Just posted - Vestiges of Mibu

We just posted a photojournal we've been working on over this last year. It's called "Vestiges of Mibu" and is available to look at and purchase at www.blurb.com. Check it out!

If you're interested in purchasing, please know that ALL the profit for the book ($10 per copy) goes toward funding the printing of portions of the Bible that have been translated so far into one single book. You can help get God's word into a more useful format and into the hands of the Mibu people.

It's a book release, and you're invited -- check out my new book at Blurb:
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/602546/25ac53accc9ab1ba5235c0ea30989d71

Thank you,
geoff_husa@ntm.org

Back home safely

Hello all,

 

Just a quick update to let you know that we all made it back to Arizona safely last Thursday evening without any further mishaps in our itinerary. We were so tremendously blessed by a house stocked with food and many of the little things that we needed for our daughters having already been taken care of. I think our church loves us J Thank you so much to all who contributed to that!

 

We’re super excited about the year that lays ahead here back in AZ and can’t wait to see you. We’re getting caught up in our sleep and getting over jet-lag here still. We’ve got Skyler enrolled in preschool classes, which she started today, and already have Geoff scheduled for some Lasik surgery this Friday morning to fix his eyes!

 

Sorry for the long delay in getting this initial update out, but we were having problems sending emails until just last night!

 

Looking forward to seeing you soon! Give us a call.

 

Geoff and Shannon and the girls

 

Geoff’s cell: (602)618-9356

Shannon’s cell: (602)618-9370

Our travels so far

They don’t call PNG “the land of the unexpected” for nothing.  We arrived at the airport in Madang around 6am and checked in and waited for about 1 hour before they told us that lightning had hit the runway and cracked it and we wouldn’t be leaving that morning.  They told us to come back at 1pm so we headed back to our NTM center where everyone was confused to see us J  We realized that this setback was going to have us missing our international flight the next day in Australia so Geoff made lots of phone calls to work things out.  Several hours later and a whopping additional $3400 poorer, we had all our connections changed, bringing this one way ticket home to an unheard of grand total of $7900 (our family can usually fly round trip for that much)!  Geoff then called the airline again around 11:30 to see if our flight was going to be finally leaving Madang and they said to come on down around 1pm.  We arrived only to find out it wasn’t going to happen but they assured us that they could get us on a flight in the morning and would put us up at the hotel for the night including meals.  So we accepted that offer and headed to the hotel.  We ate lunch and put the girls down for their naps and enjoyed the air conditioning for about 2 hours, actually dozing off a bit ourselves, when the airline called and said the flight was going to be leaving after all and we needed to get down there right away. They said that they were holding the plane for us! We had already cancelled our hotel in Port Moresby so we asked if we could still just leave in the morning per the second original plan. The lady checked with her boss and said they really wanted us to be on the afternoon flight and that they would pay for our hotel in POM.  So we woke the girls up and raced back to the airport.  This time we actually made it on our flight but we were rerouted to Wewak (another city in PNG) which we didn’t actually know until we were descending.  As we flew over Skyler said “we should call the water God because it’s everywhere!!”  Too cute.  So after a short sit on the plane in Wewak we were finally on our way to POM and then arrived around 7pm.  One of NTM’s government reps met us at the airport with our passports and helped us figure out the hotel situation.  It took almost 1 hour to sort it out but they put us up at a hotel with meals included.  All of the nicer hotels were totally booked so we weren’t sure what to expect.  On arriving at the hotel we were shown to a room about 7 feet x 12 feet with one single bed.  The security guard quickly realized that was not going to work for us and arranged for us to have a larger room (here, the security guards help out with some of the work in the places they protect… so at the hotels they’ll often help with luggage and stuff and at stores they’ll actually help you find things you’re looking for) So anyway they moved us across the hall to a room with a double bed and a single bed which was much bigger.  This hotel was a much bigger step down than what we’re used to… A MUCH bigger step J  We were happy to have a place to sleep though and were able to sleep okay and were off to the airport early in the morning.  We made our flight to Brisbane, Australia without any further delays and the girls were really well behaved on the flight.  Maddie slept almost the entire way and Skyler just loved everything about the plane.  So we are now in Brisbane where we will be until tomorrow morning (Thursday our time) and enjoying comfortable beds and fast food again J  The plan now is that we will arrive in Phoenix around 7pm on Thursday so we hope to see some of you then and the rest of you not long after.  Please pray that the rest of our flights go smoother than the first, for more good behavior from the girls and a safe arrival in Phoenix in 2 days.

 

Thank you all for your prayers for us!

The Husas

Historical moment... a milestone!

Today history was made during the believers’ meeting in Mibu!

 

There is a young believing man here who has repeatedly, over the last couple years, been involved in activities that have needed discipline and admonition of his fellow brothers and sisters. More recently his involvement in these activities has only continued and so it was determined that some heavier disciplinary action needed to be taken. What is the church to do with such a man?

 

So a couple weeks back, Joey and I met with a few of our leaders in training about this and we asked the question, “What does the scripture say about this kind of issue?” With the church here not having been taught on it in the past, I entered this meeting thinking that it was going to be quite the task to work through some key passages on church discipline in order to help them see the need for and get behind some action regarding this man. We talked about Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians 5 and a few other key passages. Then on their own, they were able to come up with some other wonderful passages regarding the need for discipline and what a correct response to discipline should be. Without much help from me or Joey these men were able to come up with a plan of discipline based on what the scripture says!

 

So today, after Joey was done with the lesson, we addressed the whole church about the need to deal with this young man’s ways. With him present, I stood up and merely introduced the subject matter at hand and then quickly turned it over to Sesi and Keteng, the two men who were going to officiate the action. What these two men did was truly beautiful! They explained wonderfully from scripture why this unprecedented thing was happening. Then they proceeded to explain why this young man was the subject of admonition and then give a stern but loving warning to him regarding his ways. Even such a warning as to say that if he persists that the church will have to ex-communicate him as a final step to try to get his attention… right from Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians 5. Such a stern warning, yet they managed to do all this while also communicating that they genuinely care for his well being and are doing this for his good. It wasn’t done in anger, but in a very loving manner. Afterward a number of people stood up and affirmed that this is for his good and that we all care for him and that this kind of action by the church toward him is good based on what they just heard. Afterward a prayer was said for him and the young man stood up and indicated his agreement with what we just did by shaking our hands and thanking us.

 

Now time will tell whether or not this disciplinary action by the church got this man’s attention. But for right now, today, what blew us away was that these two men were convinced enough by God’s word to do something that was totally unprecedented in their culture, even going against the grain of some very deeply rooted traditions. What I mean is that here, in situations like this, saving face is usually the name of the game. Not only by the one who needs to save face, but oddly enough, one’s peers often make lots of room for the saving of face. But that didn’t happen today. The action taken was done with the authority of God’s word and was decisive. But while being stern, it was done in a loving and gentle manner. Today the genuine care communicated by his peers was enough to overcome shame… and hopefully lead him to react not by running from it, but by humble repentance.

 

What excites us about seeing what we saw today, is that as we prepare to someday be absent from the people here, we strive to equip them to take on the responsibility of shepherding the church themselves. One major tenet of being able to shepherd is the ability to discipline with the mind of maintaining the purity of the church. What we saw today was evidence that they are definitely heading down that road of readiness! This one is usually a very difficult one to equip them for because the pull of the traditional way of doing things is SOOOO strong. But they did it today… and not just kind of. I mean they really did it all out. And not because the whiteskin said so, but because God’s word tells us that it is necessary!

 

So that’s what I mean when I say that history was made in the believers’ meeting today. It was such a great, imitatable example and we have high hopes for the impact it may have on the future of discipline and correction in the church of Mibu!

 

Praise God! And in the meantime, let’s not forget to keep the young man in our prayers, that his attention was got, and that today’s example was a real eye opener as to just how serious God takes the holiness of his people.

...a long time coming

Well, it’s been a while… again… since our last update. We’re so bad about that recently.

 

As we’re getting closer and closer to our scheduled return home on September 29^th, it takes extra effort to keep our minds on things here in Mibu! We’re really excited about our first proper furlough coming up here; a time where we hope to not only ‘catch up’ with our beloved friends and family, but also to have the time to grow more in those relationships!

 

The recent child training lessons all went really well. We’re excited to see signs of people who are starting to perceive their parenting task from a biblical perspective. If there is one single thing that we hope rang out above all the rest of the teaching, it is that the parents are the God placed authority over their children. It’s been the other way around here for so long that that one truth really comes as a shocker to most; A real eye opener there. We drove that point home again and again.

 

It’s been so awesome to watch one of my close friends here, with whom I probably spend the most time as he’s my main translation helper. He’s had a preview of much of this stuff as he spends the most time with me and my family and as we’ve developed the lessons over this last year, I’ve had much discussion with him. At this point there is a clear and marked difference in his house as he has strived to incorporate what God’s word says into his role as parent to his 2 children. It’s encouraging to see him taking the time and gently directing and disciplining his children and showing a genuine care for them as creatures made in God’s image. His household will clearly be an example to the many others who have heard the talk and are now just starting down that road.

 

There are two more lessons left at this point. It will be a couple weeks before they’re ready. One will be Shannon addressing mainly the ladies concerning the young newborns. Then I have one more final lesson that I’ll be putting together here to wrap things up for this round.

 

In the meanwhile, Joey has begun to take them through  the book of Romans… but this time with real scripture in the mother tongue! It’s very satisfying to see God’s word being used and adored by the people in their own language.

Translation check

Sorry, this update is long overdue. I actually tried writing it immediately after our translation check (a few WEEKS ago!), but when I went to write, I just didn’t like what I was producing. Picky picky picky.

 

So we finished our translation check of the latter part of Acts and then Romans 1-5. The check went good overall and there were a few parts here and there I need to check out and maybe fix up a bit before I can say it’s all done for those sections. Overall I’m encouraged with how it went.

 

I always look forward to and enjoy the opportunity to get feedback and essentially have my training in translation furthered by one of our consultants. This time was no different and I only feel all the more equipped to continue on in the task.

 

One thing that you can be in prayer about over the next few months before we return home to Arizona for our furlough, is regarding the seeming constant interruptions that we’ve been experiencing here. Our computers have been a constant problem (we just recently had to make a decision to buy 2 new ones… ouch!). Even the new computers have been problematic for us. And my translation helper has had many legitimate things pulling him away for longer periods of time. The list just seems to keep stacking up and has gotten to the point at times where it just makes our desire to see this task continue seem so futile. That’s my struggle at the moment. However, we remain encouraged and our ultimate satisfaction and joy in pursuing this task is found only in knowing that God is not losing control of anything and in fact intends these things for a purpose. But if you could be in prayer for these next few months, knowing that things just aren’t going as planned (that is, not how WE planned) and that there are many other things that vie for our time, we would appreciate it.

Yoonare

This afternoon (Wednesday) a VERY large group of people (probably 50+) made it back up to Mibu with Yoonare's body after what is usually a two day hike up from the coastal town of Saidor. With all that help, they were able to do the whole thing in about 24 hours. It was such an encouragement to see just how many people had gone down to help carry the body up like that. All that help was very encouraging for Keteng and the kids. It must have made that long haul back up the mountain so much easier for them.

 

They'll plan on burying the body tomorrow sometime after everyone has had a chance to see her and mourn for her.

 

In this whole thing the Mibu people have really seen Jesus' body, made up of his believers, in action. There was so much happening on so many fronts. Keteng was being graciously helped out in town by our supply buyer. He even, with the help of another friend of ours in town, fashioned up a coffin to transport the body in. The coffins in town are prohibitively expensive and so this really helped lessen the burden on Keteng. A friend of Keteng's was willing to lower the price of transportation on his speed boat to Saidor and then nearly the whole of his circle of friends here in Mibu went down to help him. Some other fellow brothers-in-Christ, from distant places, whom Keteng has befriended in the past, even managed to get some notes of condolence and encouragement through us to Keteng. There were so many other little details, but in the end, it left Keteng feeling encouraged about everything and giving honor to God throughout the whole thing. Just seeing how all these believers worked together to help him in his time of need has really blown him away.

 

Keteng's testimony through all this has been wonderful. His trust and faith in God's purposes has really shone throughout. We would appreciate your continued prayers for him as he and his family begin their journey without their beloved wife and mother.

 

 

Update on Yoonare

It is with mixed feelings that we send this e-mail.  We got word that this morning, Friday for us and Thursday for those of you in the States, that Yoonare passed away.  We rejoice that she is no longer suffering and that she knew Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and is in heaven right now basking in His Glory.  However, we are very saddened that we will no longer see our friend and that Keteng is now without his wife and their kids are without their mother. 

 

Here's a little bit that our co-workers wrote about Yoonare in their recent update...

 

"She and Keteng have been actively involved with the church planting ministry from day one of our arrival in Mibu.  Both of them were vital in helping our team learn the Mibu language, and helping to understand their culture.  They often went out of their way to help with various projects, and were very patient and gracious with us in our learning progress.  When it came time to present the gospel, they both paid attention with rapt interest.  They both fell in love with God, and later, His Son, Jesus Christ.  They were among the first to make professions of faith, and actively retaught the lessons they had learned in their home to their children.  They were both quick to internalize the gospel, and let it change the way they saw the world around them.  They were a great team together in a culture where affection and true camaraderie with your spouse is not always present."

 

We would also add that she had an outstanding sensitivity to God's Spirit in her life. She was always helping people and her community and seemed to do so out of her joy for what Jesus did for her. She had a quiet and gentle demeanor about her and we're going to miss that so much. (She's the one holding the baby in the picture, by the way)

 

Thanks to those of you who have been praying for this family.  Would you please continue to pray that the community here would be able to come up with the funds and means to transport her body back into Mibu to be buried as soon as possible and pray for the adjustment this is going to be for Keteng and the rest of their family.  They have 9 children, 3 who are married, 1 who is away at school and 5 more at home.  They also have 2 grandchildren.

 

Keteng and the two kids that traveled to town with him are being well taken care of.  Our regional leader has been looking in on them regularly and bringing food and things for the kids to do.  They are arranging for them to stay with a family that they know in town until they are able to come back to Mibu.  We are hoping they can begin the journey back by Monday our time. 

update on Yoonare

Just wanted to give a quick update on our friend Yoonare. 

 

Yesterday when Yoonare got to the hospital in town they immediately got her hooked up to an IV because she was very dehydrated. The doctor's initial examination determined that both her spleen and liver are enlarged and that yes, she has an obstructed gut. He is also suspecting cancer. That one really surprised us. They did not want to go ahead with any surgery to remove the obstruction because of her weakened condition. They took some blood and x-rays and are still waiting for the results of those. They aren't saying anything about the possibility of cancer to either Yoonare or Keteng until they have the results, which we are eagerly praying that they come back negative. She is in a great deal of pain and they have moved her to another ward where the nurses can keep a better eye on her. Meanwhile Keteng is looking after Yoonare and both of their young children who went out with them and is having a hard time with that. They are asking that we send their older daughter and one of her uncles out to get the kids so hopefully tomorrow they will be able to do that. It will be a two day hike for them as well as a big expense so you can be praying for that as well. 

 

Thank you all for your prayers for this family, they are really appreciated. We will keep you all updated as we learn more.

 

Love,

the Husas

Child training postponed - medical emergency

We ended up postponing the first installment of the child training until next week. One of our friends showed up on our doorstep Saturday morning to inform us of his wife's worsening condition, and when all was said and done our best guess was that she had a very serious condition (obstructed gut, for any of you in the medical field out there) and needed emergency help. That kind of took over the whole weekend, including Sunday morning.

 

I went down to Mibu early that morning and was so blessed to see the community having come together the way they did to support and encourage this family. A large number of people was needed to help carry this woman on a stretcher a very full day's hike up steep mountain trails to the nearest airstrip, where we were hoping to be able to have arranged a flight for her the next morning. It only took about a day to organize the community effort and when I went down there the morning of their departure I truly was blown away by all the people who were helping! I happened to catch out of the corner of my eye, a number of people giving small amounts of cash to the family so that they could buy food in town (at the hospitals here, you need to provide your own meals if you can). A number of people quickly put together a stretcher. Many women were there to try to provide comfort for their friend and relative. The whole thing was just a very touching scene and I consider myself blessed to have witnessed it.

 

These are great opportunities for people to come to understand the specific work and experience of God's Spirit in their lives. I was glad to be able to talk with some of the people who were helping and point out and praise their sensitivity to the Spirit's movement in them. It was so great to see this community of believers come together with such genuine concern and desire to help!

 

Then as of yesterday morning (monday), our friend and her husband and the smallest 2 of their 9 children are safely in Madang town where the hospital staff can hopefully quickly discern the cause of her condition and help resolve the issue. We are very thankful that though it was the weekend and with nobody at work, with the help of some of our friends and co-workers in town, a flight was just able to get arranged! Then once the plane arrived in Madang these friends of ours took the time out of their days to go pick the family up at the airport, take them to the hospital and offer any help and assistance they might need. A HUGE help, as the whole hospital experience is very foreign and probably adding a lot of stress to an already stressful situation. What a blessing though!

 

For those who would like to pray for her, our sick friend's name is Yoonare.

Titirapok outreach update

Earlier this week, after our weekly meeting with the teachers here, a group of men involved in bringing God's word to the village of Titirapok came and shared a report with all of us regarding the teaching there. After a long haul, with some interruptions here and there they have just finished the initial presentation of the Good News of Jesus and were excited to come and share that there are over 55 new brothers and sisters in Christ there as a result! There are still a few that they've not had a chance to talk with yet to see where they're at with things. So there likely could be a few more here and there. It's just so awesome to see how God has been working in people's lives to see his message spread!

 

We want to thank God for his providing faithful workers thus far. As you may or may not know, as God's word continues to spread through the mountains here there are the added challenges of continuing teaching and discipleship that must be handled wisely. Those who are going, need ongoing accountability and discipleship. They need to be fed and gain strength to then go and serve. They need to continue their own personal growth as well as taking this message of light to areas that have not yet heard. Sometimes the current 'system' that is in place to support these efforts is shaken and current methods must be revised. It's a scary thing sometimes to realize what little pieces of the puzzle can so drastically effect the big picture. We would appreciate your continued prayers specifically for effective ways to continue the teaching, training and long term encouragement of these people working to see the message of God's kingdom go beyond their home areas.

Child training teaching to begin in Mibu

This Sunday (May 3rd - May 2nd for those of you back home) we'll be teaching our first installment of lessons for child training. This is an important time of topical teaching here in Mibu, that we hope will give them some of the key foundations for understanding how to lead their families and children in a way that honors God. God has really impressed it on our hearts to take the Mibu people through some basic training on these matters and we've been working on the lessons for it for about a year now. Don't be impressed yet! The reason we've taken so long to get the lessons ready (and there's still more to work on yet) is just because of time constraints. Lately we've picked up the pace a bit as the time draws near to get started and we've got about 5 lessons near a state of completion. And even though we're trying to keep this round to just foundational principles it's looking like we're going to have a hard time keeping it under 10 lessons! There's still a lot to do and so we'd ask for your prayers regarding this. We hope to find enough little bits of time here and there (outside of our many other responsibilities; translation being the biggest one) to be able to finish these lessons.

 

This first Sunday will be mainly warming up their minds to thinking about their parenting. Lots of questions will be asked in hopes of eliciting discussion from people about what they currently think about the job of parenting. They'll also be encouraged about how much God's word actually does teach us about parenting. Then next week we'll begin the process of moving through the various points in scripture that teach us something about our roles as parents.

 

Please be in prayer for these lessons. Like I said before, we're starting them out with very basic, foundational principles. A lot of the material is very different from how they currently perceive their roles as parents and so obviously we hope that we can present them in ways that are easily understood and applicable in their cultural context.

 

We would also appreciate your prayers regarding our time spent on the lessons. Shannon and I have been working together to develop these. Usually we have short little bits of time here and there to work on them, either together or separately. The difficulty is getting 'into the groove' enough to actually accomplish something during these short times. An hour here and there is usually just enough time to remember where you left off and add a little bit of thought... not much. I've thought about giving a whole day to it here and there, but I never seem to be able to find a whole day to take away from translation! So you see the difficulty. So we would ask for clarity of mind and wisdom as we invest our time into these lessons and try to get them all done to a high standard.

 

Geoff and Shannon Husa

Update on: Crossing the line

Many of you have been praying for the situation where the gentleman had gotten angry at me and at the church here in Mibu and had decided to step out. Well here's an encouraging update.

 

A little while after our update about this man, he met with some of the developing leaders in the church here and actually confessed that he was wrong for the things he said and did! He explained that his words were driven by anger and that he was wrong for saying what he said and doing what he did. He went on to explain that he definitely does see that what we believe as a church here is in accordance with God's word and that he really doesn't have any desire to go back to the old system. Regarding his having said that he wanted out, that too was just said out of anger and a desire to save face because he was embarassed by his actions. He actually said this stuff! And further, he said these things in front of a small group of others who have been kind of following his direction! Not surprising that the Holy Spirit has been prompting this gentleman, but unexpected because I took his words seriously back then.

 

Because I'm rather skeptical of situations like this I decided to wait a bit before writing, just to see if this guy's actions reflect genuineness. So after a few weeks here it seems that he has indeed been repentant of his actions. Something we're all very glad for.

 

So what happened back there anyway? Though I'm not certain, I suspect that God is using this as a point of growth for him in his Christian life. Where in the past he has just been in a state of coasting, I think that after those events he's one step closer to understanding the true value of what Jesus did for him and it's implications for him as a member of his body. I suspect God allowed him to do this so that he would be challenged about where he really stands and what he really values. Maybe in God's divine plan for this man's life this sequence of events was needed at a time when he was at a crux in a particular battle of unbelief; a battle that he would have to experience in order to be brought to further realizations of the treasuredness of Christ over mere trinket hopes of the past. At least that's what I like to think God has been doing in this man's life. His demeanor in the past few weeks, since his apology, has allowed me to feel fairly confident that he does indeed remain desirous of God and is now aware of his sense of being left exposed to the cold when withdrawing himself from the warmth of God's love manifest in his church.

 

So let's praise the Lord for his confirming work in this man's life and continue our prayers for his future growth and maturity. Thank you all for your prayers so far!

 

Geoff and Shannon Husa

Out of his shell

I have a friend here who, until recently, I'd pretty much written off as, 'just not gettin' it'. He's always held himself aloof, seeming actually to be really nervous and skittish not just around us, but the rest of the community here as well. Always mystified by his demeanor, I was never really understanding what was causing him to be like that. He's actually one of the more educated men here and his mind is very capable and he seems to know what he's doing so I couldn't quite chalk it up to being deranged or anything like that. But something has been holding this guy down.

 

As I got to know him more and more I began to suspect that his 'impairment' may be the effects of extreme guilt. Maybe the rumors I've heard about his having murdered his own mother are true. People in the community have not shown much respect for him in the past and some of the women have even expressed fear of him. He's not a scary man at all; extremely gentle and respectful, sensitive to others. I'm not sure what things of his past have such a hold on him, but I'm all the more certain that the weight of his guilt is so powerful that it disables him in many forms of social interaction. Even just talking with him and understanding him has been very difficult because even his speech is oppressed. He's almost afraid to talk and often trails off into faint whisperings that I just can't follow. There is one thing I've managed to hear as a general theme in his mostly undiscernable language, and that is his feelings of guilt. He has said over and over again, "I'm such a bad person. I've done so many bad things."

 

Recently (several months back, that is) he began asking me if he could get some copies of the lessons that we print. Remembering that years ago his interest in the teaching seemed minimal, I was happy to hear of his desire and gave him all the lesson books we have so far. Over time, he would come around about once a week to ask some questions about the lessons. It was clear to me that he is definitely understanding where the lessons are going; not something I necessarily doubted as he's shown evidence of being able to read even English pretty well. Another thing began to be clear as I listened to his questions; This man seems to be deeply sensitive to God's word. He's hungry!

 

Even more recently, I'm convinced and overjoyed to realize that this gentleman definitely has come to know the Lord as his savior. While he still struggles with guilt, when put in the press he holds on to Jesus' work on the cross. It was during one such 'pressing'; a time when, contrary to what one might expect, I FED his guilt, assuring him that at some time there definitely would be judgment for his many iniquities that he had been sharing with me, that he stopped me and very clearly pointed out Jesus' death on the cross as having taken place to take his punishment for him. "What about that?" he asked. "Is that not enough?" Well, after seeing him reach out for Jesus like that, I left my role as devil's advocate and assured him that yes, what he said about Jesus is most certainly true.

 

The weight lifted from this broken man's shoulders was so great that he couldn't contain his tears. His body shook with the emotion and he covered his face with his hands and cried. The tears and expressed emotion were unlike anything I've ever seen in anyone here. This man was freed and he knew it!

 

Since then, I've watched him seemingly emerge from a shell. He's still a little bit skittish out of habit, but even his speech has begun to change some. His demeanor now, stands in growing contrast to that of the past; one of oppression so deep that even his speech was effected. While in the past his guilt was as a mountain on his shoulders, now that mountain has moved off toward the horizon and is merely a shaded visage of where he once was.

 

The transformation is happening. While he still struggles with many things and is by no means instantly perfected, he's on the road to that glorious perfection and I'm excited as I wonder what 5 years down the road holds for this man? 10 years? What does the Lord have in store for him? He has been coming around a lot more and we've been working on helping him to understand the importance of being with other believers for encouragement and continued growth. He's even expressed interest, without any urging from me, to get started training so that he can take this message to others.

 

I'm sure that he would appreciate your prayers as he continues to grow in God's grace in which he now stands.

Crossing the line

(Something appears to have gone wrong with the first attempt. This is a resend. Sorry if you've already gotten it!)

 

Sometimes we find ourselves sitting on a fine line between the need to be sensitive to culture and maintaining the integrity of God's revealed desire for us as a church. Sometimes the cultural norms kind of get in the way of God's word and I would even go as far as to say are sinful, going against what God's desire is for his people.

 

Here in Mibu culture, you don't dare step on someone's toes and indicate to them that you think something is wrong with their actions or worse, their heart. Even if done gently and lovingly, you run a high risk of the recipient of your exhortations 'rightfully' getting angry and even charging you a large amount of money to settle the issue. But a few years back, when the gospel was first presented, God's word did that very thing. It pointed to every single person and revealed to them that God himself thinks they are sinners and that there's nothing they themselves can do to take themselves out of that horrible condition. Many people responded in a way that gave the type of weight and honor that is due to such a revelation from our Creator. Many also moved on to hear and believe the provided way by which they could be restored in their relationship to God; an alien righteousness.

 

One of my friends here, whose way of life has never really seemed to steer any closer to accordance with that truth, recently became angry with me because I've repeatedly turned down his frequent requests for material help; something we're VERY cautious with here because of the expectations that giving handouts creates. He wasn't just a little bit angry or bothered by it. He actually was making a big deal about it and slandering the church and the work that God's Spirit is doing here. I've questioned for quite some time whether this guy had ever really understood the fact that he is a sinner whose only hope was something totally outside of himself. His recent actions and the things he was saying confirmed quite firmly my previous suspicions and so it was time to express my concerns to him, now that I had some concrete outworkings of his heart that I could refer to. I talked to some of our teachers who were also seeing the same things and we decided that we needed to meet together with him.

 

In that meeting I shared with him where Jesus says, in Luke, essentially that our actions are resultant from what is really in our heart, so that our actions are kind of a window, though blurry, into our hearts. I told him that based on his actions, I wonder if he might be in danger of turning out like the many examples in scripture where people turned away from God because of their desire for the easy life and the acquisition and maintenance of material wealth. His response was very angry, and much more of his heart in matters poured forth into the open.

 

He left in a rage, threatening to come back with his axe and chop our house down and bring all kinds of heavies upon us. He also said that only a large amount of money being paid to him would fix this situation and restore peace between us. Soon after, he sent a middleman (another interesting cultural story for another time) to inform us of what he's upset about and to work out the details of restoring peace with him; something we were desperately interested in, but not in a way that would be communicating to others that our having approached this man about his blatant wrongdoings was improper. We were able to stand strong on this point because we've seen the power of God's word to convict here. There are many who have responded to similar exhortations in exactly the opposite way and have continued to be faithful to what God's word has revealed to them. It's not impossible to work around this cultural hurdle!

 

Just a warning; this story doesn't resolve itself in a way that most would probably hope.

 

Long story short; this man, for some reason, changed his mind about demanding money for peace and we were able to restore the peace and maintain a civil relationship (signified by a handshake with the mediators and sometimes others present). This man expressed that he was basically intending to stay on the course he's on and that he is now officially reverting back to the old system (under which he was the recipient of material benefit). I fought the urge there to remind him of the infinitely more precious provision that Jesus provides, but was reminded that he's shown himself to be of such state right now that such words would only fall on deaf ears. So I remained silent and only nodded in agreement with him, that this was indeed probably the best move for him at the time.

 

While it's sad that this man has heard and chosen something other than what God offers, it's not unseen in history. Not a surprise to see it happen. In fact we're desirous of keeping the integrity of Jesus's precious bride, the church. Fakers like this gentleman are said in the bible to be as wolves among a flock of sheep; dissentious and leading people away from the truth. Very dangerous, and we're given every indication that their presence and participation within the church congregation is extremely undesired. It's not until they have the Holy Spirit within them and are recipients of God's promises that they receive any benefit from, or themselves become a benefit to the other members of Christ's body. So in that regard this thing happening was positive. Even more so because we seem to maintain a peaceful standing with him for the time being. We certainly hope that over time and the influence of the church here this man will eventually see what is infinitely more precious.

Crossing the line

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<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D2>Sometimes we find=20
ourselves sitting on a fine line between the need to be sensitive to =
culture and=20
maintaining the integrity of God's revealed desire for us as a church. =
Sometimes=20
the cultural norms kind of get in the way of God's word and I would even =
go as=20
far as to say are sinful, going against what God's desire is for his=20
people.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Here =
in Mibu=20
culture, you don't dare step on someone's toes and indicate to them that =
you=20
think something is wrong with their actions or worse, their heart. Even =
if done=20
gently and lovingly, you run a high risk of the recipient of your =
exhortations=20
'rightfully' getting angry and even charging you a large amount of money =
to=20
settle the issue.&nbsp;But a&nbsp;few years back, when the gospel was =
first=20
presented, God's word did that very thing. It pointed to every single =
person and=20
revealed to them that God himself&nbsp;thinks they are sinners and that =
there's=20
nothing they themselves can do to take themselves out of that horrible=20
condition. Many people responded in a way that gave the type of weight =
and honor=20
that is&nbsp;due to such a revelation from our Creator. Many also moved =
on to=20
hear and believe the provided way by which they could be restored in =
their=20
relationship to God; an alien righteousness.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>One of =
my friends=20
here, whose way of life has never really seemed to steer any closer to=20
accordance with that truth, recently became angry with me because I've=20
repeatedly turned down his frequent requests for material help; =
something we're=20
VERY cautious with here because of the expectations that giving handouts =

creates. He wasn't just a little bit angry or bothered by it. He =
actually was=20
making a big deal about it and slandering the church and the work that =
God's=20
Spirit is doing here. I've questioned for quite some time whether this =
guy had=20
ever really understood the fact that he is a sinner whose only hope was=20
something totally outside of himself. His recent actions and the things=20
he&nbsp;was saying&nbsp;confirmed quite firmly my previous suspicions =
and so it=20
was time to express my concerns to him, now that I had some concrete =
outworkings=20
of his heart that I could refer to. I talked to some of our teachers who =
were=20
also seeing the same things and we decided that we needed to meet =
together with=20
him.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>In =
that meeting I=20
shared with him where Jesus says, in Luke, essentially that our actions =
are=20
resultant from what is really in our heart, so that our actions are =
kind&nbsp;of=20
a window, though blurry, into our hearts.&nbsp;I told him that based on =
his=20
actions, I wonder if he might be in danger of turning out like the many =
examples=20
in scripture where people turned away from God because of their desire =
for the=20

easy life and the acquisition and maintenance of material wealth. His =
response=20
was very angry, and much more of his heart in matters poured forth into =
the=20
open.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>He =
left in a rage,=20
threatening&nbsp;to come back with his axe and&nbsp;chop our house down =
and=20
bring all kinds of heavies upon us. He also said that only a large =
amount of=20
money&nbsp;being paid to him would fix this situation and restore peace =
between=20
us.&nbsp;Soon after, he sent a middleman (another interesting cultural =
story for=20
another time) to inform us of what he's upset about and to work out the =
details=20
of restoring peace with him; something we were desperately interested =
in, but=20
not in a way that would be communicating to others that our having =
approached=20
this man about his blatant wrongdoings was improper. We were able to =
stand=20
strong on this point because we've seen the power of God's word to =
convict here.=20
There are many who have responded to similar exhortations in exactly the =

opposite way and have continued to be faithful to what God's word has =
revealed=20
to them. It's not impossible to work around this cultural=20
hurdle!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Just a =
warning; this=20
story doesn't resolve itself in a way that most would probably=20
hope.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Long =
story short;=20
this man, for some reason, changed his mind about demanding money for =
peace and=20
we were able to restore the peace&nbsp;and maintain a civil relationship =

(signified by a handshake with the mediators and sometimes others =
present). This=20
man expressed that he was basically intending to stay on the course he's =
on and=20
that he is now officially reverting back to the old system (under which =
he was=20
the recipient of material benefit). I fought the urge there to remind =
him of the=20
infinitely more precious provision that Jesus provides, but was reminded =
that=20
he's shown himself to be of such state right now that such words would =
only fall=20
on deaf ears. So I remained silent and only nodded in agreement with =
him, that=20
this was indeed probably the best move for him at the =
time.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D051374920-13022009><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>While =
it's sad that=20
this man has heard and chosen something other than what God offers, it's =
not=20
unseen in history. Not a surprise to see it happen. In fact we're =
desirous of=20
keeping the integrity of Jesus's precious bride, the church. Fakers like =
this=20
gentleman are said in the bible to be as wolves among a flock of sheep;=20
dissentious and leading people away from the truth. Very dangerous, and =
we're=20
given every indication that their presence and participation within the =
church=20
congregation is extremely undesired. It's not until they have the Holy =
Spirit=20
within them and are recipients of God's promises that they receive any =
benefit=20
from, or themselves become a benefit to the other members of Christ's =
body. So=20
in that regard this thing happening was positive. Even more so because =
we seem=20
to maintain a peaceful standing with him for the time being. We =
certainly hope=20
that over time and the influence of the church here this man will =
eventually see=20
what is&nbsp;infinitely =
more&nbsp;precious.</FONT></SPAN></DIV></BODY></HTML>

A medical checkup

Recently the whole family was flown out to Lapilo so that I, Geoff, could get something checked out that had us concerned. It was an unplanned, last minute thing that was decided on after talking to the doctor via email and seeing things worsen over a period of a few days. Due to the nature of the issues (worsening chest pain) and the fact that it was getting quite severe the doctor recommended we come out to rule out the worst and see what's ailing me.

 

The first thing we did was have my heart monitored and then get chest xrays. After having ruled out such things as heart problems or a possible collapsed lung, the symptoms seem to point most to either pleurisy (inflamed lining of lungs) or pericarditis (inflamed lining of heart). Most of the symptoms lined up with the latter. Both are not so serious, but otherwise painful conditions. And blood work seems to be pointing to a viral infection as the possible cause.

 

So while we were quite concerned there for a little bit, it's good to know that this will likely just pass with time and that the inflamation can be managed in the meantime. Currently I'm feeling much better. We'll see how things go over the next couple days. It seems like things are pretty much under control though.

 

We would have notified those who hold us up in prayer earlier, but it was all quite sudden and so we're only able to tell you about it after the fact.

 

We were blessed to find that even though all the guest housing in Lapilo is full at the moment some friends of ours opened up their home for us to stay while we're out.

 

We really saw the Lord provide in a lot of ways with this. Within a couple hours of deciding we have a medical situation, and even though the NTM helicopter was unavailable and in another faraway region, we had the SIL helicopter landing in Mibu to pick us up! Not only that, but in late afternoon! For those of you who don't know, pilots just don't plan on trying to get anywhere near us in the afternoon because our weather is so bad. But even though we'd been rained on for the previous 2 days straight, things cleared up the afternoon of our need and the helicopter was able to get right in. Then of course the graciousness of the friends willing to add another family to their house and host us during our stay here. We know the Lord provides in many amazing and often very personal ways and we've seen that here. So while unplanned flights like this can really take a big bite out of our finances (This round trip out of and back into Mibu will cost us a whopping $2500), we know that the Lord will provide there as he always has. We would appreciate your prayers in regard to that.

 

Currently we're OK'd to go back into Mibu as early as Thursday and so are beginning to make plans in that direction.

 

Thanks for the many who pray for us regularly!

 

Geoff and Shannon Husa

Leap of logic

One thing that is posing a major learning curve for me right now in the translation task is how to effectively and faithfully connect the dots of Paul's logic in Romans. Many times the very nature of our more literal English translations have forced me to make leaps of logic between sections of the text. So while all the Greek words are there and rearranged to fit English grammar structure, some of the connections are largely ambiguous or even altogether absent. That being the case, I've often been forced to 'jump' from one section to the next, sometimes fairly certain of where the text is leading me and other times not so much. Thankfully, it turns out that with some education, lots and lots of commentaries, and often years of reading the same passage over and over again, those connections have become clearer. I often take that information for granted though and so the temptation for me is often to keep much of the form of the original text. When I do that though, almost invariably the translated text ceases to make any sense. It ceases to be a message, maybe becoming instead, merely a string of pearls made up of momentous sayings that may or may not bear meaning in relation to one another.

 

For example, as I'm translating the first chapter of Romans I realize that there's a rather large gap between 1.16-17 and what follows in 1.18. That Greek word 'gar', typically translated 'For...' in English says that there's some connection there, but what is it? Does it relate just the following sentence to the former or does it connect a much larger section? How does Paul move from talking about his not being ashamed of the gospel and the reason for that being that in it 'the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith' to talking about God's wrath? Does the connection and/or transition there go further than just that mention of God's wrath? If so, what is the connection and how do I make it clear without delving into the world of mere loose paraphrase? If I don't make that movement, or flow, of logic clear in the translation, or if I don't connect those two sections the way Paul intended them when first penned, then the reader will just finish with verse 17, hop over the foggy waters to verse 18 and beyond, and likely not have actually made the connection between the first and the second. Then as is very common, Paul may have appeared to just be throwing out random, disconnected thoughts that have something to do with God and man and his message to man... oh yeah, and he's angry too.

 

Then in other areas (like Romans 3.1-8) there are many things that Paul assumes his readers know. He knows what his Jewish readers are thinking. Paul knowing what they're thinking plays a huge part in determining the information that he leaves implicit; the things he doesn't make obvious. Even though that information is not explicitly stated, it's a very integral part of the message that Paul intended. And thus, it becomes very important information to consider and maybe even explicate when transmitting that message. In this case (Rom 3.1-8) the information that is an integral part of making any sense of Paul's argumentation is regarding the fact that the Jews had common conceptions regarding who they were as God's chosen people; specifically here, that they were the recipients of his promises of blessing. Paul knew what they were thinking about God's promises and also the act of circumcision. What Paul wrote assumes these things but does not explicitly state them. Because of who he knew his audience would be, he knew that he didn't have to explicitly state that information in order to get the point across. But these are things that the Mibu people (heck, even a lot of us) don't know without reading it in a commentary, or going to seminary, or otherwise being taught it. Yet, this was an inherent and integral part of Paul's message. Shouldn't it be clear then, in the text itself, when being transmitted into another language? So while I could very easily translate this into a fairly literal form for the Mibu people, it would come across as utter nonsense. It would be a bunch of questions that bear no connection to the rest of the text. The questions in this section probably wouldn't even come across as being supposed objections raised by the Jewish reader. If that's what happens when they read this then the meaning of the text is lost. I loathe the threat of how easy that would be to do.

 

It seems to me that when God's message gets obscured like that, it either gets left on the shelf, or the form of the text somehow escalates in value above that of the actual message that God is communicating. Maybe the wonderful good news even starts being perceived (as it has in the past and still is, even more than we'd like to admit) as a kind of 'holy' language meant to be understood only by those who are educated or otherwise dedicate significant time to studying it in order to understand it. That's not to say that diligent study of God's word doesn't have a place in our attempts to understand the depth and application of it's truth. But the message itself does have something to say and it was intended to be understood, even if elements about that message remain difficult and mysterious and in need of meditation and study.

 

So this means that the form of the Mibu translation ends up looking VERY different from that of the Greek and of our English translations. As great as they are if similar forms are used in our translation here it absolutely will not be understood. So that is one thing you can continue to be in prayer about as I study the meaning of the texts that I'm translating - that I would not follow the temptation to rush ahead before I'm convinced of what the intent of the author was for everything that he wrote. Only then, will I be able to communicate that intent faithfully into the language of the Mibu people. It's so easy to gloss over difficult connections and assume, "Awww, It'll make sense if they bother taking the time to think about it." But a long history filled with similar mistakes spread out over many different ministries shows that they won't get it. Those forms just don't fit in their language and the way that they process information.

 

I thank God that a good contingency of folks a whole lot smarter and capable than me have been able to glean from their mistakes and victories over the years to devise a process that allows us to move forward in translation, all the meanwhile being able to check and understand how the Mibu people are understanding the text. We learn and hone our skills in very practical ways as we go because of this process and I am very thankful for the many levels of checks that hold me accountable.