It was a very hot summer afternoon in Austria when Mother accidentally locked tiny Tamia in the car in the parking lot of a supermarket.

Mother hadn’t gone to the supermarket planning to lock her 18-month-old daughter in the car. She had gone with an important mission: to fill the refrigerator with food. Her shopping list included bread, milk, and many delicious vegetables and fruits.

After shopping, Tamia sat in the cart beside the car as Mother packed the car trunk with the groceries. Then, Mother returned the cart to the supermarket, picked up Tamia, and carried her to the car. Opening the rear door, she placed Tamia in her child seat. She needed both hands to fasten Tamia’s seatbelt, so she threw the car keys into the front seat.

When she did, it’s possible she accidentally pressed the car-lock button on the keys. Or perhaps the button was pushed when the keys landed. Nobody knows. But when Mother closed the rear door and tried to open the front one, she discovered all the car doors were locked. She couldn’t open the front door. She couldn’t open the rear door. Even the trunk was locked. 

Then, Mother remembered her purse with her cell phone and money was in the trunk. Everything was locked in the car: her phone, her money, and, most importantly, her little Tamia.

Mother ran back inside the supermarket. She knew only one phone number by heart: Tamia’s grandmother’s. She asked a supermarket worker whether she could borrow her phone.

The worker handed over her cell phone, and Mother called Grandmother. Frantically, she explained the situation and asked her to call Father. Maybe he was nearby and could come help. But Grandmother soon learned that Father was very far away.

Still, Father wanted to help, so he called a roadside assistance service. But the roadside service said it would take more than an hour for anyone to arrive.

Mother was devastated. It was a very hot summer afternoon, and tiny Tamia was turning red inside the car. Tamia didn’t understand why it was so hot and why Mother wasn’t in the car with her. She was bawling loudly. 

Mother prayed. 

“Dear God,” she said. “Nobody is here to help me. Only You can help. I really need Your help now.”

Opening her eyes, she saw a yellow car pulling into the parking lot. Roadside assistance cars are often yellow. Some people even call the drivers “yellow angels” because of their yellow cars.

Mother was so surprised. Could it be a yellow angel? She looked more closely. It was! It was a car belonging to the roadside service.

Mother ran to the yellow car, crying, “I need urgent help! My little girl is locked in the car!”

A man jumped out of the yellow car. He grabbed some equipment from his trunk and rushed over. In just a few moments, he had unlocked the car and freed Tamia.

Tamia was so happy to see Mother. Mother was so happy to see Tamia.

Then the man told Mother, “I just stopped here to grab a sandwich. I was on my way to help someone else.” 

The man thought that the only reason he had stopped at the supermarket was to eat a sandwich. But Mother knew better. She knew that God had sent him there to rescue Tamia.

Mother smiled at the man. 

“You really are a yellow angel today,” she said.

Thank you for your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering, also known as the Quarterly Mission Project Offering, that will help children in Europe learn about the God who answers prayer. Mother now teaches children about the importance of prayer at Bogenhofen, a Seventh-day Adventist school that received part of a previous offering. Thank you for planning a generous offering this quarter.