Preparing for Baby Bakers

The time has come once again for a big change in the lives of the Bakers!

In a few short days we will be heading up to Johannesburg until the end of February. It is definitely going to be a different life than the one we have been living the past 6 months. As much as we have enjoyed acclimating ourselves to the simple, serene life in Lesotho, we are excited for these few months.

Being in Johannesburg will give us a chance to connect as a couple and spend some quality time together before our family suddenly becomes three! We will also enjoy quality time with good friends and church family during the holidays.

As January approaches quickly, we are so looking forward to the arrival of little miss Harmony Kgomotso. In February Leah’s parents will join us for three weeks to meet their very first grandchild.

We will be in South Africa for almost a full three months as we will be meeting more regularly with our midwife from the beginning of December as well as awaiting a birth certificate and passport for Harmony. Unfortunately these documents can take many weeks. As soon as we have them in hand, however, we will make the trek back to Lesotho and will hopefully (prayers appreciated!) be moving into a new house with running water!! Praise the Lord!

As an LXP Lesotho family, we celebrated an early Thanksgiving last Friday! We were quite impressed with the accuracy of our “Lesotho Thanksgiving”. We were able to find almost everything to make it as close to an authentic American holiday as we could! We also invited two American peace corps volunteers that are currently serving in the Butha-Buthe area. We had such a great time fellowshipping together, reflecting on how the Lord has taken care of each one of us over the past year, and of course eating to our heart’s content!!

While we are gone, approximately 15 LXP Lesotho youth leaders will be going on an outreach into the mountains to spread the Gospel to unreached peoples.  For more info see lxplesotho.com, and be sure to keep them in your prayers.

We will be going into the village later this week to say all our goodbyes for now as well as conducting the final computer class of the year.

Truly loving Africa,
The Bakers

Computer Training Courses

One of the passions that Piet has is to equip the younger generation not only spiritually, but also practically and in the area of technology. Many young people in Lesotho, especially in the more rural villages, do not have opportunities to learn how to use technology.

Piet has been running computer classes for a few young guys (ages 18-23) from our community. The majority of these guys are either out of school, finishing high school via evening classes, or have dropped out altogether for one reason or the next (finances, lack of motivation due to lack of career choices, etc).

The classes have been running off and on depending on the busyness of our schedule. Lately the classes have been on hold while we completed the Beat the Drum program as well as our October camp.

The few classes that Piet has held up until now have been quite good. The content is relevant to where they are at and there is such eagerness from the guys to learn and an excitement about acquiring a new skill. I have also been helping out a bit in terms of what content to include and one-on-one attention as the guys have needed it.

For the past three weeks or so, four guys have been coming to our house (the only available venue with power!) for computer training. A few of them had never used a computer in their lives. Trying to explain to them the functions of the keyboard seemed more challenging than I would have expected. I was taken aback when attempting to describe “Caps lock” and they were struggling to understand the difference between capital and lower case letters. It reminded me that I was very privileged growing up and being able to learn the basics of a computer in elementary/primary school.

At the moment we are working on consistency, both from our side and from theirs. We know we need to be consistent in terms of day of the week, time of day, and location of the course, which will in turn help them to be consistent in their attendance of the classes. 

We are currently in the process of making the computer classes more “official”. Piet has divided the material into two-month modules for the students to go through. After completing each module they will receive a certificate (though not yet accredited) which will count as a “recommendation” when applying for a job.

It is exciting as we look toward the future to see the potential this computer training course has, especially if we receive any donations of computers/laptops or fundraise for them. There will be an official meeting place once the LXP base is completed. This is a unique and much needed opportunity for the next generation to be equipped to do something great with their lives. 

Orange Bracelets, Preschoolers, and an “Outside of the Box” Camp!

Our LXP Lesotho team leaders have recently returned from America. In the 5 or 6 weeks that they were gone, we were asked to hold down the fort and continue with all existing ministry tasks. During that time we were also able to start up a few additional ministry projects.

As you remember, we ran the Beat the Drum abstinence initiative the first week in August. We have tried to keep the fire alive at the two schools we were working with. It has definitely been a challenge to try and meet the needs and requests of 1200 students between the two schools. At St. Phillips High School, we have an open door of which we have taken full advantage. One afternoon a week we venture to the school and run what we call “abstinence club” with about 70 students. The club is open to anyone who would like to hear more about remaining pure and enjoy fellowship with like-minded students. The topics we discuss are things like “how far is too far?” or “how do I control my feelings and desires?” The students are open and eager to hear more. During Beat the Drum, the students who have made commitments to abstinence received orange bracelets as a reminder of their pledge. Still to this day they faithfully wear their bracelets!

At the second high school where we ministered during Beat the Drum, I (Leah) have started up a very informal gathering of girls who just want to talk about the difficulties of life and personal challenges they are facing.

The other new ministry project we have begun to run is teaching at the local pre-school once a week. We have an hour slot where we sing songs, play games, and teach Bible stories. A few weeks ago, we taught them about the seasons of the year. These three and four year olds glued plants and other things that represented each of the seasons.

Last week was our bi-annual youth and kids camp. The theme was “Out of the Box” and we truly tried to make it a camp out of the box with funky relays, scavenger hunts, and the like. The main objective of the

camp was to get them to think of themselves and their lives in greater ways than they ever have before. They
 can be or do anything they want to! They don’t have to be trapped in a box of other people’s expectations, cultural norms or even be limited by what they think they can achieve in their life. There’s more! During one of the sessions, the kids wrote down the things that are holding them back from achieving their full potential. Later that evening, each person took their piece of paper and put it in a box to represent putting these things, these strongholds, where they really

belong. On their off times at camp, the 90+ kids enjoyed swimming in the (very muddy!) lake and playing games like skipping rope and hula hooping. We had a few new kids that we met through Beat the Drum that joined us for camp. All in all it was a great time!

In personal news, baby girl Bakers is doing well! She officially has a name: Harmony Kgomotso. Her first name came about because she is a “beautiful blending” of two cultures and races, and her middle name is Piet’s actual first name (pronounced Ho-moat-so), which means “Comfort”. She’s growing well and the pregnancy is going great as well. I have to say this is one of the easiest pregnancies I’ve heard of. I haven’t had a single day of morning sickness and I’m actually enjoying it. I feel like I’m cruising through. I do have a few fears, though, about the birth. I am really trusting God for a smooth and quick birth that does not involve any interventions such as drugs or a caesarian. Please pray with me as I trust God completely for these things. Harmony is quite the active baby and we can’t wait to meet her come January. 

Truly Loving Africa,

The Bakers

Discipleship Takes Discipline

One of the hearts of LXP Lesotho (the organization that we work with) is to start simple churches (house churches/Bible studies) in the village. It is difficult for many of the elderly people to go to church. Or, if they do, some may attend churches that do not have sound Bible-believing doctrine. It is our aim to disciple these people with the Word of God and for them to continue discipling and encouraging one another as well.

Two weeks ago, we met with a few older people to start studying the Bible and to establish a house church. Unfortunately, none of the participants can read Sotho (or their eyes are too poor to see the words properly). We read through the Beatitudes from Matthew 5 and each one gave their input regarding the passage and what it means to them. We spent a nice time praying for needs of one another as well. The meeting time was very encouraging and they expressed their interest in continuing gathering regularly.

For a few weeks now, we’ve been visiting an elderly lady, age 85, in her home. Originally when we found her, her daughter had come from Johannesburg to look after her, and most likely to prepare funeral arrangements. The first time we saw her she was lying in bed, eyes sunken in and lost hope in her face. We thought she might die within that week. The daughter requested that we pray for her, which of course we did. Piet confessed later that his prayer was for the Lord’s will to be done, but in his heart felt that His will might be to take this old lady to Heaven. We returned the following day to check on her progress and were surprised to find her sitting up in bed. She had many visitors in her house including her son and daughter as well as another lady about the same age as she. It was a bit unclear, but it again appeared that they may be saying their final goodbyes. The daughter of this old lady remarked that our prayer gave her mother so much joy and hope the previous day that she requested we again ask for the Holy Spirit to come and visit them. We left them with a blessing and an anointing. About a week later, we went back to visit this lady. We found her house virtually empty. All of her relatives had returned to their home towns, for this lady was no longer dying! When we saw her on this day, she had just returned from town to collect her government issued pension money. She had walked nearly 3 kilometers all by herself to catch a taxi into town and another 3 kilometers back to her house! We were astounded. God has truly healed this lady. She is a walking testimony of joy and grace.

One final story of God’s grace and love is about a young man, approximately 28 years old, named Fusi. Piet has been playing soccer in the evenings at the community field for about a month now. Fusi, one of the players, was drawn to Piet and the work that he is doing for no pay here in Lesotho. Each day before and after soccer practice Piet and Fusi engage in conversation about God, doing what’s right, relationships, and purity. When Piet drops him off at the main road, he cannot help but thank the Lord for the curiosity of this young man and the opportunity to minister into his life.

Discipleship is often slow and progresses little by little, but God is always faithful. He hasn’t forgotten about His children here in Butha-Buthe. A great work has been started by LXP Lesotho and we have joined as fellow laborers. The work is still great and bit by bit we are tilling the ground. It takes discipline, patience, and God’s grace to water the soil. 

Truly Loving Africa,

The Bakers

Just Like Learning to Drive

When I (Leah) was 16 years old and had just learned how to drive, I could really care less about driving stick shift. Learning to drive automatic seemed difficult enough. After a couple of years, my dad started teaching me to drive stick in our 2007 Saturn, manual transmission. I remember when I drove from our house to the grocery store (which was like a mile) I had mastered it. I remember ^st gear, I stalled about 3 times in a row, and everyone around me was honking like crazy. I decided that driving stick was not for me.

another time driving a bit further with a lot more traffic. I couldn't pull out of 1

In 2009, when I decided to move to Africa, I realized the vast majority of cars on this continent are manual. One of my teammates took me for driving lessons for what seemed like an entire day. I clearly remember getting so upset when people were “watching me” learn to drive that day. Anyway, after lots and lots of practice I finally learned because I didn't have any other choice. The first day of driving around by myself and successfully pulling out of 1^st gear and not rolling backward felt like pure victory. I just had to get back up and keep trying. Luckily, I never gave up. If I did, I’m convinced I’d be walking everywhere.

Learning the Sotho language is a similar situation. In this country, people do speak a bit of English but mostly in the towns and more developed areas. The further out of town we move, the less English we find. This is because the majority of people living deep in the villages aren’t well educated. And this is our ministry hub. If I really wanted to, I could sit back and bring my husband Piet with me EVERYWHERE I went. I could fully rely on him to be my mouthpiece and I would be ok. But would my ministry be effective? Not very. Basotho people LOVE their language and their culture. Their faces light up when I greet them in Sotho and they laugh with joy when I stumble over a basic phrase.

I keep telling myself, it’s just like when you were learning to drive manual. I didn’t learn overnight; but I never gave up. Learning Sotho is difficult. I’m at the point now where I can hear certain words in a sentence and more or less hear where the conversation is going. It’s a long journey from here, but I won’t give up! I know eventually I will come out on the other side successful!

With that being said, I wanted to teach my readers a few basic phrases:

Hello: Dumeleng
How are you: Le kae?
I’m fine: Ke Teng!
How’s Life?: O Phetse Joang? (“U pete-se jwang”)
Where do you live?: O dula kae?
It’s cold: Hoa (“Wa”) Bata!

June 2013 (written by Piet)

Our time in Lesotho has been great and everyday we learn something new about the culture and norms of the village we serve. Leah has been picking up a few Sesotho words and actually using the words; the people love it when she tries to speak the language! This has made Leah to connect with the people and especially the mamas. They have invited us over to harvest maize (corn) to make maize meal (pap) and some have cooked us a meal with the little they have, it's truly humbling. I know it's not about the state of living, but whenever someone who lives on $2 or R12 a day provides a meal, my ego and pride crumbles to humility and humbleness. The scripture in Matthew 6 not only makes sense but becomes real. 

When we visited in April, we prayed for an elderly lady in her house for healing. Her one leg was swollen and she couldn't walk. Bearing in mind that people here live on farming and many of them need to walk to the fields to harvest, plant and take care of the crops. When we left the end of April she had already been healed and was telling all her friends about the power of prayer in Jesus name.  Whenever we walk through the village everyone stops us to ask when are we coming to visit them in their homes. In my mind, I wonder how can 4 people disciple a village of 1000-2000 people? One of our team members suggested that we start preparing people for simple church, so in a few months we will be starting with simple fellowship/home gatherings. You can pray with us for wisdom in that area.

So while we pray for people and disciple young men and women in the village of Nkoeng, we have identified the need for skill development e.g. computer, business training, etc but we also want to be realistic with the fact that we don't have a shelter to effectively teach these skill. However, I started computer class with a fews boy who are out of school or have dropped out. LXP has a land where we are developing a base. So far there are no complete buildings. We are currently working on a volunteer/visitor's accommodation and I want to invite all our readers to join us in this mission in either prayer, help to fundraise, or bringing a team to help dig or build.  

Every week in our village there has been a funeral. The younger generation is dying with HIV/AIDS or TB.

Often people don't take medication as they still believe in traditional healers or they are ashamed to be seen sick. If they do take medication it is often too late and their bodies cannot handle to high dosage. In 29 days, a team of 80 people from South Africa and America will be joining us to help with an abstinence outreach called "Beat The Drum" in the high schools. Both Leah and I have ran Beat the Drum before, so you may be familiar with the program. The first week will be training for the teams and the second week will be the outreach in the schools; it's a powerful outreach. The last day there is an opportunity for the students to volunteer to know their status by taking a HIV/AIDS test and commit to abstinence, I also want to invite you to pray with us for this program.

This weekend we had our youth leaders training retreat and it was a success! The theme was "Don't Go with the Flow." We addressed a few points including, be different, knowing their identity in Christ, going against the flow and the last one was go shine! These young people are contagious to their spheres of influence in the village.  They lead with confidence, character and even a bit of humor. 

As you all know we are expecting a little one. Leah is now 10 weeks pregnant. My wife got an infection two weeks ago and has been in pain. We think it's because of the very different living conditions and lack of running water. We have crossed
the border on three different occasions to see a doctor in South Africa and she was given medication. Please pray for her that it is totally gone and doesn't come back.

I want to thank you for you support and prayers, may you be blessed.

Prayer Points

1. Beat The Drum

2. Simple Churches

3. Leah's health and Baby Bakers

4. Base Development

Truly Loving Africa,

The Bakers

We have finally settled in our new home in the village of Ha Shepeseli in Butha-Buthe, Lesotho. We have been here for nearly two weeks now and boy is it COLD!  Though it is only the beginning of June, we know that the temperatures will get well below zero before too long. We are currently on a waiting list for a house with a few more amenities than the one we are in now.

This week, we are easing ourselves into the ministry with LXP Lesotho. We helped with the Saturday youth program this past Saturday and are anticipating a full week of house visits and the like. The Saturday program continues to run outdoors which is difficult during Winter. As a team, we are trusting God for funds to build a community hall to run not only the program, but camps as well. One of the goals of the ministry is to create house churches/Bible study groups in the community, so it is our hope to minister to a certain corner of the village of Nkoeng and hopefully plant a house church. We will continue to minister into the lives of the kids and youth and start one-on-one discipleship before long.

We are learning about God’s heart for Lesotho and specifically what he wants to do in the lives of the kids that are part of the weekly program and those in that village. God’s heart is for His lost sheep.

       “I myself will search and find my sheep.

       I will be like a shepherd looking for his

       scattered flock. I will find my sheep and

       rescue them from all the places where

       they were scattered…” Ezekiel 34:11-12

About two weeks before our big move we received some very exciting news! The Lord has blessed us and we have a baby on the way, due in January! We are thrilled and know that are lives are going to change for the better.

We will be the first to admit that leaving our home, our church, our job, and our friends in Johannesburg wasn’t an easy thing. We were comfortable where we were and it would have been easy to remain there. Before we left, the church (The Barn) sent us off like they did in Acts with Paul and Barnabas. As we were saying our goodbyes and as the church prayed over us, Piet said something very significant . God doesn’t always call us to the comfortable places. In fact, most times he doesn’t . But if it hasn’t cost us anything, perhaps we should question His calling. So, here we are! We have given our lives for Christ and for the people of Lesotho!

We have received so many encouraging emails and facebook messages as we transition into this new life.  Thanks to each of you! We also want to take this time to thank each and every person who gave monetary gifts as well. Every donation has really helped during this time. We have been truly blessed and we know that it is so WE can be a
blessing!

Truly Loving Africa,

The Bakers

Until All Have Heard

When God first called me (Leah) to Africa, I had always dreamed of working hand-in-hand with beautiful brown faces and pearly white smiles. I imagined the smells of Africa, the red dirt, the mud huts, the wildlife, and little bare feet. God also gave me the desire to meet someone someday. I dreamed that the love of my life would be deeply involved in ministry and would invite me to join him not only in his ministry, but also into his life as his partner forever.

Hanging out before the youth program starts!

One day, four and a half years ago, the dream started to become a reality.

Since I have been in South Africa, I have been involved in more than four different ministries. I started with my Adventures in Missions team of about 50 people in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa. We then moved to Port Elizabeth. At the end of the AIM trip, I decided I would call South Africa home. I then came back and worked with Lighthouse Family Church in Port Elizabeth. When I finally did meet my prince charming, he invited me to be a part of his ministry at Refilwe in Johannesburg. Circumstances caused us to search for the Lord’s next step for us. We ended up at Africa Ablaze for a few months, and once again, felt the Lord drawing us away, this time to work with the Barn Christian Fellowship Church. It is more than a year later and we once more feel the Lord calling us home to His heart.

I have always struggled a bit in terms of moving around so much in ministry. I always thought my ministry in SA would be firmly planted. I never understood what God was doing with us, but always trusted that He knew best. I recently read about Paul’s ministry and it really brought things into prospective.

Transporting water via horse and carriage

Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy…Then [Paul and Timothy] went from town to town, instructing the believers
to follow the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem…Next, Paul and
Silas traveled through the area of Phyrgia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit prevented
 them from preaching the word in the province of Asia...Paul and Silas then traveled
through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica…
Acts 16:1,4,6; Acts 17:1

Paul was an itinerant missionary. He went wherever the Holy Spirit led him and his companions. Acts speaks of how there were times when the Holy Spirit prevented them from entering a certain place for whatever reason. There were definitely times when I felt the Holy Spirit move us (Piet and I) from a certain ministry because of certain events that had transpired or were yet to transpire. He knows best. He loves us. He loves His people and desires that all will know Him. And isn't the point for all to hear? How can all hear unless we go?
  So we go.

It is time once again to move into a different kind of ministry. One that is close to our heart. One where we will clearly see the tiny footprints in red dirt; one where we may very well live in a mud hut; one where we will disciple; one where we will love deeply.

Lesotho.

We will continue to follow the leadings of God’s heart and consider the wise counsel of our prayer partners in our lives until all have heard.

We leave for Lesotho in less than three weeks. We have a place to stay in Butha-Buthe, we've rented out our house here in Joburg, sold our car, and we've recently bought a new car that will handle the crazy mountainous roads of Lesotho. We have put together a needs list for our transition into this new country and new ministry. Please contact us if you are able to help us make this transition a smooth one:

The house we will be moving into is completely empty (no shelving, stove, etc) so there are a number of things we need to either buy second-hand or receive through donations.

-cheap storage units for kitchen and bedroom
-second-hand oven/stove
-2 sets of curtains
-moving and transport costs (it is a 4-hour drive from Johannesburg to Butha-Buthe)
-set up costs
-monthly pledges for living expenses

Truly Loving Africa

The Bakers  

Village Life

The cultural differences between the Basotho people and black South Africans are few. This month of watching the Basothos looks very similar to what I, Piet, remember as a child. Most people here spend a lot of time and effort simply surviving. They farm for food, fetch water from distant taps using wheelbarrows and water jugs; some kids go to school while others stay home to shepherd livestock (below). Most of the elderly people sit outside and watch the sun rise and set each day, this has become a daily lifestyle to most people in the villages. Season by  season, most people in the villages struggle to keep their mud house standing and have to reapply layers of mud after every rainy season.

We have experienced the multiple sides of ministry here with LXP Lesotho and feel this is where God has called us. It is a huge move for us and one that will require a lot of adjusting, but we are excited to take the plunge.

Walking through the village to visit families

To quote Elizabeth (our friend and missionary), LXP is “lifestyle ministry”. Everyday is a way of life lived out amongst the locals. Many of the days are spent waking up and trusting God to give new perspectives to the villagers and new opportunities to us as his vessels.

The things that we do, however, include house visits, a weekly youth program each Saturday afternoon, discipleship of the young leaders, homework help, as well as helping Godfrey and Elizabeth with their building project.

A granny dressing me in a Sotho blanket like a local!

I, Leah, feel most at home when doing house visits. It is such a blessing to meet people where they are at and visit them in their homes. We help them with daily tasks or simply sit and chat about how hot it is outside. Of course the ultimate goal is to bring them closer to Jesus. It is important to make sure that they are challenged in their faith or simply brought into a first time relationship with God.

I am smiling as I see jars of peaches here in our kitchen. I received three jars from old ladies in the community this week. It is their gift to us for visiting them. I love the fact that their doors are always open and they truly appreciate a personal visit. That single jar of peaches is something they may not be able to afford to give away, but they do it with gladness.

There is one particular old lady that we have visited quite a few times in our month here. She has been suffering from a swollen and sore ankle for nearly a year and we trusted the Lord for her healing. Yesterday as we visited her, she was no longer wearing a wrap around her ankle and was telling us how she can walk up and down with no pain! She then called for another old man to come and sit with us. She explained that he has been complaining that his legs have been hurting his as well. She told him that she wanted us to pray for him so that he, too, could experience God’s healing as she had.

There is another elderly couple in the village who are in the process of building an extra room on their house. It was on its way to completion when the rain destroyed part of this room. As the builders in this area generally attend to many projects at once, it was taking quite a long time for this room to be completed. We took out a day this week to assist the builder (pictured right). We collected big stones from the mountain and helped mix the mud to hold it all together. The mud mixture is red sand, donkey dung, and water. Surprisingly, these houses hold together quite well, though the Basotho people continuously add layers of mud throughout the year. They generally do not add cement as it is costly and not easily afforded by many.

And so, it is time to say “bye for now” to a people we are just getting used to. We are now entering a time of transition from one country to another. Thank you for your support and your prayers for us!

_________________________________________________

Truly Loving Africa,

The Bakers

Piet leading worship at "Amazing Race" Camp

Greetings from Lesotho!

Hello Friends and Family!

Greetings from Lesotho! We have now been in Butha Buthe, Lesotho for a week now and are really enjoying our time here!

We have just finished with our youth camp: The Amazing Race which took place over Easter weekend and coincided with the school holidays. The youth (ages 8-20) are all from the same village and are apart of the LXP youth program each Saturday afternoon. LXP offers camps bi-annually as a time of refreshing and spiritual enrichment in the lives of the youth. On this particular camp, there were 80 youth and the theme scripture for the camp was Hebrews 12:1-2a.

The camp kicked off with learning about what a race is, and the fact that we are all running the race of life.

The first morning they were unexpectedly woken up at 5:00am to “persevere” through a three hour trek up and down the mountain. As the weekend continued, they learned about throwing off the sin that holds us back, running with others (teamwork), running victoriously, and running well (self-discipline).

The camp ended Monday morning and we are now taking a few days to relax and revive ourselves!

For the rest of the time while we are here, we will be doing the necessary things for our return to Lesotho in the near future.We are really enjoying our cultural immersion here in Lesotho. Piet is able to brush up on his Sotho language and I, Leah, am learning bit by bit as I go. We are also loving the warm hospitality from the Sotho people.

Prayer Requests:

-Please pray that we make the right decision about where we should stay long term. We have found two possible options. One is in the town (running water, electricity) and the other is in the village living among the people and like the people (electricity, but fetching water daily). 
-Please pray for other logistics as well such as renting out our house in JHB and selling our Ford.

Truly Loving Africa,

The Bakers

Margate Outreach

Two weeks ago I, Piet was in the city of Durban (in another province/state) for an outreach with the church young adult’s band. We drove down on the Monday (about a 7 hour drive) and started ministering Tuesday morning. The objective of the outreach was to reach the young people in schools in a way that is relative.

We arrived at the schools at 8am and played praise and worship songs at their morning assembly gatherings. We then invited them to a “praise party” on Friday night at the youth group of the church we were partnering with, Margate Baptist.

One of the school assemblies

We worked with both a public/government school as well as a private school. We were so impressed how the students were going crazy for God! They loved the music and we felt we connected well on their level. We ministered to about 300 students the first day and 400 the second day. 

On Friday night it was time for the praise party. There were many different ministries and churches represented in that church hall. There were probably about 800 people in that church. Many of the young people gave their lives to the Lord and there were a lot of volunteers to pray with them.

School #2

On Saturday, we ran music/worship workshops at the church. We invited other churches worship leaders and band members from the area. One of the things we taught was how to take a popular gospel song from a CD and make it relevant for a church service.

At the end of the outreach the team was exhausted, but it was such a nice time. We really enjoyed working with the church in Margate and reaching out to the young people. God moved in Margate! Overall, I really want to thank everyone for your prayers. I know many of you were following the outreach on facebook. I have personally been inspired and reminded by the Lord to continue to use my musical gifting so that many could know Him.

While I was in Durban, the Lord reminded me of the story in the Bible about the people with different talents. The one who didn’t use his got it taken away. The point of a gift is to use it. Edwin McManus asks the question “is an instrument really an instrument if it isn’t played?” During that week I learned, I served and I grew. One can never stop growing in God.

__________________________________________________________________

In other news concerning the life of Piet and Leah, we are just one day away from a personal discovery and outreach to Lesotho. We have been praying about moving out of South Africa and into another African country for a while now. We feel that God has opened the door for a ministry in Lesotho called LXP Lesotho. If you remember, we took our team on an outreach trip to Lesotho in October.

We are joining good friends of ours, Godfrey and Elizabeth, who lead the organization. On Monday, we are going to the town of Butha Buthe for a month to have deeper exposure to the culture, language, and ministry opportunities. We are confident that God has called us long-term, but we are using wisdom to “test the waters” before uprooting our whole life in Johannesburg.

Please pray with us at this time as we are handing over Year of Your Life/S2S and trusting God for new opportunities in Lesotho. We feel this month will be a refreshing time as we listen to God’s voice and serve the people of Lesotho. We are so excited!!

We are still available via email for this month, so feel free to send messages our way!

Truly Loving Africa,

The Bakers

S2S 2013!

Hello family and friends! 

Last week was the official launch of our gap year program 2013! As you can see by the title, we are in the process of changing our name. There is another church in our area who runs a gap year program called "Year of Your Life" and they have kindly asked us to change our name. Our slogan for the last year's team was "Sold out to Serve", so we decided to adapt this as the new name for our program (S2S for short). 

The structure of our team is slightly different this year. At this point we officially have three students (all guys!). We also have the leaders: Piet, Cindy, and myself; as well as two girls, Cassandra and Maxine, who work full-time in children's ministry at our church. These two ladies help out quite a lot in our school ministry and other aspects of children's outreach with the team.

We took our team to a Christian campsite in Hartebeespoort for an orientation week last week. We did lots of team building games and sessions regarding attitude, values, leadership, diversity, trust, and conflict management. This was a great time to connect with the team and hear everyone's stories. 

This week we have started up working at the primary school, high school, youth group, and kid's club. We will also be working again with the retirement home, a baby shelter, after school playtime, and we also hope to start up an initiative in the informal settlement (township).

We are excited about this year and anxious to see what the Lord will do. 

We are still praying about our future and feel that the picture is slowly coming into focus. We will be thrilled to update everyone when the time is right.

Thank you for all of your support over the years. The other day I realized I have been in South Africa for 4 1/2 years! I can't believe how the time has flown.

God bless, dear friends

Love,

The Bakers

A White Christmas

Hello Everyone!

We trust that you had a very lovely Christmas holiday and that it was spent with family, friends, and loved ones. Wherever you were, we pray that you felt the love and presence of the Lord.

We ended the YOYL 2012 year with our graduation ceremony where each of our 7 students were presented with certificates of completion for their year of service. The very next day we boarded the plane bound for San Francisco.

Piet and I were very spoiled in our 5 weeks in the US! We had such a great time and we were sad when it finally came time to leave.

Most of our time was spent being wined and dined by old friends for me, and new ones for Piet. We eventually got to the point where we were no longer hungry and simply ate because it was that time! We were treated so well and loved by everyone that we were able to see though we were saddened that time simply did not allow us to see everyone we would have liked to!

Our time in Livermore was spent with my parents, Grandparents and a few dear friends. We took a week to explore parts of Southern California making sure not to miss Disneyland! On the way, we spent a few nights in Yosemite where Piet saw snow for the first time. He will definitely say that this was a big highlight for him! We were also in Redding for a week visiting the Stirring and a few of my old college friends. Piet felt right at home and fit in so well with the Stirring culture. We can truly say that our time away was precious and we have come back refreshed and ready for this new year.

Today is our second day back to work. We are working out the kinks of the YOYL program and preparing for the students to arrive on the 5^th of February. We will have our Orientation week from 5-8 February and hopefully will start off the year with a bang!

Please do join in praying with us and for us. Not only for this year but for us personally. There are a lot of things on our hearts at the moment, though not much we can share at this point. We are still praying about our future in ministry and open to whatever (and wherever) the Lord has in store for us.

To those in the US, thank you to each one who gave us a meal or even a cup of coffee. Our time with you was truly valuable and will not be quickly forgotten. To those in South Africa, thank you for receiving us back with open arms. We look forward to 2013 with you!

All our love,

The Bakers