How Beauty for Ashes inspired me to organise a women’s conference

“Lord, here I am, available to do  your work. Use me Lord.”

At the 2007 Beauty for Ashes Women’s Conference, Priscilla Shirer spoke on “He Speaks to Me.” This really touched me as I had a misconception of how one can be used in God’s kingdom. I remember thinking that she was the most amazing woman I had ever been blessed to listen to (I still think that).

He qualifies the unqualified

I come from a Hindu background.

I thought that someone who was very religious with all the theological knowledge was closer to God and more qualified to do His work and will than I was.

I learnt that He qualifies the unqualified. He chooses and uses whoever He wants to as His instruments.

I had passion, hunger, yearning and a burning desire to grow in Christ and to have a closer walk with Him. I was so excited about being a child of God, but that was all I had. I worked at my relationship with Him but thought I needed to know the Bible inside out, know all scriptures, history, etc, before stepping out to do anything for Him.

The vision God gave me to organise a women’s conference  

As I sat with my two family friends at the 2007 Beauty for Ashes conference, over lunch we discussed Prisicilla‘s previous session.

I was so inspired and thought that if God could use others He could use me.

It was during this lunch that I had a complete vision of holding a women’s conference in our little town, Oudtshoorn.  As I shared my vision with the ladies they encouraged me, and as we chatted we discussed some good local speakers who ministered in South Africa and a picture of the venue and the worship group flashed into my mind.

The whole idea was to reach out to our local women and in so doing touch their lives, and through this, touch their families.  If a woman can be close to God then she will keep her family close to him too.

A ‘step of faith’ turns into the ‘Women of Faith’ conference

It felt like walking on water! Each step was really a step of faith.

Because we went in with nothing but faith we decided to call our conference “Women of Faith” and the theme was “Unveil Yourself.”

It was so exciting to see God work among us to make it all happen!

I approached a friend and asked her if she would like to be a part of this vision, and she enthusiastically agreed. We had three months to put this conference together. It was the most amazing experience! God worked in and through the lives of the ladies.

We came in with nothing but faith. No finances, no resources, no qualifications, no experience . . . just a burning desire to give the women a taste of God’s love and make them see how special and loved they were.

We had lots of help and support from our husbands, the community, businesses and friends. We held a day of prayer and fasting each week building up to conference, and then had a 24 hour prayer and fast just before conference.

The ladies were touched and blessed beyond their expectations

We received amazing testimonies from women who attended and there was also amazing breakthrough for some of the women who attended. About 125 ladies attended and they will never be the same again.

The ladies really were pampered. The tickets cost a mere R5 (this included a beautiful venue, teas, coffees, cool drinks, lunch, etc) and we had lots of beautiful giveaways worth thousands of rands.

To add to the special pampering that day we decorated the venue with beautiful white drapes and fairy lights and were also blessed with the upper floor of the venue already pre-decorated from a previous function.

The blessings overflowed

We had actually catered for 750 ladies. I am never concerned about over-catering. Too much food left over is always a blessing as there are always hungry people to feed on our doorstep, so the blessings overflowed as we were able to feed some hungry people in our community through this conference.

We were also able to (and still are) assist the community with some of the finances we received for the conference. We received about 100 to 150 Bibles which we gave out to students who had enrolled at the police college in Oudtshoorn. These students come in young and restless and for those who do not know Christ, this is where they grow, so we were glad to help them get the Word.

Thank you to the Beauty for Ashes team

I have been inspired by the Beauty for Ashes conferences and thus attend each year.

I’ve started booking for a group of 10 ladies each year and pray that they will impact others as they are blessed at these conferences. I have also received testimonies and feedback from these ladies. I know that their attending is not by chance or coincidence, but they are “God–incidences.”

I thank God for the ladies who have honoured in Him in hosting the Beauty for Ashes conferences! By doing so you may not know the full ripple effect it has had on many lives around the cities, towns and nations of this world. Keep going for Jesus, yours in Christ.

I am constantly thankful for what God has done in and through my life and for what is still to come, and for His love, grace, mercy, favour and blessing upon my life. I treat each day as a new day in Christ and start it in expectation of what He is going to do in my life.

I maintain that if He could use me, He can use you—we are just instruments. It is not about us, but Christ who lives in us. We serve a God of endless possibilities. I’m honoured to be in His kingdom—all praise, glory and honour to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Blessings
Kumarie Pillay

Beauty for Ashes

Beauty for Ashes Women's Conference is an interdenominational, faith-based, non-profit organisation and has been bringing conferences, resources, encouragement and hope to women in southern Africa since 1996.