Christmas Time in Johannesburg!

As many of you have been following us on Facebook or even have seen us recently in person, you may be well aware of the really weird, but overall good last few months.

At the moment we are in a season of waiting, growing, and new adventures.

As you know, we were in the US during July and August. During the time we were away, there was a security issue with our house in Lesotho and it made us seriously consider transitioning out of Lesotho. We were already in a good position to transition as two ladies had stepped up to run the course for us anytime we decided to leave.

After we returned back to Lesotho in early September, there was another security and safety issue in which we truly believed it was time to go. By the first week of October our stuff was packed and we were on our way back to Johannesburg. We are still in contact with the ladies who are now managing the business courses and will continue to visit a few times a year. We will help facilitate a small section of the classes along with several other facilitators.

Since moving back, Piet has been busy with new business ventures and opportunities. He is focusing very heavily on business mentoring especially with high schoolers. Currently, he and a partner are training and recruiting girls and guys either just out of school or in grade 12. These young people are learning hands on business skills in four types of businesses and sales depending on their preference.

Business Mentorship

We will also be following up with a few other leads in ministry and volunteering opportunities in the
New Year. One thing that is slightly difficult about ministry during this time of year is that the schools have closed and will only open again the first week of January and many businesses are closing very soon as well. It is quite challenging to start new projects at the moment, but we are confident that we will be quite busy in January!

Birthday Boy!

You may have also seen that myself (Leah) and the kids had to make an unexpected visit to California a few weeks ago to renew my SA visa. I’m happy to report that it was an extremely quick process and everything went very smoothly. I’m now able to apply for my permanent residency, which has been a long awaited process!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with some dear and cherished friends here in Johannesburg. Every year I am very intentional about celebrating my favorite holiday with people that have become our family

here.

Summertime Carols by Candlelight

We are REALLY enjoying the Christmas season. Now that Harmony is almost three, the wonder and excitement of the Christmas season and the birth of Christ is evident. We pray that you experience it too in the coming weeks!!

Loving Africa,

The Bakers Four

Quick Update September 2016

Hello friends!

We have been back in Southern Africa for just over two weeks now and wanted to give a quick update.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in the US and already miss our family and friends (old and new!) dearly! I, Leah, lost my grandfather just before we flew back to South Africa. We were blessed to be able to spend quality time with him, say goodbye and be there for memorial service. Piet was especially encouraged by attending the service as he learned a lot about Grandpa’s background and his purpose driven life. Because of the circumstances we also spent time with family that we hadn’t originally anticipated on seeing during this visit. This was definitely a bittersweet ending to our trip.

Traveling with two small children is not easy, but we managed to get home all in one piece! After we arrived we had several VERY early mornings while the kids adjusted back to the time zone. We are all doing well and have adjusted to life in Lesotho once again.

We have one last Business Skills Training for 2016. The program has evolved slightly as we are adding a second week to our intensive week training and have added more spiritual training. This will allow us to double our enrollment to 30 instead of 15 students per class as we will split the class in half and run two classes simultaneously. We are excited that some of the future potential Business Skills Training facilitators are attending a formal training this week in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. This training will supplement their knowledge in training individuals in their cultural sphere.

Next year is going to look differently for the Bakers family and we would like to give you a more detailed update very soon! Keep an eye out ;)

We really had a great time in the US. As we sit and reminisce for a second, so many wonderful memories flood our minds. Meaningful conversations around the table. Backyard BBQ’s. Meals out with friends. Road trips to new places. New connections made. Brainstorming and dreaming with loved ones about the future. Prayers offered up for us. And sharing our hearts with so many that were willing to listen. We are truly blessed to have the friends, family, and supporters that we do!!

We love you!

The Bakers in California

In Georgia with the cousins

The Bakers have spent a good amount of time in Livermore, but we have also been traveling quite a bit as well! We arrived in Atlanta, Georgia on July 1^st after a missed flight and a luxurious sleep over in Frankfurt! We spent a few days with two of my (Leah’s) cousins and their families! We had a house full of six kids under 6 years old which was lots of fun!!

Cousins!!

Piet speaking in Redding-- "Creating revival moments in our city"

We then spent about 10 days in Redding, CA visiting the Stirring church, which is one of our supporting churches as well as a few friends from the area. Piet preached at the evening service during the first Sunday we were there. He shared about our ministry and about how revival in our city and surroundings starts with us. We stayed with a wonderful family, Gil and his son Todd Moegerle. These two gentlemen have such generous hearts which derives from their love for God and his people. We had very deep and  intentional conversations around the table every evening. We received wonderful hospitality from the Moegerles and our friends at the Stirring.

Our jazz-singing auntie Joy!

Our next destination was Santa Cruz, CA and the surrounding areas. We spent a few days visiting my aunt and uncle in Boulder Creek. We enjoyed family fellowship and the best home baked pies!! We had the awesome opportunity to speak briefly at the Boulder Creek Community Church. We felt very warmly welcomed there and made new relationships with a handful of people! We love the church’s heart and passion for God! We were also to spend a few days relaxing at the boardwalk and on the coast in Pacific Grove.

"Lover's Point" Pacific Grove

For the remainder of our time in Livermore we are enjoying every moment that we can with family. My grandfather has had MDS disease for the past 10 months.  We are glad to have this opportunity to see him while he is being made comfortable at home since we never know if this will be the last time we will have with him. We are also blessed to be able to visit with other family members as they come to be with him as well.

Men's camp in Lake Tahoe 

Piet went with Ken (Leah's dad) on a men’s retreat and visited Lake Tahoe and parts of Nevada for the first time. They had a great time!

We are very excited to be sharing with our friends at Discovery Church this Sunday afternoon! We will be preparing a local African meal and presenting about our business training classes. We invite all who are able to attend to do so!

I had mentioned in a previous email that we are seeking new financial supporters for our ministry as we have had and are anticipating a 25% loss in support (and possibly more) by the end of this year. If you have not had the opportunity to visit with us this trip but would like more details about giving to our ministry, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss it further!

We truly do mean it when we say we cannot do what we are doing without YOU! We are so thankful for those who pray for us, communicate regularly with us, and who give financially towards our work. Ministry can be quite a lonely place no matter the location, but our loved ones sustain us!

Thank you for all that you do!

We love you!

Loving Africa

The Bakers Four

Facebook:  Piet Bakers or Leah Bakers 

Waiting for the shuttle in Germany

The Moegerles and Bakers

www.thebakersonamission.com 

Hanging out with our friends in Redding 

May 2016

 

 

If you haven’t yet heard, we will be in the US in about 7 weeks from now. We will be there for just over 6 weeks. We are already preparing for our trip and getting very excited to see friends and family that we haven’t seen in a while.



A few weeks ago Piet facilitated our first business training course for the year. Eight students graduated and are working toward improving existing businesses as well as starting up new ones. We are always encouraged by our students and their passion and drive. If you get a chance to hear us speak in July or August you will hear that to take our business skills class costs each student about $20 (R260). If you are interested in sponsoring someone, please let us know! We are running an additional 6-day course at the end of this month. The total number of graduates is now over 40! We are so humbled to have helped so many that will additionally help others.



The conference

One evening during the conference "let your light shine"

The mentorship of the business students is continuing. Piet does the majority of the mentorships. He follows up with each one, checks their financials, and gives them new ideas if need be.




The collapsed building

Shortly after our business training course finished, our church, AFM, hosted a mission’s conference. Piet and many of the men from the church built an additional outdoor toilet to accommodate everyone. Some people came from South Africa to preach and encourage our church. It is quite rare to here Africans teaching and preaching about missions. It’s just not a central subject matter in the African church. To hold a mission’s conference in our church is very significant. We are blessed with a pastor and leadership team that are passionate about reaching out to the community and the rest of the country. On the Friday night of the conference, about 15 people were upstairs having dinner when the second floor of the church collapsed and everyone fell through. Multiple people were injured and ended up in the hospital. We praise the Lord that no one was beyond recovery. There were broken bones and stiches, but everyone is making a recovery.

Big Sister reading to Little Brother



As mentioned earlier, we will be in the US in July and August. We will be giving presentations and sharing testimonies about the work that we are doing here as well as fundraising for our future. We welcome all visitors and hope to connect with as many of you as possible!


Loving Africa,
The Bakers





February 2016

At the end of November we made our way to Johannesburg to wait for our son’s birth. On December 15^th, we became a family of four! Lesedi Zander is such a sweet baby boy. Our little eight-week old loves people, smiling and laughing, snuggling, and spending time with his big sister while trying not to get smoothered or accidentally kicked. Haha!

If you follow us on Facebook, you probably saw that Lesedi was in the hospital about two weeks ago. He had a chest x-ray that revealed he may have an enlarged heart. We praise God that it was actually a misdiagnosis and he is 100% fine! It was a difficult few days, but we are so thankful for all of the wonderful messages and support we had during that time.

Harmony reading to Lesedi

Harmony just turned two years old in January and she is a very bright and vibrant young lady. She loves singing songs, listening to music, reading books and playing air guitar. She also loves people and especially her little brother. She loves holding him, kissing him, and always wants to sit next to him.

My (Leah’s) parents are still with us and will be heading back to the US at the beginning of March. It has really been a joy and HUGE help having them. My aunt and uncle were also here for a few weeks which was really fun!

We arrived back in Lesotho in January and began reconnecting with our business course graduates. We are following up with their business plans, financial books and continuing in mentorship. We are pleased to already see change in some of the businesses and in the hearts and attitudes of those we taught. One of the entreprenuers let us know recently that the business course saved his business. We are so pleased that our small effort has made such a huge and lasting impact. Our next business course will begin in March and we are planning to have a total of 6 classes over the course of this year.

Thank you for all you do for us. We are so grateful for the love and support we know we have.

Loving Africa,

The Bakers Four

It's Almost That Time!

There are only two more months in the calendar year; however, our ministry year ends in just a few weeks.

We have just had our second and third (combined) graduation of business training students! We had one class of 13 that we met with every Saturday, and eight students who went through our five-day intensive course, which made 21 graduates in all. We are so encouraged by these men and women who have a passion and desire to build their future by increasing their knowledge of how to run a business. I'd like to share another testimony of one of our students. We've been helping her out for the last several months and she was a part of our 5-day intensive course. She decided to give her life to the Lord at our graduation ceremony! What an honor to be a part of her life.

We are passionate about those who are in the “market” world and this is our way of equipping them with skills to not only succeed, but to spread the Gospel where they are at—here and now—in the place of business. We are also encouraged in the fact that word of our business course is spreading throughout the community. Of the 21 students, four of them were not a part of our church, but came to know of our class by word of mouth. We have even secured a number of course slots for next year.

A few weeks ago, Piet single-handedly spearheaded and executed a church-wide outreach. Some of the church members attended an evangelism course and he had the idea to send the whole church out practical evangelism outreach. He organized everyone into groups and each group had a leader that completed the course. Each group was sent out for about an hour to go house to house and preach the gospel! Everyone came back and reported what happened and how exciting that many people gave their lives to the Lord! Piet and I stayed behind and entertained the 40+ kids. All in all, it was a very successful afternoon.

In three weeks, we will be making our way to Johannesburg for our two-month long stay. I, Leah, will begin seeing my doctor in Johannesburg four weeks before baby boy Lesedi is due, and so the wait begins! My parents will arrive roughly two weeks before my due date and will stay through the end of February. We will only be returning to Lesotho at the end of January in order to wait for the processing of Lesedi’s passport.

As it is the end of the year with the coming of a new baby, our expenses are increasing. This is an invitation to give a small donation towards our expenses if you so choose. We know that many of you are already regularly giving to our ministry and we are highly appreciative of all you do for us. Here are our additional expenses:

-Leah’s South African visa, for which we will apply in January: R1350 ($105)
-Medical expenses for the birth that the medical insurance does not cover: R3500 ($270)
-Lesedi’s birth abroad paperwork and passport: R2600 ($200)

Thank you for your love and support that keeps us going!

Loving Africa,

The Bakers

Business Class Graduation!

Last Friday night, our very first class of business students graduated! It was such a wonderful night of laughing together, encouraging one another, and eating good food of course! We are so proud of these 15 people who were dedicated enough to put in the time and energy needed to complete the course. We saw a lot of sacrifice being made in order to be a part of the course.

I want to brag about one particular young lady who is 21 years old. At the graduation ceremony she shared a bit with everyone present about her journey. She was quite intimidated at first being the youngest in the class. However, she pressed on and learned so much. She contacted a relative who was pleased with the fact that she was taking this business course and promised to help her fulfill her dream. This relative of hers is currently trying to secure land for her here in Butha-Buthe to establish her own B&B! We are urging her to never give up and see this dream of building and owning her own Bed and Breakfast transpire.

The 8-week class was wonderfully successful. Each person ended the class having created a business

plan as well as a working budget for their future or current business. Our role in their lives now will be to follow up with those who are already in business at their place of work to make sure they are still moving forward and to help them maximize their profits. Because the course is Biblically based, we are also checking in with the students to see how they are incorporating the Gospel into their business/business practices. And for those who have not yet started their business, we will continue to work with them in whatever ways needed to ensure that they are on the right track to start up their trade.