Our friend, Dumassais.

I want to introduce yall to our friend, Dumassais. (Pronounce it Do-MA-sice)

We met Dumassais at New Life last year when we came to do mission work in Peru. He is from Haiti and has been living in Peru since the horrible earth quake that destroyed so many homes in his country in 2010. Dumassais left his wife and his little girl behind in Haiti so that he could find a better life for them in Peru, thinking that he would be able to bring them here shortly after he established himself. He moved to Lima to look for a job, speaking only French, and dedicated himself to learning Spanish and finding employment. Today, he is employed as a waiter in a restaurant close to our church. He works every day from 4pm until midnight and makes only a couple of dollars a day, which he sends back home to Haiti to provide for his family. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world, and even though a few american dollars a day does not seem like much to us, it is worth a lot to his family in Haiti. 

As soon as we found out about Dumassais’ situation, Chris and I knew immediately that God wanted us to help him. The amount of money needed to buy his wife and daughter’s passage to Peru is $600 and so we began to pray for provision. My plan was to wait until Friday because my wonderful friend Felicia had the day off of work Friday and was going to install this nifty PayPal button on our blog. You guys can see the button on the right hand side of the page at the top. My plan was to wait until she installed the button and then write a blog about Dumaissas and his family, asking for help to raise the money and bring them together! God, however, had a different plan- a plan that tought me so much about his provision and about trusting in Him! 

Chris told one of our friends about everything that was going on with Dumassais and how we knew God had put us in his life to help bring his family back together. She responded with an email that has given me so much more faith in God’s provision and in His perfect plan. 

I woke up Friday morning, preparing to write the blog that I am writing today, checking to make sure that the PayPal button was already on our site. First, I checked our messages on facebook and read what our friend sent to us. She said that someone had walked into her office and given her a $1,000 cash bonus. She had tithed from the bonus and was just waiting for God to show her what to do with the rest of the money. When Chris told her about Dumassais, she said she knew that was what God wanted her to do with the money and she and her husband wanted to give ALL of the money needed to reunite Dumassais with his family! ALL 600 dollars! I think I cried for like an hour after I read that, just thanking God for his sweet love and his perfect plan. HE IS INCREDIBLE and yall I just cant even explain! Here I was, thinking I needed to wait to ask and wait to tell anyone about this and then God just gives someone in America, 6000 miles away, a cash bonus, just so they can give it to a Haitian refugee in Peru to bring his family together! HOW amazing is God!!! Oh my word! I am just so so so so incredibly excited! 

I just want yall to understand what this means for Dumassais. In Haiti, he could not find a job. Nearly 80% of Haiti was formally unemployed BEFORE the earth quake in 2010. He left because his situation was so hopeless that he had to leave his family in order to provide for them. He came to Peru, where the standard of living is higher, the opportunities are better, and began to make about 3 or 4 dollars a day and save his money for his family. Can you guys imagine what a gift of 600 dollars means to him and his family? I can’t even begin to know, but Jesus does know, and He did an incredible miracle for this family!

Sunday morning, after consulting our Pastor and asking him how to procede, we told Dumassais about his miracle in front of the whole church! He was totally in awe and more than a little overwhelmed by the goodness of God and the body of Christ and the provision and the miracle! It was SO cool! There were so many people who saw the glory of God on Sunday and now have a new vision of who God is and who they are as his precious children. We all witnessed a miracle and I surely won’t ever forget any of it! Please pray for all of the paperwork and all of the preparations to go smoothly and for God’s favor to rest upon this family! We are hoping to see them reunited in as little as two months now that we can buy the passage to Peru!

I have realized through this that nothing is too big for God. Nothing! He can do anything and is always working behind the scenes! I realize that every single thing we own belongs to God. As missionaries, every spoon, fork, and napkin that we own was purchased with money that God has given us. Everything we have belongs to him. We can’t just hand someone in need $20. We have to trust God to provide it, to send people to give, to speak to the hearts and to move on our behalf. And He does! He will! It was so special for me to be a part of this because God did the miracle before I could even plan what to do! He showed me that He is the owner of all things and that nothing is out of his reach. He also showed me that He goes before us in all things. He went to our dear friend and gave her a cash bonus before we even found out about Dumassais and then he told her to give it to Dumassais! This is how God works! The body of Christ is real and alive and moving. I feel like I am a part of the early church, sharing everything so that no one is left in need. It is so incredible! 

We are surrounded by need, but I am trusting God to provide in miraculous ways! I hope that you are encouraged by this testimony and this miracle! Our God is the God who provides and who cares for us! Our God is a God of restoration! His love is so beautiful!!

And now a family who had no hope has been given the most beautiful chance for a better life, a life together, all because they are dearly loved by the King.