Measles and Travel

I don't think our John and Joshua ever had measles. Sue and I did. How about you? Nassif (12 years old) has a bad case of measles. He and his dad Fauzi haven't been able to sleep, because of the irritation. Poor Nassif just had Malaria recently too.

Radwan is trying to get ready for his family's departure to Lebanon next Monday. There are many problems that are making it difficult. A tax collector showed up today with a bill for over $5,000. He is trying to sell his wife's car to pay for all their plane tickets. She and their children will stay in Lebanon.

Heavenly Father, thank You for being Nassif's healer. Give him relief from his itching sores. Radwan thanks You for meeting all his needs. He and we are counting on Your provision for his financial needs.

Summertime in Abidjan

Many of our friends and neighbors have already left Abidjan for the summer. Others will be leaving over the next few weeks. Most are flying home to Lebanon or France. Summertime is the most beautiful season in Abidjan. August is the average coolest month at 80 F. May through July, we get a total of more than 44 inches of rain. For comparison, May through July are the wettest months in Omaha, NE, totaling almost 12 inches of rain. Helena, MT gets less than 12 inches of rain in an entire year. See your city's normal rainfall

During these cooler and wet months, we spend more time with the folks who can't afford to travel. We will miss our closest friends and neighbors who will be far away.

Heavenly Father, we ask You to open new doors and windows for ministry in Abidjan. Guide the Farhos and the leaders of the Modeste Church, as they continue the construction that the recent Omaha Team is financing.

Wonderful news and sad news

So many important things have happened. We want to share them all: Radwan's wife is pregnant, Pastor John's new baby died, Nassif's Malaria, a Lebanese wedding, John's promotion to sergeant, Joshua's blue belt, and more! You'll have to click on links to get more information.

The greatest news came during the surprise phone call this afternoon from Pastor Gavin at Christ Community Church (CCC) Omaha. He called to let us know that the team completed their fund raising for their recent ministry with us. All the funds we needed for the orphanage supplies and Modeste Church School came in! In addition, the CCC College 8:08 group is partnering with the Modeste Bambara Church for their future facility construction plans. They will focus on raising funds for this project this fall.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for this sad and wonderful news. As our Lebanese sister Hyame says, "Everything that comes from God is good." Help us to see Your love in everything!

CCC 2008 team all home

John was the last member of the team to return to Omaha. He just called to let us know he made it safely. It was really an amazing 3 weeks for us to have the team for 2 weeks then John for 9 more days. We posted a lot of photos for you to see at the Team Blog and at our Farho Family Blog. Take a few minutes to enjoy them!

Heavenly Father, thank You for using the team from Christ Community Church to touch many lives at the Seminary, the Modeste Church and the Girls Orphanage. Thank You for the many who put their faith in Your Son Jesus at the orphanage and Jesus film showing. Help them to grow in love, faith and obedience to You.

Team Blog: http://www.christ-web.com/missions/farho/ccc2008/

Farho Family Blog: http://www.christ-web.com/missions/farho/family/

John and Joshua Baptized

What a joy it was to baptize our two sons, John and Joshua, on Friday May 30th. We had planned to have the celebration at the ocean on my 31st spiritual birthday, May 29th. It was a very rainy and cold day. Check out the photos at our family blog.

We had a great two weeks with the work team from Christ Community Church in Omaha. Visit their blog to see photos about their daily adventures and work.

Heavenly Father, thank You for leading John and Joshua to follow You in obedience to be baptized. Give them much fruit in their lives for You. Guide and bless the Christ Community Church college students as they share their ministry in Cote d'Ivoire.

Send us your questions advice, comments or prayer requests!

Painting in a Parachute by Sarah Johnson

I am truly grateful for God bringing the breeze, to my horror, my $3.99 floral print skirt from the Salvation Army, thought it would be fun to see how it could fly in the breeze. It was ridiculous trying to hold my skirt down and at the same time paint with a roller. Fortunately the skirt liked to watch itself puff up rather than reveal anything inappropriate. I won't be wearing it tomorrow! Another favorite part today was meeting students and kids in the hallways. I met a young lady named Nina, who came out and thanked me and introduced herself in English. I introduced myself in French and we had a good laugh. Sadly, though that is all the French I knew and all the English she knew so the conversation ended there. I loved trying and the victory in connecting in the small conversation we had!

Read all the mission team comments at http://www.Farho.net/ccc2008

Christ Community Church College Team

A work team of college students, including our son John, and their pastor from Christ Community Church in Omaha, NE is serving with us in Cote d'Ivoire from May 16-30. The first week, they will be painting at the C&MA West African Theological Seminary. The second week they will be repairing and painting the Modeste village C&MA Bambara Church facility and building 30 benches. The team will also be building bridges of love to the 127 orphans living at the Grand Bassam Girls Orphanage.

Saturday night, May 24th, the team will be participating in an evangelistic meeting, showing the Jesus Film. On several nights, they will also be showing fun and evangelistic films for the children at the orphanage. For more details and photos, visit the team blog at http://www.farho.net/ccc2008/