Missionaries Offer Update on Côte d’Ivoire Attack
Editor’s Note: A day after the recent terrorist attack in Côte d’Ivoire, Global Strategy missionaries Larry and LeAnn Sellers wrote the note below to their friends and supporters. The Sellers, along with Global Strategy missionaries Bobby and Jenny Mihsill, are currently working with the rapidly growing Church of God in Côte d’Ivoire, which has eighteen congregations and more than twenty-five cell groups.
About three hours from our home in Yamoussoukro is the lovely colonial beach town of Grand Bassam along Côte d’Ivoire’s coast. Being close to the major city of Abidjan, many persons, both expatriate and Ivorian, go there on the weekends for some recreation and rest from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Through our years, we have gone there on numerous occasions and have taken guests there to enjoy the tropical coast. This past Sunday, there was a terrorist attack in Grand Bassam on the beach in front of three popular hotels. Several heavily armed gunmen began shooting persons along the beachfront, killing fifteen civilians, including a few foreign visitors, and injuring thirty-three others. The majority of the victims were Ivorian. The Ivorian military quickly arrived on the scene, bringing down the gunmen. Three soldiers and three of the gunmen were also killed in the attack.
Our colleagues, the Mihsills, are currently in the United States, so none of our missionary staff were affected by this tragedy. And as far as we are aware, none of our Ivorian believers were in Grand Bassam at the time of the attack.
This brutal attack on the people of Côte d’Ivoire marks the first time that Al-Qaeda related terrorists have carried out an attack in Côte d’Ivoire. We would appreciate your prayers for Côte d’Ivoire as the country works to face this latest challenge to its stability, development, and well-being. The threat of terrorism seems to be the new challenge that we all are facing, whether in the United States, Europe, or the Middle East, and now spreading across Africa as well. We are still moving forward with our preparations to return to Yamoussoukro in early July.
This link to the BBC tells more about the attack: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35798502. We are praying that even in these tragic events the Lord will somehow use them to work in the hearts of the people to bring them to him.
The Lord is a strong tower!
Please consider supporting Larry and LeAnn Sellers or Bobby and Jenny Mihsill today. Learn more about Global Strategy at www.chogglobal.org.
