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.

Mibu ministry partnership development

Here we are, at about the half-way mark of our year long home assignment before returning back to Mibu! Wow, our time home with you all is going by fast! We're working on a short update about our time home so far. Hopefully that will be going out in the next few days.

But here's what this email is about...

As many of you know, we have the pleasure of being a part of a much larger team than just us who are serving on the field. People like you have graciously given to us over the years so that we can continue to live and serve in Mibu. One of the things we're hoping to do while home is expand the base of people who partner with us financially. We're focusing our efforts on this task over the next month here.

We have prepared some information about our needs as a family and how you can be part of the exciting things that God is doing through the Mibu ministry. But we want to make sure we have your correct mailing address. If you've not already taken the opportunity to partner with us financially and would like us to send you some information about that, could you please reply and make sure we have your current address.

Blessings,

Geoff and Shannon Husa

Weng's song + cucumbers (From the Tartaglias)

Here's the latest from our co-workers, the Tartaglias in Mibu. Cool stuff!

"Weng invited me over to hear the chapter summaries he's been working on as
he reads thru the Bible this year. We had just settled onto the bamboo floor
in his house when his mother turned and offered me a cucumber. I was kinda
surprised when she handed me a knife to peel it as well. It's been years
since anyone let me peel cucumbers, sweet potatoes, or any edible vegetation
for that matter. I guess it pains them too much to watch me try, yet remove
too much of the edible part along with the peel.

I thanked her and took the cucumber, then sat there listening to Weng
continue to read me his chapter summaries, trying to savor Weng's words and
this new chance I had been given at food preparation. I waited till Weng had
made it into the life of Abraham before I began peeling. The background
family noises quickly faded away, till there was only silence. I looked up
to find every eye in the house on me. Weng's mother quickly stepped over and
took it back, graciously telling me that she would not mind doing it for me.
Oh, well, maybe next time....

The highlight of my visit, though, was even after the wonderful chapter
headings and summaries. It was the song Weng shared with me before I left, a
song he had written himself last week.

"When Jesus comes back
He will judge the world
But according to God's pleasure
He regards us as His very own people
We will not be brought to trial."

Alleluia and Amen!"

Thanks for tuning in!

Geoff and Shannon

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Latest Mibu ministry news

Here’s the latest from our co-workers in Mibu...

“After the church service, when many of the people had
dispersed, Parenoowe grabbed my skirt as I walked by pulling me down on the
rough bench next to her. Her face was drawn and tight, eyes still shining
with tears carefully held in check. She leaned her face very close to mine,
and with great emotion asked if we could talk about her daughter. It has
been less than three weeks since her 9 year old, Joonoomeng, had run down
ahead of her friends to the river, and whose body been found days later
washed up on the shore a few miles down the steep river ravine. Parenoowe 's
searing pain showed in her eyes, her voice, and the tight grip she held on
my hand. Her questions are the same that anyone would wrestle with... "Why
did this happen? Did I do something wrong that God allowed this? Where is
she now? Will I see her again?"
 
               I wish I had something to say to Parenoowe that didn't sound
trite. "My friend, God is not angry with you, He is not punishing you. You
know this, don't you. He loves you and He loves your children. We all die.
We do not know when—today, tomorrow, when we are young or when we are very
old. Only God knows all of this. We cannot know. But we do know that we can
trust God with this. We will have to leave it with Him." I paused, thinking.
"What does Weng tell you?" I whispered, her face still very close to mine.
Parenoowe 's oldest, married son, Weng, has carried the family through this
time. He has been a Bible teacher and helped teach through the Bible to
other villages, and has a very evident love for the Lord and His Word."Yes,
this is what Weng tells me," she quietly answered.

               Even while they were still searching for little Joonoomeng's
body, our family had hiked over to their village to see what we could do,
and be there with them as they waited for news. In the past, we would have been
needed at the forefront, reassuring and reminding everyone of God's love for
His children. Instead, when what we found were other brothers and sisters in
Christ ministering to the family, and to Joonoomeng's mother in particular.
And when Weng's faith was brought to the test, his little sister missing and
feared dead, his faith was steady and shone through brightly.”

Hope this is as encouraging for you as it was for us when we received it!

Geoff and Shannon Husa

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