Arrived safely in PNG

Well it's Monday morning (the 18th) and we just got in this morning... a day later than we had originally planned. All flights went really smooth. Connections went well. Kids were better behaved than they've ever been on flights and slept about 1/2 of our 14 hour flight to Brisbane! It was a great trip, until we got to Port Moresby.

It was in Port Moresby that we boarded what was to be our final commercial flight, which would take us to the town where New Tribes Mission guesthouse is. This flight was just one hour after our arrival from Brisbane and so after clearing immigration and customs, we had to RUN with kids in tow and all our carry on luggage from the international terminal to the domestic terminal. We ran as best as a family laden with goodies can run, and because of the heat and humidity typical of the tropics we boarded the plane heaving and sweating. Whew! The disappointment came when after closing the doors and starting the plane, the pilot announced that they were having a problem with a cabin pressurization problem. Long story short; our flight was cancelled, they put us up in a hotel with meals, and we stayed the night. This morning we came back to the airport about 5am to re-check all our 13 heavy bags only to find that a mistake had been made and none of the passengers from the cancelled flight had been re-entered into the system. But finally, after switching lines 3 times (still hauling all our luggage to each one) we got checked in and were off to await the boarding call for our flight. Fun adventures, right? All is well now though and we're in Goroka where we're scheduled to fly in on the helicopter to Mibu tomorrow. Can't wait.

My brother and sister, Neal and Lauren, both came with us to help with the kids and luggage and to help with some other projects in Mibu. It was so great to have them on our flights and helping with the kids. We're so excited to have them here with us! We'll have to have them write an update or two during their stay! Always good to get the perspectives of others!

Now, many of you have asked how in the world we would take 3 young kids, all our carry-ons and 13 pieces of luggage across from the domestic to the international terminal in LAX. Here's the picture that answers that question!

Thanks for all your prayers through our travels!

Geoff and Shannon and 3 jet-lagged girly girls

9 days and counting

Organizing... Prioritizing... Packing... Last minute errands...

That's the mode we're in full time right now; actually more than full time. We're getting ready for our scheduled departure date on October 15th (less than ten days away!) when we're planning on returning to our home and our ministry in Mibu. We can't believe that a whole year has gone by already. But I can tell you that we needed it. Most prominent in our mind as far as things accomplished this year is that we were able to connect on a deeper level with our church family here in AZ as well as make many new personal connections. We enjoyed the chance to strengthen the excitement level and sense of partnership in the Mibu Ministry. It's so so good to go back to the field feeling the blessing and support of others who are excited to see God continue his work in Mibu! That was our number one goal for our time home this year.

We've also been prayerfully at work to try to get our regular monthly support levels up to 100% of what is recommended for our family to serve most efficiently in Mibu. We've definitely seen some growth in our support base, but we're still about $1500 a month short of 100%. All that to say that we're still looking for financial partners in the Mibu Ministry. If you feel like you might like to support this ministry by helping with the financial side of things your help would be greatly appreciated. Just go to https://www.ntm.org/give/1089 and you can donate right online. Or for other methods, please check out the details at http://mibu-ministry.blogspot.com/p/give.html

We are feeling rested, energized and so very ready to be back in Mibu. We can't wait to get re-integrated into our friendships and life there, get a routine back for our family (this year has been awesome, but far from having family routine in the mix :) and continue to be a part of nurturing the growth and maturing of the church in Mibu.

Thank you all for being a part of our lives. You're such a blessing to us!

Geoff and Shannon Husa
...and the girls

Come hear about the Mibu ministry this Sunday

Just wanted to let you all know that this coming Sunday (the 19th) we've planned a time to get together with you and your family to share the wonderful things that God is doing in the Mibu ministry in Papua New Guinea.

Whether you're familiar with the ministry or can't quite recall exactly what it is that we do in Mibu, this presentation is for you. Come get a taste of what a tribal church planting effort looks like! We'll cover a short history of the ministry in Mibu, some about what it is that we do there to serve the Mibu people, and also some exciting things that are happening there with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. You'll also hear several ways that you can be a part of this ministry!

Please join us to show your support and learn more. We'll be meeting in room C-1 after the second service at Bethany Community Church. Plan to be there from 12:30 to 1:00. There will be activities planned for kids and snacks provided for everyone to tide those hungry bellies over till lunch!

Again, the place is Bethany Community Church in room C-1. The time is this Sunday (the 19th) 12:30-1:00pm. It's a family event. There will be snacks!

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Geoff and Shannon Husa

Departure of short term team

Just a reminder that the short term team to Mibu is scheduled to depart today (Friday afternoon). We'll be traveling to MIbu, Papua New Guinea where we're planning on building a small addition to our house.

Back when Shannon and I first built our house, we'd been trying to have children for seven years. With no children yet, and hopes of having them still prevailing, we decided we'd probably be pushing our luck to build to accommodate two children. God has blessed us beyond our plans (as he usually does) as we've just had our third child, and so we're feeling the need to expand our little 928 square foot house. We'll be adding an extra bedroom, a half bath (an essential with four females in the house!) and a little storage closet.

I'm really looking forward to having this chance to see my friends from Mibu. Gary, Greg and Steve are all looking forward to serving in this way and getting a chance to work alongside some individual believers in the Mibu church on this project.

We would appreciate your prayers as we go along. The trip dates are July 30th through August 13th. We'll keep you posted with updates and photos throughout our travels!

Enjoy!

Website facelift

Hello everyone. Just wanted to let you know that we gave a major facelift to our Mibu Ministry website. We made it look nicer (at least we think so) and we've added a lot more information about the Mibu Ministry. More photos, more information, more fun. Take some time to check it out. Just click on the following link.

http://mibu-ministry.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Geoff

Husa update

It's hard to believe we have been on home assignment for eight months already.  Time sure flies when you are having fun!  Since we've been back we have been pretty busy, both with fun things and ministry related things.

Back in October we celebrated Maddie's 2nd birthday. Is she really 2 already? When we arrived she wasn't talking very much and still wasn't walking, but she soon started doing both... and doing them well! Turning two brought her out of the baby stage and on to the toddler stage.  She loves playing with her sister, her babies and reading books and she really LOVES to sing.  She often entertains us with a one of her favorite songs - Jesus loves me, jingle bells, row row row your boat or twinkle twinkle little star, and dances along to any music or beat that she hears.

In November Skyler turned 4!  Our big girl also started preschool soon after we arrived.  She absolutely loves going to school and playing with her friends.  She can now write her name, recognize all the letters and can count to 30.  She got a bike with training wheels for her birthday and loves to practice riding it.  Some of her favorite things are playing with her friends and cousins, playing with her dolls and trying to master the monkey bars.  Just recently daddy started teaching her how to swim and she is doing very well with that. Not too long ago she decided she wanted to go ahead and get her ears pierced; a process which only got halfway through before she changed her mind :) She's waiting until she's older to get the other one done. 

In addition to all the fun we've been having we have also been speaking in different churches and Sunday school classes about all the wonderful things God has been doing in our lives and in the Mibu church since the last time we were home. We've also been focusing our efforts recently on expanding our monthly support base up to recommended levels. BTW, if you're looking for a great ministry to give to, we'd love to share with you some of the wonderful things that God is doing in Mibu. Maybe the Mibu ministry is the right fit for your gifts! Let us know if you might be interested.

Geoff has also been very busy trying to put together a short term mission team to fly out to Mibu later this summer to build an addition onto our house. He's also been putting together lesson material for a Bible reading class he is teaching and trying to fit in all of his meetings and appointments.

Shannon tries to keep up with three little kids and with all the housework that needs to be done as well as doing homework for the two Bible study classes she is involved in.

The biggest thing occupying most of our time right now is adjusting to and enjoying our newest addition to the family - Abigail Marie Husa born on May 11th.  So far she is an easy baby and sleeps well at night too.  Both of her big sisters love to play with her and hold her.  We feel very blessed to have 3 beautiful and healthy girls.

Prayer requests:

Pray that all of the kids passports and visas are processed in a timely manner so that we can return to Papua New Guinea the first week of October.

We are still in need of around $1800/month to meet our recommended monthly support before we head back to Mibu.

We also are estimating that we will need about $8,000 to purchase our return tickets to Papua New Guinea.

Thank you to all of you for your ongoing love, prayers, and support.  We appreciate every one of you!

Love,

Geoff, Shannon, Skyler, Madelyn and Abigail

Welcome Abigail Marie Husa

A special welcome to the new addition to the Husa family, Abigail Marie. She was born 5/11 at 11.51am, weighed in at a paltry 7lbs 13oz and is 21 inches in length.

The delivery, via c-section, went very smoothly... the best delivery we've experienced yet!

We'll likely be here at Banner Desert till Friday morning. Visitors are welcome. We're in 219c. Shannon's cell# is (602)618-9370.