John turned 23 and is visiting us!

We've had some exciting days since we returned to hot and humid Abidjan. It is good to be back visiting our believers and friends again! We also enjoyed talking with our son John, who turned 23 on Dec. 12. He informed us that he will be visiting us from Dec. 20 through Jan. 9. The last time we had Christmas together was 2005, before he went to Iraq.

Our friend is leaving for his eye surgery in Togo on Saturday. They hope to be able to repair his vision.

Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing John to celebrate Christmas with Mike, Sue and Joshua. Protect John as he drives and flies many hours. Heal Mike's friend as he gets his laser retina surgery.

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.

The curse of Malaria

Every 30 seconds a child under 5 dies of Malaria in Africa. Malaria in Cote d'Ivoire is increasingly caused by the chloroquine-resistant Malaria parasite. It kills 63,000 children under the age of 5 a year here. That's more than 7 small children every hour in Cote d'Ivoire. Adults are also killed by Malaria.

We're grateful for your prayers for Joshua. He is doing very well. Please pray for Joshua's African French language tutor, Gerard. He is sick now with Malaria. When we visited the maternity section of the main Ivorian hospital in Abidjan last May, the doctors thanked God for President Bush. They said many lives have been saved here because of the USA gift of free vaccines and medications for pregnant women and children under 5 years old.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for being our Healer. Thank You for healing Joshua's Malaria and John's shoulder. Please heal Gerard and strengthen all three of them.

John recovering well

Your prayers for John's recovery from shoulder surgery are being answered. He is still having some trouble sleeping, as would be expected with his surgery and his arm brace. He's working some every day at Gold's Gym. Soon he will be going away for 3 weeks at US Army National Guard Camp. That will be a challenge!

Ramadan is off to a smooth start here in Abidjan. I'm visiting my friends in the morning. Traffic is crazy in the evening as frazzled, starved and thirsty people are in a hurry to get home for food and water.

Heavenly Father, thank You for touching and healing John's body. Give him strength and good sleep at night. Continue to give our friends dreams and visions about Jesus our Christ and Savior.

Pray about John's shoulder pain

Please pray for our son John's shoulder surgery recovery. He's home but couldn't sleep last night because of pain. He is getting a different pain killer now.

With love and gratitude,

Mike, Sue, John, and Joshua Farho

http://farho.us

John's shoulder surgery Thursday AM

Photo of John in Iraq with some kids.

I had a good phone conversation with our son John today. He appreciates your prayers about his shoulder surgery on Thursday morning. He has had some annoying pain in one shoulder since his tour in Iraq. I don't completely understand his injury. but trust that the doctors do. I think it is called an arthroscopic outpatient surgery. He goes in at 6:30am, and out after lunch time. He will have three weeks of recovery. Then he has three weeks of National Guard camp in September. He is also taking a full load at college and working as a personal trainer at Gold's Gym. Oh to be 22 years old again!

Heavenly Father, we trust You to heal John's injured shoulder. Give the doctors wisdom and steady hands. Protect John from infection and further injury. Strengthen him as he juggles a very hectic schedule this fall.

Grateful for simple pleasures

Downtown Abidjan across the lagoon

We're grateful for so many little things in our lives here in Africa. It's true, we miss much about our lives in the USA, but God meets us here in simple and pleasant ways. As I was making my visits today on my motorcycle under a clear blue sky, cool breezes were blowing off the Atlantic Ocean. August is simply the best month to be alive in Abidjan. Before putting Joshua to bed tonight, we enjoyed another simple yet precious pleasure. We watched a one hour resume of today's Olympic events on French TV5.org.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the beauty and cool weather in Abidjan. Give Mike, Sue and Joshua much joy as they serve You in this city of about 6 million needy souls. Open doors each day to share the love of Jesus. Protect John as he serves at the Nebraska Army National Guard Camp this week.

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!

Fauzi has a twisted colon

We weren't able to have church at Fauzi's Sunday. He's very sick with what seems to be a twisted colon, that happened with the passing of kidney stones. He won't go to the hospital, so he is getting by with IVs at home. It has been complicated with a case of Malaria. We've been able to visit him for prayer daily. It really hurts us to see a dear friend suffering like this.

Heavenly Father, heal Fauzi and take away the pain and fatigue he is suffering. Use these days to draw him closer to You.

Our son John is leading a team of college students to Cote d'Ivoire next month. We're busy preparing for their housing and ministries in our seminary, a village church and and an orphanage. Tomorrow, I'll be visiting the orphanage and church with one of our pastors. If you want to support John financially, ask us how. He is raising $3,000.