Husa Family Update (Fred and Carol's daughter Shannon)
Goeff, Shannon, and the girls are missionaries in Papua New Guinea

From: Shannon Husa
Subject: Sunday update
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:24:32 +1000

Happy Easter to all of you!!

Our team left on Thursday and the Tartaglia's returned. It has been
wonderful to have our co-workers back. We really enjoyed having the team
here, but it has been nice to get back into a normal routine.

This morning we all hiked down to Mibu for the church service. The Mibu
people met Friday, Saturday and today to celebrate and sing and teach on the
death and resurrection of Christ. They put the lessons together all by
themselves and did a great job. Of course I miss a lot of it since I don't
speak Ma that well and Maddie decided she didn't want to listen to the
lesson. But, Geoff says it was good. It's encouraging to see them take on
a lot of the teaching without input from us. We are that much closer to
having a self sufficient church her in Mibu.

Last week Skyler and Michael had an Easter egg hunt in the house and enjoyed
that so we probably won't do that today. I may give her a small bag of
goodies and let her find that.

Skyler is really enjoying having Shiloh back. She comes over every day to
see if Skyler can play. I think that is very sweet considering she is 11
and would much rather play with kids her own age. Skyler enjoys the
attention though. Marietta has been having fun with her too. She likes to
do Skyler's hair in funny hairdos.

We are having a lot of discipline issues with Skyler in the last couple of
weeks. She has really been testing us with her screaming and saying no and
just plain disobedience. Now is the time to nip it in the bud. If we don't
we may have a monster on our hands :) For the most part she is good, but
nap time and bed time have become war time.
Last night she was eating dinner and said she was going to pick up a noodle
with her hand, then she said, "see Mommy, this is how it works". Then this
morning she called me Shannon!! It's kind of cute while she is little, but
I don't think I will like it too much when she is older.

Maddie is now 5 months old. Time sure goes fast. She loves to bounce in
her bouncy seat. She holds onto the handle and kicks her legs so that it
will bounce. She is now trying to grab anything you put in front of her.
She is not very coordinated, but she does try. She puts EVERYTHING in her
mouth so we have to watch her. Actually, we caught Skyler shoving an orange
leaf in her mouth. Maddie didn't like that too much! She is also starting
to try to sit up when she is on our laps or in her swing. Today she was
holding the tray on her swing and pulling herself up to a sitting position.
Both the girls have runny noses right now. Hopefully it won't turn into
anything big.

We had some gorgeous weather while the team was here. It only rained a
couple of times and we had a lot of sun. Since the Tart's have been back it
has rained every day. It's too bad they missed all the good weather.

I almost forgot. Our co-worker, Angie Walker, had a baby boy on Friday
morning (your time). His name is Titus James and he has red hair like his
mom. We are anxious to meet him hopefully at the end of this year.

Well, that is all for this week. Hope you all have a wonderful Easter and a
wonderful week!

Love,
Shannon, for the Husa's

From: Shannon Husa
Subject: Monday update
Date: Monday, March 17 2008

Sorry I didn't get around to writing this yesterday...again :) Things have
just been so busy around here.

This week we all hiked down to Beng for church instead of Mibu. Robyn
stayed in here with her kids since Michael had been sick, but everyone else
went. The other couple that is here are around 60 and they did very good on
the hike. Lillian is afraid of heights so that hike was quite a feat for
her! We still have not had much rain so the trail was really nice and made
for a much easier hike. However, it was very sunny and hot! The service
was outside and although they replanted a few small trees where us
"whiteskins" were sitting we still got a bit burnt. Beng is such a
beautiful village and I'm glad they were able to experience that. The hike
up is always exhausting but they did really good. In fact Lillian said that
she felt better after that hike than the week before when she went to Mibu
:)

Robyn's oldest son Michael was sick almost all of last week. He was
throwing up and had diarrhea and a fever. Almost everyone here in Mibu had
the same thing so he most likely got it from them. Unfortunately it meant
Skyler couldn't play with him and I didn't get to see Robyn much either.
Friday he started feeling much better though and has been doing well since.

Friday night we had a birthday party for Geoff. His request was for
chimichangas so we made those up along with a texas sheet cake for dessert
and then opened presents. It was very small and simple, but that is just
the way he likes it.

Saturday night the ladies gave us a date night!! They made us a three
course dinner (salad, chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies, and fruit
and cake for dessert). They made up the table on the porch with nice linens
and candles and flowers. We had a beautiful, clear afternoon so the view
was spectacular. They also took the girls for a couple of hours, which was
so nice. It was a very sweet thing to do and we enjoyed it. We don't get
to do that too often and usually I have to cook the meal so this was
wonderful.

The post project is going well. They finished the Walker's house yesterday
and started on the office, which is the last building. We didn't think they
would get it done in time so we have rescheduled their flight out to
Thursday. They were supposed to go out tomorrow. They will probably finish
tomorrow afternoon and have a day and a half to rest up. I know it's been
stressful for Robyn and I not to have our husbands allllll day, so we are
looking forward to that. Also, everyone is so pooped at night that after
dinner they just go home. Maybe they will want to stay and hang out one
night.

Skyler pooped on the potty again on Saturday and this morning so she is
making good progress. We just keep taking it one step at a time and hope
that she will stay motivated. I made her a sticker chart so hopefully that
will give her some incentive as well as the treat she gets every time.
Today Skyler said, "Michael Robert no go outside" after Michael went out on
the porch. Then as I was putting her down for a nap and Michael was in the
doorway she said, "Excuse me Michael, I have to go to bed now". She is
really enjoying playing with her new friend and it has been fun to see them
interact together. Although, since they are both two we usually end up
playing referee :) Since the Tartaglia's come back the day the team leaves
she probably won't even miss him which is kind of sad but she is going to be
so excited to have the Tart's kids back. Maddie is doing well, too, but
nothing new to share. Her and Daniel often are laying together on the floor
or the couch and it's cute to see them watch each other. Robyn got some
really good pictures today and I will send those to you as soon as we get
them onto our computer. Hopefully I won't have any problems sending the
pictures this time. I will try to include one with this e-mail too.

We have had a really good time with this team, but I am anxious to have the
Tart's back and get back into a regular routine. These two weeks have been
really tiring.

Love to you all!
Shannon for the Husa's

From: Shannon Husa
Subject: Sunday update
Date: Sunday, March 2, 2008
 
It seems like this week has been kind of long, glad it is over and we can 
start a new one. This week will be super busy though. Tomorrow and 
Tuesday, I along with my work meri and Angie's work meri will be cleaning 
all 3 houses and the guest house in preparation for the team coming in on 
Wednesday. We have eagerly been waiting for this team, but it is a lot of 
work getting everything ready for them mostly on my own. We now have 2 
families coming in. One is an older couple who are support workers in 
Madang and have never been into a bush location. The other is a young 
family with two boys the same ages as Skyler and Maddie. I don't think they 
have ever been to the bush either so we will try to make it a memorable 
experience for all of them. 

Today we went down to Mibu for the church service. We had a review lesson 
in Ephesians and it seemed to go well. Although it is in a language I don't 
know very well and I had to take Skyler outside about 3/4 through because 
she was getting antsy. There weren't a lot of people there today, not sure 
where they all are but it seemed like low attendance. This week is the 
final week of teaching in Yongem (our first outreach to a language with a 
slightly different dialect). They will be teaching on Jesus' death and 
resurrection either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday and we are eager to hear 
reports of how it goes. A large number of people here in Mibu are planning 
on going along to see the teaching and to celebrate with the new believers. 
It is very exciting. This outreach was totally led and taught by the Mibu 
people and it has been so exciting to see them take ownership of it. 

A little update on baby Chris. His mother finally took him to the clinic on 
the coast last week. She went along with her oldest son, who is probably 
about 7 or 8, and another girl. We haven't heard anything yet on how he is 
doing, but we are thrilled that she finally took him. We pray he will be 
alright. 

Skyler had a very big week. Monday was her big girl day. She peed and 
pooped on her potty and she counted to 10 without skipping any numbers! We 
are so proud of her. Tuesday she peed on the potty twice, Wednesday she 
had one drop but she was pretty excited about it and Saturday she went just 
a little bit. She is getting to the point where she asks to sit on it 
(though usually it is to just hang out and read her books) and she is 
starting to tell us when she is peeing and pooping in her diaper so we are 
making some progress. It isn't consistent by any means but we keep trying. 
She seems to be talking a lot more lately and came up with some funny things 
again this week. She was trying to drink out of a cup she used the day 
before and I told her that one was old. She said "That's yesterday's. I 
drink it allllll day." Then she was sitting next to me on the couch while I 
was feeding Madelyn and when she was finished Skyler looked at her and said 
"Hi, Milkface!" Geoff was blowing up an air mattress the other day and he 
had it standing up to close it and it fell over on top of Skyler. She 
looked a bit stunned and after Geoff moved it she stood up really quick and 
said "I better move." Lastly I was feeding Madelyn (I do that a lot :) and 
she pulled off early as usual and Skyler said "Madelyn's not focused right 
now". She is our cutie and keeps us very entertained. Turbo you may not 
want to hear this but we were showing Skyler some videos we took while we 
were home (she loves to watch them) and she said "Grandpa has a big tummy!" 
It may not be a bad thing though, she says that all her dolls have big 
tummys too :) Grandma Joyce you will be happy to hear that you are known as 
Great Joyce or My Joyce :) Everyone else, sorry she didn't have anything 
funny to say about you, but she remembers all of you and really enjoys 
seeing you all on the videos. Thank you Great Joyce! 

I forgot to mention in last weeks update that Madelyn is now 4 months old. 
She isn't doing anything big yet, but she loves to talk and smile. She, 
too, keeps us very entertained. Lately Skyler has enjoyed sharing her toys 
with her and reading her books. Madelyn loves the attention and loves 
Skyler. She will follow her all over the room and smile at her. It has 
been really fun seeing them interact. We sure have been blessed with two 
adorable girls. 

One last thing. Skyler would like it to be know that she would love some 
goldfish crackers. If any of you are interested in sending some in a care 
package Skyler would be your best friend. 

Hope you are all doing well. 

Love to you all, 
Shannon

From: Shannon Husa
Subject: update
Sent:  Monday, February 25, 2008

Sorry, I didn't send out an update yesterday, the day just got away from me.

We did not go down to Mibu yesterday. Geoff met with one of the big guys
here and he said that too many people were gone. Geoff went down anyway to
see some people and it turned out that many people were still here and
wanted to meet so they just sang some songs and prayed and Geoff updated
everyone on Joey and Brooke. It turned out to be a nice time of fellowship.

A small update on baby Chris. His parents did not take him to the clinic,
they took him to the local "doctor boy" instead. This guy mostly knows how
to treat cuts and gives penicillin shots for everything!!! Anyways his
diagnosis is that the skull is not broken but it is mushy because there is
blood built up there. He gave him a penicillin shot and sent them on there
way. We haven't heard anything since then, but hopefully he will be okay.
We would love to get someone legitimately trained as a doctor that could do
some good work in here for the people. Unfortunately they have to go
through 10th grade before they can do any medical training and only 1 or 2
people has gotten that far. Some have gone through 8th grade and we may be
able to encourage them to do some more school, we'll see.

An update on Brooke. Her pregnancy was tubal and it did burst which was why
she was in so much pain. She was able to fly to Australia last Monday and
was in surgery for over 2 hours. They removed the entire tube from the
ovary to the uterus successfully and she is healing well physically. This
has drastically reduced their chances of getting pregnant again. They are
still in Australia and plan on remaining there for at least 1 more week.
They were going to be going to Madang for school testing on the 5th and then
coming back in here on the 18th, but we are not sure if that is still going
to happen. Please keep their family in your prayers as this has been a very
emotional time for them.

You can keep praying for me too. I have 2 half hour slots every day where I
am not playing or feeding one of the girls so I am not able to get much done
during the day. I am thankful that I have a girl who helps me with the
housework. I am really looking forward to the team coming in next week. It
means a bit more work, but also some time of fellowship with another woman
(who happens to be a massage therapist :). I don't know what I am going to
do when the Tartaglia's go on furlough in June. It will be a long year that
is for sure. At least Maddie will be older and won't be nursing about half
of that time. I am hoping that her naps will coincide with Skyler's too to
allow me some quiet time during the afternoon. We are welcoming any
visitors for the next year if any of you are interested :) Gary and Kris
are hoping to come out for Christmas but the rest of the year is still open.

The girls are both doing well. Skyler has handled the kids being gone very
well. She loves to play outside every day. We got out her plastic picnic
table and she likes to have her snack outside on it every morning. She
helped me plant some veggies in the garden last week and hopefully soon we
will be able to see them growing. She went with Geoff to Brooke's garden
the other day to see what they had coming up and brought back some carrots.
She said a very long sentence afterwards. I went to Auntie Brooke's garden,
we got carrots, daddy washed the carrots first and then I ate them. She is
too smart! She has also started to use the word 'probably' which is so cute
to hear. She doesn't usually use it in a sentence though. We just ask her
a question and she says "um, probably". Maddie has been talking a lot
lately too, but we don't understand her yet. She loves to laugh and scream
and coo and we are really enjoying her. This morning she woke up at 5:30
though which was much too early. Geoff was already up so he brought her in
the living room with him so that she would hopefully go back to sleep and
not wake Skyler up. Hopefully she won't be doing that often.

Well, this update is a little boring since not much has been happening.
Write back and give us something to read!!

Love to you all,
Shannon, for the Husa's
P.S. I have included one photo in this e-mail and will send another one in
a separate e-mail. Let me know if you don't get them.