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.
