Driving to Tunis Twice

 
Toyota Hilux 4x4

It will be a quick day trip Wednesday to visit the main duty office. It could be possible for us to purchase a car without paying import duty. It make a tremendous difference in the price. For example, a new 4x4 Toyota 4 door pickup with duty is $48,000 or $26,000 without duty. We are seeking God's will about the real need for a vehicle. Now, we take public transportation or rent a car when we can't walk. We also have two visitors coming this weekend from Omaha's Christ Community Church.

Heavenly Father, give Mike and his friends safe travels. Give grace in the eyes and hearts of the duty agents, to give the Farhos permission to purchase a duty-free vehicle.

Grateful for your partnership in prayer,

Mike and Sue Farho

The Sousse Church at Facebook

Train, Bishop, Prado, Fun

Wednesday will be quite exciting. We will all take the two hour train ride from Sousse to Tunis with the Sousse priest. Joshua will have school on the train. Mike will visit with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Tunisia about a building project and check out the 2006 Toyota Prado we want to purchase. Sue and Joshua will visit with some friends and maybe go shopping. It will be dark before we return home to Sousse.

Heavenly Father, give the Farhos a safe round trip to Tunis. Guide each meeting. Give the strength needed for this busy day. Provide them with the best car for their family.

To see photos use this link http://bit.ly/fbSousseChurchPhotos

Coffee with the Mayor

One of many high points last week was our meeting with the Mayor of Sousse. Can you imagine being the Mayor of a city that is more than 3,000 years old? It was exciting to listen to his stories, as he has served in every region of Tunisia, even as a governor of an important region. He shared with us the importance of Christian and Jewish people in Sousse over the centuries. He also explained the ethnic diversity of Tunisia.

Thank You Heavenly Father for this informative visit with the Mayor of Sousse. Give Mike an equally educational visit with the Governor of the Region of Sousse in the week ahead.

The Sousse Church at Facebook

Learning about Tunisia

It is fascinating to visit some of the important cities in the southern half of the country. We visited a museum today. It was a large home, for an extended family, built in the 1600s. He said the women had no need to leave their home. The men did the shopping.

Heavenly Father, give the Farhos wisdom as they learn Tunisian customs and culture. Give them travel mercies over narrow roads.

1st Saturday of Ramadan 2009

Today is the first Saturday of Ramadan. Muslims fast, no food and liquids, for all daylight hours. As we made our visits all the cafes we saw were empty. Must be a hard 30 days for them and restaurants. At night, Muslims try to eat as a family during this holy month. They've shared with us that family unity is the main thing they enjoy about Ramadan.

Heavenly Father, we trust You to open doors and hearts for Mike and Sue everywhere they go. Encourage Sue as she is sharing about her experience of Your faithfulness in our family and ministry tomorrow at church.

Send us your questions, advice, comments or prayer requests!

Ramadan Karim

Wish your Muslim friends, neighbors and co-workers a happy Ramadan. Kindness is so important in our relationships. We don't know what Ramadan will be like here in Sousse. It will be our first time starting this week. We're told to expect all the restaurants and cafes to be closed during the days. We wonder where tourists will eat!

Heavenly Father, make the Farhos a real blessing to their Muslim neighbors. Give them patience as life will change dramatically in Sousse during Ramadan.

Shared my testimony

It was our second Sunday preaching at our Sousse Church. Twenty-seven of 34 present were visitors. Our family was almost half of the seven regulars present. People came from England, Netherlands, Romania, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland and the USA. When I asked if anyone wanted to put Christ on the throne of their life, letting Jesus take charge, seven people made a clear commitment.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving Mike and Sue opportunities to share Your word and love. Encourage these new committed believers to spend quality time in the Bible each day.

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.

A Sad Father's Day

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.

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.

Three more days in USA

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.

Pray for Pierre's family

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.

Ready for warmer weather

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.

Joshua didn't want to leave Kairouan

It's great to see how Joshua makes friends. He's a great example to all of us. He said, "I would rather keep freezing to death in Kairouan, than leave my friend!" He was thrilled today to play with his best friend in Tunis. We're looking forward to seeing our friends in Abidjan too!

http://AccuWeather.com says the RealFeel® Temperature is 48°F in Tunis and 105°F in Abidjan. So you know we will have another major adjustment to make as we fly back to Abidjan on Thursday. We also have important meetings starting on Sunday.

Heavenly Father, help the Farhos adjust smoothly as they return to their home in Abidjan. Give them strength and joy for their meetings.

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.