Moments of Being Hard Pressed

Sorry, we weren’t able to update you until now. Mainly, it’s because the last 2 weeks and a half, I, Tyren, have been extremely tired and haven’t been able to do much of anything, ministry or working around the house. Using the internet, and even shopping was exhausting. The Lord told me to rest (for days…ahh), but it was worth it.

Summary of the Past Two Weeks
These last few weeks have been times of great testing, and as one person told us, God is stretching us, but it’s going to work out for our good. Sparing many of the details, here’s some of “hard-pressing” that occurred in the past two weeks. We were publically insulted concerning Chayah’s at home birth. I’ve been insulted in public twice, mocked and talked about, 3 times the Lord saved me from motor accidents (including a head on collision with a car that never moved out of my lane. Another time, I borrowed a friend’s car but the breaks wouldn’t stop the car quickly even after pumping them. The Lord saved me from ramming into a car that day and possibly injuring myself and others.) Then, Chayah stopped nursing for almost a whole day (for some reason). We sent a phone text to other missionaries to pray. Literally, as soon as I hit the send button (before the text was actually sent out), Chayah started nursing again like she had never stopped. Then, there are many other things we haven’t mentioned. We count it “pure joy” when we come into various trials (James 1:2), knowing that “our light affliction…is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. (2 Cor. 4:17)” Truly we are being hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). Though we face many hardships, our only focus has been our prayer – God keep us focused on the great love you have for us. His love is and must be everything. There is nothing else that sustains us.

Glimpses of Love and Grace
In the midst of all the “hard-pressing and perplexing things” the Lord has been doing great things (of course). Yes, there’s Chayah eating again, and having my life and health preserved in more instances than we wrote about. There was also the great blessing of having a few people cook meals for us after Chayah was born. Also, the Lord showed me extraordinary favor when getting Chayah’s birth certificate here in Lichinga. I was brought to the front of a long line. Then, instead of waiting outside in the hot sun with everyone else, I was brought inside an office and given a chair. Then, a man inside the office put aside his other work and personally attended to me. He quickly completed the official birth certificate and sent me away cheerfully with a smile. I left the building, walking past a lot of people who arrived at the Town Registry long before me and were still waiting in line. Another day, I prayed for an employee at a store who had a toothache. Several days later when I saw him again, he told me that after I prayed, the pain went away and hadn’t come back. Hallelujah!!

The Family Is Well
Chayah is well, chubby, and gaining more weight. Tiffany is doing wonderful. Amerel and Isaiah are still “head over heels” that their little sister is finally here. They knock on the doorway of our bedroom early in the morning just to see if she’s awake. Oh, just before Chayah was born, we hooked up running water to our bathroom sink. Hopefully, we can include updated house photos in the next blog.

Pray with us and for us. Rejoice with us, as we cry out and contend to lay down our lives more for our Lord, ever looking forward to see a greater outpouring of the riches of His kingdom (love, joy, peace, righteousness, gentleness…) and His presence in Mozambique.

Because of His great love for us,


Tyren and Tiffany Haynes
Heartsforharvest@yahoo.com

Phone numbers:
Tyren +258827413545
Tiffany +258827316365 (we are 6 hours ahead of EST. Example: 9 A.M. in N.Y. is 3 P.M. here)

Photos: Chayah at 25 days old
Crib with swinging bassinet

June 25: We Gave Birth To Our Baby Girl

Birth of Chayah Grace Haynes
On June 25, Independence Day in Mozambique, at ~ 8:22 a.m., our little girl was born in our bedroom. Her name is Chayah Grace Haynes, which signifies “God’s might for grace”. Grace for grace. The ‘Ch’ is pronounced ‘K’, but here in Mozambique people pronounce it ‘Sh’. Chayah was 8 lbs. 2 oz. (~3.7 kg), and 19 ¾ inches long. The Lord actually gave me this name well over 2 years ago before we left for the mission field. I kept it in my heart, but didn’t know it was the name of our daughter. Mom and Baby are doing well. Amerel and Isaiah are overwhelmed with excitement. They have waited so long to meet their new sibling.

With the Lord’s help, Tiffany and I delivered the baby ourselves in our bedroom. I had been involved in both Amerel and Isaiah’s births. I caught Isaiah when he came out of the womb, and I cut the cord for both of them. So, I had a much better idea of what to expect during this birth. Another missionary arrived just before 8:00 a.m., and stayed out in the kitchen to watch over our kids, and keep water hot on the stove. Contractions that Tiffany could feel started at 12:00 midnight June 25. The delivery wasn’t pain free as we had been praying and believing. When the harder and painful contractions started, honestly, we were thoroughly disappointed. But, a “moment of light afflictions” and disappointment could not compare with the great things the Lord had done the previous months and things He was doing now, delivering our baby safely into our hands. We chose at that moment to worship and praise Him. There was nothing else to do. There is no failure and disappointment in Who He is and what He does.

I was amazed at the grace the Lord gave me to watch, encourage and coach Tiffany, and maintain the cleanliness of the birth surface and everything else. If you had a baby, or were involved in the birthing room, then you understand the work the nurses often have to do during and after the birth. Even so, I felt like I hardly did a thing, and that Tiffany was the one in the room doing all the work. I thought I was going to have to break the water sac as it was coming out, but it suddenly broke on its own. As Chayah’s head came out, the cord was wrapped tightly around her neck. For some reason, I thought this might happen, so I made sure I learned the right way to bring the cord over the baby’s head. When Chayah was born, many of her signs were opposite than the ones we were told were good. Her temperature was too low, her feet were blue, no signs of breathing, totally limp, not crying, etc. Not even Amerel, with whom Tiffany was in labor for 38 hours came out like this. When naturally, fear wanted to step in, a sure knowledge of what the Lord had promised us moved us forward, and broke any other thoughts of fear trying to form themselves in our hearts. We prayed. I checked her nose and suctioned her mouth (just in case). I saw the wind of the Holy Spirit. Immediately afterwards, I saw our little girl breathe once. Then, she did it again. Tiffany said, “She’s sleeping.” Immediately I saw that our little girl was born fast asleep. I believe the Lord just had her take those noticeable two, very little breaths to let us know that all was already ok. We kept her warm, and rubbed her. I delivered the placenta, cut the cord and finished up other things. More than 1 hour later, Chayah’s temperature was slowly climbing higher within the “acceptable range”. The only thing we had to warm up the baby was warm cloths that were wrapped around a heated metal thermos and mommy’s body heat. A little after 10 a.m., a missionary midwife came to check the baby, the placenta, and Tiffany. This midwife (the only one around) didn’t want to be there during the birth (because she has been out of practice for so long), but we are thankful for her coming afterwards.

4 M.O.P.S. Boxes Arrived
July 2, we received 4 flat rate postal boxes full of clothes, baby toys and other essentials for baby and Mommy that our home church’s M.O.P.S. (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) group, along with some other members from our church, donated and shipped to us. What a blessing! We were excited to hear that many of you decided to get together and make something happen that one person would not have been able to do by themselves. Thank you! The boxes arrived un-opened (as usual).

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Pray that we grow in strength and humility, and a determination to see more of Lichinga experience the mighty presence of the Lord.

(Sorry we were only able to upload one photo of Chayah. Look forward to another photo next time.) Happy Independence Day!!!

All for the name of the Lord,

Tyren and Tiffany Haynes
Heartsforharvest@yahoo.com