Casting out demons, healing the sick, and healing deep psychological wounds are biblical events we saw happen in our ministry. God took two very ordinary people with very ordinary stories and very ordinary gifts and worked through us for His glory and purpose.
Charlie was a stranger to us but the brother of a new friend. Our little Bible study made up of pre-believers had been praying for healing for him for a few weeks. Michel was finally able to visit our friend John and his brother Charlie at home to pray for him. A month after a tooth extraction had gone bad, Charlie was close to death from infection; the side of his face was so swollen his eye was protruding. The entire family was present as Michel prayed. They were from another religion and understood Michel prayed in the name of Jesus. Desperate to see their brother healed, they agreed to allow his prayers. Michel prayed a short prayer of healing and left.
The next day, Michel received a call from John who excitedly exclaimed that Charlie was being healed in front of them after a month of pain and agony. John shouted into the phone, telling us pus was spewing from Charlie’s eye socket. We love how God left no room for speculation about the source of healing! Immediately, Charlie was significantly better; within a week, he was mostly healed. The result of this healing was that almost all the family members chose Christ; through them, many neighbours also heard the Gospel.
The Early Years
Denise:
I was born in Scarborough, Ontario, to Bill and Sue Spires in June 1967. My mom had newly returned to faith, and my dad was an unbeliever. After a couple of moves, we landed in Shelburne, Ontario, where I spent most of my life until graduating high school.
I attended a Nazarene Bible camp when I was eight, and one night around a campfire, I chose to follow Christ. This is a moment I clearly remember, and it has governed me through my life.
When I was fourteen, I decided I was old enough to choose my spiritual direction and informed my mom I wanted control over whether or not I went to church. In her infinite wisdom, my mom gave me a firm NO. So I appealed to my dad, who never went to church, and to my surprise, he backed up my mom. I mention this because as I look back on my life and all my poor decisions, I feel this moment was integral to my life’s path. I’m not sure I would have continued to follow Christ had I been allowed the freedom to not attend church; I am thankful my parents did not give in to my will.
I continued on with life, living as most teenagers do; I was neither rebellious nor sincere in my faith. For some odd reason, I chose to go to Bible college for “one year.” God got hold of me during the year, and I heard Him calling me into full-time ministry. I had no idea what this would look like, although I assumed maybe as a pastor’s wife.
A fair amount of time was spent praying, asking God what it meant for me to be in full-time ministry and I heard nothing for over a year. I was still at Canadian Bible College (CBC) in Regina, Saskatchewan, and we had a speaker one week who spoke on confession. He mentioned unconfessed sin can prevent us from hearing God’s will in our lives. I spent the week confessing everything I could think of and asking God to reveal sins I could not remember. After a week of soul-searching confession, I felt free and light. Very shortly after, God revealed to me His plan for my life.
I was sitting in my chair at the beginning of our weekly mission’s service; a song was playing about the harvest being ripe and the need for workers. I was just sitting there when I heard, “What is keeping you in Canada?” I seriously thought someone was talking to me and looked around. It became obvious it was God, and I responded there was nothing holding me to Canada. I knew then missions was my path, and I began to prepare. My major switched from music to biblical studies, and I informed The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) of my intentions.
After graduating from CBC, I moved back to Ontario to start my home service in Kingston, Ontario. I was seriously angry with God for allowing me to graduate without a husband or even the prospect of one. How He could not provide a man dedicated to being a missionary while I was at Bible college was beyond me. Where else would I find a husband, for goodness’ sake? Oh, how God must have been laughing at me in my anger! On my first Sunday at Kingston Alliance Church, I met the very cute, very shy Michel Dubé. He was not at all what I would have thought was the “right” guy for me. Michel had only been a Christian for two weeks when we met. He was not headed for the mission field. He had ZERO theological training (necessary when one wanted to be a missionary with the C&MA), and he was in the military. But in the end, God knew best and provided me with precisely the right man to live life with.
Michel:
I was born in Trenton, Ontario, in 1971 to Yvan Dubé and Elizabeth Bell-Dubé. My father served in the Canadian Armed Forces throughout my life.
Life for a military family in those days was very transient. We moved every one, two, and even three years, depending on the circumstances. In a way, God was preparing me for a life overseas. My brother Stéphan and I moved with my parents from one end of our beautiful country to the other. I had attended eleven schools by the time I reached my nineteenth birthday. My mother was instrumental in helping me with this way of life. I enjoyed going to new places and making new friends. Yet, it was not always easy for my brother and me, and there were some very dark periods in my life.
My mother was of the Anglican faith, and my father was Catholic. Neither practiced their faith, but both had high regard for God. My father was an amazing supporter, sometimes having to take on another part-time job to make ends meet. My mother was my protector; she was also responsible for exposing me to the wonders of creation, which opened my eyes to God.
My thoughts and mood became dark as I entered my mid to late teens. My father was granted a special posting to S.H.A.P.E., Belgium, NATO’s headquarters, in my seventeenth year. This move kept my head above the dark emotional waters of my soul as I fell in love with Europe.
After finishing my grade twelve at the American school, I moved to the Canadian military base in Baden, Germany, to do my grade thirteen. I was billeted to a Canadian family for the year. School went very poorly for many reasons, and when the Canadian military recruiters came by, I signed up as an easy way out.
After basic training in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, I was posted to Kingston, Ontario, to begin my electronics course. It was here where I became increasingly lost as I fully indulged in a sinful life. I was seeking answers for a soul while it was being ripped apart. The darkness grew louder, and my thoughts began to fixate on ending my life.
One day, I overheard a guy at another table who worked with kids (Awana). I approached him after supper and asked him if I could volunteer. He said, “Sure, but you have to come to church first.” I thought this was rather strange. He invited me Sunday morning, but I refused to go. He bugged me in the afternoon to go, and after I conceded, we left for the Kingston Alliance Church in a blizzard. It was Missionary Week, and I listened to Maureen Roarke talk about her crazy missionary life in the jungles of Indonesia. It amazed me she and her husband Mike were so dedicated to missionary work amid so many dangers. I was intrigued. So, I went back the Monday night.
Maureen shared her story before knowing Jesus, and it was as if she was speaking to me personally. She used to be in the same dark place I was in now. So, I decided to go Tuesday night. She wrapped up her missionary week, and everyone went into the foyer. I remained in the sanctuary, confused about the whole matter. A kind man named Warren Fallis came back in and silently sat down beside me. He broke the silence by asking how I was doing and then went for the jugular. “Do you want to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour?” I closed my eyes, my head was swimming, and my heart was aching. Not fully understanding all it meant, I answered yes and prayed with him. I went home ecstatic.
Meanwhile, four hours away at the Shelburne Alliance Church, my future wife listened to Mike Roarke, Maureen’s husband. Two weeks after my decision to follow Jesus, I met Denise, and we developed a friendship. I started Bible studies, but I would soon stop going to church. Warren and Denise would call the barracks, and I began to refuse their calls. They did it so much it was driving me crazy. I had to find a way to escape these Christian people. God provided a way. I accepted a three-month posting in the most northerly inhabited place on the planet, Alert, N.W.T. (now Nunavut).
Alert is a land of rocks. I was alone here, very isolated. There was no one to talk to, really. I decided one day to go down to the bay and touch the Arctic water. While there, I was staring at a stationary iceberg in the bay. It looked beautiful to me. Suddenly but slowly, the iceberg turned over, and I beheld the wonder of God. It was magical, and it was meant for only me. It was here I realized my error. After three months, I returned to Kingston and recommitted my life. God saw to it I left the military. My Lord clearly and powerfully called me to serve Him overseas. I said yes without reservation, and I applied to Canadian Bible College.
Our Story Together
We married in 1993 and moved to Regina to allow Michel to finish his schooling. Soon our family grew to five. We were blessed with three beautiful children, Gabriel, Alexandre, and Marika. We will not say much about it, but they have enriched and blessed us in our lives and ministry. We are so thankful to God for them.
Québec
As Michel was finishing seminary, we were seeking God’s direction for our field of ministry. We knew He wanted us in missions; we just did not know where. During the last couple of months of seminary, several people spoke to us about going to Québec because of Michel’s family ties there. The family dynamics had him determined to never live in Québec. God had other ideas, though! Soon, we were on our way to Rimouski, Québec, as missionary apprentices. The year was 1998.
Language Study
When our apprenticeship was completed in 2001, we relocated to Laval for formal language study and then we were to start a church plant in the city. In addition to church planting, we were involved in our French Alliance church, and Michel served as the pastor of the Montreal Filipino Church for four years. This pastoral role was quite an experience, and we loved it. Where else could a young pastor have such unique experiences, such as eating balut and baptizing someone in her bathtub with the whole church watching? It was excellent cultural preparation for when we moved to Guinea.
We quickly grew to love both the Québecois people and culture. It was a joy to connect with our neighbours over corn roasts, Alpha groups in our home, and other gatherings with neighbours. This attachment made it difficult to move when Québec closed as a field, and it was time for us to leave. We left in 2006 for home assignment, not knowing where we would go next.
Guinea
When it was time for us to leave Québec and choose our next steps, we prayed, fasted, and agonized over where to go next. We began to focus our attention on the French-speaking world. We were thinking Niger since there was a good team on the ground already.
UNTIL GOD….
Dan and Melodie Ibsen asked to connect with us in Calgary, and in the ten minutes we had together, they put a ‘bug in our ear’ about Guinea (“Where?” we asked). We then began to pray about whether God wanted us in Niger or Guinea and were getting nowhere fast. The funny part about our journey is God made it clear to each of us individually where He wanted us to go, but neither of us said anything because we did not want to influence the other! It was only when we sat in Ron Brown’s office and heard him tell us his opinion that we realized the path to take. The path was Guinea.
We took a trip to Guinea in early 2007 to check it out. Interestingly, we went during the worst riots Guinea had seen, which is saying something. The first night, we could not sleep for a long time because of all the gunshots and the sound of bullets hitting the tin roof. We really wondered if we had misheard God. In the morning, we woke up, and nothing had changed, the rioting was still going on, but we both had peace; Guinea was indeed the place for us. We returned to Canada and began to prepare for our move in August 2007.
A real advantage for us was being able to speak French fluently. It certainly made it easier to adapt to life in Guinea. We soon began Susu language study and managed to cram two years of language studies into three years. Constant violence, two evacuations, and general turbulence made it difficult to complete our studies. But complete them, we did!
Disruption was the theme of our time in Guinea. Health problems, political problems, and Ebola seemed to punctuate our lives regularly. We soldiered on throughout the disruptions and really saw God work through us.
Michel had fairly specific ministry responsibilities and opportunities. He thrived in his café ministry and in his pre-Christian Bible study ministry. Several of the guys in this group eventually became Christians. Interestingly, God used healing as a means to reach them.
One story is from someone named Emmanuel. We did not really know him well, he was our carpenter, and we had only met him a couple of times. One day Michel stopped in at his shop to see how our table was coming along. Emmanuel mentioned he had received a poorly placed injection, resulting in terrible pain for over six months; he could barely walk. Michel prayed for him for healing and gave him a Tylenol. A while later, Emmanuel casually told Michel he had no pain after that! He started attending Michel’s Bible study, and a couple of years later, became a Christian.
For the first few years, Denise mostly kept the home fires burning and was a support worker for Michel and other missionaries, just plugging in where needed. Once the kids started to leave home, she began to look for a more directed ministry.
While on home assignment, international workers attend a gathering called Home Ministry Seminar. During one of the sessions, God just opened up Denise’s brain and poured in the idea of a secretarial school for young women. We had been looking for a way to reach women away from their homes. From experience, Denise knew she was not good at connecting around the cooking fire, and women were quite hesitant to discuss spiritual things at home. We put together a business plan and started to raise money.
We returned to the field in 2012. Denise began the long process of getting registered with the government, developing the curriculum, and putting together a national team to help and advise. She was ready to open the school in 2014 when Ebola ripped through Guinea. Schools were closed, and we ended up having to leave Guinea for eight months until the Canadian government allowed us to return.
We had our first class in October 2015. It went well, and we were excited for the following year. Unfortunately, our daughter had a health issue, and Denise needed to spend the 2016- 2017 school year in Dakar with her so she could finish her graduating year. Then we went on our scheduled one-year home assignment in June 2017. It was painful to close the school for the next two years, but we were excited to reopen it for the 2018 school year.
We returned in August 2018, and Denise began the steps of reopening the school. It quickly became apparent this was not going to happen for several reasons. How heartbreaking! Why did we spend all that time, energy, and money for one year of operation? We still do not know, but God does. But Denise participated in an incredible two years of ministry, which would not have been possible had she been teaching.
While on home assignment 2017-2018, God spoke to Michel about working with the National Church during our next term. He was pretty hesitant at first because the church had not been interested in working with the people we were assigned to. Michel eventually gave in, and are we ever happy he did!
The day after we returned from our home assignment, we were thrust into the beginning of Soul Care conferences in Guinea. Soul Care conferences are based on the book Soul Care written by Rob Reimer. He will tell you there is nothing new in the book, but he has assembled biblical principles for freedom in Christ into one resource. We had just started to read this book while in Canada, so the timing of it all was perfect. God grabbed our attention, and we began to work with our American C&MA colleagues, Stephen and Lori Albright, to bring Soul Care to Guinea. Stephen had arranged for Rob Reimer to lead a conference for the pastors in Guinea in September 2018.
Over four hundred pastors attended the conference; we had high hopes for what God would do through it. We were disappointed with the response but continued to pray God would transform the Guinean church and us. About two months later, we began to receive requests to do Soul Care conferences around Guinea. In eighteen months, we did over twenty conferences of four or five days each. We have so many stories of complete change and freedom.
Marie is a young woman who loved God and truly wanted to serve Him but struggled with an addiction to men. She had been with various men for several years and was currently living with someone who was not her husband. She wanted to change but was afraid of starving if she left him. When she came to us during a Soul Care conference, she looked much older than her twenty-five years. She never smiled and had a deep crease between her eyes. She wept and wept as she told us about her painful story of neglect, abuse, and insecurity. As she confessed her sins, dealt with her hurt, forgave others, and sought spiritual deliverance, she experienced freedom. At the end of our time together, she laughed, smiled, and looked so much younger. She returned home and left her partner, although she had no way to support herself. Almost immediately, she had business opportunities that more than provided for her, including a teaching opportunity in another town. She has thrived spiritually, emotionally, and financially ever since. God is pretty amazing!
In our last two years of ministry, we saw pastors rising up and starting to take on the teaching of Soul Care. Pastors like Elie and Antoine began to teach it and practice the principles in their churches. We also saw great transformation among leaders in the church and among the young adults of the church. It was humbling and thrilling to watch young men and women on their knees confessing old sins and forgiving old hurts.
Denise and Lori were asked to speak to women in the church about all things sexual. What began as a talk to the youth at our church spread to several groups of women, youth, and young women. What is satisfying is this ministry is continuing on even though we are gone. It is exciting because it was always our desire to work our way out of a job.
In the fall of 2019, we began to sense a need to pray about our future in Guinea. After much prayer, fasting, and discerning, we knew we were not returning to Guinea after our six-month home assignment in 2020. It was confusing why God would have us be in such an exciting and fulfilling ministry then take us out. God spoke to us through the story of Philip. He was in an inspiring and fruitful ministry when God whisked him away to the desert road, where he met the eunuch. A seemingly pointless move was responsible for the spread of the Gospel regions afar. We never know the global impact of our obedience.
Return to Canada
We made the decision to return to Canada in May 2020. But then… COVID. Our airport closed in March, and we had no idea when we would be able to leave. Out of the blue, the Canadian embassy offered to broker a deal with the American government to allow us to get on a repatriation flight. Thirty-eight hours later, we were on a plane. In those thirty-eight hours, we completely emptied our house, got the contents to their new owners, saw our two dogs to their new owners, put our cat down, repacked our suitcases (we had to go from six to two), arranged for a place to quarantine, and said goodbye to everyone we had been friends with for the last thirteen years.
It was a whirlwind day and a half, but with help from friends and lots of work, we did it. Then we started off on our new path.
We quarantined for two weeks, which was a wonderful time of decompressing after such a stressful few weeks. We then began to seek God for direction. It became clear we needed to be in Canada for the foreseeable future, and we resigned from Global Ministries, our employer of twenty-two years. We feel blessed to have worked for The Christian and Missionary Alliance for so many years. They were so gracious and kind to us in our strange ministry path. It was sad to leave, but we were also eager for what God had for us next.
Epilogue
Michel decided to become a Personal Support Worker, a perfect fit for his excellent people skills. Denise is teaching English as a Second Language online to Québecois businessmen. It is so interesting; she has come full circle and is once again interacting with Québecois. God is amazing and has a reason for everything He does.
What an awesome God we serve!
This is an excerpt from the book, On Mission Volume 3. Download your free copy today.