Issue #74
Thursday, October 26, 2000

I just got off the telephone with Traci. She had some surprising news.

The Unites States State Department has announced they would withdraw all "non-essential" personnel from Cote d’Ivoire. Considering this move and the relatively open location of the school, it has been decided the school will be closed until January, 2001. This is to allow things in Cote d'Ivoire to settle down and hopefully be an environment where parents can send their children without worry. The ICA staff is now working on getting the children returned safely to their parents. It has not been decided who will stay at the school or where the balance of the staff will go. Traci said if it were not for all the news reports of unrest elsewhere in the country, they would not know anything was going on. The red flag is out on the campus however, which is a signal to stay on campus.

I will include this bit of news from James Forlines. For those that do not know; Mr Forlines is the General Director of Free Will Baptist Foreign Missions
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10/26/00 - 6:30 p.m. (Central Time - U.S.)

We just heard from Mike Cousineau. The American Embassy in Cote d'Ivoire has ordered all non-essential personnel to leave the country. This order comes as a result of the deteriorating situation there. As we understand it, religious clashes have occurred with both churches and mosques being destroyed and a number of people killed. A strict curfew has been imposed. It has been made clear that those who violate the curfew will be shot. ICA in Bouake at this point is closing and evacuating all personnel there. As you may know, Mike is a main person responsible for this action. The logistics to pull this off will be extremely difficult in the current climate.

As far as we know, all of our personnel are OK. We are trying to maintain contact with Jerry Pinkerton, the acting field chairman for Free Will Baptists in Cote d'Ivoire. We understand that some of the communication even at the US Embassy has been disrupted, so we cannot be sure how much communication we will have. All of our missionaries have planned evacuation strategies. We certainly must pray that God will give them wisdom in these days.

Mike did say there was one positive sign. Gbagbo and Ouattera (the leaders of the two major factions seemingly at odds right now) have agreed to meet tomorrow to try to come to some form of compromise. After Guei's flight (whether he is still in the country or not is not known, as we understand it) Gbagbo was proclaimed as the candidate with the most votes. The followers of Ouattera (who was banned from running by the Supreme Court because of the claim that one of his parents was not Ivorian) are insisting that new elections be held since their candidate was not allowed to run. If this meeting does occur, and it goes well, things may change considerably in 24 hrs.

In any case, the situation is fluid and volatile. Pray for protection for all of our Ivorian brothers and sisters, for all of our missionaries and their families, and that God will show Himself strong through the lives of His people. Thank you for standing with them during this time.

Trusting In Our Omnipotent God,
James Forlines
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This is a story and a newsletter I never thought I would have to write. There are lots of news sources available to get more details than the summary above. I wanted to wait until I had heard something from Traci before writing this. Now would be a really good time for prayer and thanks. Thanks for their safety. Thanks for their health. Thanks for their ability to control and avoid difficulties in the near future. Pray for continued safety, continued health, and presence of mind to stay in control of the responsibility of the school, the children, and those 300 or so lives that make up ICA. The thousands of lives that are touched by the school and the people there need peace of mind. So I will add that to my list as well. The hope now is that the children can be transported safely to their parents or a safe haven by late Saturday. Please pray that the children and staff can handle this transition smoothly and that travel arrangements can be made with ease. Pray for safe conduct. That these people can travel under God’s protection and have swift and unhindered passage.

Thank you for listening and for all your prayers and support. I will be sending out news as it becomes available.

In Christ,
charley.