The Color Yellow

I kept searching for the very specific yellow color I had seen in my prayer. I knew it meant something… I knew it was probably related to someone I’d meet while out on the streets that night. As I walked the streets of Penang, Malaysia, I wondered at the person I had become. Did I really just ask God for a vision and did He actually just give me one? And why wasn’t it more specific? A color? A random color? How was I ever supposed to find that? I was confused but decided to trust anyways.

As we walked, I kept eyeing different shades of yellow in store fronts, clothing and pretty much a majority of what we passed. I didn’t feel the urge to stop. I saw a woman with a hejab (head covering) begging on the side of the street. The Lord told me to go up to her and give her what I had in my wallet. There was nothing yellow associated with her. I was beginning to think I had daydreamed the color. Anyways, I wasn’t about to get distracted! I gave my money to this woman and found that she was also a believer in Jesus. This surprised me as she was wearing a hejab and full islamic covering. If you are born into Islam or accept it as your own at any point, you are restricted from ever making any changes. Under Shiriah law, there are huge punishments associated with renouncement of faith. Also, a Christian attempting to convert a Muslim is punishable by Shiriah law. The woman wept as she accepted the money and proceeded to tell me that her husband had been killed in an accident and that she lost her only child. My heart just about broke…No, it did break for this woman. I asked her if there was anything she wanted prayer for and her response was, “anything.” I took her hand in mine and prayed for her. I asked God for His provision and blessing in her life. While I was praying for her, I heard a voice behind me demand to know what I was doing. I felt the color drain from my face as thoughts flooded my mind. I’ve never really followed rules well…not because I’m in active rebellion, but moreso because they aren’t high on my list of priorities. It definitely appeared as though I was converting a Muslim…Great. I glanced at my teammate anxiously hoping she would have some kind of response. She did. She responded, “we are speaking with this woman.”

I was relieved to look behind me to find a Chinese man and his wife, neither of them of the Islamic faith. He was curious to know where we were from, what we were doing, what tourist attractions we had seen. He was very confused by the fact that we were praying for a homeless woman on the street when we could be partying it up at a nearby club. He eventually ended the conversation by telling my teammate and I that we would probably be quarantined due to corona virus. The conversation ended. I blessed the woman we had been talking to once more and headed down the street to find one of my teammates surrounded by a group of men.

Two of them were signing and mute and one of them appeared to be a typical Muslim man. The Muslim man, who appeared to be in his 70’s or 80’s, motioned me to come sit next to him. After learning that I was American, he proceeded to tell me how much he dislikes president Trump. Essentially, he wanted to communicate that everyone hates Islam and that Islam is constantly persecuted. He kept speaking of murder and the wickedness of America. He claimed that we are a “rich and careless nation”…There was nothing about me ready for this conversation. I don’t really enjoy politics and I thought it was hilarious that God had placed me, of all people, to sit and converse with this man.

In that moment, the Lord told me that I didn’t have to know politics to know His character. God wanted me to sit with this man, hear what he had to say and impart His love. I told him that God’s heart is love and that He hates injustice. The man then asked my name as well as my teammate’s name. When my teammate said her name, it was if he didn’t hear it. All he said was “torture.” She then repeated it again, very clearly this time. He responded again with, “torture.” Her name sounds nothing similar to “torture.” I then realized that our conversation was spiritual in nature and that whatever he was proclaiming wasn’t of him. I immediately knew what to say. I said, “No, this is my teammate. Her name is (insert). She is here because the Lord has chosen her to display His love for others.

My teammate then shared the Gospel with this Muslim man. She talked about Jesus and His love for people despite persecution. The man asked us for our ages and told us that we had “very thin hair on our heads.” I thought, “wow, that’s not true. I have very thick hair, sir.” And then I realized, he wasn’t talking about our hair. He was pretty much telling us that we were young, dumb and definitely not wise.

Normally, this would have offended me but God gave me full peace and full understanding of His intent. I told him that it doesn’t matter what age you are. If you know your Father, you have full access to His wisdom. He looked at me and his eyes told me that he couldn’t deny what I had said. He was really thinking and God had his attention. God had my full attention as well… a bright yellow flower had just fallen on my lap from the tree above. It was the color I had seen during my prayer. The man noticed it and said, “lucky.” I’m not lucky. I’m blessed. I’m blessed because I have full access to my Father. By grace and only by grace have I been saved.

The man went on to tell my teammate and I that we were both beautiful as God had created our arms longer. He told us that women have longer arms than men and that that is what makes us beautiful. I was like, “okay, interesting….wasn’t expecting that.” I felt the Lord tell me to tell this man that He had been created in God’s image and to thank him for being so willing to converse with us. I did and tears welled up in his eyes. That was the end of our conversation but I have no doubt that God is working in that man’s heart. 🙂 

Thanks for your continued prayers and support. My squad and I are fully aware of the corona virus and it’s effects. We are currently serving in Thailand where the virus has had minimal impact/spread. We are well and taking precautions to prevent illness seriously. None of us wish to be sent home due to the virus. However, if the severity of the virus worsens, our travel may become limited. Prayers are much appreciated as we continue to rely on Christ each and every day. 

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”