YASMIN

During our touring around London yesterday, we often took advantage of the double decker buses to see downtown London. Two times in a row, we headed to the top level and found a pair of seats at the very front open for us – ‘the best seats in the house’. In both cases, soon after we had boarded, something that we saw on the street prompted us to get up from our great spots and take to foot.

One of the sights that got us down was the Royal Academy of the the Arts, which is a space shared by the Astronomical Society. Having a great interest in both art and astronomy (I love when people look at life as being bigger than just the earth…with billions of stars in this universe…even more), I wanted to see those buildings.

However, before we had gotten to our destination, I noticed a sight that I had never seen before. Sitting in front of the Ritz Hotel, on the side of the road, was a young woman wearing a hijab with a cup in her hand, begging for money.

I noted her presence to Mawulom, and we crossed the street as she inquired of me, “they don’t beg”. I couldn’t say that muslim women never beg, it was just something that I had never seen before. Though we had crossed the street and were about to board the bus, my heart was still stuck on this young woman. I asked Mawulom if she could wait a moment while I crossed the street to speak to the young woman.

I pulled out a two pound coin, and after darting through the traffic, I said ‘hi’ and I placed it in her cup. I then crouched beside her and asked a question, that in hindsight wasn’t so bright’ “is everything alright?”. What I meant really was that I cared about what she was going through.

The first thing that she said to me was, “I don’t have my papers”. She told me that her name is Yasmin and that she is from Bosnia. I told her that my name is Chris and that I’m from Canada.

I didn’t know what else I could do for her, but – looking back on the situation – I see that it was important to me that I gave her something so she could get something to eat, and that I encouraged her a little bit. We spoke for a little bit about prayer, and I told her that I would be praying for her.

After saying ‘bye’ I cut through the traffic again and met with Mawulom at the bus stop. I explained to her that sometimes, I will feel a call on my heart to go and speak with someone.

Throughout the day, she came back to my thoughts. Last night, before I went to sleep I remembered her in prayer; I hope that she finds her way.