Yesterday, we decided to visit a believer that lives about four hours away from the office in a small German coastal village called Gromitz, on the Baltic Sea. This state is called Schleswig Holstein (This is the area were Bro. Fred Sothmann’s family roots originated from). This sister has been in contact with VGR for at least 20 years and has received many thousands of books in the past that she has used for missionary use.
It was a cold January day, and we could only trust the Lord that we would find her in her home. She has no phone and only writes handwritten letters to our office. When I arrived there, I mistakenly looked for the wrong apartment number. While I was looking for the right address, I met some people on the street that were taking a Sunday walk and I decided to ask if they knew about an elderly woman that lives somewhere in the government housing.
They told me that they knew of an elderly woman that always wears long dresses, has long hair, and shows up in the local stores. I think she is known as an oddball in the area. Well, I told them "Yes that sounds like the person we are looking for.” They told me that she lives somewhere down the road in an apartment.
I just picked randomly the first apartment on the corner and knocked on the door. It took a while until someone opened the door, and it happened the be the sister I was looking for! She had a small magnifying glass to try to see who was standing in front of the door. I said, "I’m Bro. Heino Buitenkamp's son." Then she recognized me from previous visits, and quickly told us to come on in. We felt so humbled to see her living condition, but were amazed by how she did not complain at all and said that the Lord has been so good to her and that He has provided in all her needs.
She has no fellowship with any believers and is totally isolated where she lives. We were the only believers that she had seen in years, although we do correspond with her on a regular basis.
Her name is Sister Hannah Lehman who grew up most of her life in the former East Germany during the Communist time behind the Iron Curtain. As my wife and I entered her very small home, we realized that she had no heat and was wearing her coat inside her home. She had a wood stove but is too old to haul wood for her stove. Therefore, she uses her electric oven for heat in her small living room where she lives and sleeps on a two-seater couch (it didn't even look long enough for her to sleep on).
As we came into the home, we noticed that she quickly turned on her oven and opened the door of her oven to get the room warmed up. We took her some Message material and a CD player in order for her to play the German MP3-CDs (She had given her own player away for others to listen to the Message). We showed her how to use it by playing a portion of "Being Led By The Holy Spirit" from Brother Branham's visit to Germany back in 1955. Brother Branham mentioned right in the beginning that "Germany is really ready for a spiritual awakening." She really smiled when she heard those words.
She told us that she had testified to many in her town, at the local grocery stores, and wherever she goes by foot. Then she showed us how she looks up church addresses in the Yellow Pages or addresses of individuals in the phone book, and mails a German Message book of Brother Branham to each address she finds locally and throughout Germany at her own cost. She does not use reading glasses, but uses a magnifying glass to be able to see. We made sure that she was supplied with food and daily necessities, and had prayer with her before we left.
She wanted me to thank Brother Joseph and all the believers around the world for providing her with all the Spiritual Food that she received from VGR.
God bless you,
Bro. Gerald
VGR Europe
P.S. During World War II, doctors had performed experiments on Sister Lehmann's brain with various medications and operations which resulted in brain damage. This was a common practice that the medical doctors used during the war to try and find cures, but caused many to end up with serious mental health issues. You can tell that it had an effect on her health.
I was amazed with the capability of her memory, because she said she prays for Brother Branham’s family every day. She said she calls out the entire family before the Lord and even named them while we were there.
Also, we got to stream "The Anointed Ones At The End Time" with the Branham Tabernacle during this trip. We were so blessed while we were streaming that we pulled off the road and parked on a small country road, and Brother Joseph just mentioned about those listening in their car. (We happen to be those in the car.)