Kenya/Scotland
By Deborah Wittmier
Spring 2003
I was blessed to be a “sent one” and go on behalf of the gospel, but it is also a wonderful blessing to come home! This was a very long trip, and though it was packed from start to finish with ministry, its length (27 days) and span of time zones and continents made it very challenging. When I go to one nation, it feels like a ministry trip—when I go to four nations on two different continents, then it definitely feels much more like a journey!
In a nutshell, I would have to say that diversity is what characterized the whole journey. When I say diversity, I mean the variety and widely differing aspects of it all. It seems like the whole month was a manifestation of the scripture from 1 Cor. 12:4-7:
God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful. . . . (The Message, © 2003 Eugene H. Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group).
For example, this is how the diversity looked in my life. One day I was in the pulpit in Kenya teaching nearly a thousand people, and within a week I was thousands of miles away in Scotland, helping assemble 100 gift bags for women who would be attending the conference. I went from altar ministry in churches with dirt floors, to pastoral counseling in hotels with heated bath towels! Each thing I found myself doing carried the same importance in the spirit, for the scripture says that God has made me what I am, created in Christ Jesus to do those good deeds which he planned for me to do (Eph. 2:10). So the prophetic conversations over dinner were just as God-planned as the pulpits! The extremes were absolutely mind-boggling—from African Culture to Northern European, from the temperatures at the equator to the rain of England, from public ministry to behind-the scenes, from the barest living conditions to amazing hotels, from ministry to very large numbers to the intimacy of one-on-one. And in it all, I experienced the leading of the Holy Spirit—unique and tailor-made to each circumstance!
Here are some highlights of the trip:
Airport Blues: There wasn’t anybody there to meet us when we arrived at the Nairobi Airport at around 9:00 at night. Then, when I arrived in Glasgow, Scotland, there wasn’t anybody to meet me there, either. That definitely throws me deeper into putting my trust in God instead of man! (Not to worry, my contact people eventually arrived in both cases—delayed due to rain induced traffic jams.)
Biggest Challenge: I barely made my Scotland connection, and only by the grace of God. Picture me pushing a trolley with a mountain of luggage while running as fast as I can through an underground tunnel for at least two city blocks. I got to my gate just as the plane was boarding. Thank you, Jesus!
Changing Worlds: After 30 hours in transit, we finally arrived at our hotel in Nairobi, where we got three hours of sleep before beginning the mission trip!
The fruit of your giving: It’s always one of the most special events of the trip when I get to visit the orphanage and see how the kids are doing. They were all waiting and dressed in their new school uniforms that our Christmas offering bought them. They sang and recited poetry and were thrilled to pose for pictures. We even got a candid shot of one of the older girls reaching out to touch my hair, which is such a mystery for them. (Most of the time it is for me, too—especially on the mission field!)
Grueling Schedule: The average work day for me while in Africa runs around 14-15 hours. In Meru, which was a new frontier for me, I taught a two-day Pastors’ Seminar. When I arrived I was told that I would teach from about 10:00 in the morning until 6:00 at night (with an hour off for lunch)! Please don’t misunderstand; I’m not complaining. I don’t go over there to vacation. However, I am always amazed at their desire and hunger for the Word!
Guinness Book of world Records: Fastest showers on record; hot water only lasted for 30 second spurts!
Most pleasant surprise: I was given my own ‘flat’ (apartment) in Scotland! What a Godsend that was. The first day I nearly boiled myself in the bathtub!! The Scotland leg of the trip turned out to be just as intense with regard to the draw on the teaching gift—the people were so hungry for the Word. I have found the Lord’s words to me to be so true, “The heart of man is the same everywhere.” What a joy.
Psalm 2:8 says, “Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.” During a strong move of the Holy Spirit at the Conference in Nyahururu, a prophet from Kentucky called me out and prophesied to me that the Lord is opening five new countries to me in the next 24 months. Blessed be the name of the Lord!
Victory over darkness: After discovering that many of the pastors at the Pastors’ Seminar had been operating in divination instead of prophecy and were operating in witchcraft, I realized that the reason I had been asked to teach on the two topics of prophecy and spiritual warfare was no accident! By the end of the second day, after they had received sufficient teaching to understand their own need for deliverance, I led them through much corporate renunciations and repentance before ministering some serious deliverance. The next day I was told that the pastors had a testimony service after we left, during which they testified until midnight of their newfound freedom and joy! I believe God did a foundational work there which will affect that area for all eternity.
It was such a joy to return to Nyahururu, Kenya, to teach at a weeklong conference. The conference is an annual citywide gathering of believers from different churches. The only other non-Kenyan speaker was a pastor from Glasgow, Scotland. It quickly became evident that God had arranged for us both to be speaking at this conference as a Divine connection. He and his wife very enthusiastically invited me to come to minister in their church in Scotland. We’ll leave that in God’s hands and to His timing.
Speaking of Scotland, that was next on my itinerary. We went to Inverness, but the conference I was participating in was held a few kilometers away at a lodge on the shores of Loch Ness (home of the famed Loch Ness monster). As it turns out, the local people don’t have any doubts that the creatures (plural) exist, but they don’t see them as monstrous. The lake itself is beautiful, the people are wonderful, and God definitely had a plan and a purpose for me there. I must tell you one of the most beautiful things that happened during the conference in Scotland. God arranged for me to get to meet a very special lady—someone who has been a prayer partner of mine for two years, even though we have never met. She learned of Deborah Ministries and me through my sister, who ministered to her two years ago while in Scotland. Her faithfulness and obedience to the call of God to pray for me humbles me so much. She came and introduced herself to me, and we were overjoyed to get acquainted! What a gift from God that we should finally get to meet.
My stay in Ireland was marked by various forms of ministry to individuals. In retrospect, I see that my divine assignment was to a person who holds a key leadership role throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom. It was a privilege to witness the emotional healing and freedom that God brought through our times of one-on-one ministry. God had a surprise waiting for me at the end of the journey, at the England conference.
My fondest memory of England is of a personal healing that I received through a prophetic word. Nearly twenty years ago I experienced a very painful ‘dressing-down’, which is an old world phrase for reprimand or beating. This experience had a crippling effect on my soul and was hindering my ability to walk out the fullness of my destiny. Much to my surprise—and joy—the Lord used the prophetic gifts to speak to me of that event. The only way I can describe the depth of healing, freedom and joy that came as a result is to recall that song “He touched me…and now I am no longer the same!” The remaining testimonies and stories will have to wait until next time. Meanwhile, know that you have much spiritual seed in Kenya, Scotland, Ireland and England that will bear fruit—thirty, sixty or one hundred-fold! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your willingness to help extend the Kingdom of God through this ministry. I appreciate your support more than words can say!
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