We received this testimony from Brother Eric Samu, VGR Office Manager in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The first is an article published in the local news media. The second is Brother Eric’s testimony.
Newspaper article, written by Coulibaly Souleymane, Sept. 10, 2010
Yamoussoukro: A fire decimate a family of 9 members
A whole family of 9 members burned in the fire of their house. The sight, on Wednesday morning, in the district of Kokrénou of Yamoussoukro, was horrible, tragic, and even apocalyptic. The parents, the neighbours, the acquaintances and the many onlookers that rushed up were not able to find the right words to describe the scene. Here and there, it was screams, tears of distress and grief. In front of what is left of these three burned apartments, we have a fire truck of the 5th Company of the military firemen (GSPM), a hearse, and policemen who are already working on their report.
But what on earth can be the cause of the death of the whole family of the retired MDL chief Kouakou Brou Bernard, former worker of the police of Yamoussoukro? According to Mr. Kouadio Marcel, a taxi driver and immediate neighbour of the victims, it was around 11:00 p.m. that his wife woke him up, he had fell asleep after a hard day of work, and she told him that she heard people calling for help. They noticed a thick layer of smoke getting in their living room. In fact, the fire started at their neighbours. Mr. Kouadio tried to help his neighbours by smashing the metal doors and windows, but without success. In desperation, he called the firemen. They did stop the fire, after a hard battle of several hours. But sadly, all the members of the family of the retired policeman had died.
In the rubble of the burned house, they later found metal sheets in the living room and other miscellaneous articles creased and burned, human bodies completely charred and unrecognizable. Among them, there is Mr. Kouakou Brou Bernard, the father of the family, his wife, their two children and the two cleaning girls. A daughter of the couple who had come to visit her parents and had finally decided to spend the night there was also among the victims, as well as her two children. A stroke of fate hit those nine persons in their sleep.
There are no specific indications of the cause of this disaster, and an investigation made by the very good policemen will clarify the cause of this tragic night in the coming days.
Coulibaly Souleymane, Yamoussoukro Agency
* * *
Three apartments were destroyed by fire, and the retired policeman was living in the apartment in the middle. One of his neighbors was a pastor of the Message called, Clavaire Kouassi Afronon.
The fire killed everybody in the policeman’s apartment; only a puppy was able to run away from the flames. The pastor was not at home at the moment of the tragedy. There was only a young boy of 15 years old and a little girl of 9 years old, and they were able to get out in time. Everything burned in the living room of the pastor, as well as in his bedroom, and the children’s bedrooms.
This is the first miracle: In the living room, the picture of Brother Branham with the right hand raised didn’t burn. It is something that the policemen have a hard time explaining.
Second miracle: The library completely burned, but the drawer where the MP3 CDs was didn’t burn. The CDs are not damaged.
Third miracle: In his bedroom, there were some Message books and an MP3 player. The fire got to the bedroom and burned many things, such as the shoes, but no books or the MP3 player were burned.
When the policemen got there to make their report, the Captain of the Police himself was surprised that the picture and the Message materials had not burned. The policemen brought the picture of Brother Branham to the police station, and they were all amazed to hear of that miracle. A policeman said: “With his hand raised, Brother Branham must have been under the anointing.”
The God who sent Brother Branham and this Message did not change. He is still in this Message.
May the Name of the Lord be blessed.
Bro. Éric Samu