SHARE THE MESSAGE OF HOPE IN YOUR CITY
In Joshua 6, the Lord told Joshua to march around the city of Jericho for seven days, blow trumpets and yell and the walls of the city would collapse! Hebrews 11:30 says, ‘By faith, the walls of Jericho fell after the army had marched around them for seven days.’
Nehemiah 4 tells of a different city. The wall of Jerusalem had been broken down, and the gates were burned. Nehemiah rallied his people to rebuild the wall, materials for ‘their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other.’
God told Joshua to yell at a wall, and it would collapse. God compelled Nehemiah to build a wall.
What did God tell me to do? To graffiti a wall! He wanted me to paint street art on the concrete walls of the Middle Eastern city.
Penguins of Hope
Nine years of navigating the concrete jungle of the densely populated city caused me and my young family to search for beauty amidst this congested Middle Eastern city. It had been a challenging last year for the residents, as political tensions were intense and trash piled high on the streets. The country had no president. The trash crisis narrowed the lanes of traffic and causing respiratory problems as the population breathed the polluted air filled with the toxins of burning plastic. Blue and black plastic garbage bags littered the mountains and burst into the sea. In this honour-shame culture, the shameful scene created an atmosphere of hopelessness in the community.
I felt trapped in my home, a slave to my own introverted nature. What could one introvert do to make a difference in this Middle Eastern city experiencing hope- lessness? Yet, the Scripture says, ‘But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you’ – Psalm 39:7 (NIV).
As a quiet act of protest to the city’s trash crisis, my kids and I made whimsical animal sculptures of penguins from old magazine pages and newspapers, recycling newspapers into artwork. I would create art in the privacy of our cold concrete apartment, and I would pray for the capital city my family called home.
In these times of creative prayer, I asked God how I could share the message of hope in this city. Ideas would come; however, my introverted nature would silence this desire to reach out.
Raising My Voice
Then I read, ‘Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall, she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech’—Proverbs 1:20–21 (NIV). In this Bible passage, wisdom is personified as a woman calling out in the public square. This verse shook me to the core. I grew up under the teaching that wisdom was silent, and women did not have a voice.
As I played this scenario out in my mind, I envisioned a woman standing on the street in the modern city calling out, but no one would hear the message as the cars and trucks whizzed by. Though the people could not hear her, they could see a message if it was somehow visually communicated.
The compulsion was too strong to ignore: graffiti, paint on the concrete walls of the city. I was compelled to create street art as a message in the ‘public square,’ that there is HOPE. Art calls the audience to ask questions and to seek answers. My family had chosen to live in the predominately Muslim country to share Jesus as the source of hope. Overcoming my introverted tendencies, I prepared to do something that would take every ounce of my energy, boldness and courage.
Stepping Out
Armed with prayer, carefully handcarved cardboard templates and multiple cans of spray paint, two friends and I drove down the mountain to the main highway lined with concrete walls. Adrenaline coursed through my body as we set up the supplies on the street in full daylight. Stencils could be removed quickly, and the artwork of this style of street art could be completed swiftly if needed. We taped the stencils to the walls and spray painted the image of penguins holding a banner of ‘hope.’ Penguins are out of place, of course, in this region; therefore, this provided a symbol of looking for hope beyond the current crisis plaguing the city.
A military vehicle drove by the scene and circled back around. Two armed soldiers approached us while we were painting in the public space. From a nearby parking lot, my husband came to my side. He recognized the insignia on the oncoming soldier’s uniforms. It was clear that they were not ordinary soldiers in this military-controlled country. These men were commandos, members of the Special Forces, the men who had fought off ISIS at the country’s borders.
Intimidated by the approaching soldiers, I quickly asked the officers, ‘Are we done?’ expecting to be told to stop painting and vacate the premises. The military-camouflage uniformed soldiers motioned toward the painting and focused their attention directly on us. Was it me, or did their boots seemed to shake the ground as they approached closer?
However, the soldiers did not ask us to leave. In fact, the soldiers had a special request.
The commandos proceeded to ask if we would come to the military training base to paint a mural for the local military. They explained it would be to honour the men who serve.
Shocked by the request, I said that it would be an honour to come to the military training base to paint a mural. I explained to the soldiers that our family lived next to the military training base just outside the city. We pray for the soldiers each day that God would bless and give them wisdom as they hold great power and responsibility in their hands.
I was amazed as we finished the street art on the concrete wall along the highway. Penguins holding a banner of Hope now emblazoned walls of the capital city. Furthermore, we gave a message of hope, prayers, and encouragement to the military’s Special Forces who protect the country.
Rewarded for Being Bold
Our family had moved to this Middle Eastern city to share the message of hope in Jesus to the community. After serving within the region for nine years, the country’s highest military-trained officers came to me and heard my voice because God compelled me to paint a message of hope boldly on the city walls.
‘Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall, she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech’, Proverbs 1:20–21 (NIV).
What is God calling you to do?
Julie ColemanJulie was appointed to the role of OM’s International Internal Communications Director in the epic month of March 2020. She and her family, lived in the Middle East and North Africa region for almost a decade, where they partnered with a local NGO to provide aid and ed- ucation for Syrian refugees and a Bedouin tribe.