Prison Ministry – Faith Pleases God

I had just taught a lesson to the prisoners about the need to exercise their faith to grow in their personal relationship with God and be who God is calling them to be.  After the message, the Holy Spirit gave both the prisoners and me a lesson in doing just that. 

The Holy Spirit moved giving a word of knowledge that there were some people with headaches and a person with pain in his side.  About 20 people came forward including the person with pain in his side.  I didn’t touch any of them, but simply invited the Holy Spirit to come.   I really believed that the presence of God was present to heal all of them.  Do you know how many people were healed?  Only about 3 – 4 of them!  I was surprised because I believed that I did what the Lord had instructed me to do.   A year ago, I would have just ended the ministry time figuring that nothing else would happen.  But, this time I told the Lord that I believed what He told me no matter how few people got healed.  When I made that confession of faith, suddenly the Holy Spirit said to me, “Do you know why they didn’t get healed?  They were afraid to use their faith.  But, tell them…that in my mercy, I will still heal them now.”  I was about to hesitate.  After all, most people didn’t get healed the first time. But, I decided to believe God because I knew the Holy Spirit had spoken to me.  I told the prisoners what the Lord had said.  After inviting the Holy Spirit again to heal people, everyone was instantly healed except for 3 or 4 people.  There was no time for individual prayer for the few that didn’t get healed.  But, after giving one of those men a prophetic word and prayer, he was totally healed.  I left the prison in awe at the revelation of faith the Lord had shared with us all.  First, the Lord actually healed the prisoners who chose to believe Him.  By healing the others through His mercy (though they hadn’t exercised their faith), He showed them that they actually could trust in Him.  But they missed a privilege and a focus of our faith – pleasing God (Hebrews 11:6).   I’m happy the Lord healed the men, but I’m more excited that the Lord was able to reveal His ways to us.  Faith enables us to depend upon God, so that He does what pleases Him.  Thus, faith pleases God.  And whatever pleases God should be the most important thing to us.

Pray that the Lord would continue to pour out His presence upon the prison.  Pray that the men will mature, exercising their faith to believe God so that they can do the things He is calling them to do.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to not only be healed, but also have faith to trust the Lord and work with Him doing whatever He desires?  The Lord is so special, let’s give Him our love and choose to completely trust in Him.

To God be the glory.  Love,

 Tyren and Tiffany Haynes

A New Start from the Prison House

 
Recently, one of the leaders of the Tuesday meetings in the prison was released after spending 7 months in prison (he was found innocent and then released). I’ve always wanted to be able to help some of the prisoners re-integrate into the community. We’ve given Mr. Daylight (changed his name for this blog), who is a builder, some work to do at our house. For a few weeks this is helping him to have a fresh start and provide for his family of 9 (including his wife and 7 children).

People who work at our house are told that they are here to serve the Lord and not just have a job. The real work is what the Lord will be doing in their hearts while they offer themselves to the Lord through their labors (Romans 12:1, Colossians 3:23).

The first few weeks it took about 1 ½ hours for Mr. Daylight to walk from his house to our house, then another 1 ½ hours to return back to his house after working. (We decided to give him an advance to buy a bike. Now it takes him about 45 minutes one-way.) I told Mr. Daylight that the presence of the Lord is over our center and as he works the Lord will be speaking to him. Well, after the first few days, Mr. Daylight came to me and told me, “The Lord asked me why I was here.” “What did you reply?” I asked. He said, “I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know what to say.” Then another day, Mr. Daylight came to me and said that the Lord asked him the same thing again, but he didn’t answer. I prayed that the Lord would help him to respond. The next day after I petitioned the Lord, Mr. Daylight was very excited. He told me that the Lord responded to him during a dream explaining that He sent him to work at my house to bless him. Mr. Daylight woke up from the dream, and because he was so excited, he woke up his wife while she was sleeping just to tell her.

During the day, I often teach Mr. Daylight things from the Word of God – whatever specific words the Lord gives for him. He’s so joyful about what the Lord is revealing to him that he goes home, sits with his family, and shares with them the scriptures and things that I often teach him during the day. Tiffany and I were amazed to see that just out of shear joy, this man is sharing the word of God with his household. Jesus is also using his life as a testimony of His love and faithfulness to others who are in awe at the blessings of God that are on his life now-even though he was in prison and lost his previous job, some friendships and a lot of other things he had previously owned.

In the midst of the various ministry activities the Lord has us do here in Mozambique, our focus is still the same. We have been called to prepare people’s hearts for His presence and open the way for people to walk in their divine destiny. As you pray for Mozambique, boldly seek the Lord and ask Him to reveal His glory in this city and raise up people to be carriers of His presence.

 

Mr. Daylight and Jordao are working together to build our new storage shed.
This project is a result of a prophetic word, from Leviticus 26:10, that has been burning in our hearts this year.

,
 

Dancing Hill (our gazebo) has finally had it's walls cemented and smoothed, and the cement floor laid down.
Once the tin roof is nailed on it'll be ready to use. 



Blessings from on high,

Tyren and Tiffany Haynes

Christmas in the Prison

We can honor people by preaching the good news of Jesus Christ to them. We can also honor people by treating them as God sees them; by being led by the Holy Spirit to help them realize (demonstrate to them) that what God desires them to be is possible for them. As we interact with people according to the love of God, it helps them to see themselves as the word of God declares that they can be in Christ Jesus. So with a heart full of God’s love and a fresh revelation of honor, I decided to bring Christmas to about 300 prisoners in a greater way. Unlike last year, the prison didn’t send me an official request for money or help to provide food for prisoners to celebrate Christmas. Upon inquiry, I was told that the prison didn’t have the ability to provide anything out of the ordinary for the prisoners for Christmas. So with help from people who graciously donate to us (thank you, thank you, thank you), we purchased over 24 lbs of goat meat (from the outside market), soda and spices for the group that I minister to on a weekly basis. For all the prisoners, which include many unbelievers, we purchased over 335 packs of cookies and 350 small bags of chips. The Lord’s love extended to the guards with chocolate and cookies (wow!). A lady who sells fried bean patties on the street didn’t prepare the right number of patties for all the prisoners, so I asked the prison guard if they could receive these as well. I ate several to let them know they were ok to eat, and not poisoned (remember, it’s the prison). Thank you for your prayers and donations which helped about 300 prisoners and many guards understand more about what Christmas is about – the love of God that comes freely through Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, while inside the prison, I was not allowed to take a photo of all the items that were dropped off.

Again, HAPPY NEW YEAR and may 2011 be a year full of great surprises!

In the love of Christ,

Tyren and Tiffany Haynes

Updates and On Our Way to the U.S.

Prison House
This past Tuesday at the prison, we had the privilege of having another powerful time of ministry through Jesse Gallatly, a missionary at our center, who shared his testimony and ministered to the men at the prison. Jesse spent time in jail in the U.S., but his life has been radically changed. He now walks in the power of the Holy Spirit and love, sends demons running, and is raising up a mighty team of young men to evangelize in the villages. Condela, a Mozambican friend, also shared his testimony and encouraged the young men. Several new inmates came forward to receive Jesus as their Savior.


Visiting the U.S.
Sunday, May 16, we’re flying to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, to apply for Chayah’s U.S. documentation so we can bring her back to the U.S. with us. We’ll be in Maputo for about 2 weeks before flying to the U.S. We are going to miss our Mozambican friends and family who have become so precious to us. We are also looking forward to the times of ministry, refreshing, blessing and family vacation that awaits us in the U.S. We know the Lord is sending us back for 3 months and will give us an awesome time with friends and family. Here’s a brief look at our schedule the next 3 months:

Schedule
May 16: Leave Lichinga to spend 2 weeks in Maputo, Mozambique to apply for Chayah's U.S. passport and other docs. We'll be staying at the Iris Ministries children’s center.
May 29: Arrive in the U.S.
June 1 - June 26: In Connecticut
June 27 - end of July: Traveling through New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania to visit family friends and vacation.
End of July - August 25: In Connecticut
August 26: Leave for Mozambique

Our new kitchen cabinets and shelves that Andrew, missionary at our center, built

Part of the wall around our house. Iron flowers are on top of the gates, doors and the part in front

Please continue to pray for the Lord’s work here in Mozambique while we are away. Ministry in the hospital, prison, the children’s ministry, ministry to the youth floorball team, and ministry on the streets and villages surrounding the city are going well.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Love,

Tyren and Tiffany Haynes

Glory in the Prison and Ministry

The Glory in the Prison
In the previous blog I shared about the prison. But something special happened during last week’s prison ministry, and I just have to share it with you. We experience His presence in the prison, but on this day, the Lord Himself showed up. It wasn’t just His presence. God Himself was with us. The glory covered us. I wish I had words to describe it. You might be wondering about what happened. I delayed teaching when my time came – it was not time for such things (2 Chronicles 5:14). Instead everyone worshipped Him. He drew our hearts into the privilege of being awed by who He is. If He’s not enough for us, nothing will ever satisfy us. I sat down in awe, seeing that this was God’s time and His ministry. I felt like God Himself was ministering to us, and that we were there just to serve Him (and minister) only if He called upon us that very moment to do so. It was a very holy time.

Pray that the Lord renews the minds of the believers behind bars to believe and walk in their inheritance in Christ; and that revival would come to the prison.

Cement Block Wall
At our center, a project can never just be about doing something. It’s about the Lord doing His work (Psalm 127:1) of building lives, temples for the Lord. The Lord has me teaching the boss of the group mainly about His glory. The boss (a Christian), thought that he came here just to build a wall, but the Lord brought him here for a completely different purpose. Jesus has a wonderful surprise for him. I’m eager to see what it is myself. On March 17, the workers began building the wall. Most of the wall will be about 7 feet tall.


Night Street Evangelism
A group of the missionaries at our center, including three visitors to our center, went out to evangelize the central market area at night. This was our first night street evangelism. Through the Holy Spirit, we spoke life and love into people’s lives. Victo led a man to the Lord while the man’s friends around him were laughing. Another heard us speaking about Jesus, and asked us to pray about his eye problems. A word of knowledge and prophecy was given to a Christian young man who then prayed to surrender his way to the Lord and ask Jesus to give him direction for the purpose of his life. Jesus used us to do many wonderful things, and we thank Him for the privilege of serving Him.

Pray that the people of Lichinga continue to appreciate the word of the Lord, and keep their hearts open to the gospel. Also pray that the Lord’s presence would continue to transform the city and awaken hearts to His plan, way and destiny for Lichinga.

Grace for grace,

Tyren and Tiffany

The Prison

We entered through the steel gates into the prison courtyard. Our phones were turned off and left with the armed guard. A short walk brings us to the back of the prison, where our backpacks are briefly checked by another guard. Then, the steel door is unlocked and we are allowed to enter the small inner courtyard which contains only a few small rooms where 300+ men sleep. The guards do not accompany us inside. The door is locked behind us from the outside. It’s just my ministry team, the prisoners and Jesus – a perfect setting.

While an area is being cleared for us to worship and teach, we have time to greet the many muslim and other prisoners. One young man had malaria and was still suffering from pain in his shoulders and other parts of his body. We prayed for him and the pain began to go away. The young man ended up giving his life to Christ.

The believers in the prison are also part of our ministry team. I told them it’s very easy for them to visit other prisoners since they themselves live in the prison. They are the lights of the prison and the main means through which the Lord will transform lives. I’ve been encouraging them to ask the Holy Spirit to give them one person to minister to that they don’t know, or a person they know doesn’t like them. One prisoner called up 3 new people he had ministered to who had received Jesus.

The Holy Spirit gave us an impromptu drama to help the men understand their liberty in Christ and be renewed in their minds. One prisoner played satan and another played a Christian with little faith and knowledge of who they are in Christ. The drama caught the attention of all the men sitting in the courtyard as they watched satan’s tactic to make the Christian (or anyone) choose other ways to live life outside of Jesus’ will.

Every week is a little different. Toward the end of our visit, the Holy Spirit directed us to have the men form two lines facing one another. The believers prayed for one another, declaring the word of God over one another’s lives. It was a beautiful time.

Pray for the prison that the believers would be a light and carry God’s fire and love within the prison, and the Lord would open up new avenues of ministry within the prison.

Other updates:

Foundation being dug for brick wall around our house





Foundation dug for children's ministry center

For His glory and kingdom,

Tyren and Tiffany Haynes

Celebrating Christmas

God’s Presence within the Prison Chambers
The presence of the Lord continues to lead the way in transforming the hearts of men in the prison. I love meeting with the men who are saved, but my heart breaks for the few hundred men, many who are muslim, who sit against the wall and with hunger watch the Lord Jesus touch lives. Two weeks ago the Spirit of the Lord moved mightily during our meeting, many muslims and other unbelievers lifted up their hands to receive prayer to know the truth about Jesus Christ, and experience more of God’s love and peace in their lives. Last week, after another wonderful time in our meetings, the Lord instantly healed 4 men of sickness and pains. Hallelujah! Dec. 23, the prison celebrated Christmas. With the help of an individual from the U.S., we were able to bless each of the 34 men within the prison church with a tube of toothpaste, a toothbrush, and bath soap. Because of God’s love, we also purchased 2 buckets of dried, salted usipa (minnows) for all the 300+ men in the prison to eat. Praise God!

Joy In Assumane Village
This past Sunday, the Iris Ministries church in Assumane village celebrated Christmas with a chicken, rice and soda feast for everyone. Most people in the villages don’t get to have chicken and soda often. The children were given “punch balloons” as gifts. Even better than the feast, was the fact that many missionaries and local Mozambicans worked well together to make the event a successful one.

Christmas Eve at our Iris Center in Lichinga
All of us missionaries got together at our center to exchange gifts, pray for one another, worship and enjoy food as we hung out and spent time with one another. We had a wonderful time together celebrating the birth of Christ. Currently there are 27 missionaries at our center which includes the 11 children and the newest member, Zoe, the daughter and first child of Jessie and Tanya Gellatly, who was born December 23.

Thank you for praying for the people of Mozambique, and helping us to reveal the love of God in Christ Jesus to them. We pray that the Lord would exalt Himself in your midst this Christmas and Holiday Season! Merry Christmas, and may the Lord bring more and more joy into our lives because of all that He has done for us.

We praise the Father for the precious gift of His Son, Jesus Christ,

Tyren and Tiffany Haynes

Photos: gifts for prisoners, children waiting for the Christmas feast, Chayah (1 day before turning 6 months)

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.