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.

September 2015

Visitors

Jason and Shane, eating like the Basotho!

We were so blessed to have visitors, Shane and Jason, from the Stirring in Redding, CA with us for a week last month. They jumped right in with us and encouraged us in everything we were doing. They helped build cupboards for the church kitchen, prayed over us as we initiated the young adult’s service at the church, and played with us on our days off.

Ground Shakers from Maseru

Worship Explosion Conference

Over the weekend we had a “worship explosion” conference. It was a great time of worship through out! We had a guest band from Maseru that blessed us with their music one night. Once in a while the pastors will ask me (Piet) to speak which is really a privilege. As I was praying for this conference I felt the Lord say:

The common concept of worship is people singing songs, but I am interested in why they sing. Why do the lyrics mean so much to you? The greatest worship towards Me (God) is an adequate response to my word in every second of your life. Become the song you want to sing to Me. There is no worshiper without reading the Word of God.

Piet Speaking at the conference

For me personally this was the greatest reminder of a character/ lifestyle worshiper. After all, worship is a truthful response towards God’s desire communicated through HIS word. How we read the Bible and our understanding of worship will determent how we worship.

Our little worshiper!

Business Training

Learning about Budgets

Piet and I are now in week 6 of teaching our business training classes. I have to admit that this has been so fulfilling for me personally.  We run a class during the week (Thursdays and Fridays) and a weekend class on Saturdays for those who work during the week. We have about 15 people in each class and they are mostly in their 30’s and 40’s. It has really been a lot of fun. The curriculum for this 10-week class is specifically tailored for African entrepreneurs and is biblically based. After each person has completed the course, they will have the opportunity to apply for a small business loan if needed. They will have all the practical and spiritual knowledge needed to successfully run their own small business. A few people in the course are already running small businesses and are using the training course to enhance their

Team Building Game

knowledge and skills.

This afternoon I sent out a bulk text message to our students just to tell them I’m really enjoying interacting with them in the course. I got a handful of very nice responses back, but here are two in particular I want to share:

I wasn’t fine today. But I woke up and would like to pass my vote of thanks to you good people. I fell in love with the training and am indeed putting into practice what I have learned there…with the information I got from the training I now make everyone who buys on credit [IOU] to sign so that there is proof that they owe me money. Thanks again and it’s my prayer that people may see and acknowledge and make a great use of you while you are still here. May my God richly bless you, my mentors.

I feel honored to have been given this chance by God to be a part of this training. May the good Lord continue to bless you richly for the sacrifice that you are to us.

We really feel privileged to be able to teach this impactful course to the locals here in Butha-Buthe.

Young Adults

The Saturday evening young adult service has been slow going so far, but not bad for a brand new program. Two weeks ago, we had a braai and watched an inspirational movie and had a decent turn out. We have put together a small committee to help us plan and dream for the future and we are still discussing and discerning what the service should look like. Our desire is to leave this ministry with the local young adults and we feel that dreaming and trusting God together for direction with the locals will be a great vision transplant. We hope you will pray with us in this matter. 

Personally

Mommy at 26 weeks!

Our family is doing well! Harmony is growing up so fast. She is no longer a baby, that’s for sure. She is an independent big girl who talks a lot and loves to read books and do puzzles. Our baby boy on the way is also doing fine. It’s been a good pregnancy with no complications. Only 3 ½ months to go!

Piet’s health is, in general, fairly good. He still struggles from time to time with his anxiety, but hasn’t had any major issues or attacks in a few months. We praise the Lord for that and continue to trust for complete restoration. You are welcome to email him if you would like to know more or if you would like to encourage him in any way. 

Thank you and we love you.

Loving Africa,

The Bakers

August 2015

Ministry

Though things have started slow, we are beginning to gain some momentum.

The stage in progress

Construction begins

The completed stage + worship team

Piet has been helping with some construction projects at church. He and quite a few church members just completed building a new stage at our AFM church. This was just in time for this month’s conference that was held at the church. Every month the church hosts what they call a “mini-conference” or a series of workshops with a different theme each month. We have just come out of the business conference. A unique feature of this conference was that different

business owners in the church had a chance to display their products and services. Piet often either speaks at the conferences or helps with the sound and media. Last month Piet and I spoke at the family-themed conference about marriage and how to maintain a healthy family spiritually and emotionally (see picture at the bottom).

A lady displaying her goods for sale

The business courses that we will be teaching were supposed to have started already, but we have had to postpone as we are having some conflict in terms of times to run the courses. Everyone is very anxious to start, so we are really hopeful that the kinks will be worked out very shortly!

Visas

An update about my visa: I have recently discovered that I cannot yet apply for my permanent residency. I have been given different information than before that says I can only apply after five years of marriage (though I was under the impression I could apply after five years of being on a temporary visa). So, I will complete the application and interview process in January 2016. Our Lesotho visas expire this month, so it is quite urgent that we get our paperwork filed as soon as possible.

Supporters and Friends

Next week we are happy to have two friends from The Stirring church (one of our sending

AFM Church congregation

churches) in Redding, Ca. They will be with us for the week and will be witnesses to our lives here in Lesotho. We won’t put them to work too much as their main objective is to visit and love on us. What a blessing this will be. We love having visitors as life in Lesotho can get quite lonely at times.

Family

As you know, we are expecting our second child in December! Everything has been looking very good and we are happy to announce that it is a boy! We are also glad to share his name with everyone: Lesedi Zander Bakers. My (Leah’s) parents will be joining us in South Africa and Lesotho for three months. They will be here for the birth of our baby boy and for a while after to help us get settled into being a family of four. Also, an aunt and uncle of mine will be visiting for a few weeks as well. We couldn’t be more excited!

Piet and Leah talking at the family conference (Harmony didn't want to be left out)

Thanks for always keeping up with our goings-on and sending us messages and emails. We love hearing from you. We appreciate your love, support, and prayers. 

Loving Africa,

The Bakers

 

Crossroads

Piet teaching Crossroads