Miraculous transformation of Karoo heartland

[notice]Special Report on the preparation of the venue for the Karoo Mighty Men Conference[/notice]

The plains of the Karoo’s heartland are being transformed into a place of experiencing and proclaiming God’s glory: so evident in the seemingly limitless environment of space and stillness with the mighty amphitheatre formed by Rhenosterberg rising grandly out of the arid Karoo “vlaktes”.

This is indeed a fitting venue to host Angus Buchan at the first-ever Karoo Mighty Men Conference (KMMC). It is also appropriate that the natural veld under God’s blue heavens is to be used as a place of worship, praise, prayer and reconciliation with the Lord.

Seemingly uninteresting and empty when rushing by in a speeding vehicle; it is a setting that once you stop, relax, stand with your feet on the earth and take in the silence, speaks of timelessness and the everlasting fullness of the Lord’s infinite majesty.

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KMMC organisers believe people attending the conference will experience the presence of God and His greatness in the vast calm and quiet of the Karoo farm on the edge of the Sneeuberg mountain range. The organising committee is committed to glorifying God by giving people the opportunity of finding salvation through the surrendering of their lives to Lord Jesus Christ.

The KMMC takes place from 29th April to 01 May 2011 on the outskirts of Middelburg in the Eastern Cape on Rusoord Farm. The venue became apparent when the committee prayed and visited all the other options.

According to Cor Uys of the organising committee, members were unanimous in their choice of site for the conference. “He says it is a venue at which Christians can deepen their relationship with Lord Jesus, be mentored by Angus and other fellow Christians.

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Uys and Werner Potgieter, are in charge of preparing the venue, campsite, showers, toilets, locations for vendors, medical location, and facilities for disabled people, which is a tall order given they will have to accommodate up to 30 000 people and there was no water, electricity, sanitation, roads, equipment, material or money to begin with.

“We are completely dependent on God’s grace for the success of preparing the KMMC venue, which is more than 60 hectares in size,” says Potgieter.

“This is an undertaking of faith in which we are completely reliant on our Holy Father to provide the conference requirements.

“However, we are not standing still and waiting for money and equipment to come in, we are taking one step at a time in faith and using the little we do have in the meantime.

“The biggest lesson has been to forget about ourselves and realise it is God that is making all this possible. We are just making ourselves available to be used by the Lord,” he adds. Uys says God’s grace has already been made manifest.

“One week before we were about to leave for Bloemfontein to buy materials with which to begin making toilets, we received the provision of 250 toilets and 250 showers. All we had to do is to obtain the transport to fetch it all.”

Nevertheless, the biggest challenge for Uys and Potgieter has been to trust and have the faith that everything will fall into place. They say the process has been one of growth as far as their own faith is concerned.

“We realise that even though God will provide, it does not mean that we will be without hardships or disagreements,” says Uys.

“It has also been a process of learning to trust each other and not judge each other,” adds Potgieter.

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Another difficulty has been juggling the pressures and requirements of full-time jobs with the demands of planning and preparing the KMMC venue. They say the venue will be complete by mid-April with a team exceeding 200 people working on the construction ranging from those who can drive tractors to people prepared to handle picks and shovels and lay pipes.

Grootfontein Agricultural College students were quick to volunteer their assistance together with local farmers, farm workers, and Middelburg townsfolk. For more information visit the KMMC website at www.karoommc.co.za or Facebook page at Karoommc, or phone 079 947 3566.