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

Digging Deep - Springing Forth From The Aquifer

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Drilling the Bore Hole (~120 feet deep)
On June 11, a team of men, several trucks, a tractor and lots of equipment arrived at our house. About 6 hours later, the bore hole was dug and the pipes was installed and sealed. The bore hole is a little over 120 feet deep. The last 9 feet of the digging was through solid rock (the kind of rock that contains a lot of water). The Lord truly blessed this event. It was more like a casual meeting with friends rather than working through a business deal worth thousands of dollars. The Holy Spirit also gave several opportunities to share the gospel and further the work he was doing in people’s hearts. On Saturday, my friends and I dug holes, put up the ~15 foot steel tower, and then cemented the legs of the tower into the holes that were dug about 2 ½ feet deep into the ground. The tower was welding together in the city, and then transported by truck to our house. This week, the company plans to come back out and install the pump and tubing which will allow the water to be pumped up to a tank, and then gravity fed from the water tank directly into our house. The “House of God’s Pleasure” will have clean water from the aquifer running through it.



Namacula Outreach – Turning Hearts Toward the Lord
Before the film, our team talked with the people and played with the children. One man gave his life to the Lord before the film and preaching started. The main thing the Lord put on my heart for this outreach was to call His people to seek after Him with their whole heart and live lives to please the Lord. I shared a very brief word from Jeremiah 29:13-14. A large number of adults and children responded. Together we lifted up our hands, asked for forgiveness, and committed ourselves to seeking after our First Love. During the Jesus film, the generator stopped working and we weren’t able to continue even after we got the generator working again. But the Lord’s presence was there, and one of the missionaries led the children in worship (it was beautiful), and then we began praying for the sick and whoever else wanted prayer. We plan to go back some time to replay the Jesus Film, but I also want to hear testimonies from the people who received prayer for healing and those who committed themselves to seeking after the Lord.



Count Down to the New Arrival
The baby hasn’t come yet. We’ll definitely let you know when he/she arrives.

We really enjoy everything that we are doing as missionaries in Africa. We’ve enjoyed living here since we arrived in Lichinga. We do not find it a struggle, but rather it’s a joy both physically and spiritually. We are so happy that we made the decision to follow Jesus and come overseas exactly when we did. We are here with no regrets. Sure we don’t have lots of meat, cheese, ice cream or as much variety or quality of things as in the U.S. But honestly, our hearts are satisfied with the reality of the life we have with Jesus. We are full, abundantly satisfied and content in all ways. We even get to experience a level of community living and relationship with others that we never got to experience in the U.S. We are well, doing well, and are thankful for everything God is giving us, and we choose to continue to follow Him. There is so much the Lord has for us – Lichinga is just the beginning of our overseas journey.


All for Jesus,

Tyren and Tiffany Haynes
Heartsforharvest@yahoo.com

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Counting Down To The New Arrival/Evangelism

Count Down For The New Arrival
If you’re counting, there’s about 4 weeks left until the due date for the baby. As the weeks approach, we’ll be preparing our bedroom and kitchen to be an at-home birthing area. It won’t be as fancy as those we’re used to but it’ll be comfortable. While in the U.S. earlier this year, we were provided with an at home and an emergency birth kit full of important things we will need for our at home delivery. If you’re wondering, Tiffany and I have no fears about an at home birth. We are actually looking forward to having an exciting time. Tiffany is hoping that she delivers during the day because it gets rather chilly at night and we have no access to indoor heating.

A store in Lichinga actually began selling a number of different cribs. Tiffany found one that she liked. None of them seem to be as strong as the ones we can get in the U.S., but they appear to be sturdy and are so cute! They even come with mosquito nets to help protect the baby against malaria. We should be able to purchase it today. Thank you again for everyone that blessed us financially at the baby shower at Church of the Living God. We are using some of that money now to buy the crib. We’ll definitely send you a photo when we set it up.

Upcoming Namacula Outreach
The Lord put it on my heart to have an outreach in Namacula Village. It will be on Saturday, Jun 13. Other missionaries from our center will be involved in live worship, playing the Jesus Film, preaching, praying for the sick, and calling on Christians to renew their love for Christ and commit to living holy lives. We will be praying and fasting, believing God to pour out His Spirit, reveal His heart, heal lives, break chains, and change the atmosphere over that huge village. Please join us in praying for this outreach.

Amerel in Asumani
About a week ago, Amerel went with “Daddy” to Asumani to play with the children, and help Victor and I preach to the unsaved. She did a wonderful job playing soccer, and telling the children about Jesus. As you may imagine, the other children were very interested in hearing another child telling them testimonies about what Jesus has done.

Visiting The Prison
Yesterday was my first day visiting inmates at Lichinga’s prison. I reached my hand around the steel gate to unlock the latch and open the main gate of the prison. Immediately after entering the prison walls, one enters the main yard for the prison (it’s full of guards, of course). Immediately to the left is the guard hut, where I had to leave my cell phone, bag and anything else. In the main yard, most of the prisoners are allowed to walk freely. I sat and talked to a group fixing shoes with a knife, glue and rubber line. About 30 feet away there was another group chopping wood with an axe. Then, right next to them was a group cooking lunch. I sat down and met my new friends. I so appreciated their kindness in letting me sit with them, talking with them (in Portuguese), and learning how and why they were in prison. I know the Lord has wonderful plans for them. Please pray that they have true encounters with Jesus that will transform their lives and prepare them for life outside of prison.

All for Jesus,

Tyren and Tiffany Haynes
Heartsforharvest@yahoo.com

Photos:
1) Insect: Walking stick thing on the side of our house. This one was as long as your hand.
2) Amerel washing clothes in our new outside sink.
3) A wonderful dish of white rice and sautéed minnows. We actually like it.

(May 4) What Are We Up To?

Sorry, it’s taken a while to write. Last week, I was able to send a few emails, but I couldn’t update our blog. I am not able to update the blog now either, so please accept the updates via email (pictures are sent as an attachment). Jesus is doing a lot of wonderful things in the ministry (salvations, healings, divine protection), but we wanted to take a little time to let you know about some of the other things we are doing.

Photos:
1) Building gazebo with friend, Condela
2) Snake in the bathroom!
3) Caterpillar Train. The longest we’ve seen was about 21 feet

We started painting the inside of our house this week. My mom sent paint tints last year, so for most of the house we’re able to create the colors that we want. Many colors in oil based paint are not available here. We mixed lime (powder) with water and then primed the cement walls. That’s how it’s done here. The bathroom and Amerel’s room are shades of pink. Today, I hope to paint Isaiah’s room a shade of blue. Later, we’ll paint the kitchen a shade of yellow, and the school room and our room will be cream. We’ll include some other pictures a little later.

Last week, my friend Condela and I started building the small, round gazebo on top of the Dancing Hill, the small mound on the side of our house. The sides will be about a 1 yard high. That’s the first time I laid cement blocks for a foundation and rounded walls. It took a while measuring and laying the foundation on the uneven hill. Eventually, the gazebo will have a bamboo and grass roof on it. (Condela’s name means God likes/loves me).

We designed our folding kitchen table and gave the plans to the same carpenter who made our windows and doors. The table top will fold open/close. With this design we’ll be able to save space in our eating area, and save money by using less wood and labor on a smaller table. It’s helpful to be able to expand the table when we have guests over.

Speaking of guests, one morning we found a short snake curled up behind our toilet bowl. We don’t know how many nights we had been relaxing in there with a snake about 2 feet away from our feet. I was getting concerned over the 4 or 5 snakes that have been either on our veranda, where our children play, and then the one in the bathroom. Then, the Holy Spirit spoke to me asking me why I was focused on there being snakes and not on the fact that I killed them or chased them off. His word helped me to see clearly and gave me a different perspective. Something good was happening in the spirit.

We hooked up a plug-in, under the counter light to our solar panel battery system. Now we have one light at night! Since the center wall in our house isn’t completed, the light shines into the children’s rooms (which they love), the kitchen and part of the bathroom (if you keep the door open).

We thank God that we’re getting closer to finishing the work on the House of God’s Pleasure. Much is being built up in our lives and in the kingdom of God during this home building process. Please continue to pray that we yield to Jesus’ transforming power, and He continues to do a deep work in our hearts to make us more like Him.

Longing to be more like Jesus,

Tyren and Tiffany Haynes