A White Christmas

Hello Everyone!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All our love,

The Bakers

Two Weeks Till Home Time!

We are literally counting the days until we board that plane bound for San Francisco. 12 days from today and then we travel for approximately 25 hours. Things haven't been easy in the last few months, but we are pushing forward and trusting God for the best.

You may have heard or seen on facebook that Piet has gotten in two car accidents in two months. The first one wasn't so bad and our car isn't too badly damaged, however, Piet cannot continue to run the business because the chassis on our car is bent and we cannot risk towing the trailer while it is not fixed. The second accident, however, was in our friend's vehicle. The damage to the vehicle itself wasn't terrible, but the angle of the impact could have caused serious damage to Piet. He could have either lost his legs or snapped his neck. We are so thankful that God was watching over him because he walked away with only a small scratch on his foot.

We only have the rest of this week and next week of YOYL. The year has really been winding down nicely. We haven't been as involved in the schools as of late because of exams. We have been focusing on community outreach and recruiting for next year. Our YOYL graduation ceremony is on the 1st of December and Piet and I fly out on the evening of the 2nd. We will be in California for 5 weeks. We will be sharing about our ministry on 9 December in Livermore, CA and we will be in Redding the week after Christmas.

We pray that you have a lovely Christmas season celebrating the birth of Christ, wherever it is you will be spending it!

With Love

The Bakers

Lesotho Mission Trip

October 15 - 21

 

We arrived on Monday afternoon in the town of Butha Buthe minutes outside of the South African border. Godfrey and Elizabeth introduced us to the culture of Lesotho and the organization here, LXP Lesotho.

 

While serving with LXP, we were involved in a few different projects. Each morning, we drove to the new site of LXP Lesotho to help them clear and fix the land. We dug a trench to channel the rain around the property as to not flood to property. After we finished with the digging of the trench, we poured the first layer of cement. We also did smaller projects such as painting the poles of the fence, pulling weeds, and  prepared the dirt for a retaining wall.  The house (which will be the first addition to the base) should be finished in June 2013.
 

On Thursday morning, we visited  a school for disabled children. The children are of all ages and have variation of disabilities. The school is called  “Thuso e tla tsoa kae” which means “Where does our help come from?”  We performed two dances and our “Set Me Free” drama. We felt this was the best audience that we had ever had! After this, we split up into teams to help in the garden or help with the washing. Visiting the school was a very humbling experience, however we wished that we had a bit more time to interact with the children.

 

In ministry groups of three, we went out into the community of Butha-Buthe to build relationships with the locals. We each had a translator in our team since many of the elderly people do not speak English. We were impressed that the team picked up quite a bit of Sesotho! They really made an effort to be able to greet the locals in their language. When we went into the people’s homes, we asked about their culture, connected with them relationally and spoke to them about the message of Christ. We found that many of them knew who Jesus was and is, but didn’t really KNOW him on a personal level at all. We took these opportunities to bring a deeper understanding of Christ. Before we arrived in Lesotho, the message of healing and bringing healing was spoken over our team. We prayed for many people and saw many healed!

 

Every Saturday, Godfrey, Elizabeth and their team of leaders run a youth program for the children and youth of their village. The children range from age 2—20. The week that we were in Lesotho, the discussion topic was being set free from oppression or anything that can hold a person back. The team did our two dances and the “set me free” drama. The youth responded well to this serious drama and found that they could relate. We also discussed in groups Isaiah 61 and that role that Jesus played on earth and the role we now play as followers of Christ.

We were very impressed with the youth and their understanding of the youth Word and their ability to apply it in daily life.

 Prayer Requests

 

-Pray that the people of Butha-Buthe will come to have a personal relationship with Jesus
-Pray for Godfrey and Elizabeth as they minister daily into the lives of the people
-Pray that the resources come through to develop the LXP base

A big thanks goes to Godfrey, Elizabeth and LXP Lesotho!

Thank you for hosting us and introducing us to new things! We are
grateful to you and your team! May the Lord bless and keep you!

Lots of Love,

The Bakers

 

 

As the year comes to a close

Seeing as 2012 is coming to a close, we can look forward to a couple of things:

1.       Our student graduation is coming up

2.       Fall and Christmas flavours at Starbucks (in some parts of the world…)

3.       Our trip to America is nearly here

4.       We need to find students for next year’s YOYL program (and quick!)

After a meeting with our pastors and the finance team, they have indicated that we need 8 students in order for YOYL to carry on. No eight students? No YOYL.

BUT the good news is that we feel God is doing something good and new with Year of Your Life next year.

A few weeks ago, some of our mentors asked to meet with us because they know of a young person who wants to do YOYL. Out of this meeting, we identified three young men who would be perfect for YOYL. These three guys are from the rural community, but are very involved in their local churches and have a heart for reaching out. Piet and I mentored two of these guys while we were still at Refilwe and we identified them as “junior leaders” in our youth. It is amazing to see how they have picked up where we left off and are now coaching soccer, mentoring other young people, and teaching Sunday School.

About a month ago, we were speaking to a friend of ours and they were commenting that it is too bad that the people who need the training of YOYL the most are the ones that cannot afford it. But after this meeting, we feel that God is drawing people not necessarily always from the “better off” areas and those who can afford the program, but from the communities where they need training and equipping the most.

Two of these young guys will hopefully join us this next year, and the other will join us the following year. The biggest thing we are worried about now is their accommodation. We have to trust God that someone (possibly in our church) will open up their home for them to stay. Ideally we would like to find someone with a cottage in their yard where these guys could stay together. We also need to trust God for finances for their food.

In addition to these guys, we have additional 4 or so students from our church that are thinking about YOYL. So, in total we have about 7 interested. This is good news!

We are trying to make the most of these last 2 months of YOYL...can't believe it's gone so fast! We have been running a new outreach lately that seems to be working. Right across the road from the church is a community center (the one we re-painted a few months ago). So, we decided to do a "play day" every Friday. We invite the kids (and moms!) of the community to join us for games, jumping castle, and lots of sweets!

Please pray with us that God will provide the students that we need for next year! YOYL 2013 here we come!

Year of OUR Lives

Executing a “Unique Taste”!

We are happy to announce that Piet’s new business is almost up and running. By this time next week we will be in full swing! For a few months now, Piet has had the idea to sell food by the side of the road to taxi drivers and people waiting for a taxi. He scouted out a prime spot very close to our house.

Piet's catering trailer

After we returned home from Zambia, we (in faith) bought a catering trailer which was completely by God’s blessing.

Piet belongs to a small business association that helps low income entrepreneurs get on their feet. Recently, the business association (called Seeds of Africa) found a sponsor for Piet’s business: Unique Taste Foods. With the money given, he was able to buy all the necessary items.

Piet’s brother Ernest will run the business Monday-Friday. He will sell freshly braaied (BBQ’d) chicken or steak, pap (a starch), side salad, and fries. “Unique Taste” will give Ernest a job as well as give a bit of a supplement to our income. We are really excited to see how the business grows and flourishes as the months go on.

Year of Your Life

We cannot believe that it was this time last year that we starting planning and dreaming about YOYL. The time has escaped us and the year is coming to an end in 3 short months.

Since our return from Zambia, we have been carrying on with weekly ministry as usual. Piet and myself and a few of our team members have been helping with the church youth group, which the other half of the team is involved in children’s ministry.

We have also completed a renovation project in our local community. Across the road from the church is a community center complete with a playground. The playground was broken in various spots, it had chipped paint, and wasn’t the safest for children to play on. We have added a sand pit, fixed all the broken planks and made a world of difference with colourful paint! A few moms in the community have asked if we can do a once-a-week play group with their children. What a great opportunity this will be to bring good news of a Saviour to these young lives!

Painting at Thembalami Care Center

In addition to all of this, we have had a few other outreach projects as well: painting at an old age home for the disabled, cleaning homes in a retirement village, and leading the CIA group (Christians in Action) at the local high school. Finally, we will again be crossing borders in October as we will be having an outreach to Lesotho!

CIA Club at Rand Park High School

Needs and Prayer Needs:

-A deep fryer for the business
-A small generator

-Protection and blessing over the business
-Protection for our business against corruption from governing officials of this country
-Pray for our team as they start thinking about their plans for next year

And, in other news, in three months from today, we will be arriving in the USA!!!

Thank you for standing beside our family as we get the business going and finish out the year!

Blessings and Love

The Bakers

Zambia Mission Trip

Hi family and friends!

Two weeks ago we returned home from Zambia. We have come home with refreshed spirits and joy in our hearts! Though it is a bit long, here is a detailed report of what we did.

After two days of driving, the YOYL team with Bryce and Maxine arrived in Livingstone, Zambia. The expectations were high, but we never expected to leave so changed!

The first ministry we stayed at was Love’s Door situated about 20 km outside of any town. We were literally in the bush ministering the Word of God to villagers who lived on less than R10 per day. We were able to pray with many people in the village and even saw miraculous healings be-cause we believed God would show his power. We also connected with some of the youth from the local villages. Most of them were forced to leave school because they could not afford school fees. However, Love’s Door stepped in to offer help. If these teens were will-ing to join the Bible study and work in the vegetable garden once a week, their school fees (R20 a month) would be taken care of. We had the opportunity to help in the garden a few days while we were there.

One evening while we were there, we had the opportunity to help serve food at the monthly celebration to all of the local disciples from the villages that Love’s Door has been working closely with. In addition, Love’s Door also has two children’s homes on their base. They have taken in a number of children from the villages who have been neglected, but are now being looked after by local Zambians who stay in these chil-dren’s homes.

Despite an interesting encounter with hippos, Love’s Door was an incredible ministry run by lovely people who have devoted their lives to serving God’s people of Zambia.


The ministry in Sambaland definitely stuck out for our team. Though we LOVED every single experience in Zambia, Sambaland touched us in a very unique way.
Justine Samba and his team have been feeding the children of the Ngwenya Village for many, many years. The children (ages 2-21) have learned to love and respect him. The team runs a feeding scheme every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. After the children have eaten, they proceed to meet around a tree and recite memory verses learned from the Bible. We were shocked that children as young as four years old knew at least one memory verse. They said them with pride! Their love for the Lord and hunger to learn was evident in their worship. We were also able to go into the community that surrounded Sambaland to visit with the people. We visited old widows whose families had neglected them. We saw even more miracles through these women! One lady in particular stands out in minds as she was very sick with malaria and hadn’t eaten in days. After the team prayed for her, she was completely restored and was able to eat full meals again! One lady of the community opened up her home and started a pre-school for locals. The school didn’t have many resources at all, and the teacher taught 75 kids from a small classroom (4m x 3m). Without many resources the students relied on memorization and oral learning.

One last part of Sambaland where we really felt like we were making an impact was at one of the widow’s homes. She was quite an old lady living by herself with no one to help her with day to day things. Her mud house was cracking on the outside, so we were able to assist her in applying an extra layer. In addition to feeling helpful, we also enjoyed it!

 The final ministry our team visited was in the heart of town. We felt a bit more "normal" when we arrived at the Kwathu Children’s Home as our previous living conditions were different than we were used to.

When Kwathu first started, there were only a few children that had been brought in from the streets. Now, a few years later, they foster 12 children ages 7-13. The Kwathu Children’s Home is run by a married couple with a heart for the lost and the poor.

Agrippa and his wife Jeanette have recently purchased land outside of town where they will be building a newer and much bigger children’s home. The new home should be finished mid-2013 and will house up to 60 children. We had the opportunity of visiting the new site and spent two days helping to clear the land. We connected with the children to some extent after they returned home from school each day, and one evening praised the Lord with them before they went to sleep.

Overall, the team will definitely say that Zambia was an incredible experience. We met awesome people, experienced the true culture of Zambia, and saw the mighty hand of the Lord at work! We came back changed!!

Thanks for your prayers as we were away. We were soaked in the presence of God and experienced more of Him!

Love,

The Bakers

Home sick, but not downcast!

Hello once again family and friends!


Unfortunately, I am home sick for the day. My tri-annual cold and flu has come to visit. It is incredibly boring and lonely being home the whole day, but at least I have some time to catch up on blogging!

So, it is with great excitement that I get to tell you that my South African Spouse Permit has finally arrived! I am officially legal in this country. I am so glad that this process is finally over (for the time being) and I can relax for the next two years before doing it again.

With my visa in hand, we are nearly ready to go to Zambia for our team mission trip. We leave 25 June and will return 9 July. We will be working with Love's Door, All Nations in Livingstone, as well as two other partnering ministries: Sambaland and Kwathu Children's Home. We are all very excited! As a team, we have raised just over half of the money and are getting ready to have our vaccinations done this week. It has been an exciting few weeks as we have been practicing dances, dramas, and songs. We will be sleeping in tents in the bush experiencing REAL bush life. In addition to children's ministry and rural community ministry, we have the very special privilege of visiting Victoria Falls for the very first time! We will send more updates as the time gets closer to our leaving.

Let me leave you with a few prayer points:
-My health and the health of our team. Out of 10, 5 people have already gotten sick
-Safety in our travels
-Financial provision
-Making a Kingdom impact
-Growth and closeness of our team both now in our preparations and as we go.


Thanks and God Bless!


The Bakers