Food Stories (for the Beginners)

Instead of sharing about ministry activities, we figured we’d share some food stories. A missionary has to eat. Here in Africa, there are all kinds of crawling, scurrying, flying, and running things to choose from. Some things are tough, some crunchy and others can squish in your mouth when you bite them. But, don’t worry, we’ll just stick to the normal stuff because we don’t want to discourage any of you who may want to visit us soon (hint, hint).

Food Miracle
One day we had regular beans and rice again for lunch. While we were eating, the Lord surprised us and somehow “put” cheddar cheese into the beans. We couldn’t see the cheese, but ohh, the flavor was beautiful! The next day, we ate beans and rice again. At first, it tasted like regular beans and rice. The Holy Spirit prompted me to ask for cheese again in our beans. So, I prayed out loud and we began to eat. Right after I prayed, suddenly, all of us were tasting cheddar cheese again with our beans and rice. We praised the Lord for His blessing, and thanked Him for the cheese! Yes, our family likes cheese-a lot! And if you are thinking, “Why didn’t they ask for meat?”, well that thought crossed our minds, too. But, Jesus knows just what we need. You are welcome to put that meat request on your prayer list for us.

Making and Tasting New Foods
I (Tyren) have been dreaming of having “pop tarts” for a while, and was thinking of making up a recipe to make some. Yesterday, Tiffany made homemade “pop tarts”- some of which she filled with cinnamon and sugar, and others she filled with strawberry jam which some people from a local Catholic church made. It’s so beautiful how Jesus enables my wife and I to have some of the same desires at the same time. It helps us surprise one another with things we’ve been wanting.

Have you ever wondered how some of the wild animals in Africa taste? A few weeks ago we finally got to taste native African bush meat, that is, wild boar. We had a nice sized leg which we baked and shared with Victo and many of the other missionaries at our center. It had a strong “gamey” taste to it, but was tender and very nice. It tasted more like regular pork after we fried it in oil the next morning.

Now those food stories weren’t bad at all, right? But if you feel for us in any way, remember that you can always get a Priority Mail Flat Rate Box from your local post office and send us some goodies (including canned meat) in the mail! On another note, continue to pray for the Lord to direct our hearts into deeper experiences in His presence, boldness to rise up and declare the word of the Lord, and that Jesus would open the hearts of the Mozambican people to hear His word and do His will.

Jesus is so wonderful!

Love, Tyren and Tiffany Haynes