Author name: Lois Gillespie

“Things continue to be calm here at ICA. We still hear shooting in the distance but none near or directed at ICA. Rebel military vehicles have been driving in front of the school often this morning and one is still parked near the bridge at the foot of the hill. Three vehicles with soldiers took the road around the monastery, starting near the bridge towards town, and returned from the other end towards M’Bahiakro. When they returned they only had drivers in the vehicles. We assume there are 20 or so soldiers placed somewhere behind the monastery toward Belleville. 

“I have been in phone contact with the US Embassy liaison with the French troops. He knows our position and I have informed him of all military activity near ICA. He also has been given several options for communicating directly with myself or the business manager if he would need to do that quickly. We have no confirmation of any personnel arriving at ICA nor any direction concerning an evacuation. We remain in contact with missionaries in town. 

“The electricity is still off so we are now running our generator for one hour which is why this message is getting through. Our water system is adequate for our needs but we are seeking to reduce unnecessary use of water where possible. Students and staff continue to move freely inside the established perimeter and directly to staff housing as needed. We can lock down this campus in one minute and then account for every person here. 

“This message goes to mission leaders in an attempt to get accurate information out to those who need to know. We are starting to receive requests from news agencies for interviews and have established a procedure to answer these requests. We have been in contact with Reuters and perceive them to be giving accurate information, based on discussion with the business manager, and this will continue from time to time. On the advice of people helping us in the US, I accepted to do one interview with CNN last evening. CNN described ICA as caught in the shootout which does not accurately describe our situation so I have declined any further interviews with CNN or other news agencies. 

“When we are contacted by the press we are telling them to please direct their attention to the Reuters reports. Should they need more information they are being told to contact Freewill Baptist Mission in Tennessee where people have been in constant phone and email contact with us since this started. They are the best source for information about what is happening at ICA at any time. Please feel free to communicate what I am sending to you but we have felt it necessary to make these arrangements in view of the publicity surrounding this event.”

“The night was mostly quiet right around ICA. Two vehicles parked down near the bridge at the bottom of the hill for a while and then one left to return up the hill towards ENSOA. About 11:30 a loud sound, similar to a mortar round being fired came from the area of the bridge about 150 meters from the school. Another similar sound came from beyond ICA towards Koussiblekro from the direction of the main road east. There were no secondary explosions or sounds of a projectile flying through the air. We assume these sounds were a signal between two groups of soldiers at these locations. There were no other sounds from them during the night. This morning at 6:15 the vehicle down by the bridge returned up the hill, with two people seated in the front, and we have seen no activity from that area. There continue to be sounds of shooting from the town and also from the area east of Bouake.The town electrical supply in this area was cut off around 10:30 PM so we started the generator. The generator is still running at this time and we will be evaluating what times and how long to run this during the day. There is adequate fuel for now. We have received no communications from official sources since early last evening and we have had no events that would lead us to call either. The staff and students will be getting up soon. No classes are scheduled for today as we wait to see what will happen.The Crisis Management Team will meet at 9 AM and evaluate reports from the people taking care of various aspects of the campus. People are taking this in stride and working well together.”

We are thanking the Lord that we were able to have the Celebration Service for our friend Dave Golding this afternoon. We were quickly rushed through lunch to our various ”safe” houses because of shooting right outside our wall, so we were wondering if we would even be able to hold this service. Although we heard guns in the close distance throughout the whole service, we stayed where we were and did what we came to do. It was a special time of realizing what a special man we had been privileged to know. This was especially apparent by the number of students who shared “I wanna’ be like Dave.”

But gunfire continues. Pray for our Crisis Management Team as they make decisions concerning the next few days. We are preparing for evacuation, although so far the embassy has recommended staying where we are. Also be aware that when the news reports say that fighting is over in the Ivory Coast, their reports of peace are greatly exaggerated. We are here and the fighting is not over. 

We are able to send e-mails, but we aren’t receiving any that have been sent today. Even so, we know you are praying. Thank you; we’ll try to keep you posted.