Who's Anita Dittman you say? She is a holocaust survivor. As a young girl she was "Trapped in Hitler's Hell". That's the name of her book. She tells an amazing story of how she came to give her life to Christ and how He sustained her and protected her while she was in a living hell. The miracles and faith she had were just unbelievable...yet I do believe them as that is our God! The thing about Anita is that she is a humble, yet funny and spunky women. She will be 83 years old in May. When I was talking about her I asked her if there was anything special she wanted me to say when I introduced her. She said "tell them not to feel sorry for me. I don't. In fact, I'm thankful for what I went through. It was a necessary step in my faith journey." And do you know what? I can tell that she really means it. She tells her story as her ministry. She asked me to give her honorarium to our Haiti Fund. She has the most kind and gentle spirit. She is simply amazing.
I look forward to many more talks with her. She lives in Crosby, MN. This just happens to be on our way to the cabin. I'm looking forward to stopping in to visit her. What an honor. Just delightful and full of spunk. No, even Hitler couldn't steal her joy. Another woman wrote a book about her. It's called "Shadow of His Hand" by Wendy Lawton. This book was written specifically for adolescents.
Did I mention that I highly recommend her for a speaking engagement? We sold out our brunch with a record 480 ladies! I never knew we could get that many in our community life center. Before the morning was out I had people asking me to have her back. Who knows!
Anita references Psalm 119 when she tells her story. I read this Psalm again tonight, thinking about it from her perspective. How she clung to this Psalm through her tribulation is something else. Even here she has been persecuted. She has even been told not to tell her story. Yet she continues on because she is only listening to the Lord. Courageous she is still to this day.
I'll close with one of Anita's life scripture verses:
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
May God continue to pour out His blessings on you Anita!
