Day of Worship with Children

Special Day of Worship with Assumane Children
In the beginning of October, Victo and I held a special teaching on worship for some of the children in Assumane Village. The 7 children that we chose are ones whom the Spirit of the Lord has been moving upon, and that demonstrate a love and willingness to live for God when other children are simply playing around and walk away during church or children’s ministry. We brought these kids out of the village to our house so that we could have a quiet environment to pour the love of Christ and the importance of worship into their hearts. We asked one of the older “mamas” from the church to accompany us to help with the kids, and to serve as a testimony of things being done honorably outside of the village. We spent 6 hours together. We played games that encouraged them to give their all for Christ, worshipped a lot, and taught about worship. They also had lunch and snacks at our place. The Lord gave us a special ministry time, where prophetic words were shared that encouraged the kids in specific areas of their walk with God. One little boy nodded yes, when he was asked if God often speaks to him about sharing the gospel with his friends, but he draws back because of fear. Interestingly, fear was a common thing that we were praying about, and we spent time ministering to the kids in this area.

We played dodge ball during one of the break times



Worshipping and waiting the Lord


Worship in the Home
When we pray and fast, the Lord can answer us by providing an opportunity that gives us the choice to start walking in the answer to our prayer or choose not to for whatever reason. Well, I was praying and fasting for my kids. The day after I ended, the opportunity came. Our daughter had something tied to my keyboard stand, and the keyboard (which was in its protective case) fell hard onto our cement floor and broke. I had that keyboard for a long time and had paid a lot of money for it. Currently, my daughter had been using it for her keyboard lessons. Now, it no longer works at all. But, this was a perfect opportunity and answer to my prayers. Instead of getting really upset, I made the decision to uphold the value my daughter has in Christ, even in the midst of her needing to be corrected. The Lord helped me greatly, and with ease I ended up speaking words that honored her, confirmed her value in Christ, and encouraged her to trust God who works all things together for the good to those who love Him… (Romans 8:28). After, she prayed that the Lord would continue to give our family joy, even when bad things happen!

I included this last testimony because, being a missionary, the wonders and workings of God are just as important for our own children as they are for the other children like those in Assumane Village. Our prayer is always, what we experience “out there” in the village and the city, must be our daily experience at home. In both situations above, God was worshiped and as a result, He was exalted. I no longer have a keyboard (for now), but what was more precious and important was protected. That is, my daughter didn’t allow the sorrow of a very big mistake to overtake her, but rather she chose to focus on seeing Jesus in the midst of a bad circumstance. It may sound strange, but I ended up rejoicing in Christ more because of His mercy within this circumstance than what I would have done if it had never happened. Praise God who protects what is most important and preserves the treasures of the heart which are of incomparable value!

Blessed in Christ’s love,

Tyren and Tiffany Haynes

A New Day has Dawned: The Birth of our New Baby!

Monday, Oct. 10, before the sun rose, Tiffany gave birth to a beautiful little girl. It was the shortest delivery out of our 4 children. This time, we had our spirit-filled missionary friend and professional mid-wife, Sandra, to help deliver the baby. She did a great job! So, I was able to give due attention to my wife, coaching and caring for her during the process. Our missionary friend, Melissa from N.Y., watched our kids and took care of heating up all the water, baby clothes and other things.

We want to share with you a little about the wonderful working of God during the whole labor and delivery process. At the beginning of the labor, our whole family got together to worship. It wasn’t a ritual, it was because the presence of God came upon us in such a powerful way that we were released from everything else into a time of worshipping and adoring the Lord Jesus. All during the 3 stages of labor, the presence of the Lord was upon my wife and I in a very special way-in a way that I don’t remember sensing or feeling in the birth of our other three children. Although the recent birth of our 10 lb. plus girl was natural, it wasn’t a pain-free process for Tiffany. Yet, she worshipped the Lord through it. We both worshipped, not only with song, but with believing hearts, and hearts focused on Him and nothing else. Every time I saw my wife in pain, and me being completely helpless to remove it, worship naturally poured out of my mouth. As I prayed, asking the Lord to take the pain away, I had a thought that might sound foolish to some. But, radical obedience is a conduit of blessing (and answered prayer). So at one point I told my wife what the Holy Spirit told me, saying that every time she felt pain, to tell Jesus, “Here’s another offering for You. This pain belongs to You. You died for me and are worthy to carry it.” My wife told me that she actually started believing that, and that the Lord had been speaking to her concerning the pain, “it’s not really that bad”. Imagine that! If you have faith and know Jesus, you know that when He speaks, His words create our life, and if we believe, we can become conscious of no other reality than what He just spoke to us. Another thing was that during the delivery process the Lord actually let me know when my wife was about to have contractions (during the pushing stage) and when they would end even before she knew. Actually, He let me know so many things before they happened and before my wife knew, things too numerous to explain in this short blog. This was a great comfort to my wife. Remember, we didn’t have any special monitors or other computerized equipment to know this.

As my wife and I talked about all that the Lord had done, we realized that the Lord gave us a precious and special delivery. So many things happened during the process and birth itself that prophetically testified of the many things the Lord has done and spoken into our lives and ministry this year. Most importantly, both of us could see how much the Lord has done in 2 years, since Chayah’s birth, to bring worship and love for God into greater depths of our being. As we received our little girl into our arms, we were actually receiving a gift we didn’t expect or deserve… that is, we realized that the Lord had brought our family into a level of deeper and more intimate life with Jesus Christ that we desired. It was a true birthing experience indeed.

I hope you realize that this is our testimony of faith in Christ, and not just a man’s perspective of a birth experience. Because of Christ Jesus, we can have joy and find value in the midst of suffering, pain and persecution for righteousness sake. Our Lord Himself taught us this (Hebrews 12:2-3). Be encouraged and have hope with joy in the Holy Spirit. In the midst of your difficult, trying or seemingly endless situations, may you dare to ask the Lord to work His purposes in and around you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit and invincible hope in the process.
Love,
Tyren and Tiffany Haynes