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