Update on Some Current Needs

I wanted to quickly update you on a few specific needs for Mibu Ministry.

 

Upcoming Trip to Mibu

 

I'm planning to head back to Mibu soon but still need an additional $1,500 to make it happen. Additionally, there's a fuel shortage in PNG, which is another hurdle we need prayers for. With the current fuel shortage flights into bush locations are severely limited. So I'm waiting for a change there before making solid plans.

 

New Internet Systems

 

When I go back, I'd love to bring at least one, possibly two, new, smaller internet systems. Each system costs around $600-$650, including the active internet plan.

Office Space

 

My current workspace at home isn't ideal. I've found an office space nearby in Mesa that I can rent for $300/month. Having a dedicated workspace away from the house would be super helpful. Would anyone be interested in sponsoring this?

 

Monthly Support

 

Our regular monthly support is down to 57% of what's recommended. This shortfall has led us to spend more time on other income-generating activities, which is unsustainable for full-time ministry. We're making a push to bring our support levels back up so I can focus on translation and lesson development.

 

Social Media Campaign

 

You may have seen on social media (Instagram: @geoffhusa, Facebook: Geoff Husa) that I've been sharing the amazing story of what God has done in Mibu! We need more people to join us in seeing this ministry through. If you see my posts, please do more than just 'like' them—leave a comment, ask a question, or share it! Those actions help increase visibility on the platform, which in turn helps grow our support base.

 

Thank you for your prayers and continued support!

 

 

 

 

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!

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