The New Year Has Begun

Our church was decorated with balloons and flowers as we held a special service to celebrate Christmas. There was a lot of singing followed by dramas. Dramas seem to be the thing to do on special occasions. Service was followed by a rice and chicken lunch for the entire church family which consists of our center and people from surrounding villages. On Christmas Eve our center had a special dinner, spaghetti (you might be wondering what we usually eat), followed by a time of worship. On Christmas day, the entire Haynes family walked to Asumani village to celebrate Christmas with one of the church families. We praised and danced unto the Lord in the village street. Many of the children who knew the Lord came and joined us in celebrating our Savior.

Around the holidays we, the missionaries at our center, continued to preach and also spent some days fasting. Our ministry can not stop. We live in a Muslim area that is also steeped in many practices and traditions of the local Jao people. This time of year is also one of the set times when people march down the street with drums and singing to celebrate the Jao tradition called Nuongu – the customary practice to prepare children for “adulthood”. Children are sent (sometimes without the parents consent) out into the bush for 4 – 6 weeks to be circumcised (boys), offer animal sacrifices, and both the little boys and girls go through sexual abuse and other practices involving witchcraft.

The Holy Spirit comforts our hearts by assuring us that He has chosen the children to be His, and the purposes and plans He has for the people are for their good and for the preservation of future generations. During evangelism in the city and villages, the Lord has been bringing both adults and children into the kingdom. On January 9th, a bunch of children came into the church where I was worshipping, and waiting for Victor, a translator and part of our evangelism team. The Lord gave me a simple, new worship song in Portuguese. (My translator was surprised). I sung it and taught it to these children. Last Friday, I was preaching in Asumani Village to children and adults who ONLY SPOKE JAO. While two women were speaking Jao, I only heard perfect American English. The Holy Spirit translated every into English for me. One of the Jao women said to the other, “Come with me and stand over here. We need to listen to what He is saying.” One of our young boys, Maton, couldn’t translate everything I was saying into Jao. Amazed at what the Lord did for me, I begin to preach in English. I was even more amazed that after I was done, the people kept waiting for more. I wondered if the Lord was translating my English into Jao for them! The people never left, so we said good-bye and continued our ministry in the village. Even though I’m studying Portuguese, I still believe for supernatural impartation of the Portuguese and Jao languages.

Thank you for your prayers and support. Many new and great things are happening here, and more is on the horizon. We continue to pray for you. Pray for us that we’ll boldly enter into the glory the Lord is revealing to us, and that the Lord will perform healings and miracles among the people of Lichinga, Mozambique.

All for the glory that is already His,

Tyren