BRAD & LAURA TROSEN
Hannah, Emily, Ian

btrosen@ica.ed.ci

+225 3165-2872 or +225 3163-3020 ext. 232

The 1999-2000 school year marks the 12th year that Brad and Laura Trosen have been at ICA.  They arrived at the school on December 14, 1988.  At the time they had a daughter, Hannah Grayce, who was 20 months old.  During the next few years a daughter Emily Suzanne, was added in 1991, and then a son Ian Paul, in 1994. 

The Trosens serve in Bethel Dorm, an Elementary/Middle School dorm, where they have been for the whole of their service.  Brad and Laura both grew up in Christian homes, both the children of pastors.  For a short time, Laura was an MK, as her parents served with Lutheran Bible Translators for 3 years, part of which was spent in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Brad and Laura met at St. Paul Bible College (now Crown College), and within one year, they were engaged.  They were married in 1984, and left for the field in August 1988, but first had 3 months of French language study in Paris, France.  When on home assignment, they reside in Pleasanton, Texas.  Their home church is the Alliance Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas.  Their next home assignment is scheduled for July 2001.

August 22, 2000

Dear Praying Family and Friends,

Greetings from International Christian Academy. Yes, we are back in the saddle again after a cool, quiet summer. As most of you know, we spent a month of our summer break from school at a camp in western Cote d'Ivoire. The small camp ground is up in the mountains (about 3500 ft.) and is surrounded by coffee and cocoa plantations. The farmers in the area also grow some peanuts, rice and a variety of fruit. So, we enjoyed some of the produce of the land as well as the clean mountain air and beautiful view. It ended up being quite a relaxing time for us.
We were acting as camp caretakers, but there are two young Africans who clean the six cabins, do laundry a couple of times a week and care for other miscellaneous chores. So, we took walks, played some games, worked on some puzzles, had a daily, family tea time and did lots of reading. Laura says that it was our best vacation here in Africa, ever! Thanks for your prayers for us because it was more than a vacation.
One of the stressors was having to deal with an unresolved worker problem. Our second day there a former employee of Camp, stopped by to tell me his story of being unjustly fired by the former camp caretaker. It's a very long story, but suffice it to say that three weeks and a court hearing later things were settled once and for all. That definitely weighed on me and was a matter of much prayer.
The disadvantage of being away for a month was that we didn't have much time to get our dorm all shipshape. But it all came together, praise to our Father, and yesterday our students arrived. Let me share several points of interest. This is our smallest group of dorm kids ever - 19, including our own Hannah and Emily. We have 10 boys and 9 girls. There are no first graders. We only have two new families - the Bills from Gabon and the Mawdsleys from here in R.C.I. Jeremy Bill is in 8th grade, Eric Bill is in 5th grade and Adam Mawdsley is in 8th grade. Pray for these new boys especially that they will adjust well. The Bill boys have boarded before at another school, but Adam is new to the boarding scene, and there are lots of new things to get used to.
Pray for our dorm assistant, Janice Cober, who is on a short home assignment to Canada and will return at the end of September. May she come back rested and rejuvenated, and may she be able to touch base with friends and family who support her ministry here.
Pray for Corina Sarloos, one of our Dutch collegues, who is assisting us while Janice is gone. May Father give her strength for the task of caring for lots of little ones and wisdom to meet various needs. You may think that this will be our easiest year, but we take nothing for granted. The only guarantee we have concerning the future is the promise of God's faithfulness. He will keep His word! On that we rest and trust.
Our biggest shock of this new beginning is that our director and his wife are not with us. During a regular checkup this past summer Elmer was found to have early stages of prostate cancer. He was operated on yesterday, and we've received word that the doctors are certain they got every trace. So we are hopeful that the Baxters will join us by the end of October.
Just this morning I agreed to help cover Elmer's 12th grade Bible class along with another dorm dad. So, pray for Elmer and Pearl Baxter during these days. One last specific request for your remembrance, we have country-wide elections taking place throughout September. Please pray for a peaceful and orderly procedure. We trust in a soverign God who sets up and takes down authorities and powers. Pray for safety for all of us in the midst of some potential unrest.
TWO LAST ITEMS
The best thing you can do for us is to pray regularly for needs of which you are aware. It's especially encouraging to know that people are lifting us up before the Throne. Beyond that, there are a couple of financial needs we have, one more immediate than the other.
1. We have enjoyed the use of our little Honda sedan and are still able to squeeze into it. However, we still owe $1,200.00 dollars on it. If you would be willing to contribute to meet that need, send a check to our Home Office marked for Bradley Trosen Vehicle Special.
2. This coming spring Laura and I have the opportunity to attend an MK Caregivers seminar in Budapest. MK school personnel from all over Europe and Africa will gather together for a week of workshops and lectures to help us keep abreast of new developments in MK education. We want to keep growing in our understanding and ability to minister in this context.
We may receive some financial help from I.C.A. toward our trip, but we'll need to take the rest from our ministry fund called Work Specials. If you feel prompted to help get us to Budapest, Hungary, you can make a check out marked to Bradley Trosen Work Special. These are the types of monies which we can use to participate in workshops such as this.
Home Office address of the Christian and Missionary Alliance: The Christian and Missionary Alliance P.O. Box 35000 Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3500
Thank you for participating with us in this valuable ministry to missionary kids and their parents around West Africa. We love and appreciate you.
In His grip,
Brad and Laura Trosen Hannah, Emily and Ian

July 11, 2000

Dear praying friends and family,

Greetings from Bouake, Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa. Just a week and a half ago we finished our school year - the 12th for us at I.C.A. It has been quite a milestone for us to reach as we watched students who were in first grade when we arrived. They walked the isle to receive their diplomas and are now heading off to the four corners of the world to continue education and get jobs. It all made for an emotional time!
July 4th we were to begin our Cote d'Ivoire Field Prayer Conference, but we awoke to sounds of gunfire in the distance and reports of blockades and a mutiny among the military. The activity was focused in Abidjan, Bouake and a northern city called Korhogo. We believe that Bouake received the most damage. Most every store in the downtown area was broken into and looted by the soldiers. The reason for the violence appears to be that soldiers have not been paid for services rendered.
By the morning of the sixth some sort of compromise had been reached, and our missionary collegues started making their way here to I.C.A. where the conference was to be held. Everyone arrived safely, and we enjoyed being together. Funny how people looting your grocery store and the sound of automatic weapons can increase your sense of comradery and the intensity of your prayers!!
Anyway, we had some great times of worship and prayer, and since our original speaker was not able to come, some of our fellow missionaries shared from the Word on the character of God. Timely! After brunch together, on Sunday morning, everyone left for their homes, and as far as we have heard, they arrived safely. We have a strong sense that the peace and calm of the moment is only for the moment.
On the 23rd of this month there is some sort of referendum to decide who will be allowed to run for this coming Presidental election. Join with us in praying for peace and for God to be glorified in the coming events in Cote d'Ivoire.
Our second main prayer request is for this next month of ministry. Our family is going to be caretakers at a campground in the mountains over near the Liberia border. It's called Camp Higher Ground. The CMA is one of several missions who participate in the operation of this quiet retreat. We will fill in for a month (July 12 - Aug. 13) because the full-time caretakers have just left. Pray for wisdom to care for the property and the six cabins.
Pray that we will do a good job receiving guests and being hospitable. The camp runs on a shoestring, so pray for creativity, too. And pray for us to have some much-needed family time. We love each of you and appreciate your support and prayers. If you're inclined to write back, you need to do it this instant because we leave tomorrow. Otherwise, wait until the 13th of Aug. We'll be out of touch until then. (Some of you are thinking, "You've been out of touch for a long time, Brad!")
Until then. God bless each of you.
Love, Brad for Laura, Hannah, Emily and Ian

Last updated: August 27, 2000