Make God Famous: Michel and Denise Dubé

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.

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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.

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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.