Hello everyone! It's been a little too long since our last update! For starters we want to thank you for your continued prayers and regular monthly support as we serve the church in Mibu! We are so grateful for each and every one of you! And thank you for keeping the Mibu church and the surrounding communities in your prayers too! We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and are gearing up for the upcoming celebration of the birth of our Lord, Jesus!
The big news out of Mibu has been and continues to be this terrorizing gang in the area. It's hard to write updates about it, mostly because it seems like it's just more of the same. It always seems like something might be moving forward, but then it isn't. It's now been nearly a year since the first direct attack in Mibu. The short of it is that the brutal attacks all around Mibu continue. The refugee situation continues. Almost daily we get more stories of villages that have been abandoned and where now the jungle is starting to take back over. Many who have fled have come to Mibu where the community there is doing their best to serve and provide for peoples' needs. But the difficulty is the lack of food and housing. Each house has more people than they ought to, and people are rationing basic food supplies just to survive! The gang continues to breathe threats against our friends in Mibu. So far the Lord has not allowed the gang to come attack again, which we're thanking him for!
Here is a short video where the Hetwara Terrorist Group recorded themselves reenacting how they have been coming in to attack various villages. They're clearly very proud of their 'accomplishments' which includes the murder, rape, burning, stealing and destruction of so many livelihoods.
We keep hearing talk about government this and government that, police, or military… and every now and then it seems like maybe something is finally coming together, but alas very little of it has. So the folks in Mibu are understandably frustrated and scared as the gang continues to threaten to attack again in Mibu. One very sad and frustrating factor is that there is a contingent of leaders out on the coast who are not affected by the gang, but who are making the argument that the gang should be left alone and not pursued for punishment, and even given jobs, so that they stop attacking people. Unfortunately the government in PNG seems to be listening to this and so the attacks just continue and the only people who can do anything about it seem like they may not.
My co-worker, Chris, has been slaving over purchasing supplies and creating opportunities to send the occasional relief flight. While everything possible has been done to keep the expenses as low as possible our Mibu Team account now has about $6,000 in debt. Some of that was taken on with the understanding (and the known risk) of the government reimbursing us, which they've not. This may limit our ability to continue to send basic provisions, and so we are looking for specific help toward these expenses if you are in a place where you could consider giving. Based on how things are going, and how certain factors are coming into place (and in some cases NOT coming into place) we're estimating costs for a short term period of basic relief help to be upwards of $150,000. Info below if you're interested!
While much of this news has us feeling maybe upset and not so encouraged, I want to point out something happening in the midst of all this turmoil and pain that IS a huge encouragement. Many of the refugees who have relocated to Mibu for a time, are those from areas that have been asking for the gospel to be brought to them. In the Lord's excellent sovereignty, he has brought them to the gospel! The church in Mibu has been teaching through the gospel lessons with these folks while they're there. Right now there's about 40-something people who are about half way through the lessons! While we see and feel the evil at work to press and destroy, we see God's light shining in Mibu, both in the mercy and grace shown by the Mibu people who are sacrificing so much to serve those who have fled, but also now in the teaching and hearing of his Good News for them!
In addition to any work around this issue with the gang, and regular communications with the church, I continue to work from here to finish the elder training lessons for Mibu. Right now it sits at about 46 lessons meant to be taught over a one year period. I've drafted quite a few already, which I am now starting to send through for my Mibu co-workers to read, check through, and correct before sending back to me. The book is shaping up to be over 200 pages when done. I'm hoping it will be a great standard by which the leaders and elders in Mibu can train future elders! It's much of the same material I used when training them, but now put in lesson form in a book.
Shannon and I have also been slowly working through some long-standing health issues this last year, and even more so the last several months as we try to maximize our insurance before it resets after the new year. Probably the most pointed issues are that Shannon has a pain in her hip which limits her mobility a fair bit, and I've had an issue with both my elbows which has continued to get worse over the last 2 years. It too is limiting my mobility, enough so that it demands immediate and full attention. Turns out that working at a computer as much as I do comes with health issues. We're praying and hoping for some answers and healing.
And finally, I'm starting to give some thought to planning a short trip back to PNG for myself in the next 4-6 months! We're hoping by then there will be a clear open door for me to get into and back out of PNG and that our finances will be in a place where we can make that happen.
We are grateful to the Lord for his many provisions as we continue ministry to the church in Mibu. If you would like to contribute toward our ongoing ministry you can send a check to Ethnos360, 312 West First St, Sanford, FL 32771-1231 with a note designating funds for Geoff and Shannon Husa, or you can give online here https://ethnos360.org/missionaries/geoffrey-and-shannon-husa
And if you have been wondering about how we might help with the crisis in Mibu from such a distance, there is an opportunity to help with your finances. If you'd like to send a gift specifically for relief efforts in the Mibu please send a check to Ethnos360, 312 West First St, Sanford, FL 32771-1231 with a note designating funds for "Mibu Ministry - PNG#463127" in the memo line. Or you can call the office at 866-547-2460 if you'd like to give using a credit card or other means.
Note: I'm going to be sending out soon, a summary of events written by my co-worker, Chris. These lay out in a big picture format all that's been going on in Mibu.
