Tina's Story

I have been friends with Di and Vic Whittaker since about 1998. I was a young Christian working in a dental practice 2 doors away from the bank where Di worked. I used to pay in for the practice and got to know Di “over the counter”. We then bumped into each other at a wedding.

I knew that there was something special in the connection straight away and looked for them at every meeting across the city; the Roxy, Philadelphia, New Wine meetings etc., etc. and at some point, I was invited to their home. It became a regular place for me to call on my way home from work and I would be invited to all sorts of meetings as the Whittaker’s “did what they did”!!

We became good friends and sometime around summer 2012 they asked me to pray into something for them. I knew that Di and Vic had been called out from Bedford to move to Sheffield and they supported leaders of churches, amongst other things. They moved from place to place as God called them, that’s ”what they do”! God seemed to be calling again and they had both felt this, but the place, I think was a bit of a shock. They received confirmation of the call to Turkey during a Christian conference in Sheffield. Next stop “Turkey”!

They went for a couple of visits to Turkey, around Bodrum and Antalya and eventually, believing that Antalya was the place to start, went for a longer visit.

There was much that went on for the next couple of years as they first “came to terms” with the call. I think Vic said, if it had been the USA, Africa, or a few other places, it would have been almost expected, but Turkey was never on the radar, so to speak.

God also said, “build a house on stilts”. As time passed it became clear that God wanted them to build a prayer community in Turkey.

As the story continues my timeline is not accurate by any stretch of the imagination!

I also remember that, in October 2014, God asked them to go to Bridlington and so again they went in faith for a weekend and ended up in the grounds of Sewerby Hall. They had been given a word about a bed of white flowers and made their way to the “Rose Garden”. They found a bed of white flowers (not roses) and God spoke to them there.

When they next went to Antalya, they texted to say that they had found a lovely place to stay. I texted back and said, I have no idea if this is relevant, but God just brought to my mind the word that was given about the white flower bed in Bridlington. Vic wrote back, we are staying at The White Garden Hotel. It’s amazing when God allows us to see that he is speaking to us, it builds our own faith.

God gave Di the name of an architect for the Project in Turkey, Dave Muller. Our memories tell a different version of who got there first, but Vic and I both googled him and found an architect living in South Africa!! He had a twitter feed which detailed the building of an eco-village. On this the first building I saw was a house on stilts, similar to those below!!!

At one-point Di was given a picture of Black Rock and we researched where there were areas of Black Rock and found that there was one in Antalya. We did not know the significance for a while until Vic & Di visited the Duden Waterfalls and met Gloria, an American who had settled in the region as a member of a Christian organisation. Gloria joined Team Turkey and has prayed with Di & Vic for the project and beyond for several years.

Vic and Di met a young South African woman, Gail, who was working as a nanny in Antalya. They became great friends and learned that her parents lived just two hours from Dave Muller. Gail had to return home because of a serious illness in the family. Vic & Di were praying for a replacement for her to continue the work with the family Gail had served so well.

Di went to a women’s conference in their local church and met a young woman, Nicolette, who was from South Africa. She had not long been in Turkey and was making her way to take up a post in Antalya as a Nanny, for the same family – she turned out to be Gail’s replacement! (isn’t God just amazing) It turned out that she lives even closer to Dave Muller (the prospective architect), just twenty minutes away and knew of him. Eventually with the help of Nicolette, and her family, Vic & Di went to visit Dave Muller in South Africa and explained “their story”. Dave is a Christian and although he has not made a commitment to helping with the project, some of us in the background have not given up hope that he will hear from God himself about Sh’li and come on board.

I was with The Whittakers when the transaction was made to purchase the land, now named Sh’li. I had visited the property during this visit, and Wendy Bates joined us towards the end of my stay. We visited the land again and this time went onto an adjoining piece of land which they hope to purchase at a later date. On this neighbouring land Wendy was very aware of God’s presence. I was more drawn to a mountain in the distance which I could not take my eyes off and the feeling in my spirit made me believe there was some significance. I’m not sure how it came about, but sometime later, when the Chamberlain-Butts also visited with other members of Sh’ma Kingdom Dancers, they visited this mountain and learnt that this was the ruins of an ancient city, Kremna, dating back to the time of Paul, with several Christian churches placed among temples, amphitheatres etc.

The maps below show the location of Kremna, Sh’li and Antalya.

The top arrows point to Kremna on the mountain top. the lower arrows to Sh’li.

The bottom arrows are as near to Sh’li as I can identify as the road runs past a lake and the last “loo stop” at a roadside “Services” at Gölbaşi

The bottom arrows are as near to Sh’li as I can identify as the road runs past a lake and the last “loo stop” at a roadside “Services” at Gölbaşi

I saw God working in Di & Vic as they let go of everything they owned in Sheffield, giving most of it away. Some things were harder than others, but bit by bit they released their possessions and the last thing was the place they call home, which is now Turkey.

God has taught me much, through them, but the thing that has been most evident to me on my 3 or 4 trips to Antalya has been the favour that I have witnessed on Di & Vic.

The shopkeepers/ Restaurateurs that vacate their premises to come and say hello.

The respect that I see from people in the church’s and fellowships that they have become part of.

The owners of the White Garden Hotel that helped them to find their apartment in a fantastic location in walking distance to the sea, tram, amongst other things.

The meetings with Gail, Nicolette, Gloria, Brian & Linda. Their Christian Turkish Teacher Emel.

The generous and very timely gifts that have been given along this journey.

And much more that I can’t even remember…!!!

This prayer community is not their idea, it is God’s. God asked them to uproot and move to build this place. A place where God can be exalted and prayer can move mountains. I see this as God putting the pieces in place for Jesus to return and I ask that if you are reading this, that you consider what God might be asking of you? What could be your part in making this happen? God does not need our help to do this, but do we not want to partner with Him in this? Not for His benefit, but for ours. If you want to be a part of this, then please get in touch with us to make an offering: prayer, skills, finance.

Tina Tomlinson

Treasurer