Dominic and Desarie

It would be easy to write off Dominic and Desarie. Former drug users, unemployed, kids in the system, etc. It would be easy to access their problems, do our best to help, and then send them on their way. It would be easy to look at them as projects, instead of people.

It would be easy… but it would be wrong.

Dominic and Desarie are not simply the sum of their life choices. They are not statistics. They are people created in God’s image, and thus they are endowed with gifts and abilities that we don’t always acknowledge.

It’s been so fun to watch them grow in the past few months. They have jumped in wherever they can, and have quickly become our most consistent volunteers. Desarie answers the phones when April has to run errands, they do chores around our office, bring tamales for our staff, and even act as informal case managers for their friends in need.

Last week I overheard a desperate sounding women come to the front desk looking for food. Before she had even finishing speaking, Dominic quickly came to her side and said, “I know where you can get food. I’ll take you there myself.”  He then walked her down to his church to see about getting her some food.

When I thanked him later for his act of kindness, he replied that because he knows what it’s like to feel desperate, and he just wants to give back and help others in the same situation.

Dominic and Desarie have taught me that if we wait to solve our own brokenness before reaching out to others, we’ll be waiting forever. God calls us to give in spite of our own weakness and poverty. In fact, he often USES our own brokenness to meet others in their time of need.

I’m glad we didn’t write off Dominic and Desarie, and I’m excited to see how God continues to use them in Bellflower.