We are sure many of you are excited and in great anticipation about year 2011. There are so many wonderful things that the Lord is revealing. For us, it feels like the Lord is opening to us a whole new time full of opportunities, and walking us through a ripe garden giving us glimpses of things He has for us. Rather than sharing some of the things we are planning this year, we’ll just talk about the goodness of God that is abounding at the start of this New Year. The Lord’s goodness is a way that He allows us to experience deeper depths of His heart in such a way that we choose to look away from our own abilities, longings and needs to revel in the sufficiency of who He is. May this year be a year in which the people of God be in expectancy of the Lord’s greatness, and abound in His awesome goodness.
A Day of Many Surprises
Last Saturday, 5 of the hockey coaches, Claude (young man from Switzerland who is training them for a year) and I went to Lake Niassa for the day. On the way, the Lord told us that He would give us surprises. During the 1 ½ hour trip to the lake, we saw two groups of wild monkeys. We tried to feed the second large group we saw, but they backed further away from the car when we got out. Then, two of the hockey coaches that couldn’t swim learned how to swim in what seemed to be about 15 minutes. One of the coaches, Focas, was sick with a fever, and just lay down on the beach without playing or talking much. The Lord gave us another surprise, and shortly after Focas was prayed for, he began to run on the hot, sunny beach and swim in the lake – totally healed. Then there was some kind of bird that would fly, suddenly hover in mid-air for a while, and then quickly dive into the lake for a catch. It was so close to us, and we all watched it in awe. The Lord is good. As the other coaches were walking along the beach, Claude and I were given a special time together, praying and getting “lost” in the presence of God and worshipping our precious Jesus.
Chayah’s Healing
Also, last Saturday, our little Chayah had a fever, stopped playing, walking and talking much, and barely ate for 4 days. She pretty much stayed in mommy’s arms all day long. We usually just write about happy days and great things the Lord is doing. We will continue to do so. But, know that we (just like you) do go through days of hardships, great trials followed by greater trials, and there have been times when we just felt like crying as we still chose to worship our beautiful Jesus. On Tuesday, during a unique time of worship, Amerel exclaimed, “Daddy, Chayah is taking bites of Mommy’s sandwich!”. I hardly took notice as the Lord had so captured my heart, that the only priority and focus was worshipping Him. It did not matter if Chayah was healed at that moment or not because at that moment I was doing what was most important to Jesus. His priorities prioritize everything else and set the stage for every good thing according to His own perfect understanding (Romans 8:28, 31). The Lord is only good, and it is never wrong to always put Him first.
Continue to pray for Mozambique and Lichinga. Believe God to bring in souls, draw people closer to Him, change the atmosphere over areas, and strengthen the believers who are confessing the name of Jesus Christ. This is another great year for the Lord’s Harvest. We believe and desire to be among those who will experience the new and greater things of the kingdom that Jesus Christ desires to bring forth in the earth.
Love,
Tyren and Tiffany Haynes
Lichinga, Mozambique
