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Facebook prayer campaign helps locate missing baby following Nice terror attack

The power of prayer and lots of Facebook shares have made it possible to reunite a baby boy with his family after chaos erupted during the Nice attack in France on Thursday, July 14.

The boy's mother, Yohlaine Ramasitera, posted an alert on Facebook with the child's photo, saying "If you see this child: contact me." She left her number, adding that the baby was in a blue stroller.

A man is silhouetted against a video screen with an Facebook logo as he poses with an Samsung S4 smartphone in this photo. June 29, 2016 10:13am EDT | Reuters/Dado Ruvic

Pastor Rebecca Boulanger saw the Facebook post and decided to spread the word to her large network in the hope of finding the baby more quickly.

Boulanger and her family were not affected by the attack, which left more than 80 people dead after a man plowed a crowded street with a truck on Bastille Day. She said they decided to stay indoors instead of watching the fireworks like they often did during the celebration.

But when she saw Ramasitera's post on social media, she knew she had to do something.

"I couldn't do much because I was at home with my own baby. But because I'm a pastor and I grew up in Nice, I decided to use my large social network to help," Boulanger told The Huffington Post.

Boulanger immediately shared the photo with the description: "VERY IMPORTANT: in the rush of things with shots being fired some friends of our friends lost their baby boy!!!"

She urged everyone to agree in prayer that the baby will be found. She also said a family group had gone out to look for the baby, who is only about eight to 10 months old.

Two hours later, Boulanger learned that the baby was safe. A woman found him and took him home. The woman saw the Facebook post with the baby's photo and contacted his family.

Boulanger waited until the baby was reunited with his mother before sharing the good news on social media.

The following day, she wrote: "Baby has been found !! a lady took him in, the family is on their way to go get him right now ! THANK YOU SO MUCH for your prayers !!! and also thank you to all those who shared the posts !!"

To those affected by the Nice attack, Boulanger reminded believers that during dark moments, "our light must shine brighter."

"As followers of Jesus, we need to make sure that people are reminded that love wins ... Hatred will only breed more hatred and that's not what this country needs," she said.