Overnight Outreach Experience in the Bush

Students at the Holy Given School of Missions are divided up into teams designated by colors. Each team goes on at least one overnight/weekend outreach. The group that I’m part of went on our overnight outreach at a village about 5 hours away. We spent 2-days and 2 nights sleeping in tents with the lady’s sleeping in their tents in the middle and surrounding them were the guys sleeping in their tents on the outside (just for safety). Somehow I ended in the very back (nothing like being the rear guard). The village was not only safe but a lot of fun. It had a small church. Both Christians and Muslims lived there.The outreach occurred Friday night and all day Saturday. Iris’ Mozambican pastors lead the outreaches and our job is to help as directed. When we arrived at the village, we first setup our tents. Then we started setting up the equipment to play the Jesus Film in the local language. At the first the children would not go near any of the white skinned ladies that were on my team. Whenever the ladies moved near them, they either ran back or kept a good distance away. Because I looked more like them, they let me get close. After we got acquainted, I told one of my white sisters to come over. We both knelt down and the children were finally ready to play with the “white visitors” that wanted so much to play with them. (In one way it was funny and in another way it wasn’t).

Lots of amazing things happened during the trip, and I also got to witness awesome things for the first time. The Lord has been putting village children on the hearts of my wife and I and this trip was no different. The first night, a group of children crowded around me making all kind of noises and then they started singing (along with others making noise). In the midst of the singing and noise, I heard a heavenly tune that caught my attention. I’ve never heard a sound like that before. It was remarkably different than any other singing. I looked into the crowd of children and saw angels! Yes angels appearing as children. The Lord opened my eyes and I saw them all, scattered within the crowd of children singing their song. I got so excited, I turned to call one other team members and as I turned back the song slowly faded. She missed seeing them all and didn’t hear a thing.

After the film played Friday night, the Mozambican heading the outreach preached! Several people gave their lives to the Lord. Hallelujah! Since the movie started late it was about 10 o’clock at night when we started praying for the sick. The Lord healed many of stomach aches, headaches, and other things. I was also able to pray for a number of people that were had lower back aches and were urinating blood. I didn’t always have a translator available but when I did the people were very, very descriptive about what hurt and where it was.

The next day, I and two ladies were assigned to keep all the village children (50+ children or more) occupied to keep them away from the medical team. Iris’ new medical outreach team accompanied us to care to provide general consultation, scabies treatments, malaria medicine and a slew of other things. There were many cases of Malnutrition, worms and scabies. Tennis balls, balloons, follow the leader, singing songs in local language and other things filled 3 hours. I even found a friend that decided to teach me more about love as he insisted on holding my handing and following me around. Then another child proved to be a very strict teacher as he taught me a song in their local language, Makua. He was very stern and quickly corrected me whenever I pronounced something wrong. I made a big effort to learn quickly.

Saturday night the village Chief gave his heart to the Lord. After the movie, the Lord healed more women and men that came forward for healing. A little girl that had a problem with her right ear was instantly healed. Another man that had pain all over his body was also instantly healed. And then it happened (I’ll give you a shortened description), I saw the Lord. The only way I can describe it is that I saw presence of the Lord in human form walking in the midst of the people. (I know you probably want a better description, but I’m it’s easier to explain the angels among the children). When I saw him, a shout arose within me and I turned to my interpreter and shouted, the Lord is here. He didn’t get it, but he soon did as I told him to dance. I left the people in the healing line and danced because the Lord wanted to dance. When the Lord walked through the midst of the people everything changed. Healing and miracles weren’t the focus, praying for the sick wasn’t the focus…He became the focus. Nothing mattered to me more than pleasing Him. Amazing joy poured out of me as I danced. Then the Lord began healing people with ease and without many words. God is amazing. The atmosphere of the whole place changed. A man completely drunk was so touched by the power of God he began to praise God in his drunken stupor. The next day we went to another village on the way home. The people gathering for church cheered (African style) as a few of their ladies were hugged by the “while ladies” on my team. Many of the people in these villages never saw or were touched by a white person. 6 or 7 people on our team gave their testimonies. Everything was calm until I gave mine, and right in the middle the people were distracted by someone holding up new clothes by our truck and half the crowd turned around. The gospel message went forth and I trust the will of God was still done. A lot of other things happened including a half dressed man, with his genitals hanging out came over to me and a few other people asking for prayer. Eric, one of the doctors took a tissue and cleaned the mucous and other slime off of his face without gloves. My heart ached with this example of love. He came to me and pointed to his stomach, motioning me to pray for Him. I did so and he expressed his gratitude. Obviously, this young man had mental issues that the village new about. Still, if we had clothes I would have loved to dress him. Even he is worthy to be honored.

My internet time is running out so I have to post this. We are all well!

New News For The Week (July 21st)

Two and a half more weeks and we’ll be graduating from Iris Ministries’ Holy Given School of missions. The graduation date has been moved up to 8/8, and we are finishing up assignments such as group “drama” presentations, classes on theology and theology of missions, mandatory readings, projects and other things. The coursework contains some in-depth theology teaching , but the fact that we live in the reality of what’s being taught changes the “formal” class room experience. It is reinforced by the fact that we are living in what is being taught. Let me explain by giving some short news on this week.

Sunday was “community” church where people in the community, the Mozambican pastors in the bible college and the holy given students are all under the tent worshipping and praising the Lord. People are getting healed of diseases, oppressed people are set free, witchcraft is denounced, and people are giving their lives to the Lord. (One of the most important things that I see occurring is that Iris is literally changing communities and bringing different tribes together as one community of people who have Christ Jesus as the focus).

In mid-week the Lord wrecked our hearts (for good) during one of Heidi Bakers teachings on the beatitudes. We, the students, were crying as we laid out on the ground offering our lives (no matter the cost) for a greater anointing to serve the poor and comfort the mourning (Isaiah 61:1-2). We started with those among us as we prayed for healing and comfort for more than 1/3 of the Mozambican pastors (our friends in Iris’ bible college) who at some time or another have lost children to hunger, malaria or other means. Treating malaria is not expensive for you and I, but the typically Mozambican can’t afford it. But, the Lord has called us to bring the good news of the gospel to the poor. That means, if possible, we find a way to get the money, to buy the medicine and treat them. We also prayed for a group of pastors who lives were being threatened for the sake of the gospel. (By the way, I was told that a good paying job in Pemba such as a teacher or a police man only pays $2-3 U.S. per day. One roll of toilet paper is .40+ cents. 1 liter of juice is $2 USD. A pack of crackers is .90+ cents. These are things that most can’t afford to buy. Our taxi into town is $2…most Mozambicans walk everywhere).

Wednesday night while walking to dinner a little boy stole my water bottle right out of the box I was carrying. I sent another group of little boys after him and went to eat. The culprit returned crying and holding my water bottle. A single stare let him know how I felt about the situation. Then, the Lord’s compassion filled my heart. To his surprise, I asked him to sit down with me, and then I gave him all my fish (I kept the rice). Before leaving, I let him have a water bottle (smile). The little boy was comforted and was taught something by the love of God. My wife and I aren’t always like this, but when the Lord moves our hearts we trust in the authority of His love.

Friday, one of our housemates and two other ladies were praying for a man with a wilted arm in the city. People around them started making a scene telling them that he wasn’t worth it and that the man should just be left alone. They continued to pray, and 5 minutes later the Lord healed the man’s arm. Jesus loves the poor, and His kingdom belongs to them. (As we discuss in school, so we do…praying “Thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. There aren’t any wilted arms in heaven. The Lord put it in His holy scriptures so we’d know what to do while on earth).

This Sunday, 7/22, we’re headed to a local Mozambicans house for a dinner. He’s making the main meal, and we’re making him peanut butter cookies.

This school is to help prepare us for missions any where in the world. Missions is not colonialism or crusading or cultural replacement. We love Jesus so much that we believe that He is the only Savior and are willing to minister to Him and serve people, his creation, whom he loves so dearly. We long to bring Jesus to this Muslim community and at the same time see how they will respond to his love in worshipping him with their own traditions, within their own culture, using their own styles of music, building church and their communities as they want and running services how they like them, etc.). God will redeem culture and change it to reflect his heart and ways. We don’t need to do this. But, we do have the privilege of spreading the gospel (good news for the sick, poor and those who haven’t accepted Jesus as their Savior) and letting people know how much God wants to restore right relationships with the people he created for Himself.

Much love,Tyren and Tiffany Haynes

Feeding the Poor

We see poverty everyday. It looks like rags with people wearing them. It looks like children wearing the same clothes day after day. It looks like open soars and cuts exposed to dirty water. It spews out curses, acts undisciplined and is filled with anger and threats when met with authority. One day at the beach a boy threatened to hit my children with a rock because I refused to buy him a candy bar. The occasion ended with him happily grinning as he pulled a large candy bar out of his pocket that someone had already bought him. Today, I welcome the same boy with love and hugs when he is willing to receive them. Poverty has a great need that only the love and power of Christ can fulfill, person by person. We are here to impact people with the love and power of Jesus Christ. That's why I welcome that little boy who is often so rude into my arms. It is in my arms and the arms of others, that his poverty will be stripped away and he'll be able to receive true riches. Please don't judge the little boy. Underneath the filth, he's so beautiful.

Every weekday, the poor village children come into the center and are fed for lunch. In this way, none of them will die of hunger. They are so lovely. Beyond the rags, unkind words, fights, etc. the call of God can be seen on their lives. They are fed at the front of the center because (as we learned from experience) many (NOT ALL) are less disciplined than the children cared for by Iris, and often will fight with the children who live in the center.

Feeding Program

On one of the days that I helped feed the children who live in the surrounding village, I had to do more than dish out plates of food. A 10 year old boy was trying to hit another boy with a big rock. He was disciplined by a local, but that just left him screaming and very angry. After prying another rock out of his hand, the Lord had me pick him up, and give him a father's love as I carried him around, praying and prophesying over his life. The boy calmed down and I disciplined him in wisdom and love, showing him that it was better to choose JesusElove than a rock. Another Holy Given Student loved on him also and was trying to find out about his home life, etc. This is one way ministry takes place here. Both my wife and I have been praying about greater ministry for these children. Instead of waiting for our turn to feed the children with our individual groups, we've decided to go at other times to feed them and spend more time around the children. One of us takes Amerel at least once a week because she enjoys caring for them so much.

Families of Poverty

Some of the village children find a way to come into the center cafeteria for lunch and dinner. For safety reasons most aren't supposed to be there, but they do come into the center with plastic bags to beg for food for themselves (and perhaps their family). Iris feeds children, adults and widows around here so we haven't understood why some children beg for food and others don't. One day we were saving a bunch of our beans to refry into patties (it helps having different things to eat). We met a boy in the cafEwho carried a very small plastic container (see photo) and was begging for food for himself and 4 other people in his family. How can anyone feed a family of 5 with a small container of left-overs! We both were filled with compassion and gladly dumped our beans onto the plain rice in the boys container.

Please pray with us as we ask the Lord to open our eyes to see the poor and open our hearts to have compassion on them just as the Lord has compassion on us. By poor,I don't just mean the physical, but those who are lacking spiritually and emotionally as well and for some reason or another are not depending on Christ in their time of need.Tyren