121-year-old church finds a new location and owners

Although the building is old, the original Chain Lakes House of Meeting has been relocated to its original vicinity with a new purpose in mind. 

Built-in 1899, this 121-year-old building was created as a Quaker meeting house in Chain Lakes in Southwestern Manitoba. 

The building moved a few miles over in 1949 and stayed in that location for the past 70 years. However, it has sat vacant for the past 15 years. 

One of the new owners of the building, Corrie van der Westhuizen says, "The heart behind this building is that we would go back to the way of the Master. The foundation of the gospel and the foundation of the land."

Corrie and her husband Jaco are missionaries who met, got married, and started a family in Zambia, Africa. While Corrie is originally from a small town in Manitoba where this new church has been moved to, Jaco is originally from South Africa. 

Corrie and Jaco with their three children. (Supplied)

Corrie says, "I'm originally from this area, between Deloraine and Hartney in a small community called Dand."

The church was built right near the farm that for generations Corrie's family has farmed, and therefore carries a lot of history.

She says, "It was close to Chain Lake, in the area that my dad farms in and my grandpa farmed in and my great-grandpa farmed in. It was called The Chain Lakes House of Meeting." 

Although small in stature spanning 50 feet by 25, the couple is excited to share the gospel in this building once more. 

"Nobody was using it. We always drive past it. About five months ago we thought maybe we should go look inside the building. We see this amazing potential. Then it became stirred in our hearts that we want to move this building onto Chain Lakes," says Jaco.

The couple had professionals move the building last week and the process took two days. Some of the community members who were there when the building was moved the first time and came out to see it relocated again.

Jaco's specialty is in sustainable agriculture, as he worked with poor communities in Africa and taught them how to farm.

He says, "We were missionaries and we wanted to get the gospel on the ground and make an impact on the local community. 70% of Africans farm so that's when we got involved with the organization, Foundations for Farming."

They will continue Foundations for Farming in this old building once it's renovated and functional.

Inside the church. (Supplied)

He says, "We want to take the people back to the foundations of farming, here in Canada, and teach how God wants to restore the land."

Both felt a calling from God to spread the gospel message as missionaries wherever they are, which now includes Western Manitoba.

"We will run this farm and hopefully over the years we will turn it into a fully run training centre. We will use the building as a classroom where people will be trained for three purposes. One, to give people a heart for the land again. Two, to lay the foundations of the gospel. Three, to produce missionaries from this area to go into the world," says Jaco.

Right now the building needs some work as Jaco says, "It's in pretty rough shape. We'll start by repairing the roof and then as finances come in, we'll finish it over a period of time."

As to when the couple will start Foundations for Farming, they don't have a date set just yet.

The purpose of the small building is to "bring people together for the glory of God" according to the married couple. People in the community are also happy to see it put to use once again.