Urgent: Bata station attacked by bandits!

Hi Everyone,

I am traveling to D.C. and now Lynchburg, VA, where my daughter, Carolina, goes to school, and this explains the silence on this blog for the last few days. However, this urgent need came to me today.

Just a little over a week ago our team was at the Bata Station and now they have been assaulted by bandits. I want to ask you to pray for the many families at this station. Read the following e-mail from Francois Ngumape, the director of the schools there. Though the English is a little rough at times, I am sure you will be able to capture this brother's heart, as He seeks God's perspective and glory through all of this. Notice that his last words are "To God be the glory forever."

Remember: things were (and are) a lot worse than this brother is conveying here, so prayer is absolutely important!

If you want to write a note of encouragement to this brother, please send it to: fngoumape@uuplus.com.

"Dear Partner in Christ,

Sometimes our suffering is for God glory. He knows everything and is in control of every details in our life. Yes thank you for prayers. Quietness came back after one hour of turbulence. In fact I was in front of my house to 2H50 PM when I saw armed men to cross the campus by the median, the children ran everywhere. I ask people to calm themselves ..Some student ran and forbide me to be expose in the campus because the people I saw are bandits. They took 15 students, and beat up them to ask them to indicate them where they can find sugar. Then some started with entering and to search the houses all long their way.

All of the student took in hotage were beaten, some had some injuries to the back and on the head. Some have some pains to the level of their rating. Thanks God that there is no case of slaughter. It is to 4H05PM that they leave the campus and the village. Praise the Lord they didn'tÂ’t come to our home. Nor the offices have not been visited. They were very fast in their operation of stealing things in the houses. It is finally at 5H20PM that the soldiers of the CEMAC, state police and the CentralAfricann soldiers arrived to Bata, they pursued them during 1 hours in the bushm but didn4t found them and come back .

The state of the campus is quiet, the students have good spirits as well as the staff, even those that have been beaten up, had come for the session of prayer at 6H00PM to 6H30 .It is at 8H00 that we sent the van to look for more of 30 children of the students and staffs that end up in bozoum 7 miles for Bata in their running away from the bandits, therefore everybody is in the campus.

It is again another test that lets us perplexed, without knowing what to decide or to say now about the school. Your prayers are welcomes for us.

Thank you for your moral and spiritual support.

Fraternally in the ministry,


Dr. Francois NGOUMAPE
Doyen de la F.T.B.F.
B.P. 240 Bangui
Cell: (236) 05 41 58
A Dieu soit la Gloire à Jamais!"