Farho.net Prayer Blog

A Sad Father's Day

2009-06-23T15:54:00.002-05:00

Of course we miss our dads, but that wasn't the only reason we were sad on Father's Day. At church, we said goodbye to three friends who are leaving Tunisia. We were also sad, as we headed home from church, we saw a dead man on the road. He evidently crashed his fast motorcycle into the rear of a parked tow truck. Fortunately, the young man was covered with a sheet, so Joshua only saw the crumpled motorcycle. Traffic will get more deadly this summer as reckless young tourists from North Africa and Europe come here for vacation.

Heavenly Father, thank You for protecting Joshua from seeing this man on the road. Protect the people in Sousse from accidents during the dangerous summer months. Open hearts to trust in You for eternity.

Finding friends in Sousse

2009-06-16T14:56:00.001-05:00

We prayed that Sue would find a gym, where she could exercise with other women. During our evening walk Sunday night, we happened upon a small gym three blocks from our house. Sue joined there today. It would be very encouraging for Sue to become friends with the neighborhood women at the gym. Joshua also played soccer this week with some new friends on our street.

Heavenly Father, thank You for providing a gym near the Farho's house. Help Sue to find a good friend there. Continue to heal Mike's sprained ankle. Give wisdom as he purchases a moped or scooter soon.

Online in Tunisia

2009-06-09T15:00:00.002-05:00

We got connected for the first time today from our new apartment. Our connection will only be slow and dial-up, so please don't send forwards or attachments. They could take hours to download. We pay by the minute for our connection. Sorry! We're busy getting settled in to life here, learning lots and speaking Tunisian Arabic again.

Heavenly Father, encourage Mike, Sue and Joshua by helping them to remember all the spoken Arabic they learned last year. Give them fluency and courage to use what they know each day.

Three more days in USA

2009-06-02T23:25:00.002-05:00

Location of Crossroads Christian Church

We arrived home in Omaha this evening. It was a great week of fellowship and insightful messages. We had a very encouraging visit on the way home at Crossroads Christian Church in Evansville, Indiana. John is here tonight to spend some time with us. It is always hard to say goodbye. With only three more days in Omaha, we have mixed emotions, but we are getting excited about our arrival in Tunisia.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the protection you gave the Farhos during their days on the road. Give them quality time with their family this week.

Answering your questions

2009-05-26T16:20:00.002-05:00

Did you say this is a Muslim country? Yes, it is a Muslim country, about 99% Muslim.
Will you be referred to as mission workers? Please refer to me as an international pastor.
Are you going to be able to send updates? Yes, we will continue our weekly updates.
Are there dangers where you are going? There are dangers everywhere, but Sousse is very safe.
Will I need to guard what I write about Christ? Feel free to write us as you have in the past.
Will you maintain your websites? Yes, we will continue all our websites. The Sousse Church website, http://soussechurch.org.uk, will be modified as we begin our ministry there.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing such a strategic ministry for Mike and Sue. Encourage them as they meet with fellow pastors and friends in Louisville, Kentucky this week.

Suitcases are packed

2009-05-19T22:41:00.003-05:00

However, we still have two more weeks before our departure to Tunisia. We look forward to our eleven days of meetings in Louisville, Kentucky and Evansville, Indiana. We leave Omaha on Saturday May 23. We'll be on the road through June 2. We will fly out of Omaha on June 4. It is comforting to know that we will cover all these land and air miles protected through your prayers.

Heavenly Father, give Mike, Sue and Joshua joy and strength for these stressful weeks of travel. Protect them as they drive and fly many miles in Your service!

Jordan Eating Scorpions

2009-05-18T15:05:00.002-05:00

Jordan is a brave fellow! Here he's enjoying grilled scorpions, cooked like meat sticks. He's part of a international exchange for students from USA in China.

Send us your questions advice, comments or prayer requests!

Farho Farewell on Sunday

2009-05-13T16:01:00.001-05:00

Our four months in USA are almost over. This weekend will be our last Sunday in Omaha. It would be a great joy to give you a hug goodbye. If you can be in Omaha on Sunday May 17 at 6pm, you are warmly invited to our farewell reception.

We hope to see you then! Since many of our prayer partners are many miles, states and even countries away, we send you big hug right now! :-)

Heavenly Father, we trust You to bring many of Mike and Sue's friends and partners out to say goodbye for another two years. Bless each partner, near and far, as they make the Farho's ministry possible in North Africa.

Struggling with possessions

2009-05-05T23:27:00.002-05:00

Today, we went to my brother Jim's house to sort through the last of our possessions. Do we own them, or do they own us? That is what we wondered. As most of it was dropped off at Goodwill this evening, we realized how much of a hold stuff can have on us. It does seem strange that most of our stuff fit in the trunk of our car. We will live OK without it.

Heavenly Father, thank You for meeting all our needs in Christ Jesus. Help us to focus on what we have in eternity, rather than here in this vapor of time we occupy.

Pray for Pierre's family

2009-04-28T23:51:00.002-05:00

Thank you so much for your prayers for Pierre. I spoke with his family on Sunday, after I got the news of his death. His brother Paul thanks you for your kindness and prayers. Lift them up to the Lord as they grieve their heavy loss. Your prayers encourage us as we are so far away from our fiends in Abidjan.

Heavenly Father, we're grateful that You are there comforting this family as they grieve their loss. Give joy and faith to the children and adults who made decisions to seek full time ministry overseas last week in Des Moines. Encourage Mike and Sue as they prepare for their departure on June 4 to Tunisia. Provide all the prayer and financial support they need for their future ministry.

Pray for healing!

2009-04-21T16:14:00.003-05:00

Downtown Abidjan

Urgent request from our Lebanese believers in Cote d'Ivoire: Please pray for our Lebanese friend, Pierre. He was evacuated from Abidjan. He is very ill in Marseilles, France. He has only one kidney. It seems that his liver and/or kidney is shutting down.

Heavenly Father, we ask you to touch and heal Pierre's body. Give his doctors wisdom. Comfort his wife and extended family during these difficult days.

What a great Easter week!

2009-04-14T21:32:00.002-05:00

Hope your Easter celebrations were as much fun as ours. We enjoyed many meaningful services all last week. It was special to enjoy an Easter meal at my sister's house too. It won't be long and we'll be many miles from family and friends. We wish we had more time to visit everyone personally, but rejoice in these weekly moments together with you!

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving Mike, Sue and Joshua such wonderful times with family and friends in USA. Give them strength for each day.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-08T17:26:00.001-05:00

Holy week is always one of our favorite times of the year. Jesus died and then rose from the dead! What power! As we pray for our Lebanese believers, in Abidjan and scattered around the world, it gives us great joy to know that their sins are forgiven. They put their faith in Christ alone for salvation. Jesus is worthy of our faith. As we look ahead, to our pastoral ministry in Tunisia, we are amazed. Thank you for going to North Africa with us through prayer!

Heavenly Father, we grieve with You the death of your only Son, because of our sin. Give us sensitive hearts to repent of our sins and trust in Jesus to be our holiness.

Ready for warmer weather

2009-03-31T22:19:00.002-05:00

This week, as we shiver into April, we're already thinking about packing our suitcases for Tunisia. We still have much to do, including doctor and dentist visits that all three of us do every two years in the USA. We also need to focus our energy on raising our financial support for our next two years of ministry. You can learn more about donating toward our ministry at http://give.farho.net

Heavenly Father, make all these medical appointments to go smoothly with no negative results. Raise up faithful and generous partners to invest in the Farho's pastoral ministry in Tunisia.

Mike's Birthday

2009-03-24T17:16:00.000-05:00

With a week like this, I'm going to have to start going to the gym again. Family and friends keep inviting us out to celebrate my 53rd birthday. We had a little excitement as the tornado sirens blasted and the hail fell yesterday. Joshua forced his mom to take him home and invited the neighbor in our hallway to seek shelter in our apartment. Great kid! This weekend we'll be speaking at two churches in the Lincoln area.

Heavenly Father, thank You for protecting the Farhos in the storm yesterday. Bless Joshua as he is a blessing to strangers.

Home in Omaha, again!

2009-03-17T21:48:00.001-05:00

After five weeks on the road, we're home from speaking in churches in South Carolina and Georgia. We are exhausted, but very grateful for all our new friends and prayer partners. Now we just need to enter all the new e-mail addresses into our computer. We were amazed at the low gas prices, as low as $1.61 a gallon!

Heavenly Father, help Mike and Sue to make fast progress through all of their to do list items. Give them even more new prayer partners as they visit friends and churches near Omaha.

Golfing in Georgia

2009-03-11T10:14:00.001-05:00

We're hoping to go golfing today with Pastor Larry in Griffin, Georgia. Joshua is doing his best to get his homework done, so he can golf too. We're grateful for all the loving hospitality we've received during our tour here in South Carolina and Georgia.

Our last week of tour in Georgia:

March 10-11 in Griffin

March 12-13 in Augusta

March 14-15 in Stone Mountain

March 16-17 drive home to Omaha

Heavenly Father, thank You for making Mike's sinuses improve over the last couple of days. Continue to strengthen the Farhos as they share Your ministry through them in the past and the future.

Farhos in Savannah, Georgia

2009-02-28T15:54:00.002-06:00

We're enjoying ourselves down South. We are a little surprised by the talk of snow on the local weather forecast. They say it hasn't snowed here in about 20 years.

Our schedule:

Feb 28-Mar 1 Bloomingdale, GA

Mar 1-2 Port Wentworth, GA

Mar 3-4 Savannah, GA

Mar 5-6 Moultrie, GA

Mar 7-8 Hazlehurst, GA

Heavenly Father, give Mike, Sue and Joshua strength for their travels. Heal Mike of his sinus troubles. Help them to catch up on all their email.

Farhos in South Carolina

2009-02-20T08:37:00.002-06:00

God gave us a great three day drive from Omaha to SC. We're thankful for lower gas prices! We paid only $1.69 per gallon yesterday. Thanks for your prayers as we tour in Churches in South Carolina and Georgia.
Feb 19-22 in Lexington and Columbia, SC
Feb 22-23 in Myrtle Beach
Feb 24-25 in North Charleston, SC

We'd love to see you. Contact us, to get more details if you are in our tour area!

Heavenly Father, give Mike, Sue and Joshua clarity as they share their ministries each day. Bless Mike, Sue and Joshua with good health as they travel from church to church.

http://farho.us/

Home in Omaha

2009-02-12T08:53:00.002-06:00

Thanks for your prayers about our transition. We're back in Omaha and speaking often about our past ministry in Abidjan and future ministry in Tunisia.

Last night, I shared our ministry and my testimony with a boy's class. It looked like 15-20 boys put their faith in Christ at the end of my message.

Heavenly Father, use them to share Christ with the nations! Fill them with Your Holy Spirit and Your word!

Need travel prayers

2009-01-27T16:33:00.001-06:00

Thursday is the big day. We fly out of Abidjan for North Africa. You might not realize how big Africa is. Our flight will last almost seven hours. After five days, we continue on to the USA. We're pretty much done with all our work at our old house. We moved out yesterday, so the painters could do their job. Main items we have left to sell are our car, motorcycle and treadmill. We'll finish our packing tomorrow.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the strength You are giving Mike and Sue for their huge transition. Give them much grace and mercy as they travel many thousands of miles over the next four months. Be their constant companion.

Saying goodbye in Abidjan

2009-01-20T16:18:00.002-06:00

Thank God with us! With His amazing help, we are getting everything done. It is a pleasure to see things come together each day. The hardest stuff to send out the door is our library of hundreds of books. Today, I gave away my first New Testament, a version by J.B. Phillips. I received it as a gift on May 30, 1977. Ken and Lynda Dick gave it to me as a brand new believer. Sue will really miss all her excellent Bible studies. She also had me take a photo of her with her car, before Pastor Antoine drove away with it.

Heavenly Father, thank You for taking such good care of Mike, Sue and Joshua in Abidjan. Comfort them as they bid farewell to friends and stuff. Thank You for providing an apartment and a reliable car to drive while they are in the USA for four months.

Grateful for your partnership in prayer,

Mike and Sue Farho

Farhos are moving

2009-01-13T13:45:00.001-06:00

Thank you for your prayers! We sure need them. Our big move has been in the works for a while now, but we are now free to tell you more about it. In three weeks, we'll arrive in Omaha for a four month home assignment. Then in June we'll move to North Africa, to pastor the only church in a city of 220,000 people. We have a huge transition to make, after serving in Cote d'Ivoire since January 1990. Selling everything we own and saying goodbye to many friends is very stressful!

Heavenly Father, give Mike, Sue and Joshua Your strength as they work long days and nights. Comfort them and their friends as they say goodbye. Thank you Lord for this exciting opportunity to serve You in North Africa.

Our 25th Anniversary and Travels

2009-01-06T17:40:00.001-06:00

Can you believe it? Sue and I celebrate our 25th Anniversary tomorrow. Today, we celebrated Joshua's eleventh birthday. We're in the midst of much change right now. One month from today, we'll be arriving in Omaha, Nebraska to speak at Christ Community Church. Then we'll be on the road for four weeks speaking in churches. We're blessed to already have a furnished apartment in Omaha. A major need now is a vehicle to drive during our four months in USA. Do you have one we could use to drive all over the USA?

Heavenly Father, nothing takes You by surprise. You knew Mike and Sue would be together more than 25 years. You know their need for a reliable car. Provide one for them even before they arrive in USA.

May God bless you richly in 2009

2008-12-27T16:00:00.001-06:00

It is only Saturday night, but we will be tied up until Wednesday night, so we want to send you our Tuesday update early! Our prayer is that God would bless you in new and wonderful ways during this new year before us. We will see many changes in the days ahead, as God is blessing us beyond our imaginations. You will hear more about our new adventure in the weeks to come!

Heavenly Father, we open our hands up to receive from You. Forgive us for rejecting your blessings in the past. Allow us to receive your manifold blessings in 2009.