Unprecedented Unleavening

"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you... ....Let him who has done this be removed from among you... ...you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord... ...Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump as you really are unleavened" 1 Corinthians 5

The poor woman was clearly perturbed. She did not want to be bothered with this. The church leaders, in their best efforts, were wanting to meet together with her to console her and offer their help and encouragement and also... to keep her from acting out a decision she'd made to kill. Perhaps it was the embarrassment and shame of the fact that her husband has been freely sleeping around with other women and had recently been caught again. Perhaps she didn't want to be talked down. This was the fourth or fifth time and she was fed up with it all! The group that had come to meet with her waited silently, listening as someone was in the other room trying to coax her into agreeing to talk with the others. Voices were raised. It wasn't perfect encouragement, but she did eventually decide to come in to where we were gathered and talk with us.

This is where we saw God's Spirit shine through his people! Joey and I sat back and watched as the church poured out their love and concern for this woman and her family. You see, the church has been working with this man who claims to be a follower of Jesus for years, trying to steer him away from his extra marital proclivities. It's become clear at this point that there is blatant disregard going on in this man's heart and so the church is moving forward with a decision to follow what they see clearly in God's word. It's time to recognize publicly that this man's continuing affairs, despite numerous warnings, do not fit in God's plan for his people, his church. In agreement with 1 Corinthians 5 and Matthew 18 the church leaders have decided it's time to publicly de-recognize this man as a brother; to tell the community and surrounding areas that this man's actions are unacceptable and unbecoming of someone who claims to trust that Jesus' life and death and resurrection paid the price for his sin and has given him hope for future glory. His attitude toward sin completely goes against all that this gospel message is about. He will no longer be recognized as part of the church. In moving forward with this decision the concern was for this faithful woman and the rest of her family, which brings us to the meeting at hand. They wanted to take some time to walk her through the decision they had so painfully made regarding her husband. So for a while a number of them huddled around a dimly lit bible translated into the trade language and read and talked through a number of passages. After a bit more than an hour, though she was clearly hurting, she seemed encouraged. Joey and I sat there amazed at how much love and thoughtfulness was being displayed in this very difficult meeting. The church leaders did great, though it's hard to think about how great it really was simply because of the extreme difficulty and sadness of the situation.

Would you please be in prayer for this woman and for her family and especially her husband. Please pray for the church to be able to wisely carry through this decision, difficult and painful as it is, in hopes of maybe seeing this man come around someday after being put out and in a place removed from the benefits of fellowship with God's people. And please pray similarly for the woman who was regularly involved with this man, and who also has been worked with by the church over the last few years. A similar decision will be made regarding her as well. Her family too (husband and kids) will need the same love and support from the church.

Merry Christmas From Mibu

Merry Christmas from the Husas in Mibu!

Thanks to your gracious provisions for the Mibu Ministry the light of Jesus shines in this formerly dark place, and the Mibu people too rejoice at the biggest, most fantastic edge-of-your-seat event that ever happened to this world... the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ!

May your celebration of Jesus this season be one of joy and encouragement!

Kopur Coffee Benefits Mibu Ministry

***ATTENTION COFFEE LOVERS***

Do you enjoy great coffee? Did you know there's a way for your refined taste in coffee to benefit the Mibu Ministry!

Kopur Coffee is an online reseller of high quality, great tasting coffee. The thing that's so great about Kopur Coffee isn't just it's selection of tasty coffees from around the world, but the fact that $2.50 from each bag you buy will be donated to Mibu Ministry! It's simple. After finding your coffee of choice from places such as Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, Honduras and Mexico, just key in 'MIBU' when checking out. It's a great chance to give more purpose to your coffee drinking! Note too that there are options to buy coffee subscriptions of various lengths.

As the founder of Kopur Coffee, Drew Scholl says on the website, "The math matters." Think about it. If 100 people purchase 2 bags of Kopur Coffee a month, that generates an additional $500 per month that benefits the ongoing efforts to transform lives in Mibu; developing mother-tongue literacy, translating God's word into their language, providing solid bible teaching, and leadership development.

Be sure to check it out! http://kopurcoffee.bigcartel.com/

Strengthening Literacy in Mibu

We're making some changes to the literacy program here to try to beef up the Mibu church's ability to read and write in their own language. A strong ability to read and write in one's own language is absolutely fundamental to the longevity of a sustainable indigenous church plant. Not only does it allow them to read God's word for themselves, but it also is an elemental skill on top of which other skills are developed. Lesson development, learning and even being literate in other languages, as well as ability to concentrate on communicated messages, ability to process large chunks of written and spoken communication... all these follow after and are developed only when a high level of skill and confidence are achieved in reading and writing one's mother tongue. But first and foremost, there is a direct link between literacy skill level and one's ability to read, process, and internalize God's word for themselves. Of course there are other factors, such as translation philosophy of those who are providing the translation, but as you can see, literacy is indeed a biggie! Along with all that, the passing on of the torch of literacy will never happen unless the people are convinced, excited, and confident in the purpose of literacy. Responsibility for the program will wax and wane requiring continual outside influence to keep it going. That's not what we're about. Someday we plan to be done here, leaving behind leaders who take ownership of all they have been taught.

Right now in Mibu, the literacy program has hit a bit of a wall. There are improvements being recommended by our literacy consultants to the curriculum materials, as well as how the program is managed. Once improvements and revisions have been made to the materials, they will need to be printed. Along with this, new 'literacy boxes' need to be made which safely house these new literacy materials, preserving them for long term use and avoiding the need to print new materials quite as often.

We've spent the last two weeks working through these changes and getting things ready for a new printing. We're so thankful for the huge investment made by people such as Sesi, his sister Wunjo, and Ekim, Lookas and Ti. A couple of them gave well over 60 hours of full time work looking through and helping to make improvements!

Along with some of the changes to the literacy curriculum itself, will come changes to the post-literacy program here. These changes we hope will encourage continued growth in people's ability to read and write, challenging them work on reading accuracy and comprehension. We're excited about what these changes will mean for the future of the church here in Mibu!

(in the pictures: An old literacy box and what remains of literacy materials printed years ago. Sesi, Ekim, Lookas, Wunjo, Ti working on revisions to the literacy materials.)

Medical in Mibu

The timing really stunk. The workday was over. Sunlight was quickly fading and I was winding down, working on some emails, when Skyler called from outside, "Daddy, a man is here and he needs your help! He's hurt really bad and he's bleeding all over the place!"

We aren't a medical clinic by any stretch of the imagination. Nor are we equipped or trained to be able to make regular medical work a part of our ministry strategy. However, when you live in the middle of the jungle with no doctors around, and one of your friends shows up with potentially life threatening or otherwise life altering injuries, you learn what you can and do what you can to help. In this case, my friend showed up after a battle with a piece of bamboo that had split while he was working with it. Bamboo is razor sharp when green and freshly split. The evidence of this stood before me bearing a hand which was cut wide open, all the way to the bone in places, both across his palm and on two of his fingers.

So it's the end of the day and my friend shows up needing medical help. I have to confess, my heart was not prepared for this particular moment. My first thought was something along the lines of, "Ugghh. Right now? I'm tired and spent already. I hope this isn't too bad." Yeah... fleshly. Thank God for another prompting alongside though that whispered the need for compassion and empathy, regardless of timing. I got up and went outside to meet my friend and see what the damage was. It was Yodik, and it was clear he needed help.

Our kitchen counter slash dinner table is where we do most of this stuff. The conflict at this particular time was that Shannon was just starting dinner preparations. The kids are hungry and she usually depends on me to take the kids during this time. Tonight was going to have to be different. I brought my friend in. It was dusk. It was getting darker; too dark to see, and we have low quality lighting in our house. My attempts to set up enough light weren't enough and so I recruited Skyler to hold the LED flashlight on the wounded man's hand for me; a job she continued to do (as best as a 6 year old can) for the next hour and an half. (Mental note: when it's in the budget, get a couple of nice headlamps)

Now, our attempts to help with urgent medical needs rarely go without something interesting happening. From blood spraying, to patients passing out, to ME nearly passing out (yeah, some of the things I have to do, I REALLY don't like!), and to the seriousness of the situation being truly scary, we've had some interesting stuff happen. This one was no different. After our counter/table was cleared and I had the appropriate equipment out, I had him remove the vine that he'd wrapped about 10 times around his finger in an attempt to slow the bleeding. I would have preferred to keep it there, except it was too near the wound for me to be able to do anything with it. A pool of blood began to spread under his hand on tile that is our table. So I put a rubber tourniquet on after having put a thick cloth to absorb the mess. I had barely finished giving him the first shot of lidocaine to numb him up when I felt his head just kind of lean into me, nudging into my shoulder. I thought homophobically, "That's wierd! Is he snuggling me?" I'd barely had time to finish the thought before he slumped out of his chair and fell on the floor with a loud thud. He'd passed out. I wasn't ready for that! Yet somehow, while holding his hand open with one hand, a sharp biohazard needle in the other, I'd managed to grab his arm and keep him from falling too hard. Now his blood was getting all over the place. I needed to get him up again and finish closing him up. Hmmmm, how do I wake up a passed out person? (Another mental note: invest in some smelling salts) My rich movie watching heritage managed to pay dividends after all as I was reminded that maybe slapping him in the face would do the trick. What'dya know, it works! Snapped right out of it. After the confusion subsided, we managed to get him back up in the chair and continue the work. I had him lean sideways into the back of the chair in case he passed out again... which he did about 10 minutes later; this time remaining in his chair.

Shannon announced to the kids that dinner was ready. That's one thing about our kids, a guy bleeding on their dining table isn't going to stop them from eating. Both Skyler and Maddie are fascinated by this stuff and hover around watching everything. Skyler, out of her merciful little heart is always looking for ways to help the hurt person feel better, warmer, less thirsty, less hungry. She might have something going for her there! But back to the food; Somehow Shannon managed to get all the kids' food dished out, get them eating AND keep that flashlight on the wound. Skyler stayed where she was at, sitting indian style in the middle of the table (where she had been holding the flashlight) and carried on eating her dinner and watching. Mommy took over the flashlight duties. The other kids sat on the floor (Mibu style) and ate there. Yodik turned down the offer of food, his stomach probably feeling a bit off. It's funny. Any other time of such complete disorganization and lack of management in the house this time of night would result in pandemonium. Yet it seems when something like this is going on a general blanket of understanding covers everyone in the family, even the kids, and the problems are relatively few. Everyone knows we're working to see this problem fixed.

It wasn't until after the kids were in bed that I wrapped up the last of the work on Yodik's hand, putting the finishing touches on about 22 frankensteinian stitches. I gave Yodik some antiseptic ointment and some fresh bandages to change out each day. Then I saw him off, heated up my dinner, ate, and resumed a relaxing evening with Shannon. Yet another example of having to live by the rule of the unexpected here in Mibu!

Got Stuff?

Do you have stuff just sitting around waiting to find a new home? If so, maybe you'd consider donating it to benefit the Mibu Ministry.

Our core team is having a benefit garage sale in Tempe on November 16 and 17 from sun-up to 2pm both days. ALL the proceeds from the garage sale go toward ministry expenses as we live and serve full-time here in Mibu. These garage sales have been a huge benefit to the ministry here in the past. If you have stuff you're needing to get rid of, please bring it on by! Help us make this a huge sale! But please, no clothes.

Or maybe you're a hard core garage saler, always keeping an eye out for that next great deal! These garage sales are typically very big and there are lots of great deals to be had. Get 'yer cash and come on by!

For more information, please call Gary or Kris Husa at 480-839-0338. If you have a donation, please drop it off at the following address no earlier than Friday, November 9th.

245 W. LaVieve Ln., Tempe, 85284

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Update on check of Romans/1 Timothy

After three days filled with 9 and 10 hours of reading, talking about and verifying comprehension we're very happy to let you know that the final bits of Romans and all of 1 Timothy have survived their final sifting! Just a few little tweaks here and there and they'll be officially ready to print and get into the Mibu people's hands! We're all tired and our brains are fried. Whew!

Special thanks to Greg Melendes and JJ Rasmussen for giving the huge amount of time and expense to fly in from overseas and provide this check for us!

We've flown back to Madang this morning. I've been reunited with my family. Sesi, Lucas and Keteng are taking off tomorrow morning to head back to Mibu. And our family will be heading up to Goroka for about a week before heading back into Mibu ourselves on November 1.

Blessings

First day of checking

Well it wouldn't be Papua New Guinea if our original flight to meet the consultants wasn't cancelled. All ticketed, checked in and everything, just waiting for our flight to arrive and they announced it was cancelled. Pack up the bags, go back to the New Tribes Mission center, thankful for another night with my family, and had to get up at 3:30am to go to the airport again by 4am. Waited until 6:10 before finally boarding and taking off... But the important thing is we made it. Neither myself, nor the 3 Mibu guys (Sesi, Keteng, Lucas) slept well last night, and we had to hit the ground running because we were coming in so late. Not a good circumstance in which to do translation checking. But you do what you have to with what you have.

Despite our rather limited mental capacities, the check started off well on this first day. We started with 1 Timothy and finished the first 4 chapters after about 9 hours. Tomorrow and Sunday we'll finish 1 Timothy and start working through the final chapters of Romans.

Can't wait to have this stuff done and totally finished with the checking processes!

Translation check

Today we start checking the material in Romans and 1 Timothy that has been translated into the Mibu language. Please pray that this final check goes well, that wisdom and discernment are practiced and that it will result in a super high quality translation of these portions of God's word into the Mibu people's language.

We're so blessed to be a part of this effort. When God's word speaks clearly in one's own language, like the Mibu people will have in theirs, one's understanding of what God is communicating about himself doesn't have to lie on the other side of a wall of awkward wording. Awkward, unnatural wording (Greek-like, even) requires either someone telling you what it means or otherwise acquiring a large battery of academic skills in order to scale that wall to achieve comprehension. It's awesome to be a part of a translation effort that aims to provide God's word in a way that it, rather than the person telling them what it means, can have the authority it deserves. We're seeing that happen already. And through that, we're seeing the power of God's words at work in the lives of the church in Mibu!

Thanks for praying for us!

SVCC Team on their way home

The conference team from Sun Valley Community Church departed just a couple days ago and I've finally had some time to go through the pictures of their time here.

The Madang regional conference was very good. Everyone was glad to hear Dennis speak on family and marriage. We were given some practical ways to reduce conflict in family life as well as increase intimacy in marriage. Good stuff! The program for the kids went very well too. The theme was "Incrediworld Amazement Park," during which the children heard teaching giving them helpful tools to remember and honor God as the creator. Our kids enjoyed it quite a bit. Skyler and Maddie are still singing the songs they learned during that program. Kevin, Lori, Theresa, my parents, and Shiloh did a great job with that! And in order for all the above to happen, Joey was busy taking care of all the errands that were needed, running to town to get food, helping with setup, cooking, etc.

Then after the conference was over, the team had just one last mishap with their travel plans; a delayed flight from Madang to Port Moresby, which dominoed into missing their international connection, and quite a bit of last minute rush to figure out hotels and booking new tickets. Air Niugini, once again lived up to their reputation and refused to help with any of the costs caused by the delay. So we spent hours on the phone with the travel insurance company (Yes! The team bought travel insurance, which paid for itself multiple times - Thanks Travel Guard). The team stayed the night in Port Moresby, had tickets booked for them on a different airline and from what we've heard, have finally made it into Brisbane and are awaiting their next leg bringing them back home. As stressful as those times are when traveling, being stretched like that and the feelings of helplessness are certainly good tools to help us realize our dependance on God. The team got to experience one of those times.

Looking back, we're sure they'll remember this whole trip; their trip into Mibu, the conference in Madang, and even their traveling woes, with fond memories and increased awareness of God's activity in the world.

We are so grateful for the time that the team took out of their busy lives to come here and serve the way they did. We also want to thank all those who contributed in some way either by praying or through finances to send the team here.

PS, as far as conference pix... will have to wait till I can gather them from others who were actually taking photos during conference. Didn't actually take any myself as there were lots of other, far better photographers snapping away.

SVCC team update

Just a quick update here. Purely informational. Sorry no details, but it's been very hard to find time. No pictures either. Again, just haven't had time to do anything with them from my (or anyone else's camera). We DO indeed have pictures. Just need time to sift through and process them.

The team had an awesome time in Mibu! It was a great chance to get to see the Mibu church and the people's culture and places and most importantly their love for God. Our perception of their visit was that they were wowed by what God is doing there! More details will have to follow later... it's almost 11 at night and we're exhausted.

The whole team flew out from Mibu to Madang on Monday without any hiccups. Since then everyone has been trying to get ready for the conference, track down the two bags that never made it with the team, and get to know the NTM folks that are out for conference.

Just got back from a much needed, relaxing dinner with the team out in town, during which we had wonderful conversation and some good laughs!

Again, more details to follow. Just a quickie for the sake of letting everyone know the team is doing well, is safe, and is gearing up for conference.

SVCC Team Arrives in Mibu!

Yesterday (friday) was a very exciting day for us. A team from Sun Valley was able to make it into Mibu after their long travels from the US. But their arrival didn't come without the unexpected. They were, after all, traveling to Papua New Guinea where anything can happen... and often does!

Actually as it turns out, one of the team, Dennis McMains got stuck in the capital city, Port Moresby, due to overbooking on Air Niugini. It was looking like Dennis wasn't going to be able to make it into Mibu, about which we were all soooo disappointed. However, after arriving the next day in Goroka, our helicopter pilot, Ray, very graciously offered to fly him in this morning (Saturday)! We await his arrival as I write this!

Meanwhile, yesterday the team hit the ground running in Mibu. Kevin, Joey and Geoff hiked down to Mibu to shoot a pig and bring back the meat, which was quickly converted to 'pork' burgers and then to life sustaining energy for the team. The ladies had a great afternoon of 'girl' time up at our house, catching up with Shannon, asking questions, praising God as they received news of Dennis' safe arrival and the plans to bring him into Mibu.

We're super joyful that the team is here and that the team is soon to be complete! We're so thankful that with the slight mess with the airlines in Port Moresby that God has seen fit to work out a way for the whole team to be in Mibu with us. And we're looking forward to sharing the vision of Mibu Ministry, fellowshipping together, and giving the team a chance to fellowship with the church here in Mibu!

Thank you for your continued prayers!

(In the pictures... Kevin Kramar going for the kill. And the team greeting Mibu people upon arrival.

Second Day of Marriage Conference in Mibu

The second and final day of the marriage conference in Mibu went off without a hitch. We focused largely on Ephesians 5, building on what we'd already learned about God's design for marriage.

One of the questions that was asked really highlights well the kind of heart change that we are hoping to address. After we'd been talking heavily about practical ways that men can show love to their wives, someone stood up and said, "We here in PNG pay lots of pigs and bead necklaces and money for our wives. As such we just expect them to work hard and do what we tell them. That's what makes sense to us (this was a guy speaking, btw). What are we supposed to do about that?" God's word was obviously clashing with the way he knows he thinks about his wife.

In a culture where entering into marriage may be viewed more along the lines of an agreement regarding property, the idea of men showing love and respect to their wives and living well with them as fellow heirs of the kingdom truly poses a challenge. Not that the cultural norm of paying a bride-price is wrong. But what needs to be challenged is the abuse of that system. We're so thankful that God's word reveals a different, better view of marriage; the perspective from the one who devised and instituted it! With enough time holding God's perspective out in front for people to see, and with the proper encouragement to consider it, we have every hope that it will begin to affect change in people's hearts which will then be worked out in their families and the larger community.

One thing I enjoyed seeing a lot of during this conference was all the participation in teaching from our brothers and sisters here. My actual teaching wasn't more than 1-2 hours each day. Beyond that other teachers and members of the church filled in, repeating much of what they heard, elaborating, and talking about how they're challenged by it. Some gave testimonies about how their struggles in their marriage are rooted in the things they heard that day. One middle aged woman even got up front and gently exhorted all the ladies in the group concerning a proper attitude in marriage! All in all, after yesterday's lesson this kind of thing went on for several hours! A couple great things about this kind of participation is first, it shows this teacher who often lacks confidence that he's communicating well (that would be me), that people are indeed getting it. And second, the repetition and elaboration of themes done by them is a hundred times better than the words and exhortations that come out of this foreigner's mouth.

We're just so thankful for how well it all went. The hosting for all those who travelled was organized great! Each family gathered extra food from their gardens and some pooled food together to help feed everyone who was there. I didn't hear a single grumbling about people not being treated well as guests. Awesome!

First Day of Marriage Conference in Mibu

Yesterday (Wed), the first of a two day long marriage conference here in Mibu went very well! As well as the locals, many others came from all the areas where the gospel has spread from Mibu; 7 villages represented in all. Nobody counted, but my guess would be that there were upward of a couple hundred people there!

Sesi opened the day up with an excellent reminder of what we have in Christ, and what that means for how we live our lives here. He brought out the need to love as Christ loved us; a perfect opening for talking about God's plan for marriage. After that Geoff taught about several topics related to marriage:

- Jesus' concern about unity among those who are his and how that is most pointedly shown in the marriage relationship.
- The uniqueness of marriage.
- Things that we do that hurt God's design for marriage.
- How behavior that hurts God's design for marriage effects the rest of our Christian lives.

The men were seriously challenged throughout to consider their responsibility in hurting relationships with their wives. And of course the hope of being able to move past those hurts because of what Christ has done for us was sprinkled throughout.

After the teaching a late lunch was prepared and served by the men... a task usually done by the women here, allowing the women a chance to do what the men usually do while food is being prepared; resting and enjoying each other's company.

In today's (Thurs) meeting we'll be reviewing elements of Ephesians 5 and also talking about the helpfulness of regular acknowledgement of and apologies to your spouse for areas of weakness.

We, as a family, had a great time together yesterday. The kids were really well behaved and fairly easy to manage. Shannon got lots of time with her friends, as did Geoff. It was a good time to just be away from the normal concerns of school and house and to be with our friends.

(In the picture: Overflow seating for the marriage conference. Thankfully the weather was perfect.)

The Final Tally

So here's the final tally on the recent 100x20 campaign. In 100 days we were able to find an amazing 61 of the needed one hundred $20 per month units. This means the total increase in financial giving toward Mibu Ministry gained was $1220! Thank you all so much for helping us get closer to the goal of having 100% of the needed monthly donations needed to minister most effectively to the Mibu church. Your help makes a huge difference!

And as a side note, regarding the side note :) You'll notice on the side column of each of our email updates is a little informational tidbit about where our finances are at. Please note that at the moment it is does not accurately reflect where things are at. It'll be updated the next time I have internet access. Apologies for the inconsistency!

Marriage Conference in Mibu

I was participating in a church meeting several days ago where the leaders in the church here were talking about their concern for marriage life in Mibu. As they talked about the problems they see and experience themselves, and as they tossed around ideas for how they can facilitate healthier marriages and family life here, their brainstorming pretty quickly turned into talk of getting everyone together from the different areas to talk and hear teaching about God's plan for marriage. I thought it was so cool to see how they put this idea together. Since then, we've been trying to prepare some of the teachers to provide some supporting testimonial thoughts as they express how God's word is challenging them about their marriages. We also want to be thinking of practical things they can do, starting right away, that can make a difference. Already the prominent mindset (among the men) of 'I can't wait to have my wife taught how to be a good wife' is being shifted more to 'What can I do to show love to my wife without condition the way Christ loves the church?' This is something they've touched on before, but clearly need more reminders with regular prompting regarding the practical side of things.

Often we might think that the difficulties in a marriage relationship would be totally different in such a different place as Mibu. However, when it comes down to it, and especially as we see what scripture says about the topic, and as we spend time having real conversations with folks here, it's clear the problems are rooted in and surround the same things that we experience in our marriages in America.

We're looking forward to participating in and seeing how this conference goes. Hopes are that this would provide yet another step towards God's grace being lived out in the community, pouring first out of the family.

The scheduled conference dates are August 29 and 30. Would you please be in prayer for the needed preparations and for hearts to be seriously challenged about some key elements of marriage that God speaks to.

Being Thankful Together

One thing we've seen happening regularly in the Mibu church meetings that is different from before is that corporately they all take time to express their thanks to God for the things he is doing in their lives each week. Various individuals usually call out or explain something they're thankful for. When everyone who has something to add is done, then the church joins together in thankful prayer. Such a wonderful way to regularly acknowledge and focus on all that God does! It's so great to see how important it is to them not to forget God's goodness. They picked this idea up from the Inapang church, where a number of Mibu folks visited for the Citizen Teachers Training Seminar several months back (you might remember we wrote an update about that). Another great benefit of the different believing groups coming together to share fellowship!

Here's the missing text

Welcome back to all the technical difficulties of PNG, right?!

Apparently all that went out yesterday was the picture and no text. So here we go... the text that was meant to go with the picture you got yesterday!

"After lots of travel, some rest, and some time catching up with the larger team here on the field, we're finally back in Mibu!

When flying back into Mibu was shaping up to be much more expensive than usual, we had to tweak some logistics to try to minimize the damage. We're reminded of just how worth every penny it is to be back though! We are so glad to be back with our friends in Mibu! After our arrival, I'm wondering if they're as proud of our new baby boy as we are!

So begins our getting settled back into life here. Our house is a disaster area. The picture you see here is after a very full day's work with even the help of one of our friends here! You should have seen it before we got started! Sometimes, in order to get the most for our dollar, we have to try use up the full weight capacity of the flights we're paying for on the helicopter and the airplane. This time was one of those, leaving us with an inordinate amount of food to try to organize and store. Yikes!

Over the next couple weeks we plan on working back into service to the church here in Mibu, continuing with translation, leadership development, and all the rest. We'll be sure to keep you posted!"

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WHEW... back in PNG

Just a quick note to let you know we arrived back in Papua New Guinea and are staying at the New Tribes Mission center for a few days before returning to Mibu. The trip went well with only a few meltdowns from the youg'uns, one or two minor hiccups with the logistics (well one of them was major... we almost missed our flight due to a ticketing error), and a good number of God's special graces provided along the way. Whew! The whole thing though, no matter how good or bad, is just plain exhausting. We hope to have enough time to get out of the fog, meet with those from the larger team here on the field, and get all the administrative stuff done for re-entry before we hit the ground running in Mibu. We will definitely keep you posted as we spend time to sit with and here about the latest with the Mibu church and as we carry on with the ministry God has so graciously put us in there.

Thank you all for your prayers and financial support to make all this happen!

We're off!!!

If all has gone according to plan, we should be somewhere high up over the middle of nowhere on our way back to Mibu when you get this email.

Our time home was very full and very blessed. We are so appreciative of the relationships we have with our church and friends and the chance we were given to connect again. Thank you so much for the many ways you made our time home so special! We'll be sure to continue keeping you posted on the exciting things God is doing in Mibu!

Just wanted to throw out another reminder too about the 100x20 campaign. There are just 7 days left to reach the goal of 100 new commitments of $20 per month. It all helps cover the many expenses of living and serving in Mibu. Currently we continue to see growth as the numbers climb to an amazing 57.5 of the needed 100! Awesome to see how God is working here!

If you're not already, would you consider being a part of helping meet our financial need as we serve in Mibu? Here are the different ways you can give:

Automatic Monthly Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT):
Go to http://usa.ntm.org/eft to find out about the benefit and ease of setting up a monthly automatic electronic funds transfer.

Give Online:
You can give online using a credit card or debit card. Go to http://usa.ntm.org/content/missionaries-details?crm_type=missionaries&crm_id=822 and search for "Husa" in the "Give to a missionary" section toward the top. (Because credit cards and debit cards are processed the same way, transaction fees are the same for both.)

Give By Phone:
To give by phone with a credit or debit card, please call 866-547-2460. Credit card and debit card transaction fees apply.

Give By Check:
To mail your gift, send it to:
New Tribes Mission1000 East First StreetSanford, Florida 32771-1487
Please make your check or money order payable to New Tribes Mission and include a note designating the funds to the Husas.

Get 'yer prayer card

Just finished some new prayer cards (last one done in 2009) with a recent family picture. If you're interested in getting one please reply to this email with your mailing address and we'll get one out in the next week or so.

Open House - Sun, July 15

You are invited to a Farewell Open House - Sunday, July 15 (12-1pm).

The Husa's return to Mibu is very near (July 20) and so they'd love a chance to say farewell. Please stop by the Sun Valley Community Church - Tempe campus's room C1 on July 15 right after the second service. Come and go as you please till 1pm. Light snacks and drinks will be provided.

100x20 Update

We continue to pray for God's provision as we seek to overcome a $2000 per month shortfall by trying to find 100 new commitments of $20 over 100 days. 

100x20 continues to gain momentum. Praise God that 31 of the 100 needed $20/mo commitments are actually realized now. In addition to that there are 14.5 of them that have been commited to. So that puts us at 45.5 so far!

Over the remaining 22 days that remain of this 100 day campaign, would you prayerfully consider becoming an important financial partner in the Mibu Ministry? Your contribution can help meet the goal of 100 units of $20 monthly commitments to help finish the work that is left in the Mibu Ministry.

Here are the different ways you can give:

Automatic Monthly Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT):
Go to http://usa.ntm.org/eft to find out about the benefit and ease of setting up a monthly automatic electronic funds transfer.

Give Online:
You can give online using a credit card or debit card. Go to http://usa.ntm.org/content/missionaries-details?crm_type=missionaries&crm_id=822 and search for "Husa" in the "Give to a missionary" section toward the top. (Because credit cards and debit cards are processed the same way, transaction fees are the same for both.)

Give By Phone:
To give by phone with a credit or debit card, please call 866-547-2460. Credit card and debit card transaction fees apply.

Give By Check:
To mail your gift, send it to:
New Tribes Mission1000 East First StreetSanford, Florida 32771-1487
Please make your check or money order payable to New Tribes Mission and include a note designating the ministry or project you would like your gift to support.

News from Sesi

Sesi called me recently and though the time we had to talk was short, he was able to pass on plenty of news about things with the church in Mibu.

Directly there in Mibu: The church continues to meet together and review lessons. People are encouraged. However there is a growing concern for those in the community who just don't seem to be 'putting their thinking so that it all goes to God'.

In the village of Ta**knan: In the past you recall arrangements were made for the teaching to start in Ta**knan again, but then an influential individual who lives there shut the whole thing down. Well your prayers for that village are being answered! The teaching has been going on there for over a month now and seems to be going well. Those doors were opened back up, God's word continues to be preached there, and that influential individual is even part of the eagerly listening group who gathers to hear. Sesi said there are only two small groups of people that are not interested.

In the village of Da**ve: The outreach by the Mibu church to Da**ve is going very well. Many people are interested and have been following along. There are just four more weeks of teaching before the initial evangelism teaching reaches the final lessons about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Regarding the airstrip: The work continues on the airstrip. Sesi gave me some details, but the phone connection made it hard to follow them all. But I did catch that they feel they have leveled out about 60 meters (1/10) of the airstrip so far. That could mean a number of things. We'll have to wait to get there to see. But one thing that is clear is that they're owning this. Their continuation of the work despite our absence is a good sign.

Sesi also reported that two shovels that were purchased for work on the airstrip were stolen as they were being transported back to Mibu from Madang town. That's a pretty big deal because just going out to Madang again to get more is a huge ordeal and expense for somebody. We're hoping they'll be able to get by with what they have until some more funds come in to get a few more tools.

So many more details I would have liked to ask about. But then Sesi's minutes ran out and our conversation was ended.

100x20 progress

So far, we've found 23.5 of the one-hundred $20 per month commitments to support the Husa family in their service to the Mibu church. Interestingly there have been a number of folks who have taken more than one, and even as many as five, of these $20 'units'.

We are committed long-term to finish the task we were sent by the local church to do in Mibu. It's such a huge blessing and encouragement as we find others who are equally committed to the task, who have the resources to help fund such an effort!

The countdown is on… There are 45 days left. If you haven't already, would you prayerfully consider being a part of meeting the Husa's financial needs as they work to provide much needed bible translation, discipleship and more as they live and serve full-time in Mibu, Papua New Guinea?
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Here are the different ways you can give:

Automatic Monthly Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT):
Go to http://usa.ntm.org/eft to find out about the benefit and ease of setting up a monthly automatic electronic funds transfer.

Give Online:
You can give online using a credit card or debit card. Go to http://usa.ntm.org/content/missionaries-details?crm_type=missionaries&crm_id=822 and search for "Husa" in the "Give to a missionary" section toward the top. (Because credit cards and debit cards are processed the same way, transaction fees are the same for both.)

Give By Phone:
To give by phone with a credit or debit card, please call 866-547-2460. Credit card and debit card transaction fees apply.

Give By Check:
To mail your gift, send it to:
New Tribes Mission1000 East First StreetSanford, Florida 32771-1487
Please make your check or money order payable to New Tribes Mission and include a note designating the funds to the Husas.

Airstrip in Mibu?

Could it be? Is it possible that sometime in the next couple years there might be an airstrip in Mibu?

In December of last year, the Mibu people started making some noise about trying to finish the airstrip project. It's something they'd begun many times in the past but always left undone. Many things got in the way, but mostly it was uncertainty. "Is all this effort actually going to result in the opening of an airstrip?" was the question that plagued as they toiled. It didn't take much then for folks to give up on the effort.

This go around is a bit different though. As members of the community ourselves we've decided with the Mibu people to provide some input into the project. Not so much that this becomes our airstrip, but some guidance so as to keep the work on track and also to add an element of confidence that their hard work will pay off; that it's worth doing. Also, as we have extra funds, we'd like to help contribute to some of the approximately $10,000 in expenses that would be required to finish this project.

Amazingly, when they started the project in January, the motivation was higher than we've ever seen it. They managed to clear about 600 meters of land in just 6 days! Truly amazing. Still a TON of work that needs to be done, but a good start. Reports I get on occasion indicate that the work still continues in our absence... a good sign of ownership. This project is also a great setting to stress the importance of working together and point out the attitudes that can so rapidly discourage and cause doubt.

The benefits of this airstrip for the Mibus is largely that it connects them with buyers of their cash crops. They have an ever increasing coffee harvest each year and currently are not being paid a fair price. Sometimes they don't get paid at all after all that hard work. This airstrip will be an encouragement to them as they'll hopefully begin to see more of the fruit of their labors. They also have great oranges and we could see them connecting with some of the markets out in town.

100x20 Update

Anything big with long lasting potential can take a while to build momentum. 100x20 is approximately (still waiting on a couple exact numbers) at about 10%. The goal... to find 100 new people to contribute $20 per month for Husas to continue serving in Mibu. Will you help us reach this goal?

Check out this page for ways to give.

Today marks the beginning of a one hundred day long effort we're calling "100x20".

God has been doing great and exciting things for his kingdom among the Mibu people in Papua New Guinea! From the birth of a new church, to the extension of that church into other areas, and also their ongoing maturity as they grow in their understanding of the authority of God's word in their lives and their identity as God's people... through it all, God has been working powerfully in the Mibu people's lives!

Over the years and through a great deal of generosity many folks have found great encouragement and excitement as they've backed this work financially. Truly, without those gifts we wouldn't have made it this far! And yet, there's still a great deal of work to be done in Mibu. Bible translation, training and discipleship, and lesson development and teaching all have a ways to go before the church in Mibu is at a point where our presence is no longer needed. As for us, it's a huge blessing to wait and see how God works through people to provide for our needs each and every month. That's where you come in. Currently we're about $2000 per month short of what is recommended for most effective ministry in a location such as Mibu. 100x20 is a way of getting the word out so that we can see this need met as we continue to serve the church in Mibu. If we can find one hundred new people to commit to $20 a month this need can be met.

If you've not yet taken the opportunity to be a part of Mibu Ministry through your financial help then maybe now would be a good time to hop on board and put some of your financial resources to work for the Mibu Ministry. Would you prayerfully consider a commitment to help with $20 or more each month? Or if you're currently giving, would you please keep us and the 100x20 effort in your prayers over the next one hundred days?

Here are the different ways you can give:

Automatic Monthly Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT): Go to http://usa.ntm.org/eft to find out about the benefit and ease of setting up a monthly automatic electronic funds transfer.

Give Online: You can give online using a credit card or debit card. Go to http://usa.ntm.org/give and search for "Husa" in the "Give to a missionary" section toward the top. (Because credit cards and debit cards are processed the same way, transaction fees are the same for both. There is no fee for using EFT.)

Give By Phone: To give by phone with a credit or debit card, please call 866-547-2460. Credit card and debit card transaction fees apply.

Give By Check: To mail your gift, send it to:

New Tribes Mission
1000 East First Street
Sanford, Florida 32771-1487

Please make your check or money order payable to New Tribes Mission and include a note designating the ministry or project you would like your gift to support.
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Over the next one hundred days (ending July 27, one week after we're scheduled to return to Mibu) we will provide periodic updates about the progress of the 100x20 project. If you're not already, be sure to sign up for our regular email updates about the exciting things God is doing in Mibu. Just go to http://mibu-ministry.blogspot.com.

Blessings!

Ethan Wade Husa

Ethan Wade Husa was born this morning (April 20) via c-section this morning at 8:43! He's a very healthy little baby boy at 8lbs 1.3oz and 21 inches!

Celebrate with us this new little life with which we're entrusted!

Mibu Ministry now on Facebook

Mibu Ministry just got its own facebook page! This will allow us to keep you posted on some of the more day-to-day things we experience as God works to both grow and mature the church in Mibu. Go to http://www.facebook.com/MibuMinistry to check it out. Be sure to 'Like' Mibu Ministry so you can follow what's going on!

Just FYI: We're still planning on maintaining our current system of posting articles to the blog and distributing via email as well.

Update on CTTS

We just got a report that the six men from Mibu are doing great in Inapang for the Citizen Teachers Training Seminar. To put this whole thing into perspective, the Mibu guys had to travel two days by foot, one day by boat, and then catch the Papua New Guinea equivalent of a taxi, called a PMV, out to the New Tribes Mission headquarters. For all that, they had to scrounge up a great deal of money. I don't know for sure, but I think the church in Mibu helped with some of those finances. From the NTM headquarters, they took another PMV for several hours where they hopped into large dugout motor canoes which they've never ridden in before - see picture - for an all day ride up river. Most of the people that the Mibu guys are seeing right now are strangers. The Mibus have travelled a very long way and are in a totally different setting than what they're used to. The weather is hot. The food is different. The culture and language is different (other than a shared trade language). Yet the report that I'm getting is that they seem right at home with their host family in Inapang. They don't seem uncomfortable at all. If I know these six men like I think I do, I imagine that they're really super excited to be in this situation. Why? Because they know that the people they're with right now are, like them, redeemed people, bought by the same blood and adopted as part of God's family. Jesus' work on the cross is at the center of all this. Their confidence and their hope is made the same because of him. Their affinity for other believers, even those they've never met, is strong. It's a pleasure to be together with others who are in a relationship with God! That's what makes the Mibus look past the discomfort and long difficult travel. That's what makes them just enjoy meeting and spending time with other believers. We are really looking forward to seeing how these relationships play out in the long run as God's kingdom advances in PNG!

Prayer for CTTS

Just yesterday, what is being called the Citizen Teacher Training Seminar (CTTS) began in Inapang. A number of believers and missionaries from the churches being planted in the Madang region came together for a time of fellowship, learning and being encouraged together in God's word. Six men from Mibu have been able to make it out to this training seminar. They've been looking forward to it for some time.

This is a great opportunity for these young churches to meet and to be encouraged by what God is doing among other groups in the Madang region of Papua New Guinea. Please be in prayer over these next few days as they continue to meet. We're hoping that the encouragement and training they receive at this seminar will further strengthen and encourage these men from Mibu as they serve the church in Mibu. Their connection with other PNG citizens who love God and desire to grow in their relationship to him ought to prove invaluable.

A tremendous amount of logistics all had to happen in order for the Mibu guys (and all the others) to make it out to this conference. We're so thankful to have heard that all six of the men from Mibu were able to make it. Specifically, you can pray for Sesi, Keteng, Make, Posilongge, Banaro, and Jeri. These gentlemen make up a cross section of the different locales of the church in Mibu.

A closed door and a new beginning

--- CLOSED DOORS IN FIRST OUTREACH ---
Do you remember when we updated you about the possibility of the teaching of God's word returning to the village where the first outreach happened? There are a fair number of believers there (about 70 based on what we can tell). Yet a number of years ago one person in particular ended up leveraging his influence to put a stop to any further teaching. Recently some concerned folks from Mibu went there to scope things out and see if there was any possibility of bringing God's word back to this village. It turns out that many folks, including that influential individual all wanted God's word to come back.

However, just weeks after we updated you on that development, and as things were gearing up for the teachers to go and begin their sacrificial work there, that most influential fella there who had put a stop to the teaching began insisting that he do the teaching. Because of how he was seen to mis-handle God's word in the past the church in Mibu wasn't comfortable putting him in that role of responsibility... not till we could see a more sustained willingness to submit to God's word in his life. We told him to hold on, that maybe we could talk about it again in a year or so. This gentleman's heart began to show through right there when he began insisting that this teaching wouldn't be successful unless he was the one doing it. He has declared that the teaching won't happen unless he is the one doing it. Even more so now, the Mibu church sees the need for this gentleman to sit under the teaching for a while, see his own self-worth crucified, and out of that begin showing himself faithful with the things God is revealing to him through his word. This would need to happen before any consideration is made which would allow him to take up a teaching role again. At this time, he remains stubborn. And as such, he again is effectively closing the door on any teaching that may happen there.

Lord willing, when we return to Mibu in July, we'll be discussing different possible strategies that would allow those in Tariknan who wish to continue being fed by God's word to do so. Accompanying those strategic discussions may need to be some preparation for the possibility of dealing with persecution by those opposing God's great message. Please be in prayer for the believers in that village who are being kept from being fed by God's word. Also pray for the church in Mibu that they'd have the wisdom and discernment to be able to effectively shine God's light over there through teaching of his word and living lives that shine God's mercy and grace.

--- NEW OUTREACH; NUMBER FOUR ---
Now, if you've been looking at the attached diagram, you may be seeing something you're not familiar with yet. That's right... a FOURTH outreach. This recent outreach effort has just recently begun in a nearby village. The little bit of information I have so far says that there are about 50 people attending the initial evangelism lessons right now. The people there have been waiting for the gospel message to come their way for some time now. The church in Mibu is pleased to be able to accommodate! Please keep the people of that village and the Mibu folks who are teaching there in your prayers!

Stateside Update

It's hard to believe that we've been back in Arizona for nearly a month and a half already! I was just realizing the other day we're LONG overdue for an update!

Our travels went really well. The kids behaved excellent on those flights, which makes all the difference in the world. We were so thankful for that on this trip. After arriving home, as usual, we were 'reacquainted' with American germs. Seems after the first month, everyone got what everyone was going to get and we're all feeling good for the moment.

Shannon has begun her regular doctor visits for the new baby and we've been blessed to find out that we're going to have our first boy in the family! We're really excited about that! Now we're just duking it out over what to name this young person. Shannon's health remains good. However, she is now feeling a fair bit of discomfort that limits her a bit and has made sleeping difficult sometimes. We have scheduled the c-section for April 20th. That date is coming up fast!

The kids have been enjoying being back too. They love being able to spend time with their grandparents. They've had lots of special time together. They've also been attending school. Madelyn is in preschool at the Bethany Learning Center, and Skyler is attending first grade at Bethany Christian School. Both are doing so well there and have teachers who really care. Highlights for the kids include things such as playing in the snow up north, Skyler going to see the spring wildflowers in the Superstition Mountains, Maddie getting music lessons from grandma and through a 'musikgarten' class, and Abigail getting a whole lot more daddy time than she's used to.

I'm still amazed that this can even happen, but I've received a number of phone calls from Sesi in Mibu since we've gotten back. No, that doesn't mean there are phones there now. But cell phone signals are just a few hours away from Mibu now and so when Sesi is out and about he makes it a point to give me a call. This way he's able to give us some periodic updates regarding how things are going there in Mibu. There are some exciting things as well as some tough things going on right now. Among the items which are more exciting are the rebirth of efforts to build an airstrip and also the startup of evangelism lessons in Mibu and in a nearby village called Dagave. Then among the tougher things that challenge the church in Mibu are resistance to the planned startup of bible teaching in the village of Tariknan and some difficult and possibly divisive issues that have come up in the outreach areas.

Regarding those things we'll provide more details in the coming weeks so that you can better know how to pray.

As to the rest of our time home (scheduled to return to Mibu on July 20th) we're planning on doing several things. First and foremost is taking care of all things 'baby'; delivery, healing, and all the paperwork required to bring the new Husa back with us. We also want to spend this time catching up with our friends and family. Finally there is a need to broaden the base from which prayer and monthly finances come which help us serve most effectively in Mibu. Interspersed with all that, I'll be hoping to fill things in with a little bit of work furthering our translation efforts in Mibu.

Thank you all for your much needed prayers and support. Thank you for being a part of the team!