and it just came aboutand is the whole family excited
about it, Like the kids too.
Yeah, yeah yeah, I mean whenyou say whole family me, the
(18:19):
wife, kids, super excited.
Parents, parents-in-law, friendsyou know people we're leaving
behind my sister and those maybenot so happy, but I think
they've come to realize well,this is from God and this is our
passion and our calling.
(18:40):
So they're actually supportivein all of that, which is amazing
.
Yeah, the kids can't wait toget here.
It's all now a whole visaprocess, yeah, and I think, yeah
, god wants to teach us to bepatient and trust His timing,
(19:02):
because, at the end of the day,that's where we're now torn.
If it was up to us, you knowagain spending the last few
weeks in Austin and withShoreline, it's tough to go back
.
Piet Van Waarde (19:14):
Not bad.
Michael Walt (19:15):
This time it was just me and Jalesco.
Piet Van Waarde (19:17):
Yeah.
Michael Walt (19:18):
But if I were able to just fly the kids over and
move in, it would have been easy.
Piet Van Waarde (19:27):
So, according to the things that you're
hearing, what's kind of the goalfor the actual move?
Michael Walt (19:34):
Well, the ideal would be that we fly over in
July and then start 1st ofAugust yeah that would also be
good for them, for schools andall of that and we, we've been
visiting a few schools, you know, while we're here, and I must
say, so far, we love, we loveAustin and we love the people
(19:55):
and they, they're very um,inclusive and accommodating.
Piet Van Waarde (20:01):
That's great.
Michael Walt (20:01):
So, yeah, we've got excitement.
I think we're going back withmore inner peace, you know,
because some of the schools arereally it's still a small
elementary school and they wouldaccommodate the boys even with
them, you know, english beingtheir second language mine as
(20:23):
well, as you can hear.
But we're really excited.
That's awesome.
Piet Van Waarde (20:28):
Yeah, I love the idea of you know, taking a
risk and doing this especiallyfor kingdom-related things.
You know you hear people takerisks for all kinds of stuff.
But when you say, Lord, ifyou're're in this, we want to do
it yeah and then you take thesteps and then he confirms it
along the way with variousconfirmations and uh,
(20:50):
serendipitous open doors and allof that, and it's just you know
, build your faith you kind ofsay, all right, well, this is if
you're in this, lord, I'm yeah,it does, it does and uh.
Michael Walt (21:00):
One of the other confirmations was when we got
back after our december visit.
We started, you know, havingthese chats with family and
people, and probably 80 to 90percent of them were like oh
yeah, we thought something likethis is happening.
Piet Van Waarde (21:16):
They had this you know, maybe, yeah, maybe the
holy spirit started you know,stirring, yeah, yeah, so that
helps that helps.
Michael Walt (21:25):
But yeah, it's an adventure and there's a there's
a lot of new things that we needto learn, I mean even just
vocabulary wise.
Yeah, I was jumping into anelevator the other day and I
asked someone do you want to goup with the lift?
And they just looked at me likelift, it's a lift.
We call it a lift-o elevator.
Piet Van Waarde (21:47):
So we really have to get used to those things
but we're so excited.
Well, you sound great here,Nobody's going to say anything.
So one of the things and I'dlike to close with this, like
one of the things that I'venoticed, we've made some
decisions, not as monumental,but things that felt very risky
at the time, and there was, youknow, this call to.
(22:11):
Will you obey, will you do whatI'm asking you to do?
Even if you can't see the roadforward, even if it doesn't make
complete sense yet, will you goforward and then you do.
And then there are some lessonsyou learn along the way as well
, and I'm curious if you canidentify with that, like, are
there some things that you'vealready learned in the act of
(22:33):
obedience, of saying yes to thisopportunity that has served you
well in terms of your ownpersonal growth and your own
journey spiritually?
Michael Walt (22:42):
Yeah, I think for me it's that, like you say, to
take that first step, I'm goingback to the story in the Bible
of the whole verse that saysyour word is a light unto my
feet a lamp which only shinesthis far, and if you don't start
walking you're not going to seewhat's next.
(23:06):
So just to deliberately takethat step.
And then the trusting part wasit's obviously the big part.
But every step of the way.
Thus far from saying, yes, God,we'll do this.
Piet Van Waarde (23:31):
The doors would open as we go along.
So yeah, we keep on trustingfor that to be the future.
Well, I'd like to say a prayerfor you as we close, because I
believe that, well, I know manypeople have already been praying
, but I'd like to just join andask God for favor.
Michael Walt (23:43):
I appreciate it, yeah.
Piet Van Waarde (23:45):
So, Lord Jesus, I thank you for my brother and
I thank you for he and Aliska,and they're walking out what
they understand to be yourcalling and I pray for them, and
I invite those who are watchingwho can join me in that prayer,
to facilitate a swiftprocessing of the visas.
And that, at the right time andin the right way, they would be
(24:08):
able to join us for this grandadventure that you've called
them to here in Austin.
We ask this in Jesus' name Amen.
Michael Walt (24:15):
Wow, thank you, pete.
That was amazing.
Absolutely, I appreciate it.
Piet Van Waarde (24:19):
Yes, all right Well thank you for was amazing.
Absolutely appreciate it.
Yes, alright.
Well, thank you for joining us.
We are so glad you came to bewith us for another sidewalk
conversation and hope you'lljoin us again next time when we
come back and talk through thethings of faith and life.
So keep the faith.
And then the one day, on the way to a band
practice, a girl with aVolkswagen.
Piet Van Waarde (00:06):
She drove right in front of me and I hit and I
went over the front of the carand then her dad, because she
didn't have a license.
Michael Walt (00:15):
At that point Her dad felt so bad.
He was like listen, let's notcall insurance or anyone, I'll
handle this.
And I had a broken rear but Iwas okay.
And then a few weeks later hephones me.
He's like come fit yourmotorbike.
And he sent that to a guy thatredid that whole thing.
It was already rusted and dentedand he thought that was because
(00:40):
of the accident.
And I got a brand new motorbikeback which was such a blessing,
nice yeah so I love S-Bus hey,thank you for joining us for
(01:03):
another Sidewalk Conversations.
Piet Van Waarde (01:05):
I am your host, pete Van Ward, and I'm excited
about my guest today, who'sprobably been no guest, who's
traveled the furthest to come onthe podcast.
But before I introduce ourguest, I want to just say thank
you to our sponsor, which todayis Shoreline Church.
Shoreline Church has beenfaithful about supporting this
podcast, along with the otherprojects that we do for cancer
(01:26):
patients, and so if you'relooking for a church and you
happen to live in the Austinarea, I would like to give a
recommendation for Shoreline,and even if you'd like to watch
online, you can find them atShorelineorg.
All right, today we haveMichael Walt.
Michael Walt (01:44):
That's a good pronunciation, well done.
Piet Van Waarde (01:46):
Yes, we should probably start in Dutch.
Goeiemorgen.
Michael Walt (01:48):
Ja, goeiemorgen.
Piet Van Waarde (01:52):
So Michael is from South Africa and he is here
visiting in the States.
Thanks, Pete.
Yeah, thank you, for I mean,you've been like crazy busy
looking at houses and all kindsof other things and so you'd
take time to do this.
I really I'm grateful.
Michael Walt (02:06):
Thanks, it's amazing to be here.
Thanks for the invite.
Piet Van Waarde (02:10):
You're welcome, all right.
So one of the things I likedoing at the start of our
interview is just kind of talk alittle bit about how you grew
up, where you grew up, and soyou might have an especially
interesting story because yougrew up overseas.
So why don't you start withthat?
Who was some of your keyinfluences?
Where did you grow up?
Tell us about that.
Michael Walt (02:29):
So yeah, like you said, I'm from South Africa,
married and I've got two boys,twin boys.
They're 10 years old.
But to go a little back further, I grew up in South Africa in a
small town called Sekunda, andthe town actually exists because
(02:51):
of a big factory that was intown and my dad used to work
there and he was a very hands-ontechnical guy and I had a lot
of my hands-on technicalexperience through him.
But then in that little town Istarted joining a youth group,
(03:13):
grew up in a Christian familyBaptist church and then
eventually went to this youthgroup.
That was part of another churchand one of my biggest
influences in life was probablythe youth leader at that point,
bernhard Liebenberg.
the difficult one to pronouncefor you guys, but he was a guy
(03:36):
that he would meet us youngsterswhere we were at, but also take
us to a deeper understanding ofGod and the Bible, and I think
for me that foundation was, youknow, was amazing.
And that actually got me intoministry, which is, you know,
(03:57):
the rest of our story.
Piet Van Waarde (03:58):
Yeah, okay.
Michael Walt (03:59):
But because of him I got encouraged to hey, don't
you want to join, you know, as aleader.
Hey, don't you want to join asa leader, and don't you want to
join the band.
And then things startedprogressing from there, and
along the way there's beenothers.
But I think that's also broughtthe love for the youth and the
(04:23):
next generation into my heartand my wife's as well, and the
influence of one guy can beamazing.
Piet Van Waarde (04:31):
It's amazing, isn't it?
Michael Walt (04:32):
The ripple effect of that.
Piet Van Waarde (04:34):
Yeah, I started off in youth work and then did
some college ministry and thatwas, I don't know back in the
late 80s, so a number of yearsago, and I still stay in contact
with some of those people.
And they continue to say youknow, that group and that
ministry was so influential forsetting the trajectory of my
(04:56):
life, so we can neverunderappreciate those people who
made those?
Early investments in our life.
Michael Walt (05:03):
Yeah, and I think sometimes people working with
these youth they don't alwayssee the fruit Right, but
honestly, there's some amazinginput.
Piet Van Waarde (05:13):
Yeah.
Michael Walt (05:14):
And there's fruit that we're not always aware of.
But me and this guy, we'restill in contact as well.
I love it.
Piet Van Waarde (05:21):
Yeah, contact as well.
Yeah, so you um, you also have.
When we've talked before you,you told me a little bit about
some of your job opportunitiesand different career tracks and
you have had a very like.
You have ministry, but you alsohave this other side of you
which has included.
You know things like shipbuilding and all that so tell me
(05:43):
me a little bit about thecareer path that God has taken
you on.
Michael Walt (05:47):
It's difficult, I don't know how much time we have
, but yeah, I've been around,some of them just basically
because I wasn't 100% sure whatI want to do with my life.
But this calling on my life todo ministry has always been
there, and every now and then Iwould somehow just stray off
(06:10):
that path a little bit and endup in ministry again.
So, yeah, I've been dabbling ina few things.
Well, I actually started offwith an electrical background,
with my electrical trade, andthen started working for a
company in a city calledPretoria in South Africa, and
(06:34):
then, about five years ago, Imoved down to Nisna, which is a
beautiful coastal town in SouthAfrica, beautiful coastal town
in South Africa.
And yeah, for the past fiveyears we've been there and
enjoying it.
But what took me to Knysna wasthis incredible company that
(06:55):
builds these 54-foot carbonfiber sailing catamarans.
And I've always had the passionfor sailing sailing and that's
what got me there.
And I grew up with my dad whoyou know that was before google
and all of that he would teachhimself how to sail from books.
Piet Van Waarde (07:15):
You know that he got from the library, yeah,
yeah.
Michael Walt (07:17):
So he's got this saying like, yeah, he learned
how to sail, you know, lyingflat on his back on his bed
reading books.
And that got me into it.
And as a teenager I would buythese old boats, small little
sailboats, dinghies, and fixthem up and sail with them, and
(07:39):
then sail them again and then Istarted, you know, getting into
this.
Hey, I can fix things up andsailing would be a passion, but
I think at the end of the day,if it comes to a choice, it will
always be ministry People.
My love for people would be theone thing.
Piet Van Waarde (07:58):
The ultimate trump card?
Michael Walt (07:59):
Yes, but to have sailing as a hobby is not a bad
hobby.
Piet Van Waarde (08:04):
No, that's right.
Michael Walt (08:05):
Or second passion in life.
Piet Van Waarde (08:07):
My dad was really into sailing too, did the
same thing when he was growingup.
He would he even.
One of the stories he told mewas that he would take this
cardboard box and he and hisbrother would waterproof it and
then use it outside of Rotterdamin the harbor there.
Michael Walt (08:25):
Oh yes, yeah, that sounds risky.
I hope they were wearing lifejackets.
Piet Van Waarde (08:31):
Well, you know, he was always pushing the
envelope, oh wow.
All right now you're talkingabout coming to the States.
Michael Walt (08:38):
Yes.
Piet Van Waarde (08:39):
So that's no small decision.
Michael Walt (08:41):
No, it's not.
Piet Van Waarde (08:42):
How did you come to that conclusion?
Come to that.
That's no small decision.
No, it's not.
How did you come to thatconclusion?
Come to that.
Michael Walt (08:44):
So many, many moons ago, me and my wife, we
were both in full-time ministryat a church in South Africa, and
we met Yuri and Karin Krill.
Piet Van Waarde (08:58):
She was sitting here a few weeks ago, yeah,
Really enjoyed that Sitting herea few weeks ago.
Michael Walt (09:05):
Yeah, really enjoyed that.
But we were in ministrytogether and it was one of those
relationships that went overand beyond just being colleagues
and working for the same church.
And then our paths wentdifferent ways and a few months
ago Karin sent this text to mywife, eliska, saying just out of
(09:30):
the blue, listen, would youguys ever be interested in going
back into full-time ministry?
And immediately somethingjumped you know in a good way.
Yeah, and we started pursuing.
You know, like, what does thisentail?
I mean, for us it was a bit ofa shock when we had that first
conversation and they were like,oh yeah, no, we've been in
(09:54):
Austin for a few years and thisis where the church you know
situated, and this is actuallyShoreline who's our sponsor
today you spoke about it earlierand we were so honored to be
invited for their December andtheir big Christmas services.
(10:17):
And they said we need to bringthe boys as well and see what
it's like, and I think they needto get an idea of you know who
we are, and we need to get anidea of who they are you know,
the church and leadership withPastor Rob.
So we enjoyed December with themand the church and I think what
(10:39):
happened there was because ofhaving been in different
churches and full-timeministering in different
churches.
I honestly had a bit of a thingin the back of my mind like I
wonder how they do this and Iwonder how they approach this
Not a negativity, but I wouldlike to see how they do this and
I wonder how they approach this.
Not a negativity, but, like, Iwould like to see how they do it
(10:59):
.
Piet Van Waarde (11:00):
There's a something you see on the
foreground, and then there's thebackground how will you know
the background if you're notbehind the curtains, kind?
Of.
Thing.
Michael Walt (11:11):
And immediately when we arrived and we started
hanging out with the staff andthe leadership team and stuff,
we could see that there'ssomething that just resonates
with who we are and what webelieve and how we do things.
And I think what was amazing isthat Pastor Rob's and Pastor
(11:33):
Laura's their heart is forpeople.
It's not hey, let's have a bigchurch.
It's hey, how can we impactpeople?
You, know, and just create thatspace where God does the work.
We just, you know try tocooperate, not get in the way
and then, yeah, we loveShoreline and the people and
(11:57):
luckily they liked us, so wealready started working remotely
.
Piet Van Waarde (12:03):
So you were here in December, and then we
went back to South Africa.
And then you started workingfor the church from there.
Yes, started working remotely.
Michael Walt (12:12):
And how that works is.
I'm part of the video teamunder the leadership of Kyle
O'Neill.
He was also here a few weeksago.
And my wife.
She's very creative, so shedoes all the graphic designs and
the social media and the webdesigns and stuff.
(12:32):
And another part that we wereentrusted with which is amazing
is Shoreline's online church andit's incredible what God's been
doing on that platform.
We're having an online churchbroadcasted on three different
platforms each service.
(12:55):
There's an online church inplaces like the prison we call
it, god Behind Bars.
And seeing how Shoreline justgoes beyond the walls of the
church, and I said to one of thepeople the other day the
incredible thing is the onlinechurch.
(13:15):
We're reaching people thatwould otherwise not come to
church or they're not physicallyable to, and our online church.
There's no capacity limit.
Piet Van Waarde (13:28):
There's no seats that you will run out of.
Michael Walt (13:31):
So, yeah, we're part of that and also we've got
this incredible team of peoplethat's our online hosts.
So people will watch theservice online and they would
say listen something in thismessage.
You know it stirs and.
I need prayer and these hostswill have prayer moments with
(13:52):
them individually.
And that's incredible.
Yeah, I love it now coming downthis time only we're here for
three weeks again, um, againblessed to be here for the
easter services and andeverything, um, you know around
that.
But then we met some of thesepeople.
Oh, they've got the hearts ofgold because, they, they want to
(14:16):
serve.
You know, and for us, that wasamazing.
And then, like I said, I'mdoing the video and she's doing
the graphics.
Together we're doing the onlinechurch and see how we can, you
know, grow that.
But also we're very passionateabout ministry and I love
worship and music.
My wife loves teaching andshe's a good communicator, so
(14:43):
we'll start getting our feet wetwith that as well in the near
future.
Piet Van Waarde (14:51):
Now I'm always curious because you hear some
people get called into doingsomething a little bit outside
of their comfort zone and yousay, oh well, good stretch of
faith.
But when you talk about pickingup your family and moving
thousands of miles, away to adifferent culture, with another
(15:12):
language.
I mean, that's a big deal.
And so you can say well, wefelt the Lord prompt us to do
this and you have the goodrelational connection.
But were there some otherthings that happened that
convinced you?
This was not just a good idea,but this was really a God idea.
Michael Walt (15:32):
Yeah, it is a big thing obviously.
And we had to be sure that thisis from.
God.
Obviously, initially, the firstthing we would do is we'd pray
about it and see God needs toopen the right doors and the
timing needs to work out, andall of that that just started
(15:55):
happening.
The doors are opening for us tobe here.
At that point, when we gotinvited for the December, I
think we were here for two weeks.
At that point, me and my wifeboth had visas because of well
visiting visas, because of ouremployment at that stage, but we
(16:16):
need to get visas for the kidsand the timeframe you know
flights- that was very short andwe said, well, if this is from
God, this will happen.
And miraculously, we got theirvisas within a week.
Wow, and the people withinSouth Africa would know that.
That's just unheard of, I meaneven the lady that gave us the
(16:39):
passport.
Her words were something like Idon't know how you guys did
this, but I've never seen thishappen.
Anyway, here you go.
We took the passports and headto the airport.
That was literally in the sameday.
But yeah, ever since thingshave just been falling into
place, my current work situationwas deteriorating a bit, you
(17:04):
know, within the company andtoxic environment and stuff.
But then, a few months beforewe had that text from Karin, we
started praying and we saidwhatever, whatever it takes.
And we also.
When we moved to Nisner,incredible healing happened
within our hearts and in ourrelationship and that was like a
(17:28):
time of, you know, just being afamily and getting healed and
then being ready to thenminister again.
So the timing of this just wasincredible.
Piet Van Waarde (17:42):
Isn't that how cool it is, Like when you're
going through a really difficultseason and all you can see is
that situation, and then youcome through it by the grace of
God, and then on the other sideof it there's something God does
that makes all that make sense.
Michael Walt (17:58):
It does.
No, no, there's so much I'velearned in that process and it
had to happen.
And also, it's not somethingthat we were looking for and
pushing and it just came aboutand is the whole family excited
about it, Like the kids too.
Yeah, yeah yeah, I mean whenyou say whole family me, the
(18:19):
wife, kids, super excited.
Parents, parents-in-law, friendsyou know people we're leaving
behind my sister and those maybenot so happy, but I think
they've come to realize well,this is from God and this is our
passion and our calling.
(18:40):
So they're actually supportivein all of that, which is amazing
.
Yeah, the kids can't wait toget here.
It's all now a whole visaprocess, yeah, and I think, yeah
, god wants to teach us to bepatient and trust His timing,
(19:02):
because, at the end of the day,that's where we're now torn.
If it was up to us, you knowagain spending the last few
weeks in Austin and withShoreline, it's tough to go back
.
Piet Van Waarde (19:14):
Not bad.
Michael Walt (19:15):
This time it was just me and Jalesco.
Piet Van Waarde (19:17):
Yeah.
Michael Walt (19:18):
But if I were able to just fly the kids over and
move in, it would have been easy.
Piet Van Waarde (19:27):
So, according to the things that you're
hearing, what's kind of the goalfor the actual move?
Michael Walt (19:34):
Well, the ideal would be that we fly over in
July and then start 1st ofAugust yeah that would also be
good for them, for schools andall of that and we, we've been
visiting a few schools, you know, while we're here, and I must
say, so far, we love, we loveAustin and we love the people
(19:55):
and they, they're very um,inclusive and accommodating.
Piet Van Waarde (20:01):
That's great.
Michael Walt (20:01):
So, yeah, we've got excitement.
I think we're going back withmore inner peace, you know,
because some of the schools arereally it's still a small
elementary school and they wouldaccommodate the boys even with
them, you know, english beingtheir second language mine as
(20:23):
well, as you can hear.
But we're really excited.
That's awesome.
Piet Van Waarde (20:28):
Yeah, I love the idea of you know, taking a
risk and doing this especiallyfor kingdom-related things.
You know you hear people takerisks for all kinds of stuff.
But when you say, Lord, ifyou're're in this, we want to do
it yeah and then you take thesteps and then he confirms it
along the way with variousconfirmations and uh,
(20:50):
serendipitous open doors and allof that, and it's just you know
, build your faith you kind ofsay, all right, well, this is if
you're in this, lord, I'm yeah,it does, it does and uh.
Michael Walt (21:00):
One of the other confirmations was when we got
back after our december visit.
We started, you know, havingthese chats with family and
people, and probably 80 to 90percent of them were like oh
yeah, we thought something likethis is happening.
Piet Van Waarde (21:16):
They had this you know, maybe, yeah, maybe the
holy spirit started you know,stirring, yeah, yeah, so that
helps that helps.
Michael Walt (21:25):
But yeah, it's an adventure and there's a there's
a lot of new things that we needto learn, I mean even just
vocabulary wise.
Yeah, I was jumping into anelevator the other day and I
asked someone do you want to goup with the lift?
And they just looked at me likelift, it's a lift.
We call it a lift-o elevator.
Piet Van Waarde (21:47):
So we really have to get used to those things
but we're so excited.
Well, you sound great here,Nobody's going to say anything.
So one of the things and I'dlike to close with this, like
one of the things that I'venoticed, we've made some
decisions, not as monumental,but things that felt very risky
at the time, and there was, youknow, this call to.
(22:11):
Will you obey, will you do whatI'm asking you to do?
Even if you can't see the roadforward, even if it doesn't make
complete sense yet, will you goforward and then you do.
And then there are some lessonsyou learn along the way as well
, and I'm curious if you canidentify with that, like, are
there some things that you'vealready learned in the act of
(22:33):
obedience, of saying yes to thisopportunity that has served you
well in terms of your ownpersonal growth and your own
journey spiritually?
Michael Walt (22:42):
Yeah, I think for me it's that, like you say, to
take that first step, I'm goingback to the story in the Bible
of the whole verse that saysyour word is a light unto my
feet a lamp which only shinesthis far, and if you don't start
walking you're not going to seewhat's next.
(23:06):
So just to deliberately takethat step.
And then the trusting part wasit's obviously the big part.
But every step of the way.
Thus far from saying, yes, God,we'll do this.
Piet Van Waarde (23:31):
The doors would open as we go along.
So yeah, we keep on trustingfor that to be the future.
Well, I'd like to say a prayerfor you as we close, because I
believe that, well, I know manypeople have already been praying
, but I'd like to just join andask God for favor.
Michael Walt (23:43):
I appreciate it, yeah.
Piet Van Waarde (23:45):
So, Lord Jesus, I thank you for my brother and
I thank you for he and Aliska,and they're walking out what
they understand to be yourcalling and I pray for them, and
I invite those who are watchingwho can join me in that prayer,
to facilitate a swiftprocessing of the visas.
And that, at the right time andin the right way, they would be
(24:08):
able to join us for this grandadventure that you've called
them to here in Austin.
We ask this in Jesus' name Amen.
Michael Walt (24:15):
Wow, thank you, pete.
That was amazing.
Absolutely, I appreciate it.
Piet Van Waarde (24:19):
Yes, all right Well thank you for was amazing.
Absolutely appreciate it.
Yes, alright.
Well, thank you for joining us.
We are so glad you came to bewith us for another sidewalk
conversation and hope you'lljoin us again next time when we
come back and talk through thethings of faith and life.
So keep the faith.
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