| Harvest of souls & faith like potatoes |
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What do faith and potatoes have in common? For farmer Angus Buchan, like a potato, his Christian faith is real, plain, simple, and sustains him in everyday life. When God called him to plant potatoes in a time of extreme drought, Angus willingly put his livelihood on the line. Despite the conditions, a bumper crop left fellow farmers amazed at God’s provision. The crop helped support more than his family and the farm – for Angus is in the business of ‘seed sowing’ for God – telling people about God’s love for them through faith in Jesus Christ. This was a far cry from the angry, troubled man he was but God intervened in his life and changed his priorities.
Angus Buchan is a tough, straightforward farmer whose parents emigrated from Scotland to Zambia where Angus grew up. The young Angus made a commitment to follow Christ and throughout his childhood he 
I was rich, independent and proud but I still felt restless,
It was love at first sight; they married and started a family. Zambia at this time was both racially and politically unstable so the family moved to KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa in search of a better life. With nothing more than a caravan on a patch of land, and with the help of his foreman, Simeon, the Buchan family struggled to settle in their new country.Faced with ever mounting challenges, hardships and personal turmoil, Angus quickly spiralled down into a life consumed by anger, fear and destruction. ‘Deep down I knew I needed God in my life, but just then I didn’t have time to stop and think,’ Angus remembers. Jill named the farm ‘Shalom’ which means peace. ‘Of course, peace was just what I didn’t have,’ says Angus. Then God stepped in. The family were invited to a mission meeting at the local church. They went out of politeness. What they heard changed their lives for ever. ‘For the first time in my life I saw strong men cry as they told how the Lord had taken care of their needs, restored their businesses and done wonderful things in their lives.’ Both Angus and Jill went forward to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. ‘We prayed the sinner’s prayer together,’ remembers Angus, ‘saying sorry for our sins and asking Jesus to rule our hearts, and a miracle happened. Jesus came into our lives.’ Later that day as Angus was walking in his fields he says ‘an amazing peace came over me, and all my emotional torment, the fear and anxiety and stress fell away. ‘My aim was first and foremost to live my life for Christ, and to do his will! I learned that God cares about the details of our lives, and is powerful to help us.’ Angus was challenged to tell others about his new found faith and he does so to this day. I felt that talking to people about Jesus was a great privilege.
I felt that talking to people about Jesus was a great privilege.
God was not finished with Angus and Jill. Together they learnt to trust God in the good times and the bad. ‘God never promised us a life free of trouble, only that he would walk with us through it,’ Angus says. Their farm became the centre of their ministry – like Noah’s Ark - taking in the homeless or lonely, those who needed kindness and support, caring for orphans and supporting a local school. The movie Faith like Potatoes graphically tells their story like when God sent the rain to miraculously put out a raging fire, the tragic accident that killed a young child and not forgetting the bumper crop of potatoes! Angus and his wife Jill continue to live on their farm in South Africa, where they are actively involved in the community and have an international outreach ministry.
Angus and his foreman as portrayed in the movie Faith Like Potatoes. The bumper crop of potatoes showed God cared for the details of their lives.
The sinner’s prayer
Angus and Jill prayed the sinner’s prayer when they committed their lives to following Jesus Christ. Angus says ‘If you have never made a personal commitment to Christ, I encourage you to pray this prayer out loud. Afterwards, tell three people what you have done: it is important to make a public confession of your faith, so it is firmly set in your heart. Dear Lord Jesus, I repent of all my sins. I ask you to forgive me for not serving you with all my heart. From this day forward I will start all over again. And so, I ask you to come into my life, and to be the Lord of my life. I will serve no other God but you. Thank you, Lord, that you are a covenant-keeping God, And even as I endeavour, by the power of your Holy Spirit, To keep my side of the covenant, I know that you will keep your side. I ask all these things in the powerful and precious name of Jesus Christ, My Lord and Saviour. Amen.
The book Faith like Potatoes is available from Monarch Books £6.99, Tel 0800 121 8830 or visit www.lionhudson.com |
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