The Wittz End: Week of strategic meetings at the Ocean

What we saw when walking around Old Town. Photo credit: Kerry Olson

Every morning fisherman are awake early bringing in the nets. Pc: Kerry

This past week the leaders of our Company came to Mtown to have a retreat and invited all the regional leaders. We had all sorts of discussions on different topics. All who attended brought a variety of experiences and they are involved in a wide scope of ministries. We had a chance to share testimonies . It is truly amazing to hear where someone comes from and how the Lord has given them an incredible story. Throughout the years people continue to be faithful to serve the Lord and go to places where He is unknown. Although we are all unique we have this in common: the desire to "Bring kingdom transformation to the nations". (Bethany's mission statement)

Each morning we started with worship (Jason led this) and then read through the book of Colossians in the Passion version. Here are some the powerful truths.

Colossians 1: 12-13 "Your hearts can soar with joyful gratitude when you think of how God made you worthy to receive the glorious inheritance freely given to us by living in the light. He has rescued us completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom realm of His beloved."

Colossians 1:21 "Even though you were once distant from Him, living in the shadows of your evil thoughts and actions, He reconnected you back to Himself."

Colossians 2:2 "I am contending for you that your hearts will be wrapped in the comfort of heaven and woven together into love's fabric. This will give you access to all the riches of God as you experience the revelation of God's great mystery- Christ."

Colossians 2:8 "Beware that no one distracts you or intimidates you in their attempt to lead you away from Christ's fullness by pretending to be full of wisdom when they're filled with endless arguments of human logic. For they operate with humanistic and clouded judgments based on the mindset of this world system, and not the anointed truth of the Anoited One."

Colossians 2:14 "He canceled out every legal violation we had on our record and the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. He erased it all- our sins, our stained soul- He deleted it all and they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto the cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancelation."

Colossians 3:10-11 "For you have acquired new creation life which is continually being renewed into the likeness of the One who created you; giving you the full revelation of God. In this new creation life, your nationality makes no difference, nor your ethnicity, education, nor economic status- they matter nothing. For Christ that means everything as He lives in every one of us!"

It took around 20 men to pull the nets in. Pc: Kerry

One afternoon we got to take a tour of the old part of Mtown. It has such a rich history, including the steps where the very first workers entered into East Africa. Interesting enough there is not one single established body in the area because the workers did not settle there but went inland. One place we saw was the Leven House, here's what the plaque said:

"The house took the name of a British ship which visited Mtown in 1824. Officers from this ship were given permission by Captian Owen to conduct their anti-slaving operations from here. Originally, the house was owned by Seyyid Said bin Sultan, ruler of Zanzibar. The Lieutenant James Emery,who administered Mombasa within the British Protectorate (1824-1826), paid freed slaves for building the tunnel and steps leading down the jetty, in 1825.

The Mazuri, who ruled Mtown autonomously between 1741 and 1837 invited the British ship to protect the citizens against the attack of the Omani fleet, and so preserve their independence. In 1837, the Sultanof Zanzibar, Sayyid Said appropriated Leven House from Mazuri. Various missionaries (Kraft in 1844, Rebman), explorers (Burton, Speke) and administrators (the first British Counsul in 1884) stayed here at different times. Mr. G.S. MacKenzie, administrator of the Imperial British East Africa Company bought the house in 1891. In 1895, it passed on to Colonial Government and was used as a boy's school. The housewas much altered and enlarged after 1900, when a German shipping company, Oswald&Co, purchased it. It then became the German consulate between 1908 and 1928."

The conference room was spacious and had AC! Pc: Kerry

I was delighted to spend time with these women from around the world- missing 1 regional leader. Pc: Kerry

3 continents represented. Pc: Kerry

Here is the whole group.

What did the Witt girls do while you were in meetings? One day they took a tuktuk to the Scottings new house and helped a little with unpacking but ultimately had a great time hanging out with that family (Bethany workers in M town). The place we stayed at was a resort which had activities almost every hour of the day that the staff organized. My daughters became fast friends with the staff and participated in water aerobics, water polo, volleyball and tennis. In the evening there was a small performance at 9pm which the girls always stayed up to watch. Sometimes the girls would dance to the music after the performance. They had a blast and didn't want to leave. We are so grateful for these sweet blessings from God that He gives.