Night Evangelism

I must reach those whom the Lord has called me to; therefore, I started up night evangelism again.  I will go wherever the Lord sends me, choose to love, purposely seek out those in darkness, and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

It would have been easier, convenient, and perhaps, safer, to preach the gospel at night on the lighted streets lined with people selling fish, bolos (fried dough balls), and many other items.  But, instead, we walked through a narrow path into a dark area lined with bars and full of music, alcohol, and prostitutes.  This was the place God put on my heart.  Victo and I ministered to the prostitutes, and the men trying to spend time with them for 100 meticais (about $3.40 USD).  We were insulted, yelled at, mocked and threatened to be stoned.  But, the Lord pursued them and encouraged us to continue to share the love of Jesus Christ with them, telling them of their worth and how Christ could set them free.  They all refused to respond and decided to move on to another area.  Shortly afterwards a man came and sat next to me.  He told me, “I despised all that you were saying to the prostitutes, so I decided to leave.   But as I was leaving, I knew that I needed to hear the gospel.  So, I went to the prostitutes and asked where the man was that was preaching the gospel.  They told me where you went.”  As we talked, this man ended up repenting.  Then he left to go home to his wife and 2 daughters.

 

In the same area, Victo ministered to a man who made a decision to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior!  Later, we began to share the gospel with a man and two women.  As soon as we mentioned the love of Christ, the two women quickly left and called the young man to follow them.  But, the young man refused.  Instead, he sat with Victo for a while intently listening to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He left, thanking Victo for sharing the gospel and spending time with him.

It is a privilege to take the gospel to the bars and the streets.  Love compels me to preach Christ, who alone can satisfy the longing in the hearts and souls of drunks, prostitutes and others living in darkness.  Pray that we’ll be bold to preach the gospel in the darkest places here, and confidently display God’s love to help people know that salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone.    

Love, Tyren and Tiffany Haynes

Why We Preach the Gospel?

We really want to be clear and speak directly about why we preach the gospel and pursue the love of God for our neighbor, for a village, and for a nation.  We’ll start with the short story below that occurred about 2 weeks ago.

The witchdoctors were called to work their charms, but they were regarded as not having enough power.  So, the family brought other witchdoctors from other areas.  They too worked their charms and enchantments to talk to demons and find out where the missing body of the 10 year old was located.  But, they also had no idea where she was.  Less than a week later, the 10 year old child was found, not far from her home; but is was too late.  Her body was found swarmed by flies and apparently had been used for religiously dark purposes - I'll spare you the details (this story was told to me directly from a family member of the deceased girl).  This was not the plan of God for this young girl!



We visited the church Mr. Daylight attends.  Tyren also
ministered there inviting the church to a life of love.

God's plan is given clearly through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The gospel is the power of God for the salvation for all who believe (Romans 1:16, NIV).  It is life, hope, joy, love, unity, freedom and so much more!  And if we must, we'll suffer for Christ's sake and His glorious gospel, that others might be saved from the worthless darkness and sin of this world.  We rejoice in God's love which compels us to preach the gospel. 

 

Testimony from church last weekend:  “For about 2 weeks my son has been sick and hasn’t been able to leave the house,” the man told Mr. White.  “You need to pray for him now,” the man, who is an unbeliever, added.  White prayed a long time for the child, then went to work.  Later that day he returned to the man’s house and met the child walking outside!  The mom asked him, “What kind of medicine did you give him?”  White replied, “I didn’t use any medicine.  The Lord healed him.” “This boy was sick for about 2 weeks, and he was healed just by you praying for him!” the woman replied, amazed that Jesus Christ can heal. 

After White’s testimony, and those of others, Victo prayed for the Assumane believers that the fire of evangelism would increase.  During the prayer, Amerel saw the pendulum of a grandfather clock swinging.  The hour had come and its chime resounded loudly.  “It is time,” the Lord told Amerel after He gave her this vision of the grandfather clock.

Indeed, it is time!  If those who know Christ don’t preach the gospel and be light in darkness, who will?  Christ’s love compels us to be overseas with the privilege of laboring in darkness for a soul to know its true light (and eternal life), which is only in Christ.  Pray that we might run and reap the harvest, and release others to do the same.  It is time!  The world can not afford for the people of God-the lights of the world (Matthew 5:14)-being silent, powerless, or loveless any longer.  Pray that we preach the gospel!  Pray that, at all cost, we live the life of the gospel out of the pure love that Father God has for us!

Pray for Assumane Village that the fire of the gospel would illuminate hearts, dispel darkness, and bring people to their knees and to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, the only Saviour for the world.

Love,  Tyren and Tiffany Haynes

Watchmen Who Watch the Lord

We have amazing men, Christian men, who serve the Lord as watchmen at our center. The night watchmen, especially, help to make up the 24/7 worship lifestyle where people are living holy lives to host the presence of the Lord. They guard and do general work, but their motive is to be lovers of God who watch for (keep their eyes on) the presence of the Lord. I didn’t realize how much these men were being impacted by the presence of God until they recently shared some of their testimonies with me. Here are a few testimonies of how the presence of God is impacting these men as they serve at our center.

Watchmen (6:30 A.M.): making cards for our
beautiful wives.

Night Watchman:  (This occurred while on duty at our center.)  "Someone came to me in a dream and handed me a lot of money and said, 'This is to help your family.  Don’t play around with it.'"  Several weeks later, this watchman actually received money to help put a roof, windows and doors on his house which he hasn’t been able to finish.  

Night Watchman:  "I was offered a job paying more money, but I turned it down.  Since I’ve been here, I’ve been growing spiritually.  The leaders at my church have noticed that I’m at a spiritual level higher than others at my church.  Even my son told me that since I’ve been serving here I’ve been different."

Day Watchman:  The Lord had me pouring teaching and demonstrations of love into one of our day watchmen.  He had an encounter in the Lord where his eyes were being cleansed, and he realized that living a life of love was the way the Lord was calling him to live.

Eating chocolate that was given as a prophetic sign of being
ready for new things the Lord is opening to us. (Chocolate is
a special treat which many people don't buy here.)

There are so many other experiences and encounters in the Lord that the watchmen continue to have.  When they come to serve during the day or night, they daily pray for one another and for this place.  More often, they greet one another with hugs-sometimes group hugs.  In the early watches, 5 to 6 a.m., some are walking around the center praying and worshiping the Lord.  I’ve purchased one Bible, so far, to provide them with more opportunities to read the word of God or minister to one another during their meal breaks.  Their testimonies greatly encourage me to continue to pursue, even more, the assignment the Lord has given me to minister to them.  One of them recently spoke about our center saying, “The Lord is in this place.”  

We value the Lord’s presence at our center and nothing that is of value gets done without Him.  Pray that all of us here at Iris Lichinga may host His presence and provide a place for people to encounter God in life changing ways.

Love, Tyren and Tiffany Haynes