The Bakers Family

In the midst of tragedy...

2012-02-17T12:37:00.002+02:00

I am sitting here and writing this with a heavy heart and tired eyes after a very long and draining day. But first let me back up a bit.

Our team has been helping in a local primary school for the past three weeks now. We have helped with a few swimming galas (competitions) and we have been helping with extra classes after school as well as sports coaching (swimming and cricket). The team agrees that one of the most special parts of ministering at the school is connecting with the teachers on a personal basis. We have enjoyed so much being able to assist in their classrooms and getting to share our stories as well about why we have joined the Year of Your Life program. They have also asked many questions about our church and trying to wrap their heads around our whole belief system.

Jump forward to one week ago, last week Thursday. We arrived in the teacher’s lounge ready to cover math books, which has been our assignment for many weeks now. The teachers came in one by one with tears in their eyes. We then learned that a boy in grade 5 (age 10) named Tyler had passed away that morning from crones disease. We knew that at that time we needed to be extra supportive and gentle. We also learned that the memorial service would be held at our church.

Tuesday and yesterday two girls from our team and I helped Tyler’s teacher prepare a poster board of pictures and notes to Tyler from his classmates.

Today was the memorial service. As we were preparing for the day and for the service, we sadly learned that yet ANOTHER child, also in grade 5, had passed away this morning. She stopped breathing after swimming class; exactly a week after Tyler. Understandably the teachers were a wreck. Everyone is scared and paranoid. We will be helping with the preparations of the second memorial service as well.

At that moment we decided that we need to claim that ground for Jesus Christ. One day next week we want to stop our program and join in unity to cover the campus in prayer.

Won’t you join us in praying for these two families that have experienced loss as well as plead the blood of JESUS over the students and teachers that remain?

We believe with all our hearts that it is God’s perfect timing for us to be in this particular school. We see evidence of God at work in the midst of tragedy.

Sold Out to Serve

2012-01-30T10:53:00.001+02:00

Good day friends,

At the moment our house is silent. The only sound that can be heard is my own sniffling and sneezing, and that of my husband in the next room.

We hope and pray that all is well in whatever part of the world you find yourself in today. The first month of the year is nearly over, yet I’m sure it’s been a significant one.

Our “Year of Your Life” program has gotten off to a great start. In the second week of January, we went away with our 4 students for an orientation week filled with team building games and preparing our hearts for a year full of service to the Lord. We were blessed to be given a camp ground free of charge, with some of our food sponsored as well!

Shortly after our opening week, we gained a 5^th student. The five students (4 girls and 1 guy)

are between the ages of 18 and 22 and have a heart for giving back to the Lord. They have incredible attitudes and have given 101%. They have great ideas and we know that God brought them under our care for a specific purpose. For God to work IN them and THROUGH them.

The year is heavily focused on children’s ministry in our church as they are the future of our country and our world. Statistics show that if a child does not receive Christ in their lives by the age of 14, the chances of salvation later in life are marginal. The team serves in children’s church, weekly kids club, and the youth group.

The second of three “branches” of our ministry is to the local schools. Beginning next week, we will be involved in sports coaching and after school tutoring with primary school kids. Because these extra mural activities haven’t begun yet, we have been availing ourselves to help the teachers in whatever way possible for the time being. We spent the whole of last week covering text books for math students.

The third branch we are giving a great effort into is reaching out to our surrounding community. Community life in South Africa is so different from that of America, or even of SA several years ago. Every house has securely gated and barred itself in, away from the outside world. The realities of crime have made this absolutely necessary, but in the same way, have kept potential friends out as well. The students themselves have come up with creative ideas to connect with our neighbors and see the need for consistent prayer walks. We have plans to revamp a public park just across the road from our church in a few months as well as other outreach initiatives to bring people together.

Here are a few highlighted events of the months to come that we will either be planning or helping to execute: Wonder Women’s Tea (for all ladies 13 and up), Dad’s and Lad’s event, Silver Ring Thing (abstinence program for teens), and Engulfed Music Festival.

Blessings to you as YOU TOO make a difference in the lives of those around you.

All our love,

The Bakers

Hello 2012!

2012-01-02T20:40:00.002+02:00

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Welcome to 2012!!

Our dear friends and family, we are so excited and blessed to be entering this brand new year full of God’s blessings!

We pray that each one of you had a blessed holiday season spent with family and loved ones and that you have reflected on things past, things to come, as well as the love of Christ which holds us together.

We have just returned from 10 days in Port Elizabeth, my previous home. We and 2 of our friends from church traveled the 12+ hours and spent many days on the beach and catching up with old friends. It was very relaxing and a nice time to completely recharge. While away, we celebrated one year of marriage! It has definitely flown by and we are thankful for each other and this year.

We have made of point this holiday to reflect on the year gone by and have seen just how challenging it has been, but with it, we have seen the immense work of God in our lives. The month of July was particularly hard for us as we had a lot of frustrating things happen. Piet’s visa to the USA was denied, my South African visitor’s visa was due to expire and I was within days of being deported, we were scammed in the purchase of our first car, we were facing the normal challenges of the first year of marriage, and we weren’t fulfilled in the ministry we were in. I personally felt I would crumble to pieces if things didn’t turn around quickly. It was not long after, that we saw the undeniable hand of God in our lives when we were able to buy a new reliable car, we found ourselves in a new ministry, and we bought our first home together. I can also very confidently say that we have never been happier in our marriage as we are right now. The first year is a bit rough! (They don’t tell you those things when you are getting into it!!) But we have pulled through and we feel confident that we have grown leaps and bounds in knowing one another and growing in the Lord together.

YOYL 2012 Team! (with 2 missing)

Tomorrow it is back to ministry for us, and in a few short days we will begin our orientation with our four YOYL (Year of Your Life) students!! We have been blessed with four days of free accommodation for team building and getting to know our new team for the year. We are more than excited. Again, we have seen God’s favour over our ministry as we have been preparing over the last three months. The doors of the community and our local schools have opened up to us, and the finances have been pouring in. When our office closed for Christmas a few weeks ago, we had already raised 2/3 of the money needed for the year.

We have constantly seen the “fingerprints” of God over the past year. We urge you, our friends, to continue searching for those undeniable occasions (not coincidences!) of God moving in the lives of you and yours. 2012, Bring it on!

Blessings to you,

The Bakers

Focusing on the Ultimate Heavenly Goal (by Piet Bakers)

2011-12-11T15:58:00.001+02:00

I’m so challenged how Jesus kept the ultimate objective and passed it on to the disciples and to us today us as a church (His people).

The Life of Jesus

When we look at the character of Jesus and his life on earth we see someone that came with a mission and a purpose. He was sent by God to save -- that’s why we call him Saviour!

His mission was to accomplish the following:

His Mission
Scripture
-          To be equipped and prepared by studying the law
-          To equip the Saints for good works (Serve) and ministry
-          To share the Gospel with no compromise
-          To fulfil the prophesy given by the Lord to Isaiah
- Luke 2:46-47
- Matthew 20:28
- Mark 4 :1-2
- Isaiah 61

Jesus was a faithful man due to the accomplishment of his mission (John 17:4) “I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.” When I read this passage I asked myself, what will help me to utter the same words that Jesus spoke? What rings in my heart is passion and focusing on the ultimate God-given mission. With all the happenings in this world it makes the focusing process difficult, but nevertheless God has told us through his Word not to worry (Matthew 6: 20-36). This does not mean that everyone must leave their job and go for full-time ministry. You can do ministry and equip within your working environment. I call that true outreach. If we remain in Him, He will remain in us.

What is His desire?

In His prayer in John 17 He mentions these words, "I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.’’

Jesus desires that you and I should be in Him just as He is in the Father, meaning have a deep relationship with him. He doesn’t just want us only but he wants everyone, even those who will believe through our words (the gospel which we utter). I believe if we can make these three things a priority share the gospel, equip the saints (mentorship), and serve the world will be different. This is not something to be done in full time ministry only; it is applicable in our work place as well. We shouldn’t be a religion but we must show the world that it is a lifestyle. For something to be a lifestyle it needs to be applied through a day by day standard of living.

The Ultimate God given mission is still the same as when it was given to Jesus, disciples, our forefathers and us today. Nothing has changed except the fact that the world has wooed us with money, power, fame and materials have become our ultimate mission. These things must not replace Jesus or else we should come back to the drawing board. The reason I am sharing this blog with you is because I want to remind us that wherever we are God has placed us there for the purpose of His glory. He gives us our heart desires so that we can make him known.

Brothers, sisters, and family in Christ, let us focus on the Father’s mission. As Paul says in Romans 12:1-2, “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age (some translations say “the patterns of this world”) but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Remain on the ultimate God-given mission because our life has a purpose in this world.

Rembrandt's "Woman Taken in Adultery"

With Love

The Bakers

A Childlike Faith

2011-11-08T11:48:00.002+02:00

We can really learn a lot from children. They are funny and so completely honest that it keeps us humble.

As the Year of Your Life staff prepare for next year, we have already begun serving at Kid’s Club on Friday’s and Children’s Church Sunday mornings. The kids are bright and excited about their faith and just as honest as ever. Sunday morning was no exception.

The teachers in children’s ministry have done a really great job to build a strong foundation with the kids teaching them at such a young age how to worship and how to pray. Many kids come forward to pray or the day or pray for the offering. It is music to my heart and helps me (Leah) to connect with God that much more.

Children’s church has green shirts on sale each week that they encourage the kids to buy and wear when they come for church or kid’s club. One little boy’s prayer the other morning was just too cute: Dear Lord, please help us to wear our green shirts ever day!
We cracked up…it was too sweet. But, another little boy’s prayer just cut to the core of my being:

Please bless all the poor people who stand at the streets and beg. Please, God,
give them warm shelter, food to eat, and help them to know You.

We can learn so much from these innocent little ones. Their faith is precious, new, exciting, honest and so genuine. If you tell them Jesus will heal their broken leg, there is no doubt in them. They teach us to believe we can move mountains. God created them this way. He created everyone this way, but often life gets in the way. We forget the innocence of our youth. We would do well to listen to their advice. They see faith as active and powerful. How are we doing as a Church? Are we praying for the poor? Are we reaching out to them? Are we making sure that they have HOPE in the only one able to give it? “Silver and Gold I do not have, but what I have I give you” (Acts 3:6). We have the living God in us. Are we giving it away?

Sometimes people make excuses that children are too young to understand Bible stories or moral lessons or can’t memorize Scripture. But clearly they are wise beyond their years! They are soaking up what we teach them; both good and bad. Never doubt the faith or the prayer of a small child. “For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these (Luke 18:16)”

Next blog title: Focusing on the ultimate Heavenly Goal!

Lately I (Piet) have been challenged regarding keeping the ultimate objective which Jesus kept till the end. Our ultimate goal or objective determines our productivity in ministering the Gospel. I believe we were born for a purpose and that purpose is to be used to bring glory to our Father in Heaven.

Stay tuned!!

Prayer Request: Wisdom for leading YOYL, Funding and fundraising for YOYL

Only through HIS love,

The Bakers

Malibongwe!

2011-10-26T19:05:00.002+02:00

Dear friends,

I couldn't think of a title for this blog, but as I'm sitting here, the church band is rehearsing the song entitled "Malibongwe". I wish you could hear how beautiful it sounds with people singing from all different races. Blacks, whites and coloured in harmony. The Zulu word Malibongwe means "Let Him be praised".

I must first apologize (or apologise) for the silence. Piet and I have been having such an awesome month that we have forgotten to sit down and write about it. We have been going non-stop and have hardly even had a chance to enjoy our new house.

Family Photo at Shangan Village

September 19^th we started our new ministry at the Barn
September 26^th we moved into our new house
October 1^st my parents arrived
October 2-6^th Kruger National Park
October 7-14^th Drakensburg
October 17^th Parents left
October 18^th Back to ministry

Zip Lining in beautiful Drakensburg!

We had a really great visit with my parents for two weeks! It went by so quick that we felt sad sending them back to America. We spent four days searching for the Big 5, and another week in the mountains playing lots of Bingo!

So now here we are back to work and preparing for next year’s Year of Your Life program. Our application deadline is less than a week away so we are just praying that God will bring us the right people into our program.

Besides being in the office to prepare for YOYL, we are keeping busy as Piet has joined the church worship band, we are regularly attending our “Committed Couples” cell group, and involved in all 3 church services on a Sunday, and not to mention trying to run an olive business on the side. So we are definitely not bored! Recently we were able to give a bit of support to a choir group here in South Africa from some of the profits from the business.

What a handsome man I married!!!

Halloween is next week. It’s funny because all the years that I (Leah) lived in America, Halloween never seemed like a huge deal to me. I grew up thinking that as long as I didn’t dress up like a witch or a ghost Halloween is a perfectly acceptable holiday. I've recently been seeing many photos from the US on Facebook of pumpkins, Halloween costumes, and decorated homes. It reminds me that it's so different here, especially in a country that has witchdoctors and practices animism. Since moving to South Africa, my perspective has changed quite a lot and I've seen the dangers of celebrating Halloween. All of the local churches here have “Celebration of Life” services on or around Halloween to discourage participate.

That being said, our church is having a Celebration of Life service this Sunday night with the theme of “I’m so Glad I’ve Found YOU”. We are walking in the spirit of praise and celebration and life.

In other news, I’ve had a few requests for our newest address. You can send mail to the church at:

                Piet and Leah Bakers
                The Barn Christian Fellowship
                PO Box 635
                Bromhof 2154
                South Africa

Have a blessed week friends and family!

Sending our love from Africa!

The Bakers

A House and A Home

2011-09-21T19:31:00.001+02:00

Ok!! For the blog I’ve been waiting to write for quite some time now! I feel like I’ve been a bit vague about what’s been going on in our lives lately. So here it goes…

First of all, LIFE IS AWESOME, GOD IS FAITHFUL, and WE ARE AT PEACE! There were so many months where we just felt like we were struggling to get through a day because things were just so challenging and difficult. But it feels like life has turned upside down and we are back on track.

October is such an exciting month for us and we are only a matter of days away. Piet and I have now officially moved from Africa Ablaze and are working under our local church, The Barn. Our contract formally starts Oct 1, but we

have already begun (this week and next week) in order to get two weeks off next month. We LOVE what we are doing. Basically, we are helping to create and facilitate a gap year program called “Year of Your Life” ran by the church. Here is a brief description:

The “Year of Your Life” is a gap year programme aimed at young people who are interested in giving a year of their lives to discover who they are in Christ and to make an impact in their communities. The goal of YOYL is to equip young people for practical service. It will give them a solid Christian foundation to be applied throughout their lives whether in full-time ministry or in the work place.

Year of Your Life is a year of service filled with skills development, foundational theological training, and equipping through practical ministry and outreach.

Piet and I will be leaders of the program as we go into schools, put on community events, and go on short-term mission trips.

My (Leah) parents arrive in South Africa on October 1. Piet and I had planned to visit America in October, but unfortunately the visa didn’t work out this time around. So, my parents made a decision to come and see us instead. We are thrilled they are coming. We’ll be traveling with them and it will be a great time of relaxing and family fellowship.

In one of my recent blogs, I spoke about how we have been trying to raise money to pay rent for a new place since we are no longer staying at Africa Ablaze. God has truly blown us away. We didn’t expect to be so completely blessed. We are now getting a salary from the church that we really didn’t expect and all of our supporters have just been so wonderful. When we put our need out there, we got an overwhelming response from those that love us. Someone said to me recently that she is so glad that we are well taken care of because she hates it when people say, “We are poor because we are missionaries.” Who came up with that rule?? God blesses those that faithfully serve Him. Now, of course this doesn’t mean we are rich, but we don’t have to worry about not having enough gas in our car or bread on our table. After all… do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:25-26

But I still haven’t gotten to the best part yet! We have just purchased our first home!! Again, God has blessed us so abundantly. I never thought we would be able to afford to have a mortgage, but God has proven over and over that He is SO interested in our lives and SO interested in our ministry. Almost all of the paperwork has gone through and we will move in October 1! We cannot wait to be in our own place.

What is left, but to give Glory to the One whom it is due.

Piet and I are happy. We are constantly learning each other, learning together, and growing together.

Thank you so much for your faithfulness in our lives, thank you for your prayers, and for your financial gifts. We are overwhelmed with love from our friends, our families, and our Heavenly Father.

Blessings, peace, and Love

The Bakers

Webank

2011-09-08T12:10:00.000+02:00

Hi friends,

Some of you may not be aware that we are still currently staying at Africa Ablaze. We have asked for a one-month extension as we are only able to move into our new place on October 1. We have offered to give of our time for the next fews weeks while we are here.

I wanted to share this article with you that was written by one of our prayer partners in Africa Ablaze Ministries. It is regarding another career camp that was held at the end of August.

Enjoy...
Love the Bakers

When a camp is about to start at Africa Ablaze, one knows for sure that another awesome experience is on its way . . .

Piet giving a debrief/ motivational chat

The WesBank Career camp held at the campus last weekend started with involvement of various schools, where principals were asked to select top students to be part of the career camp sponsored by Wesbank.

Approximately 42 students joined in to be part of an unforgettable weekend with lasting memories.

On Friday, the students and the Africa Ablaze team were invited to attend an introduction day, hosted at the Wesbank premises.

WesBank gave us a warm welcome. They really went out of their way to start the camp with a blast. The students attended a superb luncheon at WesBank canteen and thereafter were divided into four separate teams, each team wearing different color t-shirts, also sponsored by WesBank.

Each team then joined in on different presentations and an in-house tour of Wesbank. The presentations were given by professionals in fields of human resources, marketing and operations/technology. The students were assisted by a team of WesBank volunteers.

To wind down the afternoon, all teams and WesBank volunteers went onto the field and had a game of soccer – a team effort at its best – inter connecting and having fun.

Upon departure, all students received from WesBank a bag with refreshments, for the return trip back to Africa Ablaze campus – an opportune time to reflect on a memorable and amazing afternoon.

The career camps are of great impact and highly beneficial. It gives insight, belief and encouragement to cross the huge bridge to set a life goal and start working towards reaching it today. Offering motivational support to assist each one in making their dreams, goals and careers a reality.

Giving them a hope and a future and building a better tomorrow is extremely important.

A number of the students come from the rural settlement areas. In reality, plenty of them study with candle light, and have neither conditions as good as ours nor conditions as encouraging. Many walk literally bare foot to school for miles, sometimes going to school without food in their lunchbox or missing basic study essentials.
Yet, we have top students within the rural community. I would certainly call them overcomers.
Is it their attitude that makes the difference . . . The encouragement they receive from us, they pass on to one another.

One factor that Wesbank and Africa Ablaze have in common is that when Africa Ablaze prepares for a camp you know that everything has been prepared properly, including the finer nuts and bolts . . . someone has gone ahead of every step you take . . . and the same applies with Wesbank . . . par excellence in team work and in every other aspect.

Celebrating a victory!

Students Creating a protective "house"
for an egg that will be dropped!

On Saturday, the WesBank team came out to the campus, to do lectures with the students and give them their full support and according to the well-filled program.

Encouragement from the WesBank team members, and their personal testimonies

" ..I started off here . . . I persevered through it all . . . and this is where I am today."

The sessions were a great encouragement to each student.

On the Saturday evening, it was time for spiritual input into the lives of these students. Not only were they ministered to by a music band but by the end of the evening after an altar call was given, the majority surrendered their lives to the Lord. A new beginning. That’s what it really is about. A sea of hands surrendered for the extension of His Kingdom.

An adoption website where students attending the camps can link to individuals in the corporate world is in a planning phase. This will give the students an opportunity to have a mentor playing a parental role through a personal connection towards a successful career path.

As we continue to supportively stand behind Africa Ablaze Ministries, who are continuously reaching out not only into the community, but also the rural area community and the less privileged, making the difference – we are giving a hope and a future for a better tomorrow.

Hyundai Career Camp

2011-09-02T17:16:00.000+02:00

Last weekend, Africa Ablaze held a career camp sponsored by Hyundai. The camp was a very great success, and even we learned a few things about Hyundai. Hyundai didn’t start out making cars; they also make machinery, ships, TV’s and so much more!

The CEO of Hyundai South Africa came and spoke to 100 grade 11 students about how they can get involved in the industry. The motor vehicle industry is currently in need of about 250,000 people to fill empty positions! It is hard to believe there are so many opportunities even in this crazy time we live in. The students also received other news that they enjoyed hearing: you do not need a degree from a university or technical school; all you need is to pass grade 12! It is actually incredible hearing from some students. Many of them believe that you can only be successful if you happen to fall backward into luck. They don’t see the need for trying hard, because, according to them, it’s all based on luck. I believe the weekend opened their eyes to show them that if they finish school, and finish well, they have great opportunities waiting for them.

Hyundai brought in about 10 of their vehicles for all to sit in, and “try on”. They even had a competition that allowed 10 students to go for a quick spin in their newest models (ride, not drive!).

When they weren’t attending sessions with the Hyundai team, these privileged students from 6 different schools in Johannesburg were involved in games and teaching activities. One very cool thing that they did was a Lego activity. Half of the team was “builders” outside creating something with Lego’s, half the team was inside, and one runner that would communicate between the two groups. Each group had identical sets of Lego’s. The idea was to test their communication skills to see if both sets of Lego’s would end up the same based on the information that was given to and from the runner.

This camp was unique in that it was the first ever career camp for both disadvantaged and advantaged students. Generally we pull grade 11 students from four rural schools that we minister into. This time, we opened the opportunities to two public schools from our surrounding area.

As is customary at Career Camps, the weekend ended off with an invitation to accept the call of God on their lives, which many of them took.

Praise God for another awesome time with young people!

Blessings,

The Bakers

Making a difference

2011-08-21T13:47:00.000+02:00

Sometimes we come across people and we make a difference in their lives without even meaning to. I heard a statistic recently, and even if it’s not completely accurate, I think the principle holds true. The statistic was that in any given day, you will make a difference in 14 people’s lives. The difference may be good or bad, but it shows the influence that we have over others. Recently, I made a difference in someone’s life, and didn’t even realize it.

This particular guy works at Woolworths, which is a grocery store that sells “high-class” food. They are known for being more expensive, but also better quality. At Africa Ablaze, we collect any food that has passed the “sell by” date from Woolies 5 times a week. Piet and myself do the collection about 2 out of the 5 times a week.

One of the first times we started going, there was a guy who was very much set in his ways. He was very worldly, if I can put it that way. Always talking about how crazy his weekends are, how much pot he smokes, and how much sex he has. I tried as hard as I could to ignore this obnoxious 27 year old. He would even bring the conversation back to me and try to find out how crazy my lifestyle is. At one point he was even banned from working with us when we came because of his continuous inappropriate comments.

As I continued going, sometimes with Piet and sometimes with other staff, the conversation grew more spiritual. But being the type of person that he is, he would solely argue his point that Jesus never existed and never listen to any other opinion. On one particular day, he didn’t even let me get one word in. A few days later, he apologized and let me share my opinion. I just started asking questions about his beliefs to see where he was at. He mentioned that he believes God exists, but has never seen a sign that Jesus still works in our lives today. So I left him with a challenge. I told him that he should pray every day for one month that God will show him something that will prove the existence of Jesus. I promised him, that without a doubt God would do something as long as he kept his word that he would pray that prayer for 30 days. I told him I’d come back to him in one month and he was going to tell me what happened.

I didn’t see this guy for a while, and Piet and I went away for a week, but when we came back, I had heard word from another staff member at Africa Ablaze that this young man from Woolies had accepted Jesus Christ! I was shocked, but so glad.

About a week later I went into the store and there he was with a huge smile on his face. I told him, “I heard the good news.” He said that yes it was true that he had accepted Jesus and he is now a new person. He was just disappointed that he didn’t get to tell me himself.

I just wanted to share that small yet powerful testimony! We really never know who we are influencing throughout our daily lives. It’s important that we, “live a life worthy of the calling [we] have received.” Eph 4:1.

"Here Am I Send Me"

2011-08-15T09:42:00.000+02:00

Howzit friends?

The sun is shining and the Son is shining on our lives! We feel blessed to be alive and even more blessed to be doing the work of God everyday! We have just returned from a powerful evening church service that has given us encouragement to never miss an opportunity to preach the Gospel of Christ.

Leah and the Camp Kids

As some of you may be aware, we are in yet another transition in our lives. We will be leaving Africa Ablaze (our current ministry) at the end of this month. In short, we feel very confident about moving on to pursue even greater challenges. We love working with the career camps and other parts of the daily ministry that we are doing here, but we (as well as the leaders of the ministry) acknowledge that we cannot reach our full potential here. We are not able to use our gifts to the fullest and we want to maximize our impact.

We had two or three long chats with our leaders at Africa Ablaze and we are all on the same page as far as our leaving. It was a mutual agreement and a very natural progression in mine and Piet’s life.

Yes...this is Piet on the left!

At the moment, Piet and I are living rent free on the ministry property. Because we are moving on, we will need to find a place to rent…and quickly! We should be out of here by the end of August. There are lots of places available, so we aren’t too worried about it, but we need to add a bit more support to our budget. We need to raise an additional $600/month for an apartment. We are hoping to find 6 families to support us $100/month, or 12 to support us $50/month. If this is something you are able to do, please contact us. So far we have raised $125/month. We have no doubts that God is taking care of us and will “provide all of our needs according to his riches in glory” (Phil 4:19).

So what’s next? Well, we are currently praying about working under a local church leading outreaches, mission trips, homework clubs, and helping with the youth group or Bible studies. We are very excited about this next chapter and have experienced so much peace in recent weeks. Please pray for us in this time!

Thank you for all you are to us. We certainly wouldn’t be here without all of you cheering us on.

Blessings and love,

The Bakers

Victory!

2011-07-28T22:02:00.001+02:00

Yesterday, after months of trying to get all the paperwork together and 3 hours in the South African Home Affairs office, I received my spouse permit!! For so long I’ve been putting it off because there is a minimum income level, but yesterday we decided to just go for it and see what happens. Amazingly, we saw more than a couple miracles happen.

First, I had to stop off at my doctor to get a form filled out that I am not mentally ill. She had given me one at the beginning of the year, but I had since misplaced it. Anyway, I was really disappointed in myself, and also disappointed knowing they were going to charge me the full price for an appointment that would take less than 5 minutes. I was in and out and when I had to pay, it was about half the price I normally pay. I didn’t ask questions, I just took the blessing! Miracle One.

Secondly, I assumed that I had to first apply for an extension on my current permit (visitor’s visa) before I could apply for my spouse permit because you have to apply 30 days before your current visa expires, and mine was expiring in 8 days. The lady told me not to worry about the extension; she would just push my spouse visa paperwork through. Miracle Two.

Third, the lady who was processing my paperwork said there is no way that my visa would be denied!! Wow! Miracle Three.

Fourthly, there was NO FEE on my visa. It didn’t cost me anything, except that three hours in the building and walking up 7 flights of stairs a number of times. Miracle Four.

After we left the building, we celebrated! The process was so much easier than we had imagined!

Piet and Leah

Praise God that there is now one less stress to worry about!

         "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
          You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God,
          you will receive what he has promised." Hebrews 10: 35-36

So, I guess the tunnel isn't as far as we thought. :)

Our new car! 2003 Ford Focus

Thanks for the prayers!

The Bakers

Pain in the Night, but Joy in the Morning

2011-07-26T09:46:00.000+02:00

I realized lately that I haven’t properly explained the set up of Africa Ablaze. There are about 12 of us that live on the Africa Ablaze campus. The campus has 4 dorms, and 3 private houses, a multi-purpose hall, horse arena, and more. Piet and I live here full-time, and whenever it is time for camps, the students arrive at our door step and we entertain them for the duration of their stay. I have to admit I’m happy to be married because my days of staying in dorms are OVER!

The children who come on holiday camps have been booked in by their parents. We don’t advertise it as “church camp”, but it is an invitation to understand who God is and how he works in our lives. The June/July camp definitely topped the April camp. There was a real spirit of God’s presence touching the lives of the young people. Many received Jesus into their hearts.

I have to admit that when we first joined the ministry I wasn’t super excited about camps and working with kids. Piet and my specialty is youth. However, I find myself playing the part of the mother on camp, and I hear the phrase, “You are going to be such a good mom one day” said much more than expected. Piet also finds his role an easy one to play: camp facilitator and worship leader. He is learning well how to blend authority, discipline, and friendliness. Everyone loves him.

Every day there were sessions where we would sing songs and teach a moral or Biblical lesson with the kids. We had a lot more opportunities to teach this camp, which is not only fun, but has really helped us grow.

As I mentioned a while ago, life just seems particularly difficult lately. Piet and I feel that we are going through a lot of trials. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s still a distance away. Many of you have probably heard about our car by now. We had bought a really great car for a good price, but unfortunately we had been scammed and the mileage had been set back, AND the car needed a new transmission. Luckily we caught it in time and were able to get our money back. And here we are, a month later, we have bought an excellent car! We got an even better price on a car with very low miles. We are very confident that our new Ford Focus will last us years. We want to thank EVERYONE who helped contribute toward our car! Thank you so much!! We would have never done it without the loving support of each of you.

At the moment, Piet and I have been given an amazing gift of a condo about 50 minutes away. We requested a week off to really just take time to pray about our future. In all honesty, we aren’t sure if we are at the right place at Africa Ablaze. We felt called, but now we doubt. We are taking quality time to think about our goals, visions, and plan for the future and to seek God’s heart for us. Things were just getting too much, and I personally felt like I had nothing left to give until I slipped away and completely recharged.

We are also (yes…the trials continue!) in the middle of trying to sort out my visa. It’s literally been months trying to get it right. I have about 9 days left on my current permit, but I am getting an extension this week, and will apply for a spouse permit. We actually don’t qualify for the spouse permit because we don’t make enough money, but we are praying for a miracle!

We know this is a lot. I don’t usually like writing so much because I never know if anyone will read till the end. But thank you for taking an interest in our lives. We have some real desperate needs at the moment if you can please stand with us:

-Pray for God to speak clearly about our future this week
-Pray for the visa extension to go through and grace for a spouse visa
-For the enemy to remove his hands from our lives
-For the financial stress to be taken away

We really do love each one of you. We feel a connection even though we are far.
“Jesus, your love has no bounds” –Phil Wickham

The Bakers

Psalm 35

2011-07-17T19:23:00.000+02:00

A few weeks ago, I was reading my friend Ashlee’s latest blog post. I don’t normally advertise for other people, but this one was especially good: http://ashsouthafrica.blogspot.com/2011/06/gone-overseas-and-its-brought-me-to-my.html . It really describes something I’ve felt lately.

A little while back I was reading Psalm 35, and it really stirred up my heart’s cry and brought up a lot of questions that I was discussing with Piet.

The author, David, is pleading with God to take away his enemies and to deal with them justly. He also mentions that God’s heart is for the poor and how he rescues them and sees them.

10 You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them.

13 When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
14 I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother.

22 O Lord, you have seen this; be not silent. Do not be far from me, O Lord.
23 Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.

It made me think, however. But just hear my thoughts… Does God really rescue the poor? Does he really save them from those who are too strong for them? If I’m totally honest, living in this country makes me question if he does. I see young children with torn clothes, shoes with holes, and starving bellies on a regular basis. These children are unwashed and lonely. Some of their parents have died and have no one to look after them. It just seems so unfair, and I began to ask the Lord if he really does see them, or are his eyes blind toward them. How many genuine prayers are being unanswered? Why does he leave them to suffer? I began discussing my concerns with Piet.

There is an unfortunate reality in South Africa. There is a spirit of laziness and abuse. So often the little money that a family might earn is used on alcohol to drown the sorrows that they feel. Not long ago Piet and I were speaking to someone who lives in a shack who wants to buy a Mercedes! Their perceptions are so distorted. They think the status of a nice car trumps feeding their family because it shows that they are doing “ok”. Have you ever seen a Mercedes parked next to a tin shack? It’s very strange and certainly counterproductive.

Piet made the comment that God gives us the ability to reason and to understand the things that are right. People in the informal settlements are crying for food, yet not making the effort to get a job. There is one guy who attends our church who calls Piet on occasion looking for a job, yet he makes no effort to find one himself. He thinks that just because Piet is married to a white lady he has lots of money or can “pull strings” for him.

I get very encouraged by all the small businesses that are run by the side of the road or otherwise because these people have seen the vision and are running with it and can then provide for their families. Some of the hardest workers in South Africa, however, aren’t even South Africans-it is those who see and appreciate the opportunities- the Zimbabweans, Nigerians, and Malawians that have nothing for them in their home country and come to South Africa for work.

The truth is that there are the many innocent children living below the poverty line who are sadly living in the sins and disregard of their parents. And the truth is there in David’s words: O Lord, you have seen this. And as Piet was relating to his personal experiences, some are very content where they are at. It doesn’t mean that they must go from a shack to a mansion. If they were able to eat that day, then God took care of them. God saw their need and he rescued them. Piet even as a young boy knew that God looked after him because he never went without.

So maybe it’s not up to me to judge God and to say that he doesn’t answer their prayers. He does. In ways that are tangible for each one.

Piet’s comments: That being said, we acknowledge that everything happens for a reason and our task is to seek God’s will in the situation. I (Piet) have come to an understanding that we might not fix the situation but if we continue witnessing the truth, people will be set free, not forgetting that we should cultivate goodness within our lives so that the fruit of goodness is produced. It is impossible to produce true kindness (doing well to others) without practicing goodness. Our words are not enough, but the Godly character in us makes our speech true. Character is a witness of what is inside us.

Thank you Lord, as David says later in Psalm 68:5, YOU are the “father to the fatherless, a defender of widows…”

Stirred by compassion,

The Bakers

Jesus Christ - what a Superstar!

2011-06-14T12:18:00.000+02:00

Last week was Piet's birthday. One of our favourite things to do is go to the theatre and see live shows. I took Piet out for the night on Tuesday last week to see Jesus Christ Superstar live at the casino about 15 from where we stay. It was a really great rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and very accurate to Scriptures. Of course it is a modern twist of the story of Jesus, but very nicely put together.

After the show, we decided to get something hot to drink and walk around a cute book store. It reminded me so much of Borders or Barnes and Noble, just a much smaller scale. I found Piet engaged in conversation with two gentlemen. They were involved in ministry in one of the local townships and were asking about our ministry as well. We shared stories and encouraged one another. We talked for a while and they wanted to pray for us. After they prayed for us, they handed Piet a handful of money! We couldn’t believe it we were in shock.

The whole way home we were just laughing and thanking God. We just kept thinking that this is exactly what happens when you pray and ask the Lord to provide for you. Praise God, the new car is coming!

Love provides

The Bakers

God is Moving!

2011-06-05T19:52:00.001+02:00

After recruiting 45 students from multiple different high schools in the area, we at Africa Ablaze hosted our first Church Planting Camp. The most dedicated Christian students were chosen to be a part of the weekend. We equipped and trained them about how to start their own small group and how to grow other like-minded students into mature followers of Christ. Our sponsor had a vision to reach 1,000,000 souls, and we have already started counting!

Roasting Marshmallows!

When we ventured back into the schools this week, we had many young people coming up to us with their “Reach for Life” Bibles in hand to tell us that they had already formed groups and were meeting regularly. These youth have seen the vision and how to attain it and they are making something happen.

Oh yeah, I (Leah) have started preaching in the schools. I’m still learning and growing, and it’s pushed me way out of my comfort zone. Piet preaches regularly and he’s such a natural.

In other news, life is hard. We are facing lots of challenges personally and even in ministry. We know that life has its ups and down, but right now seems to be especially difficult. I’m so thankful that we have each other to cling to during this time, and of course God is carrying us through it all. We’d be nowhere without Him.

Our car died yesterday. We are officially fixing it for the last time, parking it, and selling it. At this point, I’ve actually been considering throwing it off a cliff so I never have to think about it again. BUT God is good and we have someone who really wants to buy it; who knew. Luckily we aren’t far from buying our new and improved car. About a week ago we only needed about R10,000 for our new vehicle, but now it’s looking like we will need an extra R5,000 in order to repair our old car. Plus, we won’t be able to get the amount we were hoping to get from it. So, in translation that is $2142. I’m so thankful to God that we have raised and saved as much money as we have in the few months that we started trusting God for a new vehicle. It’s incredible really.

Thank you for your prayers, we really need it.

Pray for:
-The last finances to come in for our truck/SUV
-Ministry
-Wisdom and understanding
-Peace

We love you!

The Bakers

P.S. Some have been asking how to give. The best way is to send a check written to “Discovery Church” with “South Africa” in the memo, sent to Discovery Church, 5860 Las Positas Road, Livermore, CA 94551, USA.

Impartation and Expectation

2011-05-23T22:12:00.000+02:00

Lately our friends have been telling us that we are the busiest people ever, and lately I’ve been feeling that it’s true!

Career Students in front of the Campfire

This past weekend we hosted a career camp for 100 students in grade 11. These camps take a lot of preparation and work to pull off, but we can say that it was successful. Career camps are one of our favourite things that we do here at Africa Ablaze because we are giving students from the rural areas a very unique opportunity. This weekend, a company called Iliad sponsored the entire weekend and paid for 100 students to come and even volunteered their Saturday to come in and share career guidance with these high schoolers. The students work so hard to come on these camps because they know that only the top students in discipline, grades, and attitudes get chosen to come.

The CEO of Iliad speaking to the students

Piet was the front runner of the camp and worked very hard to make sure everything went smoothly. We had a few glitches with transporting the students to and from schools, but everything turned out ok. Because we had the students for the whole weekend, we got to play lots of games and activities with them and share the Gospel. They are all very receptive to the Lord because we see them regularly through school ministries as well.

One thing that you may not know about South Africa is that the education in the rural government schools isn’t always the best. These career camps are such great opportunities for these students to make something of themselves and realize that they can rise above their backgrounds and be successful. Something that I picked up over the weekend from the series of speaker is to never give up. Continue persevering through circumstances until you achieve your dreams and your goals. And this is exactly what these students must do.

Crazy 11th Graders

About two months ago, one of the school principals came up to us to say that each one of the students that have previously been on our career camps have finished school without failing and have received distinctions! How incredible to know that we are impacting the lives of young people in such a tangible way!

We also have an update about our SUV that is on the way. We have received some of the money, but we are still waiting for the rest to come in. We already have $5482 in cash and assets (we just need to sell our car, but we’ve already had two offers). At this moment we only need $2857 to purchase our car. Remember only a few weeks ago we had saved about $450 and now look where the Lord has brought us! We have found such a nice SUV that we are highly considering to buy because it is exactly the price that we are trusting the Lord for and it’s a very practical car, and very good on the dirt road. Our goal was a new car by October, but it seems that we might get it a lot sooner, which is great. We don’t want to finance the car, but we are trying to negotiate that we can make three payments on the car since we don’t have all of the money in yet. So please stand in agreement with us.

Thank you for your prayers, here are a few prayer requests that we have at the moment:

-The finances for our SUV that is on its way.
-We are hosting a church planting camp this weekend. Please pray protection over all of us at the campus and our families, as well as for the souls of the young people we will be equipping to start small groups that will hopefully turn into churches.
-Our marriage
-Wisdom in ministry

We love you all, thanks for your support. We definitely cannot do this without you! We are an extension of all of you.

Love is Real.

The Bakers

Lesotho!

2011-05-10T21:37:00.001+02:00

Since we’ve been married, we have had some crazy adventures together. A few weeks ago we were given a weekend away at a friend’s holiday home. Murphy’s Law struck and due to twists and turns in our journey, it took 7 hours to travel 2 hours away. But, our Lesotho trip trumps them all. When we’ve told our story from this weekend, everyone’s been saying it sounds like a bad movie.

Over this past weekend, we decided to take a trip down to Lesotho because I needed to extend my visa, and attend our friend’s wedding. Friends of ours very graciously loaned us their car since ours would never make the trip. If you don’t know where Lesotho is it is a land-locked country inside South Africa, about a 4-hour drive from Johannesburg, and what an interesting place it is!

We left Friday afternoon as soon as work ended. We figured we’d get there about 9:30 or 10. We were wrong. We missed our exit off the freeway, but decided to just go another way which would only add a bit more time to our trip. We finally found our way and arrived at the Lesotho border…it closed at 10 and it was now 11:30.

We saw a sign for a guest house so decided to check it out. The thing about Africa is that everything closes very early. Hotel lobbies don’t

The bride and her father with a lovely backdrop

stay open after about 8 and people know they must arrive before then. The place was dark, but we tried looking around for a phone number or something. Suddenly a huge dog started barking and chasing us. I (Leah) screamed like I’ve never screamed before and we flew into the car like superman. We found another man trying to enter who advised us that we had to use another border if we wanted to enter, so we drove to the other side and entered there. The unfortunate thing is, we went through all the procedures and they checked our passports, but we drove right past the station where they give us the entry stamp. The final officer checked our passports and we were through. Now there was a long drive through the country to the other side to get to our Bed and Breakfast. We eventually got to our room at 3am after having to pay someone on the street to use their cell phone.

Piet dancing with the mamas

When we tried to leave on Sunday morning, we ran into problems we did not foresee. We tried using the first border (the one that had been closed), but they wouldn’t let us through because we did not have entry stamps and claimed we had been there illegally. Piet continuously apologized and tried to convince them to let us go. They said they would let us through if we pay R4000 ($570), which we definitely didn’t have. They sent us to the other border which we entered through and see if they can help us. We prayed the entire way. In Lesotho, we couldn’t call, but we could receive calls, and luckily, one of our pastors here at Africa Ablaze called to check on us. We told him what was happening and within a few minutes, there was an emergency prayer chain going for us. When we arrived at the other border, there was nothing left we could do except explain the situation and pray for grace. I am so thankful for a husband that can speak Sotho. He spoke with the ladies working at the window and they agreed to let us out with only a R100 fine ($14) for negligence on our part. We got through the border and rejoiced for the grace we were shown.

Sotho people in the village

It was a very crazy weekend, but we still enjoyed ourselves and got to see many old friends. Lesotho itself as I mentioned is a very interesting place. It is high in the mountains, so it is very cold all the time. The people walk around everyone they go with blankets around their shoulders. And there are no shacks made from tin anywhere in the country. The people are very resourceful and build themselves stone houses no matter how poor they are. It reminded me a bit of Kwazulu-Natal (in South Africa), but still it was nothing like anywhere I had ever been before. And even though the country is only 4 hours away from Johannesburg, it is significantly safer. What a cool experience to see another part of the continent we love.

We praise God for our safety and for bringing us back to our home.

Love is an adventure!

The Bakers

Our New Truck is 6 Months Away

2011-04-27T19:44:00.000+02:00

Hi friends,

We have posted two blogs this week as our internet access is finally at our finger tips. These blogs have been sitting on our computer for weeks just waiting to be posted!

Things are going great here in the southern hemisphere. It’s beginning to get colder as we move into winter. We have had to break out our jackets and warm hoodies the past few weeks.

We wanted to give you an update on something we have been praying long and hard for. About a month ago on a previous blog I mentioned that we are trusting God for a 4x4 vehicle; hopefully a truck or a nice SUV. We have been doing a bit of looking and quite a lot of financial planning for this. The roads here are just terrible and our little car is having a tough time handling them. We have already had to do major servicing on our car. So, we believe it’s time for an upgrade.

This new car will really help us in ministry to transport people, food, and equipment. With a bigger and more durable car, we will be able to help out more than we are able now. Part of our ministry involves going into the townships (rural areas) and rural schools.

I have pushed our numbers and figured out a way where we can have a new vehicle in exactly six months. The cost of a decent used 4x4 is R60,000 (approx $8500); so this is our goal. Piet and I get a small salary from the ministry that basically covers our food and household expenses each month. Also, we get a petrol (gas) refund whenever we use our car for ministry purposes. So, we have decided to save both earnings for the next 6-months, plus sell our car at the end of the period. This will give us R30,000, exactly half of the cost.

So, we are able to give half toward the car, but this is where we are asking for your help. The other half would be about $4200. I have calculated that if we can find 7 willing people/families to contribute $100 per month for 6 months, we will have it! It’s that simple.

If you believe in our ministry, what we are doing, and in us, then please consider helping us out in this area. We would greatly appreciate your gifts.

God bless and thank you for your support,

Piet and Leah Bakers

Touching hearts and nations

2011-04-27T19:22:00.001+02:00

Dear friends,

Our 17-day April camp was a great success! We had a few days off and it was back to normal ministry for the last two weeks.

Roasting Marshmallows!

The first three days were leadership training with all of the leaders of the camp. The first full week was children’s camp, and the second week was youth camp. We had about 60 or 70 kids on children’s camp, and about 50 youth on youth camp. But! The really amazing thing is that there were less than 10 youth camp registrations two weeks before! The camp is an outreach mostly to urban young people who are introduced to the Gospel on camp. The time with the kids and youth was really incredible and we saw a lot of passion and growth in these young people.

Piet and I invited three of our strongest youth from Refilwe YMS to join as leaders. Ishmael, Itumeleng, and Siyanda served whole-heartedly and really enjoyed themselves. Itumeleng, age 21, plays the drums for the worship team at our church and on camp he taught three or four kids to play drums! As always, there are problem children at camp. There was one little boy in particular that no one could get through to. On one occasion he threatened to run into the electric fence if we didn’t open the snack shop. But whenever Itumeleng spoke to him, he was suddenly fine. He was such an awesome leader, and out of 20 leaders, he received the best leader award! Congrats Itumeleng, we are so proud of you!!

Itumeleng receiving his award!

Although we loved the children’s camp, it was very draining so we were glad to move into the youth camp where they could look after themselves a bit more. Piet and I basically coordinated the entire two weeks ourselves. We are thankful that we had strong leaders to back us and support us.

The youth camp was a lot more active. We played night games, a blindfolded hike, bon fire, sunrise hike, fear factor, paintball, go karting, and more! Because of the maturity level of these youth, we were able to do teaching games and we even burned all of our fears and anxieties that we had written out.

Piet had the opportunity to sit down with one young man who had really been through a lot in his life. He has been coming to camp for years and even all the leaders said this year something had happened in his life. Even after two weeks, I saw him leave as changed person and one who was ready to forgive those who had wronged him.

Small Group Time

We praise God for all that has happened in and through this camp. Thank you for all of your prayers and support in making this work possible.

Piet and I are so happy where we are at. We feel that we are really making a difference in the lives of young people.

Love perseveres,

The Bakers

Rights and Miracles

2011-03-21T20:33:00.000+02:00

Today is a public holiday: Human Rights Day. Although I’m not sure what exactly we are celebrating (our rights I suppose) I am thankful for the day of rest!

This morning we drove to Pretoria to a scrap yard for some much needed parts for our car. Unfortunately, most everything was closed seeing as it’s a holiday. But, we did look around at a handful of used car lots to find a new car, and we did find some prospects. We just need to sell our current car, and raise another R45,000 ($6500) and we can drive away in a new dirt-road-ready 4x4. Just to give you an idea of what how bad the roads are in our little area of the world here is a picture of a road we drive down almost every day.

Please stand in agreement with us as we are really trusting God for a miracle; we aren’t sure how much longer our little VW Golf will last on these roads. Someone has already offered to buy our car at a very good price and we are very tempted to hand over the keys. We are still looking and praying and it will probably be months before we can actually buy something unless God provides.

This Friday is the commencement of a leadership training for all who want to be involved in running camps. Piet, Michelle (the other volunteer our age), and I will be running the majority of the weekend. Beginning Sunday afternoon, we will be running two 6-day camps back-to-back. It’s going to be really intense and exhausting, but we are looking forward to ministering to all ages during this time.

Africa Ablaze was founded with the intention of starting a Missions Bible College. After 30 years of fundraising, they are finally able to achieve this dream. Piet and I will be taking various courses through the college to gain further Biblical knowledge and missions experience.

Piet and I feel very strongly that we are at Africa Ablaze for a reason. We really feel like we are making a difference and impacting people’s lives regularly. In our school ministry, Africa Ablaze is able to reach out to 10,000 students a week! Piet and I fit in very well with the ministry and staff and we can see that we have definitely fulfilled a need and a void. All in all, we are doing well. We are enjoying life and trying to utilize our downtimes to invest in our newfound marriage.

There is power in Love,

The Bakers

The Hole in My Hand, Not My Heart

2011-03-14T15:12:00.003+02:00

Yes, I have a hole in my hand…sort of. In our new house, we don’t have hot water in our kitchen tap, so we boil water to wash the dishes. About a week ago, while washing dishes, I poured boiling water directly on my hand. Needless to say I screamed and cried it was so painful. Here it is more than a week later and most of the skin on the back of my hand has peeled off to reveal what Piet says is “albino skin”. I feel a bit like an alien.

This is the first internet access I’ve had in weeks! Four to be exact. It’s been impossible to keep everyone updated and I feel a bit guilty. Piet and I have been using our phones to access emails and things, but it’s difficult to write anything meaningful on a tiny keypad.

The Bakers Family with our new dog Tess!

Gosh, so much has happened in the last four weeks. We have gotten settled in to Africa Ablaze ministries and are hard at work. We are actively involved in running school assemblies three days a week, Piet helps with maintenance and things on site, I help with the financial books, and we run camps. This past weekend we held a career camp for 44 high school students from the rural areas. A company called WesBank sponsored the entire camp and came in on the Saturday to run career oriented seminars with these 11^th grade students. Piet, myself, and one other volunteer that stays on the property ran all the games, facilitations of the weekend and just invested into these high schoolers. On Saturday night, Pastor Willem had a spiritual conversation with them and led almost all of them to the Lord! They came into the camp with a hunger for their future, and left with an indwelling of the Holy Spirit and a calling to fulfill. The great thing is, we see most of these kids in school assemblies during the week so we are able to encourage them in their walk with

God. Also, many of them will be returning as leaders for the
youth and children’s camps.

We have two more camps coming up between 27 March and 9 April. We are busy preparing all the teaching topics, games, and fun activities for the kids and youth.

There is always a lot to be done around here so we need prayer for rest and refreshment constantly. Also, our car is in the shop, but that’s a whole other story in itself…I’ll save that for next time. Please pray for either the finances to fix it, or for a miracle of a new car.

Oh! Piet and I have gotten permission to take time off in October to come to the U.S.! I am so excited that Piet is able to visit. I am also beginning to get a bit homesick for America, which is strange because this never happens.

We love you.

Love is stronger than death,

The Bakers

I guess change is good

2011-02-14T11:27:00.000+02:00

Sadly our time at Refilwe is coming to an end. We have had so many great memories here and the people have literally become family.

A few weeks ago, Piet and I met with the leaders of a ministry called Africa Ablaze. Piet grew up under this ministry when he was a lot younger. He attended the youth group and became a believer under the care of Africa Ablaze. This ministry runs weekend and weeklong camps for youth during the school holidays. They also go into schools and minister during morning assembly, plant churches in the rural farm areas, as well as host a career and life skills camp for youth who are a bit older.

I was taken a bit off guard when the Pastors offered us a position right on the spot. Our area of expertise would be working with youth who have just finished high school and need leadership skills, spiritual and job training. Africa Ablaze has partnerships with a few big companies that will pay for this gap year program and allow the students to do job shadowing. At the end of the year, the students will be able to come on staff at these businesses.

Piet and I went away from the meeting feeling different. We couldn’t imagine walking away from a program that we’ve worked so hard at building up. We’ve built strong relationships with these youth and how can we just leave with no one to follow behind? But, also, inside we felt a sense of peace. This program had such similarities, it was almost exactly what we were trying to achieve: to make the youth of this generation sustainable both spiritually and physically.

After praying about it long and hard, we decided that it was where God was definitely leading us for this point in our walk with him. After we made the decision, we learned that we would also be acquiring something from the ministry: free housing and electricity, food support from a local grocery store, a small cell phone and fuel stipend, as well as a small cash stipend. God is really taking care of us as we move forward in His perfect will.

This past weekend we moved into our new cottage (which is personally my 4^th house in a year!!) and made it our own. We are excited about this new chapter in life. Please pray for us in our journey and email us direct if you want to hear more!

Jesus, lead on, we will follow.

The Bakers

Leah and Piet Bakers

2011-01-31T14:50:00.000+02:00

As requested, here is a picture of the Mr and Mrs!

Red Hair and a Dirty Face

2011-01-31T11:17:00.000+02:00

She was about 5 years old, dirty, missing one of her front teeth, and so frightened. She began to cry when she realized she was alone and maybe lost. Every time I tried to approach her she ran away with a look of pure terror on her face. Piet urged me from inside the car to keep trying.

About 5 minutes earlier, we received a call from Isaac, a good friend and YMS leader, that we had left something at the youth house. We had just arrived home from a whole afternoon of Saturday Live and I was really tired, and the reality was that we could pick it up in the morning when we were there for church. But I decided that we could go and get it quickly. But there she was: this tiny little thing with pale skin and the brightest of red hair walking at the end of the dirt road from our house. We wondered if she had run away from home. We were also scared that she would dart out into the busy road at the end of our country road, as she stood just feet from on-coming traffic contemplating her next move. I tried asking her where her mommy was, but she would only point and then run quickly away from me. I don’t blame her for running away. She had never seen me before and how would she know that I didn’t want to hurt her? After many times of trying to talk to her, Piet got out of the car and moments later we noticed a police bakkie driving on the main road. We flagged it down and they were ready for action. We showed them this fragile thing walking away from us a few meters down the road. She resisted a bit when the police came toward her, but I was surprised that she eventually took his hand and walked back to the bakkie. He asked me to speak to her, but she only spoke Afrikaans, so Piet spoke to her and she said she wanted her mommy. They took her with them into their vehicle to take her home.

After they drove away we continued on to the youth house. As I was driving I got really emotional and misty-eyed just thinking about how Jesus had put everything together perfectly that we were all there at exactly the right time. What if we hadn’t been there to find her? What if we had decided to wait until morning to go? What is she wandered into the street? I got really overwhelmed that God really does care about each sparrow and every lost sheep.

Today, he left the 99 to rescue the one snotty-nosed, dirty, but very precious child with no shoes lost in search for her mommy.

Love finds the lost,

The Bakers

Yho!

2011-01-24T15:00:00.000+02:00

Yho! What a crazy last few months! I have definitely been neglecting my blog as I’ve hardly had a chance to just sit down and contemplate all that has happened.

I have now been married to my closest friend for almost a month. Time sure flies. We had the most beautiful wedding. It was all that I could have asked for – and a gorgeous blend of African and white culture. I loved every second and cried when it was over. I tried so hard to hold onto every moment, but it slipped away from me like the blink of an eye. It was really great having my parents, brother, grandparents, along with a few overseas friends at the wedding! I pray they left with a bit of Africa in their blood.

We returned from our honeymoon on Saturday, and what a great time it was! It was such a blessing for us to go because it was a gift to us! We would have normally had to save up for a year to be able to afford such a luxury.

On our honeymoon we ziplined, rode quads (ATV’s), went white water rafting, relaxed by the pool, cooked together, went out for nice dinners, and just enjoyed each other. One of my favourite parts about the place we stayed is that there wasn’t a broom, sponge, or dish soap to be found! The cleaning ladies made sure that we didn’t move a muscle in terms of cleaning up after ourselves. Maybe this is normal for a timeshare, but I don’t remember it any other time on vacations with my parents.

Monday is my first day back at work. We took a long, well deserved holiday, but now it is time to get back into our routine. Saturday Live will commence the beginning of February along with leadership training courses for our guys in the youth house. YMS may look a little different this year, but more on that once we are back in the swing of things.

Piet and I are living in a very cute little cottage just 5 minutes down the road from Refilwe. It is so calm, peaceful, and safe here. The place is truly a gift from God!

Besides that, God is taking care of us. He provided so many things for us in our house, and we are blessed with good friends, family, and loved ones all around us.

Love is eternal,

The Bakers

His Mission	Scripture
- To be equipped and prepared by studying the law - To equip the Saints for good works (Serve) and ministry - To share the Gospel with no compromise - To fulfil the prophesy given by the Lord to Isaiah	- Luke 2:46-47 - Matthew 20:28 - Mark 4 :1-2 - Isaiah 61