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!

 

 

 

 

 

Move complete... Moving forward!

Greetings from Papua New Guinea! We thought it would be a good time to check in and catch you up to date on the latest with the Mibu Ministry!

If you recall from our last update we were getting ready to move again. That move is now complete, and we're mostly settled in to our new place for the next 7 months. We're so thankful to be here, if even for just a short period. Since we moved into a place that already is furnished, we decided it was a good time to simplify our lives a bit and sell off a bunch of our furniture so we don't have to store and deal with quite so much when we come home on furlough this next year. We also packed up quite a bit of our own personal belongings (the ones we aren't selling yet) as if we're going on furlough now, so that we don't have to do it again later when we do get ready to go.

School was originally slated to start up again in September here, but due to all the cancelled flights because of covid, the school staff just hasn't been able to get back. So the next date they're going to try to start is in Jan some time. Till then Shannon continues to homeschool all four kids, and has even volunteered to help a local neighbor with one of their kids who is in Abby's grade. So five kids altogether! Shannon is a rockstar, people! The kids' school is all laid out on a computer program that they follow. Definitely different than what they're used to!

Speaking of school. Next year when we're home, we're planning on putting at least one of the kids in a Christian school (hoping we can get in at Valley Christian). Arizona has a wonderful tax credit program called ACSTO where families can get a tax credit (not a deduction, but full tax credit) for giving toward a child's education in a private school. We'll be putting some more information out as the time gets nearer, but we'd appreciate anyone willing to consider giving toward this next year of education for our oldest at Valley.

And speaking of coming home, Shannon and I have been enjoying getting a head start on shopping for a house for our time home, and have even found ourselves fascinated by the world of real estate investing. We've been learning a lot in our evenings particularly in the realm of creative financing and rentals since we'd like to be able to rent this place out as an investment when we're away.

Other than about a month long interruption for moving, the translation project continues along nicely. I've managed to draft up to ch 20 in Revelation! Getting so so close to the finish of that book! I should be working with my translation helper at this point, but all our communication with Mibu has been cut off because of an issue with the power out there. We've been unable to get out there to fix it yet, so it's been about a month without much communication at all. The latest has us hoping that either Chris or myself can get out there in November to fix that and get the system up and running again. It just highlights again how many cogs in the machine all have to be working in order to get our work done! So while I can't work with my translation helper at the moment, I continue to draft ahead. I hope to maybe finish drafting the book before I work with him again, maybe toward the end of the year.

The little bit of communication we have had has been all positive reports of how the church is doing. We've heard some little tidbits that sound like there may be some rising persecution in a couple of the outreach areas, but we haven't been able to determine for sure. But overall the church remains strong, people continue to meet and encourage one another in the Lord and to move forward in hope! This is such good news to us to hear even just little tidbits from leaders who remain encouraged in their service! Yes!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and regular monthly support! Your partnership means so much to us! 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!

Exciting New Mibu Ministry Video

As we head into the closing season of 2018 I’m reflecting on the phenomenal things that happened this last year. This video sums up how these years of language learning, bible translation, teaching, and discipleship came together in a huge ministry milestone; the appointment of the Mibu church’s first elders! Check out our vimeo page for the longer versions (18 min and  46 min) if you’re looking for more of the details.

https://vimeo.com/user21492032

Thank you all for partnering with us in this ministry! It’s been so encouraging to see the fruit of this ministry over the years!

If you'd like to know how to contribute to the ongoing expenses of Mibu Ministry please check out our Ethnos30 page here. 
https://ethnos360.org/missionaries/geoffrey-and-shannon-husa