Jellyfish and Tunisians

We had a fun evening, after work at the beach, with 3 Tunisian families. They only spoke Arabic, but we enjoyed being together. Sue and I were tired and wondering how we could get Joshua to go home before it got too dark. Then he left the other kids and came out of the sea. A jellyfish stung him and the 3 year old girl. So we walked to the pharmacy and home. The pharmacist said, "You don't need medicine. Just soak it in hot water for 15 min!" Joshua just went to bed and can't remember which leg was stung!

Thank You Heavenly Father for the Farho's neighborhood friends and honest pharmacist. As Muslims around the world prepare for their 30 days of Ramadan fasting, open their hearts to their Christian neighbors.

See a jellyfish, two sharks and a praying mantis at our Farho family blog.

Preaching Sunday in Sousse

It will be exciting to finally get to preach at our church. Sue leads her first French Bible study here Wednesday. Both of us are excited and anxious at the same time. Pastor Peter and his wife Susan will be present, for the last time, after 30 years as the founding pastor of the Sousse Christian Church.

We're getting settled in our home. Half of our windows are now screened. Instead of cars, we have tennis shoes, bikes and a scooter for transportation!

Heavenly Father, continue to bless Mike, Sue and Joshua with good friends in Sousse. Open their ears to hear Tunisian Arabic clearly. Open their mouths to teach Your Word with clarity.

Online in Tunisia

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.

Freezing in Africa

With our weather always hot in Abidjan, we've not thought freezing here was possible. This morning we woke up in our unheated apartment to 62F and shivering.

On the other hand, we're really grateful for this Arabic course. It is very encouraging for us. It makes what seemed impossible seem easy.

Heavenly Father, keep the Farhos warm and healthy!

Runny noses in Kairouan

Here are some of my photos from our day:Arabic lesson about parts of a house.

Mike at the Kairouan, Tunisia Medina today

This morning we had Arabic class while we were all blowing our noses. How annoying.

Heavenly Father, please heal Mike, Sue and Joshua of their colds. Thank You for their excellent teachers.

Travel Monday to Kairouan, Tunisia

After an exciting week of visits and learning in Tunis, we head south tomorrow to Kairouan, Tunisia. It is the most holy city for Islam in Africa. We'll study spoken Arabic there four weeks. It will be exhausting, but well worth the work.

Our host in Tunis requests your prayers for his family. They are currently living in the USA, getting special help for their youngest son. It is difficult for his wife with three kids in homeschool and the baby with doctors and such.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the good week so far for the Farhos. Give them a safe voyage tomorrow. Please provide good helpers for Sharon in the USA.

Walking and visiting

This is our life now and for the next 6 weeks. We've made several new friends already.

Thanks to your prayers, we have Internet on our phone. Don't expect long messages or perfect spelling!

Heavenly Father, thank You for meeting all Mike, Sue and Joshua's needs as they travel and study Arabic.

With love,
Mike and Sue Farho
http://Farho.us

Farho Family Update

We are grateful that the Internet allows us close contacts with our friends and family. We are able to visit with John frequently. He is doing well. His shoulder is becoming stronger and more flexible each day. Joshua is doing well at homeschool. He seems more mature each day, even adding body hair and odors! Sue is grateful that her migraines are becoming rare. The ringing in my ears continues, but the pain I had in my feet is now gone.

Your prayers are needed, as we will be on the road for the next six weeks. We hope to send you weekly updates, but don't know if it will be possible. If you don't get updates from us, you might still find news from us at our blogs: http://blogs.farho.net

Heavenly Father, we ask You again to heal this ringing in Mike's ears. Help him to hear clearly, to facilitate his learning of Arabic. Keep the Farhos safe and healthy during their six weeks away from home.

On the Road in North Africa

We're out of Abidjan since Sunday evening. We are in North Africa, looking for some alternate Arabic language study opportunities. Our tutor in Abidjan started at the university a couple of years ago. We've been unable to find a good teacher to take her place. Our various other teachers don't know Arabic grammar well enough to answer our questions.

Heavenly Father, help Mike and Sue to find a great course where they can study Arabic. Protect them and keep them healthy while they travel.