Three Dollars

By: Elba Duson

A beloved elder from the church where I grew up in the Dominican Republic died a little while ago. Brother Samuel was Haitian, and I learned a lot from him. I loved when he encouraged the congregation with his choruses of praise in Creole.

As I mourned his passing, a memory came to mind from two months before I was sent to Guatemala as a missionary with the Genesis initiative. After a Sunday service, some brothers and sisters approached me to offer words of encouragement and confirm their support during the coming two years. One of them was brother Samuel. He came close and, using a nickname he used to call me, said, “Sister Beba, I have something for you. I have kept these three dollars for many years and today I want to give them to you for your mission. It is not much, but I want to support you with everything I have.” I smiled and gave him a big hug.

I kept those three dollars and carried them with me during those two years of service: I never touched them. Some might say, of course, that they didn’t end up serving their purpose, but every time I had a need on the mission field, I looked in my wallet at those three dollars and they reminded me that the Lord was not going to abandon us. We were going to see provision one way or another!

Three years after I finished my mission in Guatemala, my mom found those three dollars in my old purse. Surprised, she asked me why I still had that money. I told her it was very special to me; I took it and put it in a new wallet. Every time I see those three dollars, they not only remind me of the humility, love, and joy with which brother Samuel gave it to me; but they also remind me of God’s faithfulness through his servants.

Perhaps you are preparing for your first missionary trip, and you don’t know how you are going to raise the required money. Well, I can tell you one thing, dear brother or sister: God has a Samuel for you! God will use any means, even the person you least expect, to show you that He cares for you and that He is the one who called you and will support you.