Ministry Update from 10/26/05

Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,

Hello from Nashville, not the place from which we expected to write you. Thank you for waiting patiently (or impatiently!) to hear from us. The past few months have been difficult for our family as we were unexpectedly displaced to the States at the end of August. Many were informed by our mission’s prayer request Hotline, but for those of you who were not, here’s what happened.

At the beginning of August, African workers were busily repairing our newly rented house in Bondoukou. We expected to move from Goumere by the end of August. Verlin supervised the workers and helped Alice Smith, our ministry partner, negotiate with the owner of the house she planned to repair and rent in Bondoukou while we continued to teach, preach, and meet with Ivorian ministry partners. Our ministry team would live together in the same town instead of being separated by about 100 miles. Cason, our oldest child, had safely returned from his summer mission trip to Uruguay, which blessed his life with friendships and direction. The Goumere CHE team continued building relationships, witnessing, and gathering data on 3 potential villages for Community Health Evangelism outreach this fall, while also helping their local church prepare to host the National Association in August.

Everyone carefully watched the political situation. Presidential elections were scheduled for the end of October and it was expected that tensions would continue to rise, and that possible outbreaks of violence would occur around election time. We planned to use our vacation time to visit in neighboring Ghana during October’s end and November’s beginning to avoid possible violence. The trip would also allow Cason to take college-preparatory tests like the SAT and ACT that were not available this year in Cote d’Ivoire. This was acceptable to our Regional Director, Clint Morgan, until he acquired disturbing news the first week of August.

Our Regional Director had come to Cote d’Ivoire to teach at the Bible Institute, participate in the institution’s transfer to national leadership, and handle other mission business. Through a set of unexpected circumstances, he received information from a French military source that eventually led him to order the evacuation of all our missionaries. Two particular points were alarming, and considered an imminent threat:

1. The belief by the military source that the border between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire would be closed by conflict, blocking our primary escape route.
2. The expectation that white foreigners would be targeted for an atrocity that would shock the world and require peace-keeping forces to retaliate against government forces, and so begin an actual war.

He checked with the military attaché of the American embassy and some businessmen to compare information. He then purchased our airline tickets. We were informed the next day during our field council meeting of the departure to occur on August 24th. Clint’s decision was not an easy one to make, nor was it an easy one to receive. Although we did not want to leave or believe the decision best for local ministry interests, we were very aware that the decision was made in love and concern for our safety. James Forlines, director of our mission who arrived August 5th for a visit to encourage the Ivorian church, fully supported the decision. If some tragedy to our team did occur and mission staff had not acted to avoid the danger, he felt the effects might hinder the growing outreach of Free Will Baptist International Missions. The one-way tickets to the States were purchased through an emergency fund, and not our mission account, for which we were grateful. On October 11th, all missionaries assigned to Cote d’Ivoire met at the International Mission’s office in Nashville to discuss the evacuation and future plans.

All of us pray that the terrible events predicted do not occur. Since our August 25th return to the USA, the presidential election has been postponed for up to a year. If the situation does not deteriorate significantly in upcoming weeks, our Regional Director thinks it likely we can return to Cote d’Ivoire in late December, or January. He expects to make that decision by December 1st.

The first 3 weeks in the U.S. we lived with Debbie’s parents while seeking housing in Michigan or Tennessee. Then, we spent 11 days in Michigan in services and retreats before settling into a missionary friend’s house in the Nashville area. Verlin expects to spend the next 2 weekends in services, and is willing to travel regularly until the end of the year. Contact us at (615) 843-0553, if you would like to schedule a service, or discuss our situation more in depth. We are eager to share the good news from the CHE ministry.

We thank the many participants and organizers of the Tennessee Walk-a-thon for missions! Verlin walked and talked last Saturday with the Cornerstone Free Will Baptist fellowship. The funds raised are then divided among Tennessee missionaries and help Free Will Baptist ministries all around the world.

Thanks for enduring a much longer update than usual. It does not communicate the exciting, pleasing, and rewarding gains from ministry in the RCI over the last 6 months. We felt it important, though, for you to know details of our displacement and to inform your prayers.
Now that our family is coping better emotionally after the upheaval and we are physically settled into a home, expect to hear from us more often. Next time we expect to share ministry details.

Listed below are pertinent prayer items for this month. Your prayers and encouragement mean so much. May the Lord receive glory, even from this stressed, vagabond family and the mission through which we serve!

In His care,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin

PRAYER REQUESTS

1. Peace in Cote d’Ivoire. Pray that transitional leaders can be placed until free and fair presidential elections occur next year. Ask that the election results be accepted by the Ivorian people. Pray also for the physical needs of people affected by the turmoil. Increasingly, malnutrition is being seen by healthcare workers in our region of Côte d’Ivoire after decades of its fading from memory.
2. Encouragement of the African CHE team left behind at Goumere. They are determined to continue the work, even while we are gone, but they will need further interaction, training and material between November and January should they continue to progress.
3. Safe travels for Verlin, and the Spirit’s presence in services to encourage each person to find his or her place in the King’s service.
4. Our children. This evacuation was emotionally hard, especially for Cason who is a senior in high school. All three have expressed difficulty concentrating in school. They are not fearful of living in Cote d’Ivoire, but the numerous moves and changes have been fatiguing and stressful despite being home schooled.