Ten years ago, on March 13, 2016, I was on the beach with 2 friends in Grand Bassam, Côte d'Ivoire. Terrorists attacked and in a few hours 22 were dead - 19 victims and 3 terrorists. (Wikipedia article)
My friends and I hid in a small, unfinished room on top of a wall during the gunfire until special forces rescued us.
I am so grateful to God to everyone who helped us through that time, the first week, months, year, and even beyond.
When it first happened, I was pretty traumatized. It wasn't until 5th day that I was even able to cry.
I remember that my body was sore for the first day or two.
What had happened loomed ahead of me like something I could not get around - even though it was behind me. Would I be able to come "back to life" after what had happened? Would I ever be able to get to 1 month? 6 months? 1 year? It seemed unthinkable that I could arrive at 10 years past this event.
Week One
Laurel and Cornelia and Csaba and others on center gave us meals. The morning after our office staff supported us while we shared in the office prayer time. Pastor Pierrette drove across town through heavy traffic to pray with me.
We had peer debriefing the first week and that helped.
Then some Ivoirian colleagues whom I had not met had a special ceremony for us to thank God for the new lease on life he had give us. Read about the Egg Ceremony here. What a blessing these people were to us. I still try to eat a boiled egg each year to remember! 
But I attended a retreat right around the 18 month mark where God showed me that I had processed this all mentally, but not emotionally and helped me to walk through it all.
And that has been one of the lessons. God used this horrible thing in my life to make me sensitive to others who have suffered trauma and violence, and to pass on a part of the comfort that he and others shared to me.
On the one week anniversary, I went up front and shared briefly and Pastor Soro prayed for me.
Someone had us over on our center for lunch and I remember I could not keep my eyes of the clock, thinking about the events exactly one week earlier.
Someone had us over on our center for lunch and I remember I could not keep my eyes of the clock, thinking about the events exactly one week earlier.
One month
We had a Djimini Bible dedication I think 2 weeks after the attacks. My boss, Nelis van den Berg, and others had told me I should not be working more than half time - which I was not able to do anyway.
And someone suggested that I did not need to go to the dedication at all and make the "director's speech". Laurel Miller kindly took the speech I had written and read it at the dedication. She also loaned me her hymnal and keyboard and I enjoyed spending that weekend playing hymns and hanging out with Thomas and Baerbel - the 2 friends who lived this with me. We colored Easter Eggs and watched a movie together.
And someone suggested that I did not need to go to the dedication at all and make the "director's speech". Laurel Miller kindly took the speech I had written and read it at the dedication. She also loaned me her hymnal and keyboard and I enjoyed spending that weekend playing hymns and hanging out with Thomas and Baerbel - the 2 friends who lived this with me. We colored Easter Eggs and watched a movie together.
People shared scriptures. Psalm 124 became central to us. Healing came through verses and songs. It was also in this time frame that I wrote a lament which was very helpful.
So many of you reached out to say you were praying for us!
I wrote about this period in a blogpost entitled "Trauma Patchwork"
Second month
Sometime in the second month, I returned to my normal role in Cameroon. I'm grateful to teammates there: Nelis, Bianca, Debbie and Bibi and other friends for welcoming me back, cleaning my place, giving me lots of grace, and listening well. Karen Degraaf got me started with some good resources for dealing with the trauma.
In the third month,
I moved to Germany and got used the quiet, peaceful environment to work peace into my soul. I wrote about that this past december in an advent devotional
1 year
By the one year anniversary I had survived the insanity that is fireworks on New Year's Eve in Germany. I made it to March 13, and wore my "Yako Bassam" (Sorry Bassam) shirt and had a little egg ceremony to mark one year.
Life was more or less back to normal and I thought I had healed from this.
But I attended a retreat right around the 18 month mark where God showed me that I had processed this all mentally, but not emotionally and helped me to walk through it all.
Read more here: Back to Bassam - the Shack
Years 2- 9
From then on, healing was incremental and life became more and more normal.
I was still marked by it.
If you came into my life since that time, and you have had an important part of my life, then I have likely shared the story with you. I know I've shared it in every small group I have been in, every new work team.
I was still marked by it.
If you came into my life since that time, and you have had an important part of my life, then I have likely shared the story with you. I know I've shared it in every small group I have been in, every new work team.
During my first furlough back in the US, I had to share it a lot with people I saw again. That was heavy at times, but also something that God used to minister to others.
And that has been one of the lessons. God used this horrible thing in my life to make me sensitive to others who have suffered trauma and violence, and to pass on a part of the comfort that he and others shared to me.
In 2022 and 2023, I first began to get to the point where I could "kind of" enjoy fireworks - usually with noise cancelling headphones and good friends nearby who would understand when I had to go inside.
In 2025, I actually chose to go downtown to watch fireworks where I would have NO WHERE TO GET AWAY TO if it became too much!
In 2025, I actually chose to go downtown to watch fireworks where I would have NO WHERE TO GET AWAY TO if it became too much!
And now we come to 10 years!
Each year I am reminded by the Facebook and photo reminders that come up in the weeks before - from my time in Côte d'Ivoire leading up to the event. I actually had been to the same beach a few weeks earlier and have pictures from that time.
Perhaps at the 20-year anniversary, this will just be a blip. I might even forget it some years.
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