Introduction with Miki Hardy
“Many things have been said and prophesied since 1983 about the Eglise Chrétienne, the birthplace of CTMI. Prophecies concerning me (Miki Hardy), the island of Mauritius, and the church have stood out during these years. I feel a profound conviction that now is the Lord’s time for all these things to come to pass, step by step. We need to awaken from our slumber. There is a purpose to it all: to establish His Kingdom on the earth. It’s up to us to bring the fire and life of the Spirit."
Miki Hardy shared these words in January 2007, announcing the vision for our church for the years to come. The building of a new auditorium in Mauritius is one of the phases in this vision.
Growing in numbers and maturity
Miki confided to the CTMI media team recently, “Two important things have fuelled this building project. Firstly, the gospel of the cross! The result of given lives has produced so much fruit that we have completely outgrown the church built in 1990 in Curepipe, and we can no longer squeeze everyone in… especially when it comes to our monthly joint service with all the local churches together, and for our International Conference!”
But, it is not just about moving premises, for there is a conviction in Miki’s heart, “The Lord is preparing something very special that will take place soon.” We need somewhere to welcome the hundreds of people who will come to discover the gospel of the cross, salvation, deliverance, healing, and restoration for their lives. As many prophecies have confirmed, this church in Mauritius has a major role to play in the Kingdom of God. The gospel is gaining ground, hearts are opening up everywhere and the building needs to keep up with the flow! This is the main concern of the elders and the team supporting them: for the church to be a place that welcomes Christians and non-Christians, wherever they come from and without restriction, so they can experience the Lord at work; healing, edifying, restoring, and shaping peoples’ lives.
Sharing a vision
Since the beginning of the year, many have taken this to heart, and want to join in this great construction project! One can feel it is a shared vision: “What encourages me is that many brothers and sisters come and help on the site, and an even greater number support it through their giving, enabling the building work to continue,” enthuses Miki. As a church, we feel privileged to be able to take part in what is going to happen. There is room for everyone, so don’t miss this opportunity!
Getting started
24 September 2007 - a small group of 5 people leave the motorway behind them, and set off on foot along a dirt track in the middle of sugar-cane fields. The sky is clear blue as they head towards what is to become the construction site; on which an auditorium and offices for CTMI and Eglise Chrétienne are to be built… The harvest is in full swing and trucks loaded with cane are trundling back and forth as the little team heads on its way. Summer is nearly here and we can already feel the heat.
The plot of land of about 3½ acres (±14 000 m².) has been cleaned, and the cane removed… The preliminary jobs are to build a storeroom, put up toilets, move in the machines and, most importantly, mark out where the different buildings will be! The place is deserted, totally uninhabited. We can admire the mountain range that lines the horizon and the lush green cane fields stretching evenly away into the distance... It is just about possible to imagine what it will look like when the building is completed!
The Caterpillar makes its entrance shortly afterwards with Jim at the controls… his mission, to remove the roots of the cane as well as the top layer of soil in order to avoid little green shoots popping up all over the place during the building works. Fortunately, the ground is not stony! The digger is pretty impressive and very precise - to be handled with skill! After a few hours work, mounds of earth are starting to pile up around the edge of the site as Jim continues his “clean up”! Digging must also begin and the buildings must be marked out.
On a corner of the plot, we catch a glimpse of the roof, still in dismantled sections, that has arrived from England.
The workers
Jocelyn and Patrick will be ‘in charge’ of the building site, under the leadership of Miki who, being a civil engineer by trade, has decided to commit himself fully to this project, by taking responsibility for the whole endeavour. In this way many unnecessary costs and expenses will be avoided. Thank you, Lord!
18 people are officially employed by Make Way Ltd, a new company Jocelyn and Patrick have set up to serve the church in this project. “We are relying very much on volunteers for this project, and we hope their numbers will grow increase as we go along,” confides Jocelyn with some concern, considering the size of the project: ±7500 m² of building to erect in record time. “Sisters are more than welcome, we have work for them too,” Patrick informs us, with his usual broad smile!
An unusual building site
As far as Miki is concerned, there are no days off… We start early and finish late… On Saturdays and public holidays, the whole church is invited to join in and lend their support. Passers-by are amazed to see people of all colours amongst the workers… and so many young people on the site. The atmosphere is quite astounding… no arguments, no disputes, everyone good-humoured and working hard!
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