How Beulah Started

Val Ruger and Margy Blackshaw established Beulah Christian Retreat in 1991.  The reason for its foundation was to establish a place of rest for Christians.  The emphasis was on rest and quiet/silent retreat.

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​In 1998 Jacques and Hanneke Truter was called by the Lord to open a place of refuge and restoration for Christians experiencing spiritual brokenness. The call was awakened through seeing the hurt and suffering of leaders in ministry and missions and the inability of the church to look after their wounded.  In a book by the name of Too Valuable to Lose, about Mission attrition, they found the reference to Beulah Retreat.  The previous owners have never heard about this publication; they did not know how Beulah’s information was taken up as a reference and their own vision did not focus on missions or leaders.

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Jacques Truter’s Journal Entries:

25 May 1999
I visited Beulah Farm in Wellington.  During my quiet time, I got scripture “abide in Me and I in you” John 15.  When I walked into the house, on the retreat, there was a banner with the same scripture written on it.

 

27 July 1999
Attended a lecture in Bloemfontein and one of the delegates gave scripture from Isa 62 “Your land is Beulah”.

 

24 October 1999
Sermon at Logos Church - Willy Crew: The Lord calls us to move from the desert into the promised land and take control of our city and take possession of our land.   I wrote in my journal: “Lord what is my land?“ Andre spend the weekend at Beulah and had the same experience as mine (see 25 May) He also received the scripture “Abide in Me and I in  you “ and it was confirmed in exactly the same manner. He asked what Beulah meant and I then  remembered the scripture from Isa 62.  “Your land is Beulah “.  Lord is this the answer to my earlier question?

 

8 November 1999
“Go and buy the land” Jeremiah 30

 

15 November 1999

“Go up the mountain”  We offered a Letter of Intent to the sellers of Beulah today.

 

10 December 1999
Our proposal was accepted today as per the Letter of Intent.  We do not have the finances and we need to sell our house.  The house has already been in the market for longer than a year and we have received no offers. The Beulah sales contract determines that we must confirm our resources of finance by 14 January 2000 and move onto Beulah by February 1st 2000.

 

16 December 1999
A cash offer was made on our house to be occupied from 1 February 2000. The selling price was the price that was confirmed by the Holy Spirit a year ago.  Praise and blessing to You Lord

 

13 January 2000
The bank approves the loan a day before the agreement cut-off date.

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 The sign on the entrance gate of Beulah reads: Isa 62:4b: ”Land owned and protected by the Lord ”.   This land belongs to the Lord but it is up to us to react to these promises.

He requires stewardship from every Christian and action on His promises (1 Thess. 5:20).  This is a land of healing and restoration and that is the redemptive purpose that we want to establish through the Lord’s power and grace.

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This valley is a place of Christian heritage.  In this valley the Lord has poured out His Spirit in the late 1800's and early 1900's, through the obedience of a man named Andrew Murray.  From this town missionaries have gone forth throughout the world.  It is a land with a remnant that must rise again.  The banner of the Lord must again span this land.