Teaching Scripture as It Was Written - Our Approach in Mibu

Why We Prioritize Expository Teaching in Mibu

Did you know that in Mibu, we prioritize expository teaching over topical teaching? If you're unfamiliar with the terms, expository teaching involves systematically teaching through a book of the Bible, staying true to its themes and messages. In contrast, topical teaching focuses on specific subjects or issues, selecting passages that address those topics. While both methods have their place, we believe that teaching through entire books of the Bible is essential for understanding the author's original intent.

The Pitfalls of Overly Topical Teaching

Focusing too much on topical matters can cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture. I remember when I first learned to use my Bible, I was taught to look up topics I was interested in, using references that pointed me to relevant passages. Over time, I memorized key verses related to those topics. While this approach isn't inherently wrong, it became the only way I interacted with Scripture. I began to see the Bible as a disjointed encyclopedia of life's mysteries and problems rather than a cohesive narrative revealing God's character and purposes.

This topical approach made my Bible reading more about me. As I matured in my faith and began reading entire texts, I realized how often I had misunderstood my favorite "proof" texts because I had learned them in isolation, divorced from their larger context. When we focus too heavily on topical teaching, it's easy to see only what we want to see in the text, rather than what God is truly communicating.

The Benefits of Expository Teaching

By prioritizing expository teaching—studying the Bible the way it was written, whether in narratives, poetry, or letters—we place ourselves in a better position to understand the author's intended meaning. This approach helps us avoid the temptation to read our own desires into the text. After all, Scripture often reveals truths that challenge us, rather than just confirming what we hope to find.

When developing our church planting strategy in Mibu, we realized that expository teaching should be our primary method, with topical teaching serving as a supplement when needed. This approach ensures that the believers in Mibu have a strong understanding of the Bible. Instead of seeing Scripture as a collection of topics to study, they see it as a series of cohesive narratives and letters that are profoundly practical and reveal a great deal about who God is.

As we continue to see the church in Mibu thrive and grow in their understanding of God's Word, we are incredibly grateful for the generous support from those who have partnered with us. Your contributions are vital in allowing us to carry out this ministry, ensuring that the Mibu people have access to the transformative power of Scripture.

For those who feel led to join us in this work, whether through a one-time gift or ongoing support, your partnership would mean so much. If you're reading this in an email, see the "Donate Now" button at the top. If you're seeing this on our blog, there's a donation link on the right! Your regular monthly contributions help us continue to teach, translate, and provide more and more of God's word in Mibu. If you are already a partner, thank you for your faithful support – It's made such an impact!

 

 

 

 

 

Get our latest prayer card!

We've recently updated our prayer card and would love to send you one! Simply use the link below to provide your name and address, and we'll take care of the rest. Or if you happen to see us on the regular, say at church, be sure to hit us up there and we'll get you one!

 

Why are prayer cards important?

Because we are bringing God's word to places that previously had no access, the Enemy wants to hinder us. So, we remind ourselves to pray! The spiritual battle is more real than ever, with many believers in Mibu now, where there were none before. Prayer is a privilege of participation in God's work, laboring for his kingdom, whether on the front lines or supporting from home. It's a way to unite as one body and bring our Christ shaped concerns and desires to our faithful Father.

 

Why use prayer cards?

The spiritual battle isn't confined to Mibu in Papua New Guinea; it extends to our everyday lives. We're often busy and distracted, and prayer can slip into the background. A prayer card helps keep the ministry in mind, whether it's on your fridge, as a bookmark, or anywhere you'll see it regularly.

 

Our prayer card also includes important information about how to contact us, learn more about Mibu Ministry, and contribute financially—a bit like a business card for missionaries!

 

If you'd like one of our new prayer cards, please let us know! Click the link below and fill out your name and mailing address. If you want more than one—for different locations or to share with others who are interested—just let us know how many you need.

 

http://ineedyouraddress.com/husamibuministry

 

Blessings,

 

Geoff and Shannon Husa

 

Thriving in the Midst of Turmoil

This last year has been one of great heartache and angst for all of us as we've followed all that's been going on in Mibu with the Hetwara Terrorist Group. The incredible pain we're watching our friends go through, the seeming helplessness, the frustration as we try to get help from the government… it's all been overwhelming for us watching and helping and praying from afar, but much more so, as you can imagine, for our friends on the ground in Mibu.

However, it's encouraging to know that despite the ongoing threats to their safety, the refugee situation with so many displaced from their villages and relocated to Mibu, and the resulting shortages of food and other basic supplies, as well as increased illness, THE CHURCH IN MIBU IS STILL LIVING OUT THEIR IDENTITY AS GOD'S PEOPLE, THE CHURCH, A PILLAR AND BUTTRESS OF TRUTH IN THIS WORLD!! Many of the refugees in Mibu are from areas that have been asking for the gospel to be brought to them for years. The church in Mibu, always eager to share the good news that they've so passionately embraced, have been teaching the gospel to these refugees over the last few months. Just recently we got word that out of about 40 people they've been teaching, about 28 have come to faith, with a number of others still contemplating the radical message they've just heard! How amazing that the message of God's love supersedes even these circumstances and gives hope to those who have none!

I'll put a link to some pictures and video we compiled here.

This last year was a very busy year for us, with Shannon taking a part time job, Geoff helping in any way he can for the situation in Mibu, consulting with church leaders, and also continuing to develop lessons. We're seeing good momentum with the lessons again! We're getting closer to being done with the book of 40-something lessons prepared for the training of elders in Mibu. This year we should also make some great progress too on the lessons for the book of Revelation, which was the latest thing translated. Geoff also put a lot of energy into looking for great deals with real estate. That business is moving too, though more slowly than we'd like. We have funding partners ready to bring all the capital needed to buy the real estate when the deal is right, but getting the right deals to buy is the tough part! Clearly it's going to be some time to really start to see the difference real estate can make in our monthly income.

The kids continue to do well in school. Skyler is a junior and Maddie is a freshman at Valley Christian High School. We're so thankful for the ACSTO tax credit program which allows folks in AZ to contribute to their school at ZERO cost to them. Both girls' school is nearly paid for this year! We do need a bit more for Madelyn to finish the year. If you're in AZ and would like to know how you can help at NO COST to you, please let us know so we can get that info to you! Actually here's a link… https://pages.acsto.org/sxwe2k/

Abby and Ethan are at Center for Educational Excellence in Tempe and both are doing well there, though they can often feel out of place being at a non-Christian school.

Coming up soon, in the Spring, the older 2 girls are planning on doing a short term missions trips with their school.. Skyler  to Kenya and Maddie to Mexico! They're both really looking forward to the opportunity to go to another culture and language outside of what they know and serve some of the needs in each place. Maddie's trip is completely funded, but Skyler still needs to raise about $1700 before mid-February. If you'd be interested in helping her on her way here's a link to help you read and understand more about her trip and consider a tax deductible donation… https://vcs.managedmissions.com/MyTrip/skylerhusa

And then we hesitantly signed Abby up for an educational trip with her school to Greece in 2024. Hesitant only because of the cost, and the fact that it's not really something to do fundraising for. We ended up deciding with Abby that we were going to try to see if she can work to earn the money for the trip. We have until Feb 1 to decide if that's going to actually work or not. We've got a few jobs lined up, but we're not actually sure she's going to be able to make the needed $288/mo for the next 14 months to pay off the trip. So we're looking for ideas appropriate for a 12 year old to work in the next year or so! Yes, we're feeling a bit crazy for trying this, but excited to see our kids wanting to spread their wings.

For us as a family 2022 marked a year of getting established back into a different kind of life, at a different pace, and really a different everything after moving back from PNG. The Lord continues to be so so good in providing for us each step of the way. These kinds of transitions don't happen quickly or easily, as we're learning first hand. And to be honest, it comes with a bit of crisis of identity for us.

We're looking forward to continuing to serve and grow this year and for many after! Thank you to all who are praying for the church in Mibu, for the situation there and for the resilience of the church. And thank you for your prayers for us as a family and your financial support of the Mibu Ministry!

 

 

March Onward

Someone recently asked me for info about our blog. I had to ashamedly ask myself… "When was the last time you posted anything on your blog, you doofus?!" March! March is the last time I posted anything to our blog! For those who follow us exclusively via email or via our blog here, our apologies. Even more so since with all the events of the world and back home in the US, March seems more like forever ago! So much has happened! So let me catch you up on what's been going on here with us and with the church in Mibu in Papua New Guinea!

You may recall we had a wonderful opportunity to go into Mibu as a family back in March, right when all the covid stuff was starting to explode in the news.

I've said it quite a few times, and I'm sure you can recall at least once, but often when I'm making trips into Mibu I have a mountain of translation tasks to get done in there that I can't do from out in town. Well I've been experimenting with and training some of my helpers to do more and more of these tasks over video conferencing! It's been going surprisingly well so far!

Just a few weeks ago our family was able to make it into Mibu again. It might be our last time in there as a family before we head back to AZ for furlough next year! I was so encouraged and proud of the leaders in Mibu, just to see how they continue to do, their faithfulness and their zeal for the Lord and for his work in their own lives and in the community! I'm also really happy to report that after I did a bit more training with a handful of people on the video conferencing thing, I ran out of any more of the translation work that needed to wait till I was in there to do! No more backlog and trying to catch up with all those comprehension checks! We've been able to do the whole process over video now! Not that there wasn't anything to do for the remainder of our time. No ma'am! Plenty of other little tasks that I can just pick up and do wherever I am. So those are how I finished my time there.

Have I ever told you that after we do all that work translating into the Mibu language, we get to translate it BACK TO ENGLISH. Yeah… not my favorite task, but essential none the less, so I tend to save that for filler work, to break things up.

The kids all enjoyed their time in the tribe again. Skyler was able to bring a friend from town too! It was her friend's first time in the bush and was quite the experience for her!

After we flew out as a family, and were back in town for only a week, Skyler and I WENT BACK into Mibu for another week. We joined a team from Finisterre Vision who wanted to meet with the church leaders and talk strategy regarding some upcoming surveys that they're planning, and just to talk about other areas of ministry potential. Skyler came along to help serve the parents by caring for their kids and freeing them up to have meetings and to get out and be with people. She was such a blessing (proud daddy!). For one of the families it was their very first time in a remote bush location. It was just good all around for them to be able to meet with and hear the heart of the Mibu church and its leaders. Once again I was really just blown away to sit and listen to the leaders talk about strategy and vision for taking God's word to the people around them. They're so well thought out and are so good at communicating their vision! Just so cool to see!

Since coming back out I've continued working on Revelation, the everlasting translation project! No really I love it, but this one has just taken so long. I'm seeing the end here soon as I've just rounded the corner into chapter 18! I'm so pleased with how well the translation communicates. The people I've checked with are able to follow it well and are encouraged by its messaging! I can't wait to put lessons together for it and teach it!

One thing that's been big on our minds lately is regarding our upcoming furlough next year. Yup… already! It might seem a bit early to be thinking about that, but there is a lot that goes into planning for that year home. We need to figure out housing, cars, school for the kids… that's a biggie… where are we going to send them??? We're slowly getting a handle on some of those logistics. School is still a bit of a mystery, especially if we need to apply for the ACSTO tax credit program far ahead of time. Whew!

One really big thing that we're moving toward is finally buying a house this time. We've hemmed and hawed about it over the years, never feeling right about pulling the trigger. This time, we're ready! Well mostly. We're still trying to save like mad to be able to pay for it, as well as a van and maybe a small car, and some medical stuff we're going to need to do. But yeah, we're committing ourselves to buying a house this time! Let's do this! With the age of our kids and just where we're at in life, it's clearly time!

Speaking of housing here, we're actually planning on… gulp… moving again here back to the main center where we can be closer to the school and the help that's needed with school. We actually really really really don't relish the thought of packing up and moving again here, but we're compelled just because of what it means for the kids' success in school and also for the reduction of other non-work interruptions that our current location imposes. So we're thankful to have a house available there the last 9 months or so before we come home on furlough.

Oh and school is scheduled to start up again September 15th! So very grateful that it seems we're able to get all the right people in place to start the school year up, even if a bit late!

I think that catches you up on the latest with us and with the church in Mibu!

Once again we just want to express our gratitude for all of you who pray and who give to this ministry. We could not do it without you, and we appreciate your partnership! We're so humbled to have you all a part of the team! For those who may not have had an opportunity yet, you can follow this link which will give several tax deductible options for how to give. https://ethnos360.org/missionaries/geoffrey-and-shannon-husa

How Are the Husas?

You might be wondering how we might be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. I'll summarize first by saying we're fine right now, and that we're definitely affected in many ways, much like you all are back home, yet with some differences. More on that after I write about our recent time as a family in Mibu.

The Mibu Ministry continues despite COVID-19. I happen to have the perfect job to keep going in this situation… sitting in an office, translating God's word into the Mibu language. Prior to the heightened reactions here to the pandemic, we had the wonderful opportunity to go into Mibu as a family! I've been in several times on my own, and once with Skyler. But the rest of the family hasn't been back in since we moved out nearly 2 years ago! The short version of why that is has to do with the extreme costs of getting in and back out. But the Lord graciously provided the means to make it in together this time; something we're so very grateful for!

It was such a joy to be back in the house again that the kids basically all grew up in! Our family dynamics are so different in there and it was nice to step back in to that if even just temporarily. It reminded us of some dynamics we'd like to be sure to hold on to when we got back to our town lives. We had a steady flow of visitors in our house, and we did our share of visiting as well, enjoying catching up, doing meals together, and enjoying the fellowship we share together under the common hope that we have in Jesus! It was such an encouragement to see how the church and it's shepherd-leaders continue to stand firm and grow in their faith!

I had all 10 of my days filled with translation tasks that are harder or impossible to do from town. I almost exclusively focused on checking 1 and 2 Thessalonians and also Revelation (all that's been translated so far) for comprehension. I was able to get one more solid round of this checking done for all of that, and now have some areas to focus on cleaning up a bit based on those checks. It was a good time sitting and going through all that material with a handful of folks who were super encouraged not just to see more of God's talk made clear in their language, but to be following the messages of that talk. For some it's their first exposure to those particular letters. But it's all the more Jesus-focusing for them to hear, strengthening their faith and their walk with the Lord.

While we were in Mibu we continued to follow closely the developments around the COVID-19 pandemic. Watching the events and reactions escalate the way they did in just those short 10 days (and continue to even today) hardly seemed real! The whole thing reminds me that we definitely tend to live in an illusion in which we perceive a great deal more control over our lives than we actually do. We have systems and habits in place that we make up our 'normal', and we take for granted the fragility of all that. This pandemic reminds me of how little control we actually have over many of our circumstances. When that illusion gets stripped away, looking through the initial fog of anxiety, I'm reminded where we really get our peace from… our Creator God who DOES have control, and who does have a purpose, and who calls us his, and who continues to love and care for us through any and all of life's circumstances. He is where our hope is.

So how are we experiencing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic? In many ways it is not too unlike what our many friends and family in the US and in other places around the world are experiencing. The big difference is that we are overseas, and any opportunities to repatriate to the US have dwindled if it ever came down to it for us. Thankfully our family has not felt the need. But we're thankful that a number of our friends and co-workers were able to make it through one of the last remaining windows before it closed. School has ceased and so Shannon prepares to take up homeschooling our kids for the remainder of the school year. As of now there has been only one confirmed case of COVID-19 in PNG, and it was an imported case with no evidence of local transmission. For now we remain commited to making whatever adjustments are needed and continuing with Mibu Ministry as much as possible with restrictions in place. We continue to follow the news and connect with family, and to pray for you all. We would ask that you continue to pray for us here as well!

Thank you so much to everyone who prays and who gives for this ministry to happen! We couldn't be here without you all holding us up!

First Mibu Ministry News of 2020

Greetings from the highlands of Papua New Guinea! We're well overdue for an email to give you all the latest and greatest with the Mibu Ministry.

First we wanted to get you up to date on a recent outreach effort by the church in Mibu, in a place they were invited to called Sindama. I spoke with Sesi recently, and he informed me that a large contingent in Sindama has rejected this message after hearing it. As many of you know, most of the places that have asked the Mibu church to bring the gospel message to them have responded favorably to the message. When I asked Sesi what about the gospel message offended them, he said it very clearly has to do with their cargo cult beliefs where they equate the fact of procreation of a man and woman to to showing that they are deities themselves. Basically they take the thinking that since we procreate we are obviously gods ourselves. There's so much of their belief system that revolves around this view. The people in Mibu recognize it well, because it is close to what they used to believe. Anyway, once being faced with the propositions that there is but one creator God, who made us, and that because of sin we all fall short of his glory and need a savior, they chose to reject that. We're praising the Lord though for the small handful who have responded to the message about Jesus and are putting their faith in him. The challenge for the church in Mibu now will be supporting and continuing to encourage and grow those believers as they continue to live among the many who will likely ridicule and may even persecute them.

As for our ongoing work translating the bible and creating bible lessons, some years are better than others. The last half of 2019 was really slow and frustrating for me personally. It was difficult to stay focused and to get momentum going in the work. I found myself being faced once again with my own weakness and inability (yup, got lots of 'em), and experiencing those in new and different situations from what I'm used to. Translation was sooo slow. It's challenged me again about what it means to look away from myself and to the Lord for what is needed to accomplish what he brought us here to do. It's also challenged me to be content with certain changes in situation which my brain and my heart say are not advantageous to the work. Yet I know that the Lord has allowed us, if not even purposed us to be in this situation. For what reason? I'm afraid I don't know that. I suppose I can let go of needing to know why, and keep getting on with using what the Lord grants me to have to do the work that he has for us, trusting that he will also provide all that is necessary to accomplish it. So here's to gratitude, renewed focus and dependance on the Lord, and success (as God defines it) in this start of 2020!

We're excited that, for the first time as a family since moving out of the bush, we finally have plans to spend some time in Mibu! March 10-19 is when it seems it's going to happen. I say 'seems' because the dates have moved around a bit as we try to settle the logistics. I've been into Mibu a number of times, but the rest of the family has not. It should be a great time to reconnect with friends and leaders there, and of course to accomplish some translation tasks which can only be done in Mibu. We're also hoping and praying that our house is not requiring any major attention which will take time away from more important things.

Speaking of housing. It may seem like a long way off, but we're already starting to think about our planned home assignment which is scheduled to begin summer of 2021. Mostly we're starting to keep our feelers out for housing. In the past, we had a mission house available which made it easy. But times and circumstances change and the mission house no longer exists. We've exhausted other possibilities too, and so are faced with the decision between renting or buying a house. With our kids getting a bit older and the prospect of more frequent, short term stints in the US, we're feeling it's time to get serious about a mortgage. So we're trying to pinch more pennies and save for a down payment. We're also taking the time between now and then to continually ask the Lord for clear direction and provision regarding such a big financial decision.

Most of us think of chilly weather and snow over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Contrary to that, we spent ours on vacation in the hot, equatorial sun of Madang. Our time down there was sweet and refreshing (thanks to the AC in the guesthouse). We spent time out on our little sailing outrigger, Shan Skailyn, and we tried unsuccessfully to fish, and visited various beaches and met different people. Then we topped it off with 3 nights at the Madang Resort. The latter is what we opted as a family to do instead of Christmas gifts to one another this year! It made for a much more low-key celebration of the birth of our Savior! We arrived back in the cool highlands on January 6th, and have hit the ground running ever since, and feeling ready to dig in and continue our labors for the kingdom.

We couldn't be here, and couldn't do this work without your friendship and your prayers and financial support! We appreciate so much all who are led to contribute to us and the ministry in Mibu! Thank you! If you haven't had a chance yet, and are wishing to contribute with your finances, please follow the link. https://ethnos360.org/missionaries/geoffrey-and-shannon-husa

January 4th marked 16 years since moving to Papua New Guinea to minister to the remote Mibu people! 16 years of God's faithfulness in provision, direction, loving care, and growing his kingdom!