“I am a Psalm,” I hear. It is apt.

We are at the launch of Yeo Whee Jim’s book of poems, Itinerary, in the Old Arts House. The capacious room in the historic building is packed with over 200 well wishers, and standing-room-only for latecomers.

Whee Jim, 50, in his wheelchair, can hardly be seen as he reads a bright poem recalling a childhood plucking ang moh dan (rambutans) at his grandmother’s home in Ang Sar Lee (Serangoon Gardens).

I am a son, a father and now an unlikely poet, he modestly describes himself to his audience of former colleagues, classmates from as far back as secondary school, friends old and acquaintances new.

He is also a Christian. And every mention of his faith, no matter how light, is poignant for one reason – Whee Jim is a striking Psalm in his frank grief, tragic loss and, most of all, his unshakable hope.

Growing up in Ang Sar Lee

Whee Jim’s CV is impressive: More than 20 years in the civil service including as Director of the Public Service Commission Secretariat in the Prime Minister’s Office and Institute Director of Governance and Policy at the Civil Service College.

His prowess in strategic planning, public policy issues and human resource development, among other skills, won him the Lien Ying Chow Fellowship 2019 for outstanding senior government officials.

This shining success was hard earned.

His father, the sole breadwinner, was a camera repairman; his mother a housewife.

Together with his brother and parents, young Whee Jim lived with his grandparents in Serangoon Gardens. Teochew aunts and cousins visited often to jiak png (eat rice) around a dining table steaming with assam fish curry and bak kut teh.

It was a modest but lively childhood with “lots of meals and big family gatherings”, recalls Whee Jim. His aunts would sneak money into his pockets and pile him with hand-me-down clothes because “on hindsight, they knew that we were not as well-to-do as the others”.

“There was love shown, not in words, but in food, care and concern,” he recalls.

Still, he was acutely aware that his family “had less than others”.

“Growing up, I was very clear that I didn’t want to be poor,” he tells Salt&Light. “There was no resentment. But I wanted to be able to afford things and adventures like my cousins.”

So he threw himself down the only Singaporean route he knew: Excelling in his studies in Raffles Institution, receiving a scholarship to study Mechanical Engineering in Osaka University, earning a Master’s in Business Administration from the BI Norwegian School of Management, and landing plum government jobs.

He admits his driving force was fear: “Fear of not being able to do well, fear of failing, fear of not being able to keep up. This fear led to competitiveness.”

With multiple material achievements in his back pocket, it seemed like he was in control of life, happiness, success.

Until he was not.

Faith and loss

While in Japan to pursue an undergraduate scholarship in Mechanical Engineering, Whee Jim met his future wife, Hui Lok Yan, in a Tokyo language school. Lok Yan was from Hong Kong and her reflective nature and adventurous spirit matched his own.

He was studying in Osaka University while she was in Tokyo University, and they bonded over the demands of university.

When they decided to get married eight years later, Lok Yan made the choice to relocate to Singapore, where Whee Jim’s career was thriving and where they could care for his ageing parents.

Whee Jim, Lok Yan and their daughter, Min, had six precious years together as a family before Lok Yan passed away from cancer.

It was Lok Yan, a Christian, who introduced Whee Jim to church. Enveloped by the warm church community and tutored by the pulpit, he began to comprehend the biblical foundation that gave his wife the stability and strength that described her character.

Together with their baby daughter, the young couple enjoyed a comfortable life with all the enthusiasm of young parenthood.

But in 2007 when their daughter turned one, the course of family life took an unexpected turn.

Lok Yan was still in her early 30s when she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.

Precious memories in Maldives.

“On days when she didn’t have chemo and was rested, she was pretty normal,” remembers Whee Jim.

“We had happy days as a small family unit. She wanted to go to Maldives; we went twice. We visited Hong Kong more regularly and spent time in Singapore just going out together as a family, raising our daughter.

“So at least we had those happy years together.”

Min was seven when Lok Yan passed away.

The diagnosis

As the young family sought to regain their footing, Whee Jim threw himself into work.

Retiring from civil service in 2020, he launched his own corporate training consultancy in 2021 in the midst of COVID. By late 2021, he had clinched a major deal with the Bhutanese government. The Omani and Vietnamese governments followed suit.

Father-daughter adventures when Whee Jim became a single parent.

“I found my niche and was having the time of my life,” says Whee Jim. “I could turn around tasks quickly – update my website, do the accounts, write the report, do the Powerpoint slides, and still have a life. My strengths were all developed in this role. It felt almost effortless.

“I was physically, emotionally and spiritually in a good place. My daughter was growing up and she looked like she was doing alright. We travelled together – when she was in Sec 1, we went to Kruger in South Africa and Botswana. Because she liked snowboarding, we went on a Japan ‘pilgrimage’ with her aunts.

“I went to the gym twice a day, did my swimming and walking, and still managed to serve in church in the children’s ministry and design the church newsletter. I remember thinking: Life feels close to perfect.”

Whee Jim (in sunglasses) working with the Bhutanese government.

But the euphoria would not last.

Towards the end of 2022, he experienced inexplicable muscle twitching and loss of control. Instead of building strength at the gym, he found himself handling less weight. In the pool, where he used to do 60 laps non-stop in under an hour, he could hardly make a lap.

When he was working in Oman, a microphone he was holding suddenly felt heavy. As he was taking food from the buffet table, he lost control of a bowl.

A medical check-up in January 2023 saw the polyclinic referring him to the National Neurological Institute, where he was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

“My life changed forever.”

When the earth tilted

Whee Jim remembers thinking: “No lah, cannot be lah.”

But more tests and a second opinion confirmed the results. The neurologist pegged his life expectancy at two to five years.

“I was devastated. I was also very angry with God,” remembers Whee Jim. “He gave me a Level 100 kind of challenge. Things appeared to be going well for me – my business was picking up, I was energetic, I felt great, spiritually I thought I was in a good place.

“It just showed later on how weak my faith was.”

Now, two years after his diagnosis, Whee Jim needs physical help to lift a cup, go to the toilet, bathe and get up from his wheelchair. In bed, he needs a non-invasive ventilator.

“It is easier to count the limited things that I can do,” he says wryly.

Where once he used to serve fancy refreshments in church – Japanese chicken curry on a biscuit garnished with parsley (as a student he’d worked part-time at a Tokyo bakery) – he is now unable to navigate the kitchen. Where once he trained high-level government officials, he is now unable to project his voice. Where once he was a Scripture reader in church, he can no longer hold a Bible nor flip its pages.

“It has been a humbling journey of reframing, rethinking and re-prioritising,” he says frankly.

Making every day count

But, unexpectedly, the illness has ushered Whee Jim into a new ministry of encouraging others.

In the past year, he has written multiple columns for The Straits Times and CNA raising awareness for ALS and reflecting on legacy and mortality. He has even published two books – Itinerary (a book of original poems to raise funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association Singapore) and Moving (a collection of his photographs and reflections to raise funds for The Business Times Budding Artists Fund).

Reading poems from his book, Itinerary, at the Singapore Poetry Festival 2024.

“God has been good. This has been a season of a lot of sharing and speaking engagements in churches, Alpha and CBD fellowship groups. Just last week my church asked me to share my thoughts about receiving pastoral care. I also managed to do a set of caregiver materials which I passed to my Assisi  Hospice counsellor, who said it was useful.

“I’m constantly amazed by how God has worked to make all these happen, the people he sends.

“I believe coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous. A friend used my photos of Singapore and through her own connections used it to raise $15,000 for vulnerable and needy families.

“Another friend said, ‘Why don’t you write a book of poems?’ I looked at him, ‘You seow ah? I can’t even grip a pen or type!’ But he encouraged me to write about my spirituality because he knew that that was important to me. He took my five loaves and two fish and made Itinerary what it is.

“At the same time, I also think this last phase of life shouldn’t be driven by accomplishments. That would be missing the whole point. I try not to think of these projects as accomplishments, but more as milestones.”

A keener clarity of legacy saw him destroying his certificates, plaques and letters of appointment – accomplishments he once chased – because “even when I was able-bodied I cannot remember the last time people asked me to show them my certificates. What did all these accomplishments amount to?”

Instead of chasing accomplishments, he now builds relationships.

“I used to think of myself as an extreme introvert. Now it’s conversations, meet-ups with old friends and new ones who have reached out, chats that I have – these are what still give me joy and make life meaningful. 

“Receiving has become the norm whereas in the past I was very paiseh. I’ve never been so vulnerable in my entire life. It’s very humbling. If I were to total up what people have done for me in the two years since my diagnosis, it’s unbelievable.”

Longtime close friends took Whee Jim to Bali in 2023 a few weeks before he needed to use a wheelchair.

Fellow brothers- and sisters-in-Christ who continue to journey with the family.

This includes neighbours who drive him to church, an ex-boss who spoon-fed him, long-time close friends who took him to Bali, and friends who visit regularly.

The giving goes both ways.

“One of the unexpected ways in which I’m giving back is allowing myself to be vulnerable. To talk about my own fears, my own failings, my struggles. I think that has created a space for friends who come and visit to come into that space and share their own brokenness.

“It’s an important process of healing, and of knowing that you’re not alone in your struggles. We are all broken and struggling in our own ways. Listening to each other brings comfort. I pray I’ll continue to facilitate bridges.” 

Praying for a miracle, trusting in God

“One of my former colleagues painted a calligraphy on Lamentations 3:21-22: His steadfast love never ceases, his mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning.

“I have it next to my bed and that’s the verse I wake up to. It’s also the verse my Christian medical social worker gave me – it is my spiritual manna, my daily portion.”

He admits: “It encourages but it also hits hard.

“I wake up and say, ‘Okay! I’m ready for my miraculous healing! Is this the day? No, it’s not the day.”

Neighbours who look out for Whee Jim and take him to church.

So how does this square with Lamentations 3:21-22?

“I do struggle, sometimes slipping into self-pity. So when I share, it’s not about painting a positive picture. There are all these struggles that I have, the whole gamut of emotions.

“But yet, every single morning, I’m blessed to have a caregiver who is very sensitive to my needs, and not only that, she’s very sensitive to my emotions. She encourages me with a bright smile. She comes in with a song. She goes, ‘Hello, boss, good morning, how are you?’ And then I think to myself, ‘Is this not Lamentations 3:21 to 23?’

“One of my church pastors from Ang Mo Kio Presbyterian Church, Lee Wen Cong, reminded me – especially in my earlier phase of diagnosis – to not make this disease, my trials and tribulations, about myself, but to move God into the centre of focus.

“One verse that really resonates with me and depicts my struggles is Hebrews 11:1: ‘Faith is confidence in what we hope for and the assurance in what we cannot see.'”

He underscores this in an interview with Impact magazine: “I’ve learnt the incredible power of choice: The choice to move ahead, the choice to trust God to sort things out for me, the choice to accept the gift of unmerited grace. I’ve learnt that when I choose to lean on God to support me, I can deal with anything in life.” 

The one important message

If there’s one thing Whee Jim hopes to convey in all his sharing, it’s this: Mai tu liao (don’t hesitate).

“We always think we have one more decade, one more year to write that book, seek closure in a frayed relationship, return to church.

“Until two years ago, I thought I had lots of time left – this can be for another day. 

“But this season has reminded me that things can change really quickly, and not everyone has the luxury of a tomorrow, next week, next month, five years down the road. I’m five years away from my CPF withdrawal age. But five years is very, very far for me, and I’m probably not going to reach that unless God decides otherwise.

“So if anyone is thinking, ‘Should I do this? Should I do that?’ Perhaps one could do with less thinking and more action, because you never know when your time is up.

“And if you’re wondering: Is God for real? Mai tu liao. Find out for yourself.”

Itinerary can be bought at https://bit.ly/43WlfIO and Kinokuniya at $30 (before GST). Nett proceeds from the sales will be donated to the Motor Neurone Disease Association Singapore.

Moving: Yeo Whee Jim’s Photographs and Reflections can be bought here at $88. Proceeds go towards The Business Times Budding Artists Fund.

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The post “Dying finally taught me about living”: Yeo Whee Jim was at the top of his game when life changed forever appeared first on Salt&Light.

She began getting flashbacks from the first nine years of her life. She would remember being caned while bathing, restrained in the darkness overnight, chased out of the house, and hit with a belt. 

Qi Qi around the age of one. The photo is among several childhood images she received after tracking down a member of the first family she lived with. They are the only photos she has of her growing up years.

Each time a memory surfaced, it threw her into an emotional tailspin of depression, grief, shame and regret. 

Qi Qi had told her husband about some of these traumatic events from her childhood during their dating days. But when these flashbacks came, she did not know how to tell him about them.

“I just asked for space to deal with them each time they came,” Qi Qi, now 35 and a primary school tutor, told Stories of Hope. She is married to Jeffrey Aw, now a pastor at Bethesda (Bedok-Tampines) Church.

“But it came to a point that I realised that it was affecting our marriage. As I did not want to talk about what was troubling me, we no longer communicated openly,” she said.

The suicidal thoughts that had plagued her during her teenage years also returned.

Looking for love in wrong places

When she was nine years old, Qi Qi was given away by the people she thought were her biological parents.

Life did not become easier.

Her new foster parents “had their own hurts and did not deal with me in a positive manner”.

Qi Qi when she was about age four.

The effects of feeling abandoned and rejected by both sets of caregivers affected Qi Qi’s school life. (Read her back story here.)

It also spilled over into her dating life, when she started looking for love in the wrong places.

The bullying that started in primary school got worse in secondary school when Qi Qi hung out with a girl who was “crude and used vulgarities”, and belonged to a gang.

Yearning to be “loved and accepted”, Qi Qi put up with the pressure from this girl to date a boy from the gang.

“He was actually quite a nice guy. But I just didn’t have any feelings for him.

“I wanted to fit into the social circle so I agreed to date him but throughout, I felt that it was wrong.”

When Qi Qi did well enough to get into the top class, a Christian classmate opened her eyes to what was happening.

“He told me, ‘You are a nice girl. Why do you put yourself in such a situation? You need to draw the line and step away from it’.”

“In a sudden fit of bravery, I broke up with the boy from the gang.

“The gangster girl was furious and dragged me to the canal behind school. She slapped me and said nasty stuff like, ‘No one will love you if you don’t want him’.

“She also turned my classmates against me.”

Later, Qi Qi got into another relationship for two years.

“Then I found out he was cheating on me by texting another girl. He turned violent when I wanted to break up with him … and the police were involved.”

When she finally broke free, she cried, thinking: “Everything is over. I have no family, no boyfriend. God, I’m tired, I’ve already come so far, how long more?”

Then she heard a voice say: “You want a new life? Come back to church.”

She believes it was the voice of God.

Qi Qi then told God: “I know You are real, but I need someone physical who can hold my hand and journey with me. I want to fall in love, I want a relationship.

“If I go back to church, would You give me a good guy who cares for me and who believes in Jesus?”

Laugh at first sight

On the very day that Qi Qi returned to church, she met an intriguing guy at a small group meeting. He was two years older than her.

It wasn’t love at first sight, claims Qi Qi, who was then 17.

“But every time he cracked a joke, I was the only girl laughing. The rest were immune to his jokes,” she said of Jeff, who was two years older.

Qi Qi when she was 17, and Jeff was 19.

Just as Qi Qi felt that Jeff was God’s answer to her prayer, the reverse was also true.

“I later found out that Jeff had asked God for a partner who lives near him — we lived a 10-minute walk apart — and would like him for who he is. And who would laugh at his jokes.”

Within a few weeks, he asked Qi Qi to be his girlfriend.

“I didn’t know whether to say ‘yes’,” Qi Qi admitted.

“But since I had made that agreement with God, I prayed, ‘If this is true, you wake me at 11.32pm’.” 

She then went to sleep that evening without setting the alarm clock.

“Jeff was grounded, humorous and brought me a lot of happiness,” said Qi Qi.

She woke up at exactly 11.32pm – two minutes after Jeff ended his shift as a part-time fast-food deliveryman.

“I called him to say ‘yes’. He wasn’t expecting me to reply so quickly!” she said.

They started dating. It happened so quickly that even their small group leaders at church were worried.

A year later, Jeff proposed to Qi Qi before he went to serve National Service (NS).

“It was very unromantic. We were driving in his dad’s car along Seletar. I was looking at the scenery when he said, ‘Would you marry me?’.

“I didn’t know he was proposing and said ‘Yes, of course!’ without even looking at him. Then I saw the ring, and I was shocked.”

The entire package

Qi Qi felt accepted and loved by Jeff’s parents.

Jeff and his family knew that she had a difficult childhood, but didn’t know the full extent and details of her pain.

“Jeff’s mum treated me like her own child.

“Every year, Jeff’s mum would cook eggs and noodles on my birthday,” said Qi Qi, pictured on her 18th birthday, with Jeff.

“She gave me an allowance when I went for exchange programmes, and paid for my medical bills when I was sick.

“I wanted to be part of his family. Not just Jeff as a person, but the entire package.”

“Jeff’s family helped me to know what family really is,” said Qi Qi, who was 22 when they tied the knot in 2010.

Qi Qi was overwhelmed by God’s provision. “I saw them as a gift from God. It was like He restored to me the family I didn’t have.

“I told God, ‘Wow, God, You provided me with a guy and a family.”

Sunday lifelines

But two years into their marriage, Qi Qi started getting flashbacks from her childhood.

“Each time one memory was unlocked, I would be in pain for a long time.

“Just when I thought I was better, another memory would surface. It would take months to process.

This ongoing cycle would last for 10 years.  

One Sunday morning, Qi Qi felt that she had exceeded her pain threshold “and could not bear it any longer”.

“Jeff was away at a work-related retreat, and I decided that I would go to church, say my goodbyes and then jump to my death.”

But to her surprise, people at church she hadn’t spoken much to hugged her and asked her how she was. None of them were aware of what she had been struggling with.

“God loves you a lot,” said one person.

“Hope you are good, see you next week,” said another.

Said Qi Qi. “I remember thinking that there wasn’t going to be a ‘next week’.” 

During the church service that day, Qi Qi broke down and cried out to God.

“I told God: ‘I know You love me. You sent people to tell me You love me.’ But there must be a way out.”

After the service, she felt a small voice inside her telling her to go to the front of the church to ask for prayer.

She obeyed.

The prayer seemed to help. She gave up her plans to kill herself that day. 

Qi Qi, Jeff and their elder daughter.

However, she would struggle to carry on even after their children were born.

Heart to heart

Over the years, Qi Qi realised she couldn’t keep “sweeping everything under carpet”, and told God: “God, You must do something for my marriage.”

After fasting for three days and praying, she felt God prompting her to plan a holiday with her husband.

As she did, things started falling into place. 

Out of the blue, her mother-in-law also called to offer to take care of the children if she and Jeff wanted to travel.

The Aws with their three daughters.

Furthermore, Jeff readily agreed to go, even though he didn’t enjoy travelling. 

She saw it as a confirmation that she had heard God correctly. 

“Even before the plane took off, we sat down at the airport and had a heart to heart talk for the first time. 

“Jeff urged me to open up to him, especially when I felt myself slipping into depression. He promised to support me through it,” she recalled.

Shortly after, they went for couples counselling. 

“It helped improve our communication. We also started to pray together regularly for each other and for our marriage.”

Jesus in the pit with her

Qi Qi also sought help from her pastors and mentors at church when the anxiety attacks and suicidal thoughts came.

Someone who was praying for her saw a vision of the restraints that had been part of Qi Qi’s abusive childhood.

“This person said, ‘I think God wants to give you closure.’

“I doubted these words, as the restraints had been a painful part of my childhood.

Qi Qi’s mentors prayed for her and they taught her to invite Jesus into each painful memory from her childhood. 

“I saw Jesus sitting with me in the dark room where I was restrained; He was hugging me, and crying with me.

“I also felt Jesus climb into the pit of darkness and despair to be with me.

“I felt His love and companionship, and His presence brought light into every dark situation.

“My feelings of loneliness and pain began to leave me.”

Her mentors also taught her to spot the signs that she was spiralling into depression, and how to call on Jesus to help her “overcome the spirits of rejection and death” each time it happened.

“I tell God, ‘I surrender to You. I know I am a child of God, I know I am loved, I am favoured by You’,” she said.

The episodes that used to take her months to recover from are now gone in a day.

Jeffrey too, is also able to support her through the flashbacks and talk her out of moments of depression. 

Each time the flashbacks happened, Qi Qi found that she needed to forgive the people who had inflicted the pain on her.

“As much as I asked God for healing, I also had to ask Him to help me forgive those who had hurt me.

“It was an ongoing process that helped to free me from pain and fear, and have closure,” she said. 

In 2024, Qi Qi felt she had healed sufficiently to share her story.

Today, she is able to say: “If my original family wants to find me and acknowledge me as their own, I’d really welcome that.

“I’d want to know how they are doing, and if they are healthy, and if they are happy.

“I don’t know what I will say to them. But perhaps I will just hug them. 

“I forgave them a long time ago.

“I really hope they’ll get to know God.”

How can any pain be good?

Qi Qi used to ask herself and God: “How can all the pain and hurt I’ve been through amount to any good?”

She initially struggled with the Bible verse Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Qi Qi, Jeff and their daughters, who are now 4, 8 and 11.

Looking back, she realises that the darkness she has been through has helped her to be “more sensitive to the emotional hurts and needs of a child” – and have meaningful conversations with their own children, students whom God has put into her life, or young people she meets at church.

More than once, she’s been able to discern that a student has been struggling with suicidal thoughts.

“Together with Jeff, we were able to speak with their parents to help them,” she said. 

“They are a gift from God,” says Qi Qi of Jeff’s family.

Qi Qi also realised: “If I had not gone through those darkest days, I would never know Who God is, I would never be able to understand what it means to be saved.

“I will use my story of how God saved me from the pit of hell, death and darkness to tell others about Him.”

A version of this story first appeared on Stories of Hope.

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As a result of hyperoxia – a condition caused by an oversupply of oxygen that narrows retinal blood vessels – she lost her sight at birth.

Her parents sought help, even travelling to Singapore in hopes of saving her vision, but doctors were unable to reverse the damage.

The challenges of blindness

Growing up blind in East Malaysia, where awareness and support for the disabled were limited, Ruth faced immense challenges.

“I attended a special needs school during my primary years, but it was far from pleasant. I was abused, even physically, by both teachers and classmates,” shared the 33-year-old.

At 14, she faced another terrifying ordeal. Home alone, she heard the sound of breaking glass and realised a thief had broken in.

Fearing for her safety, she bolted upstairs and locked herself in a room.

“I thank God for His protection and for giving me the presence of mind to call my neighbours, who came over. The intruder fled before taking anything,” she recalled.

These experiences fuelled Ruth’s resolve to become independent.

She excelled academically, earning a scholarship and graduating with a double major in Communications and Psychology from Monash University, Malaysia, in 2017.

Despite being the only blind student in her university, Ruth graduated with a degree in Communications and Psychology from Monash University Malaysia in 2017.

Since then, she has worked various jobs and is now pursuing a Master’s in English.

To those on the outside, Ruth’s life might seem like a picture of resilience and success. Yet, she still wrestles with deep questions.

“Just recently, I asked God again: ‘Why me? Why do I have to suffer so much while others take their ability to see for granted?'”

A lonely path

Ruth admitted that loneliness is one of her biggest struggles. “I don’t have many friends, but I’m sure that’s not unique to me,” she said.

Her disability makes socialising difficult, and even within the blind community, forming friendships has been challenging.

“While doing my Master’s, I often feel so alone in this journey. There aren’t many willing to help, and I’ve even received hurtful comments like, ‘You’re just not grateful, that’s why you’re not happy,'” she shared.

Living with blindness can be lonely. Ruth is grateful for online communities such as her connect group from a church in Kuala Lumpur, where she’s able to fellowship with other believers.

Those words cut deep, but Ruth brings her pain to God, finding comfort in His presence.

“I believe the Lord is my true friend. He will never leave or forsake me. People may fail us, but God never does. I can only do my best here on earth,” she said.

Strengthened in God’s presence

Ruth was raised in a Christian home but only came to know God personally at the age of 22.

“A friend introduced me to a pastor at a Baptist church and, through his guidance, I received the Holy Spirit and began praying in tongues,” she recalled.

Since then, her relationship with God has been marked by a simple, childlike faith.

“Scripture is full of promises that remind me I can rely on God throughout this journey. Not by my own strength, but His. To do that, I need to spend time with God daily and fellowship with other believers,” she explained.

Since her childhood, Ruth has expressed and felt God’s love for her through music, performing at recitals such as this one at the Kuching State Library.

In God’s presence, Ruth experiences deep peace.

These sacred moments also give her a different perspective, enabling her to focus on herself less and more on God. 

“In my down moments, I can cry out to Him. In His presence, my burdens are lifted,” she shared.

Spending time with God is non-negotiable for Ruth, as it is where she finds the strength to keep going and avoid sinking into despair.

Working three times harder than everyone else

After graduation, finding work proved more challenging than Ruth had anticipated.

She initially secured jobs in recruitment and telemarketing, but when the pandemic struck, her opportunities dwindled to nothing.

“For someone with a disability, it’s tough to find stable employment. I kept asking God for direction, but it was exhausting to keep applying and not see success,” she admitted.

It was not for a lack of effort. Ruth is no stranger to hard work – throughout her education, she has had to put in more time and effort than her peers.

At university, she was the only blind student on campus.

“As I can’t read, I use a software that reads digital books and notes to me. When writing assignments, the software reads my work back so I can make corrections. Everything takes a lot of time,” Ruth explained.

On top of that, not all reading materials or notes were available digitally. She relied on her mother and supportive friends who recorded themselves reading aloud or typed out lecture notes for her.

Born into a sighted family, Ruth honours her parents for their sacrifices. Her mother would read aloud textbooks and Scripture to her, and family holidays always included her.

Completing each assignment often took three times longer for her than for her classmates, and the workload frequently left her exhausted and discouraged.

Yet, despite the challenges, Ruth’s time at Monash University remains among her happiest memories.

“I thank God for where He placed me. I made friends who would take me around, and my housemates always looked out for me,” she said.

Her lecturers, too, went above and beyond to support her. In fact, one of those lecturers, a Christian who taught Ruth during her time at Monash, recently hired her as a research assistant, remembering her determination and work ethic.

Seeing beyond her blindness

Reflecting on her life, Ruth noted how many sighted people often take their vision for granted.

“So much of life requires sight, from picking up dropped items to watching YouTube videos,” she said, sharing just a few examples.

Yet, instead of harbouring bitterness or resentment, Ruth channels her energy toward blessing others.

“I’m comforted knowing this world is not my eternal home. I believe God wants to use my life here on earth to serve others and be a living testimony of His hope and salvation,” she shared.

In 2020, she began conducting online English lessons, as well as other subjects, for refugee children in Malaysia, recognising the importance of language skills.

Ruth believes that a strong foundation in English will open doors to better employment opportunities for her students, no matter where they are resettled.

Life has meaning even with disability

Ruth hopes to complete her Master’s degree and secure permanent employment to support herself. However, she has no intention of stopping her service to others.

“Today, I still teach English twice a week to refugee children from Myanmar. Knowing that I am blessing others, even with my disability, reminds me of my purpose in Christ,” she said.

Throughout the interview, Ruth frequently quoted from God’s Word.

One verse she returned to was John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

She challenges both able-bodied and disabled believers to share God’s love in whatever way they can, emphasising that doing so brings deeper meaning to life.

She said: “Life is hard, but don’t give up. Discover what you love doing – we all have strengths – and use that to bless others. The Lord is our ultimate source of comfort and peace.”

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Art and faith

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“I was slapped, pinched, yelled at and criticised harshly almost every day,” Brenda told Salt&Light. “It was either that or both my parents were working and absent.”

In primary school, she was bullied by older students. As she grew up, she modelled the same violent ways of coping and eventually became a bully herself.

“I used to think that I was beaten and bullied because I was unlikeable and disgusting, that something was fundamentally wrong with me for me to attract all these punishments,” said Brenda, who was diagnosed with depression when she was 15.

She was only awarded attention and appreciation when she scored well in school. Then her achievements were “paraded” to relatives.

“My experience was that I had no value apart from what I achieved. So, I viewed relationships as transactional and I thought love meant any arrangement that mutually benefitted one another,” said Brenda, now 32 and a communications manager.

Meeting Jesus in her room

The lack of affirmation and attention in her life led her to look for romance, and it did not matter to Brenda if it was a man or woman.  

“I grew up experiencing attraction to both sexes. I thought love and romance is possible with anyone as long as we mutually benefit,” she said, adding that she was once attracted to a blond woman even as she was in a relationship with a man.

Sexually awakened from a young age of six, she would engage in masturbation and later, pornography, finding both genders appealing. 

When Brenda was 10 years old, however, she had a dramatic encounter with God.

After a particularly difficult night of witnessing more violence in her home, a suicidal Brenda told God to kill her, if He was real.

“Instead, Jesus showed up smiling at me. For the first time, I felt incredibly loved and could not stop tearing,” said Brenda, who began following Jesus thereafter.

However, coming from a family of a different religion, she did not start going to church until she was 13. But being in church did not solve her problems either: “I was searching for God but found that the Gospel that was preached didn’t address my experience of suffering, so I left church at 15,” she said.

Brenda backslided and started “living according to the world”: Singing in bands, drinking and engaging in masturbation and pornography. She also started dating a man and they were sexually intimate.

When she was 18, she left for studies in the UK. She continued singing and drinking, and became attracted to a girl. But God had other plans for her.

“When I was 20, went to Africa for three months to volunteer with an education-focused organisation,” she told Salt&Light. “There, I was moved by the worship of God by the local people who had nothing and suffered greatly.”

During that volunteer trip, she also realised that her boyfriend back in Singapore did not really care for her.

When Brenda turned 21, she had an encounter with God. “He spoke loudly to me about how long do I want to continue down this path of brokenness, and waste my life with this man (my ex). So broke up with him and chose God, because I realised I was already very broken and had nothing else to lose.”

She returned to church shortly before she graduated in 2014. Then “I came back to Singapore to serve my bond as a government scholar, and I started worshipping at Covenant Evangelical Free Church,” she said.

Back in Singapore, Brenda continued her worldly pursuits, singing in a band after work, and drinking. But walking closely with the Lord, she heard Him say to leave the band. It was later that she found out the members of the band were satanic.

“God told me to sing for Him,” she said. “I tried auditioning for my church’s worship team in CEFC as a backup singer, but failed horribly. I sang off-key and couldn’t find the right pitch – which is very unusual for me.”

Realising it was not the right time, Brenda decided not to sing for a while, but to spend time consecrating herself by fasting from performance. It was only two years later, in 2016, that she felt prompted to audition again. She was accepted and been on worship teams since then.

Bit by bit, God delivered Brenda from her addictions. She stopped using porn in her mid-20s, and the Lord opened her eyes to her drinking issue.

One Christmas party, Brenda brought a pack of Tiger Radler (beer mixed with fruit juice). This drew a bad reaction from her cell group leader, who was struggling with alcoholism.

Brenda remembered: “That triggered a lot of open conversations, and I realised I had a problem and prayed for deliverance.

“One day at work, as I opened a small bottle to drink, the Lord told me: ‘I will answer your prayer and take away your compulsion to drink from now on.’

“It felt like chains falling off me.”

She started attending Full Gospel Business Fellowship, and “they heard my voice and asked me to lead worship for their events.”

It was at an FGB camp that Brenda met Joseph.

A vision of her future groom 

In 2016, Brenda, then 24, was scheduled to lead worship at a Christian discipleship camp.

The day before the camp started, she was told by the organisers that they were flying someone in from the United Kingdom to lead worship with her.

Joseph (in plaid shirt) was the worship director at Cardiff International Church in the UK.

That person turned out to be Joseph Loh, who was doing his degree in aircraft maintenance in Wales but had been flown in because the camp organiser felt his presence was important to the camp.

Brenda recalled: “When I first met him, I felt that he was a really good man who loves Jesus. He was so good with the guitar and vocals, to the point that I jokingly suggested to him to take all the worship leading sessions so that I can relax.”

Joseph and Brenda (behind) leading worship on another occasion.

During an evening prayer session on the first day, Brenda had a vision.

She saw herself walking up to the marriage altar, where a groom was waiting for her.

“I absolutely thought the groom was going to be Jesus because I felt that I had to remain single and celibate now that I was a follower of Christ,” said Brenda, adding that at that time she was interested in a girl she knew from university in the UK.

But in her vision, when she turned to look at the groom, she realised it was Joseph.

“At first, I thought perhaps it’s because I just saw him and led worship with him, so I told God I must be imagining things,” said Brenda.

Joseph leading worship with his musical talents.

Little did she know that Joseph himself had heard from God as well. On his flight from the UK to Singapore, the Lord had told him that he was going to meet his future wife.

“When I first met Brenda, I felt in my spirit that she had a beautiful heart. But I was also intimidated by her confidence, smartness and frankness,” said Joseph, now 40.

They seemed a highly unlikely match. The type of girls that he was interested in and had pursued up to that point were godly Christian girls with blue eyes and blond hair.

Sexually groomed during teenage years

When Joseph was 17, his best friend introduced him to a male tutor. All the teenager wanted from his tutor was friendship and access to his computer to play games, but the tutor offered him “more”.

“As he gave me money, presents and his laptop, I allowed him to touch me for many years. It went from touching me to touching my genitals and then masturbating together,” Joseph told Salt&Light candidly.

This sexual awakening led to a pornography addiction, which Joseph kept under wraps. He led a double life and continued going to church and serving God on Sunday.

His addiction was so strong, he carried his porn collection with him to the UK when he went there for studies.

There, Joseph suffered panic and anxiety attacks for a month. He also fell sick with a fever but could not get an appointment to see the doctor. Terrified, he cried out to all the gods and asked whoever was real to help him.

Just like He did for Brenda, Jesus stepped into the room where Joseph was, and peace filled the room.

Like Brenda, Joseph asked Jesus to kill him, but Jesus did not. Instead, Joseph found new life in the Lord and His word.

“I didn’t have time to go back to porn because I became engrossed in reading the Bible and in church,” he said.

Brenda did not know of Joseph’s past and she felt like brushing away the unusual vision she received. However, she lingered over it, feeling the Lord ask her to seek Him more about it.

“So, I prayed that if it is truly Joseph that He wants me to marry, He needs to show me some concrete signs,” said Brenda.

The discipleship camp where Joseph (second from left) and Brenda (at the back, in short hair) first met in 2016.

One of the signs that she asked was for God to wake her up for the morning walk with everyone the next day. She knew she was a heavy and late sleeper, and she did not bother setting the alarm.

“For the whole night, I dreamt of Jacob wrestling with God. I woke up tired, but without any help, at 5am. I thought I must have missed the walk as I naturally wake up around 9 or 10am,” said Brenda.

That day, she was the first to arrive for the walk.

Many other signs that she requested from God were also fulfilled in the years to come.

“I still wasn’t convinced it would work or how it could happen, because of where I was. So, I ignored the several, very clear signs that I was given,” said Brenda.

Though Joseph also felt that God was pointing Brenda out to him, he deliberately avoided her as she did not fit his “type” and seemed too intimidating.

After the camp, Joseph flew back to the UK and then returned to his home in Malaysia for a while.

Crossing paths again 

A year later, in 2017, Brenda received another vision from God. At the time, she had been worshipping at Covenant Evangelical Free Church for about three years.

In the vision, she saw a mental image of an auditorium that she had been to before while attending an event on Christian apologetics.

“I showed up there one day on Sunday and saw Joseph leading worship and found out it was a church,” said Brenda.

The church was called Embrace Church, an international congregation under City Missions Church. Brenda joined the church shortly after, knowing that God had led her there.

She served in Embrace Church’s worship team. Joseph was the worship director of the team. They slowly became friends in church, but theirs was not a smooth, easy relationship.

“We clashed a lot because I felt that Joseph wasn’t directional enough and that he communicated poorly, so I couldn’t get a sense of what he truly wanted or how God was leading him. When I went up to him to clarify things, he felt I was challenging his leadership,” said Brenda, whose assertiveness often rubbed the meek Joseph in the wrong way.

Brenda with her church friends and leaders at Joseph’s 33rd birthday party in 2017.

Meanwhile, Joseph persisted in desiring other girls that fit his own criteria better and prayed for many signs from God on which one to choose.

All the signs pointed to Brenda.

One sign Joseph asked of God was for his chosen spouse to be with him on top of a particular hill in Mongolia. He had felt called to Mongolia for missions and was struck by the incredible beauty of the landscape from the top of that hill.

Years ago while in Mongolia, Joseph talked to God about his desire for his future spouse to be on this mountain with him one day.

Eventually, Brenda did end up going on a group mission trip to Mongolia with Joseph but the itinerary did not involve going to that region of Mongolia – Marun.

“God changed all the plans of the trip as it was a national holiday in Mongolia, so the local pastor chose to bring us to Marun and we stopped at the very same hill,” said Joseph.

Brenda and Joseph with the hill in the background in Mongolia.

Joseph knew then, without a doubt, who God’s choice was for him. Though he admittedly was not attracted to Brenda at all, he decided to obey God because he had determined to let God decide who his spouse would be.

Just like Joseph, Brenda had asked God to choose for her, as the relationships she had pursued on her own previously never ended well.

Having the most “unromantic” talk about dating each other

In 2018, Joseph worked up the courage to talk to Brenda about his intention to date her.

He told her God had spoken clearly to him about her being God’s choice for him, and he asked what she thought. She replied that, similarly, God had spoken to her about him.

Then, a silence fell between them.

They knew they each came with a lot of baggage.

“I told Joseph honestly that I wasn’t attracted to him, that I even disliked him a lot because of how he treated me in the worship team – he would treat me worse than the others because he wanted to avoid me,” said Brenda.

Brenda and Joseph leading worship during a mission trip in Russia.

However, she also told him that she, like him, wanted to obey God.

“It was probably the most unromantic conversation ever. We both couldn’t deny our compatibility in terms of gifting and calling to missions, and our strengths and weaknesses. But physically, we just weren’t drawn to each other,” she added.

It was a short conversation as both of them had a prayer meeting to head to after, but both of them agreed to date each other henceforth out of obedience.

Most of their dates involved talking a lot, talking through their issues. Both of them like to eat and to be amidst nature, so those conversations took place either over meals or during  walks at the beach.

Joseph and Brenda in Siberia, Russia for missions.

“Dating without having attraction is actually incredibly freeing. We weren’t trying to impress each other at all, so we could be very honest with each other,” Brenda told Salt&Light.

Both of them brought to God what they felt would not work in the relationship.

“I told God that Brenda didn’t like children, but I love them and desire to have children after marriage. But all Jesus said was to trust Him,” said Joseph.

“We both doubted a lot along the way, but we also had enough faith by then to know that God always gives us the best,” said Brenda.

It helped that their pastor and ministry leaders had urged them for a long time to pray about coming together and were supportive of their union.

Thus, when Joseph proposed to Brenda on stage in church in February 2019, the whole church was in on the surprise.

Joseph proposed during a church service. They had made Brenda the emcee for the service and surprised her while she was giving the announcements.

They were married in October that same year, and went to the Maldives for their honeymoon thereafter.

Joseph and Brenda (with their pastor) at their wedding ceremony.

The couple on their honeymoon in the Maldives.

“Life after marriage was great as we quickly discovered that we had more in common than we thought we had. As we already had fought through so much before marriage and established a foundation of honest communication, we had that security we needed to fully express our love for other in terms of sexual intimacy,” said Brenda.

“I mean, when you have no attraction, you got to really work at it,” she said in good humour.

Love and redemption

Over time, though, physical attraction began to increase between them as they chose to love each other even in the midst of trials.

They also began to see how God knew each of them better than they knew themselves.

Brenda’s love for children only really showed itself after she had her first child, when she astounded Joseph with her patience and love for their children.

Daniela at one, in Brenda’s arms.

“I realised I was against having children because I felt I couldn’t be a good mother because of my upbringing – not because I didn’t love them. I love children so much I couldn’t bear to be a bad mother.

“God gave me the assurance I needed to have children and answered Joseph’s prayer for children,” Brenda said to Salt&Light.

The couple now have three children and the family now worships at 3:16 church.

“God’s ways are truly higher than ours; we couldn’t tell where God going with this relationship until later on,” she added.

“Compared to some other people we considered dating, this is truly the best outcome and we could not be more thankful.”

Life after marriage continued to be a rollercoaster ride for Joseph and Brenda as God continued to refine them individually, as a couple and as parents. They faced such conflict as parents that Brenda asked for a divorce. Read here for their unvarnished story on life post-marriage.

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Petite, polite and with twinkling eyes, the 83-year-old dug into a plate of chicken rice as she shared her story.

In the 1900s, her grandparents came to Malaysia from China in search of tin ore. They purchased a piece of land and settled in Taiping, Perak.

Over the years, they began to notice a series of strange, recurring events. Whenever her grandmother gave birth to a son, the infant would not survive. This happened several times.

In his desperation for a male heir, Linda’s grandfather travelled back to China to seek the counsel of a famous medium.

“My grandfather was told that the land he had bought was a cemetery. He had to cleanse the land, then build a temple on the grounds for a deity. Otherwise, every son he had would die,” she said.

Upon his return, her grandfather dug up all the human bones he could find and built a temple as instructed.

Soon, his wife became pregnant again. This time, the baby survived.

“That son was my father, and so our family grew up there. It was therefore only natural for my dad to take over the position as a temple medium,” Linda said.

Taking over the reins

For some reason, Linda’s parents sent her to a Methodist girls’ school.

She was intrigued by the Christian faith and, at 15 years old, wanted to give her life to Jesus.

However, her cousin threatened to tell her family if she ever said the Sinner’s Prayer. So she let the desire go.

The years went by. After school, she became a clerk in an insurance company and eventually a certified claims adjuster in Kuala Lumpur. She got married and had four children.

Linda with her husband, David, in 2011 – seven years before they encountered God.

Then one day, her aunt rang her up. The time had come: Linda had been selected to take over as the temple medium.

It was a position she would hold for more than 40 years.

Rising the ranks of the spirit world

“I had been dedicated to a deity as a teenager, but taking up the post meant I now had a very different kind of authority,” Linda said.

Her connection to the spirit world grew stronger. Devotees would consult her in soothsaying, seeking healing, exorcism or advice.

She would enter into trances and often had to spend many hours in deep meditation at night to re-energise herself after consultations throughout the day.

“My strength and unique area was finding lost girls. Desperate families would come to me and I would pray over the photograph, and they would soon be found,” she said.

Every year, Linda would lead a ceremony in which she would enter into a deep trance. In that state, the deity would “take over” and other mediums of lower ranks would bow to her.

It was power, but it came at a cost.

A praying daughter

After consultations, Linda would be physically and mentally exhausted. She also had to go through rigid cleansing rituals regularly.

“I always had to please my deity. If he was not happy, I would be in torment. I would not be able to sleep or eat, just suffering,” she said.

God, however, had not forgotten the desire she had had as a 15-year-old all those years ago.

One of Linda’s daughters, Ai Lin, became a Christian and started praying for her parents’ salvation.

Whenever Ai Lin tried to talk to Linda about Jesus, Linda would tell her gently: “You have your way, I have my way.”

Her daughter, however, persevered in prayer for 10 years – until a breakthrough came in 2018.

“You are ready”

On February 11, 2018, Linda and her husband, David, accompanied their daughter to church.

After service, they were having lunch with other church members when suddenly, one of them pointed a finger at David and said: “You are ready.”

Said Linda: “My husband somehow knew she was talking about accepting Jesus and without hesitation answered: ‘Yes.’

“Then Evelynn, one of the church leaders at the time, came over to me and told me that God loves me very much.”

Linda and David with their daughter, Ai Lin (in yellow), who prayed for their salvation for 25 years, and Evelynn Tan (left), their leader who is discipling them.

Evelynn also shared a vision she had of gold dust falling all over David, and a burning flame radiating around his heart.

He was astonished because two nights ago he had seen gold dust falling on him in a dream.

“After that, Evelynn quietly told me things I had kept in my heart about my son. She couldn’t have known that,” said Linda.

“So I started asking my deity to release me from bondage since I had served him loyally for 40 years.”

The battle for her soul

As Linda wrestled in the spirit realm, she became hysterical and entered into a trance.

In the physical world, she was screaming, writhing and thumping the table until teacups flew and cutlery clattered to the floor.

Meanwhile, Evelynn and other church members were deep in prayer for her.

“My deity was reluctant to free me but eventually nodded. Evelynn then saw a spiritual python resting on the back of my head. It slid to the floor and slithered out of the restaurant,” Linda said.

At that point, Linda fainted and slumped on the chairs.

When she regained consciousness, she realised that everyone in the restaurant, including the kitchen staff, had witnessed the entire episode.

“Nine restaurant staff members approached us to ask that they be saved. It was a beautiful scene as 11 of us (including my husband and I) gave our lives to Jesus that day,” Linda said.

None too far for God

After accepting Christ, Linda had to go through several deliverance sessions before being fully liberated from her past.

“For the first two to three days, I went through so much anxiety and confusion. I could feel my deity holding on to me. But I belonged to God now,” she said.

A week later, she was prayed over and began speaking in tongues.

“Today, David and I are so happy and peaceful. We finished 48 discipleship lessons. We’re in love with God’s Word and have no time to argue because we’re praying all the time! I also communicate only with the Holy Spirit,” she said with a grin.

No longer living at the behest of the deity she once served, Linda (left) enjoys teatime conversations about God with David (in blue), Evelynn (right) and her daughter, Ai Lin (in white).

Despite being in their 80s, their faces are youthful and radiant.

The couple share their story freely and often, ministering to others both inside and outside church through prayer and encouragement.

Linda even carries printed copies of her testimony to give away when the opportunity arises.

“They said it was impossible for us to be saved. Even I never thought it possible. But God did it.”

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Every nook and cranny was filled with plastic bags and random items that his single mother, who battled depression, refused to discard. 

The uninhabitable state of the flat Christopher grew up in.

His two sisters eventually moved out of the flat, leaving Christopher to care for and financially support his mother.

Being short on money, he worked in a hardware shop after secondary school hours. The then 14-year-old also joined a secret society to collect protection money from the brothels in Geylang.

Overwhelmed by the responsibilities of life, Christopher battled with anxiety and depression from a young age.

Young Christopher with his sister and mother

To fund his education, he signed on for the SAF-ITE sponsorship and served as a Commando for five years. He was attracted by its sizeable pay and allowance.

But he was still severely depressed.

“Once, I almost unhooked my parachute during a jump to try to end my life but backed out to avoid being downgraded and losing my allowances as a result,” said Christopher, now 27.

Christopher served as a Commando for five years.

When he left the army, Christopher started a minimart business in Aljunied. It had always been a childhood dream of his to run his own business.

Though he worked six days a week, 12 hours a day, his business still failed. Within two years, he had lost at least S$60,000 of his savings to the business.

Christopher (second from right) with some of his partners and part-timers in front of the minimart.

To cope with mounting debts, he worked at a second job at nightclubs and drank heavily – unaware that alcohol deepened his depression.

Christopher (first from left) with his drinking friends.

At home, his mother’s hoarding had reached a critical point. The flat was uninhabitable – Christopher was forced to sleep in the back of his minimart.

Christopher grew up living with a mother who was a hoarder. Eventually he moved out to sleep on the floor of his minimart.

His personal relationships also suffered. He became paranoid after one girlfriend cheated on him. Last year alone, he ended three relationships.

“I knew I needed help, but instead of seeking medical advice, I self-medicated with my mother’s depression medication, which only worsened my suicidal thoughts,” said Christopher.

He tried to hang himself under the expressway

In 2023, he attempted suicide seven times, including overdosing on pills, trying to drown himself and trying to hang himself in his minimart.

Fortunately, he did not succeed. Instead it landed him in hospital and the Institute of Mental Health.

“I grew up knowing God, because my mum brought me to church when I was young. But I stopped going to church during army days. Last year, I couldn’t feel God’s presence in my life. I felt that He had abandoned me because of all the problems I was facing,” Christopher told Salt&Light.

Last year, he wanted to drown himself in the Singapore River. In the nick of time, he remembered his good friend Joel, who is now a pastor at 3:16 Church. Pastor Joel prayed for him and invited him to church that Sunday.

Joel (left) taking a selfie with Christopher when they were much younger.

“The sermon topic that day happened to be on depression, and I felt God was speaking to me. I felt less alone,” said Christopher, who subsequently joined a cell group in the church.  

During that time, his doctor had increased his medication after he landed up in IMH for two weeks after another severe episode.

Despite the heightened dosage, Christopher continued to feel deep depths of despair.

The day after he attended a rock concert and listened to depressing lyrics, he was filled with such distress that he took a metal chain from his minimart and made his way to an expressway to hang himself.

He sent a farewell message to his close friends and family. To his two closest friends, he sent them a rough location of where he was.

“I was determined to die. But I thought if it’s God’s will for me to live, they would find me,” he told Salt&Light.

It was his way of testing God as he knew there was a very slim chance his friends would be able to find him since the expressway was 500m long and one needed to cross an overhead bridge to get from one end to another.

Additionally, one of the two friends he had messaged was not even in Singapore, but working on an oil tanker near Africa.

Under the expressway, it was pitch dark and all he could hear was cars zooming past.

Christopher hooked up the chain, wrapped it around his neck and lifted himself off the ground. It choked him so badly that he could hardly breathe.

Just then, his phone rang.

It was Nicholas, his friend on the oil tanker thousands of miles away. “Brother, don’t do this to me,” Nicholas begged. He had managed to get reception and called Christopher’s phone.

Hearing his friend’s plea, Christopher wavered. He was the one who had brought Nicholas to Christ during their secondary school days, and he did not want to stumble him by taking his own life.

Christopher (left) and Nicholas in their school days.

He was slowly losing consciousness, but he mustered his last ounce of strength to yank the chain off his neck. He cried out loud as his limp body dropped to the ground.

After some time, Christopher saw a light.

It was not Jesus.

It was the light emanating from the mobile phone of the other friend he had messaged: Nathanael, his cell group leader.

Despite not knowing his exact location under the expressway, the cell group leader had somehow managed to find his Christopher.

“I was about to give up the search,” Nathanael admitted. “But my Pastor Kevin (Zhang from 3:16 Church) encouraged me to pray, so I asked God: ‘You are the One who would leave the 99 for the one, so show me where the one is.'”

Immediately after his prayer, Nathanael was shocked to hear a cry in the dark and he found Christopher.

Christopher was sent to IMH.

The turnaround

At IMH, Christopher tried to hang himself again, this time using blankets. He also tried to climb up the false ceiling of his ward to get to the roof to jump.

His attempts were noticed and foiled.

His sister and church members gave him books to read and prayed for him during their visits. Christopher was also prescribed medication.

After two weeks, he became better.

“It was like I suddenly woke up, mentally. Everything became clear,” he told Salt&Light.

“But IMH felt very draining for me. In prison, at least one knows the length of one’s sentence. In IMH, there is no definite release date,” he explained.

To while away time, he gave some of the elderly patients massages.

During his fourth week there, a fellow patient asked him and a friend for help. One of the two lockers at his bed remained locked though the previous patient had already been discharged. This man wanted to use it to store his books.

Christopher’s friend Joseph toyed with the lock and randomly tried the number combination “677”.

To their surprise, the door of the locker opened.

In the locker was a black Bible.

Joseph took it out the Bible and flipped it open. Strangely, it opened to page 677.

To his amazement, Christopher noticed that Psalm 67 was printed on page 677.

“God must be speaking to me,” Christopher remarked, as he lifted the Bible and read the Psalm aloud.

The verses read: “May God be gracious to us and bless us…so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.”

The word “salvation” really spoke to Christopher.

“I realised that God was with us in IMH and that He wanted me to make His salvation known to the patients there,” said Christopher.

He continued reading aloud Psalm 68, which was on the facing page. When he got to the line about God being “a father to the fatherless”, Joseph interjected.

“I think God is speaking to me too. I lost my father to suicide as few years ago,” Joseph exclaimed. Joseph himself was admitted to IMH after a suicide attempt.

Christopher and Joseph fell to excitedly discussing the astounding way in which God had chosen to reveal Himself to both of them.

“What are the odds that the number combination of the lock, the Bible page in which he unintentionallly flipped to and the number of the Psalm on that page being the same? It was logically impossible. It had to be God,” said Christopher.

So, he made a bold proclamation: “For every day that the devil kept me in IMH, I vowed to bring one person to Christ.”

The next day, Christopher approached the other patient who had asked him for help to open the locker.

“He had witnessed all the miraculous things that happened with the locker and Bible. So, it was easy to bring him to faith,” Christopher said.

The second day, he noticed another patient who was “like a parrot” – he repeated whatever that he heard. That patient had not walked in three months and even had to pass motion on his bed.

“I thought since he kept repeating, why not get him to repeat the Sinner’s Prayer after me?” Christopher recalled. “So he did so, but of course, I doubted whether he was sincere in saying it or not.”

To his surprise, the following day, that patient miraculously got out of his bed and started walking on his own.

“He also took the Bible that we found and wanted to read it. He refused to give it back,” said Christopher.

Over the next two days, Christopher brought two other patients to faith, including a patient with severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder who would not look anyone in the eye.

Finally, Christopher was discharged.

In the four days after Christopher encountered God through the Bible from the locker, he succeeded in bringing four patients to Christ, even though he also received many rejections. 

In those four days, he also started a daily prayer meeting that grew from three to eight people. Making use of the long queue that formed daily to collect medication, Christopher gathered them to pray in one corner, and the prayer group would be the last in the queue, having prayed.

“Through this, I realised that God is not looking for ability but availability. Even at my lowest in IMH, God used me to bring the Gospel to patients there,” said Christopher.

God used his struggles for good

His battle with depression and admission to IMH helped him empathise with his mother better. It was also during his time in IMH that God showed him that he possesses the gifts of salvation and evangelism.

“What the devil meant for evil, God used it for good,” Christopher noted.

He recalled a particular dream he had while he was still suicidal in the early days of admission into IMH.

In the dream, he and three of his secondary school friends were trapped in an escape room owned by an evil landlord. They were left to kill each other, until a sole survivor emerged from the room.

Christopher thought it was just a nightmare. But the next day, a nurse informed him that he had three visitors waiting for him. They were the same three friends who featured in his dream the night before.

As the trio had arrived close to the end of visiting hours, the nurses had left the area and locked the door. Christopher realised that he and his friends were now locked up together in an area, just like in his dream.

But instead of battling, Christopher used the time to tell his friends about the dream he had as well as the supernatural encounters he experienced with the locker and Bible. He testified to them of the God who had revealed Himself to him.

“They were all not believers then,” he said. “Today, one of them is a Christian and another is attending a cell group. Instead of mutual destruction, we chose to bring life and freedom to each other.”

He added: “God is working. We just need to plant the seeds.”

Since his discharge from IMH last year, Christopher has been rebuilding his life. He sold off his minimart business, had his home cleaned up and moved back in with his mother.

He now works as a supervisor for retail chain Muji and has found new purpose in various forms of service to others.

Christopher works as a supervisor in Muji.

He evangelises to Myanmar migrant workers around City Hall on weekends and visits an orphanage in Batam every month, bringing gifts and sharing God’s love with the children.

Christopher visiting children at the Batam orphanage.

Christopher giving out Burmese tracts to Myanmese workers at City Hall.

Meanwhile, he continues to hear the good news of how some of the other IMH patients whom he once shared the Gospel with are now faithfully walking with God.

“For some of them, I did not manage to get them to say the Sinner’s Prayer with me or follow up with them thereafter on whether they are attending church.

“But I realised that all God wanted me to do in IMH was to plant the seeds in their hearts, and He watered the seeds and handled the rest.”

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She had been running three cafes in Melbourne when the country’s infamous bush fires and the global COVID pandemic put the nail in the coffin for her business.

After paying for her one-way ticket home, she had barely enough savings to tide her over for a week.  

Having had a string of four other failed businesses prior to that, the then 33-year-old thought her entrepreneurial dreams were over, and returned home to become a salaried worker.

Within three years, however, her fortunes dramatically transformed.

Gek Teng is now the chief executive of Surrey Hills Grocer Group, which runs five Australian-style café-cum-grocer outlets and three other restaurants. The company is on track to hitting $20 million in revenue this year, with a 500-strong staff team under her leadership.

“I have been an average person my whole life, but God can use anyone. Through my crazy journey, I have come to see more clearly the One who holds the pen of my story … I know who is writing my story,” Gek Teng, now 36, told Salt&Light.

Gek with her two dogs at Surrey Hills headquarters. Her love for pets has prompted her to make some of her outlets pet-friendly, with them curating special menus for those furry friends.

Not one who was academically inclined, Gek Teng did badly for her O Levels.

Scoring over 20 points in a competitive cohort year of dragon babies meant that she could not qualify for most courses at polytechnic.

On the advice of her Chinese teacher, Gek Teng went to private school SHATEC to get a diploma in tourism management. She did well and became one of the course’s top students.

When she graduated, her father had one last instruction for her.

“He told me that I can do anything I wanted in life as long as I get a university degree first. Only then would he feel that he had done his portion as a father,” said Gek Teng.

Gek Teng with her parents.

Uninterested in further studies but knowing that her father’s request was “non-negotiable”, Gek Teng simply searched for a university course that commenced the soonest.

“I wanted to get it over and done with so I didn’t care much about choosing properly,” she said.

She enrolled in PSB Academy, a partner of the University of Newcastle in Australia. The final year of her management and marketing degree had to be completed in Australia. She enjoyed campus life in Australia, and the country gave her the space and freedom to dream about her future.  

When she was done with getting a degree, however, Gek Teng succumbed to external expectations again when she returned back to Singapore. Many of her relatives are in banking, so she also went into the industry.

She joined Citibank International Personal Bank in 2012, handling mainly foreign clients. Though she was an “average” banker, she could pull in up to S$20,000 a month. It was enough for her to splurge on branded goods and invest in two apartments.

Waking up to the alarm clock instead of a purpose 

“But I realised that every day, it was the alarm clock that woke me up for work. I did not wake up to a sense of purpose,” she told Salt&Light.

So she sold off her luxury bags and watches, and used the money to start her own watch business: Daybook Watches.

She was only in her 20s when she made appointments with suppliers and travelled alone to Shenzhen to meet with them and visit their factories.

Her gutsy attitude also got her watches stocked at Tangs department store.

“I told them it was my first business and they just gave me a space at zero cost,” said Gek Teng, who designed the watches herself.

However, the business, along with a couple of side hustles, did not take off. It left her wondering if she was cut out for business.

Singapore felt like a place of failure for her. In 2017, she bought a one-way ticket to Melbourne to “escape” as she had peaceful memories of the place from her undergraduate days.

“I had romantic ideas that inspiration for my next steps would just hit me while I travelled around,” said Gek Teng.

Instead, what hit her was a healthy dose of reality. She knew she could no longer afford accommodation on a per day rate so she called a few agents and tried to rent a property for the longer term.

“Most property owners did not want to rent to me because if they did further checks, they would have found out that I didn’t even have a permanent visa to live in Australia,” she noted.

However, an agent called her out of the blue one day. The agent also only had one question for her: “Are you a Christian?”

Gek Teng said yes.

She believed in Jesus from the time she first ventured into RiverLife Church as a teen when her good friend had a crush on a boy who was from that church. 

Hearing her reply, the agent immediately asked her to go over to the unit to collect the keys and complete the paperwork.

“That door was open for me. I thought it could be a sign for me to stay on there and see what I could do in Australia. On hindsight, God was with me every step of the way even though I had drifted away from Him,” said Gek Teng.

The place she rented was in Chirnside Park, a suburb near Yarra Valley. It was near many farms and wineries.

The townhouse that Gek Teng rented.

The next morning after she collected the keys and woke up on a mattress in the empty house, she knew she had to get cracking so that she could pay rent. She then hit on the idea of selling protein bowls using fresh farm produce that was easily available in her vicinity.

Gek Teng with fresh produce from Australia’s farms.

Gek Teng with a farmer in Australia.

So she bought a printer and started printing posters and flyers, which featured a picture of the beef don bowl that she had cooked and photographed. She distributed the flyers around the estate and people started calling her to order the bowls.

“I was interested in cooking so I just taught myself by watching YouTube cooking videos,” said Gek Teng.

Surch (a blend of “surprise” and “lunch”) started as a one-man home delivery service, but the farm-to-table concept soon caught on. She later opened three outlets in shopping centres such as Forest Hill Chase and Greensborough Plaza in Melbourne.

Gek Teng at one of her Surch’s outlets.

Things seemed promising but Gek Teng also struggled to keep the business afloat.

It was during that time that she began to experience God more intimately, through her time at Hillsong Church in Melbourne.

“God seemed to speak to me through every sermon that I heard there. That strengthened me and prepared me for another week of challenges at my outlets,” said Gek Teng.

A Surch outlet in Melbourne.

One huge challenge was the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires in Victoria.

“The bush fires burnt most of the crops so the prices of the vegetables soared. My cashflow was really tight,” she said.

She could not pay her staff for three months, yet they stood by her and continued working.

When she told the suppliers to stop delivering fresh produce to her as she could not pay them, they simply told her to just pay them what she had for the day.

No more petty cash in the till 

“I was emptying tip boxes to pay the suppliers so that they would not walk away from the shop without any payment, so much so that on one day, I had no spare petty cash in the till for walk-in customers,” said Gek Teng.

Desperate, she prayed and asked God to help her – if that the day’s customers would all make electronic payments, she would not need to find spare change for them.

“It was near impossible because cash was still the main mode of payment back then. But God came through and everyone who came in that day used card payments only,” said Gek Teng.

“There were so many bigger problems in the world out there but this showed me how even the small things of our lives matter to our heavenly Father,” she added.

The business survived – but not for long. COVID dealt it a final, fatal blow.

In March 2021, Gek crammed all her belongings into one suitcase and returned to Singapore with just A$362 (S$320) in her pocket.  

As she stood waiting for her luggage at the conveyor belt at the airport, she talked to God.

“God, You say You always save the crushed and broken-hearted. Will You really save me?” she asked Him.

She had returned home with nothing to her name, only a string of failed businesses.

Grasping at straws, there and then at the conveyor belt, she decided to go to RiverLife Church’s website and fill up a form to be connected to someone there. She knew she needed all the spiritual support she could get.

In her mind, she also rehearsed countless times the explanation she would give her parents when she took the first step back into their home.  

When she stepped in, however, her parents did not probe about her business failure. Instead, her father handed her an envelope containing S$2,000, which helped her sleep better the next few days.

Gek Teng with her family members.

Conceding defeat to her entrepreneurial dreams, she decided to be a “normal” person again, as her parents often nagged her to be. She sent out 40 job applications, but did not land even one interview.

A friend got her a job in the family’s noodle manufacturing business, but her ideas were considered too “futuristic” for the company to adopt.

A pillar of truth to cling on to

At that time, Pastor Sarah from RiverLife Church – who reached out just hours after Gek Teng’s desperate enquiry – spoke life into her spirit.

“She told me that I am made for a purpose and that I have to trust that this purpose was already created when I was created in my mother’s womb. This truth formed a pillar in me that I clung on to,” said Gek Teng.

It gave her the courage to quit her job, despite knowing that she would be disappointing her parents once again.

She began to dream again, and toyed with the idea of building a business that made crepes.

Eager to start small, she saw a shop unit up for rent online and texted the person-in-charge of it.

“In the end, we spent just five minutes viewing the shop and the other 55 minutes I was telling him my business plan. We hit it off so well that after the meeting, I realised he was the person I needed to work with as his strengths covered my weaknesses,” said Gek Teng.

Through this divine appointment, Gek Teng serendipitously found a willing co-founder for her upcoming business. However, both of them were still unsure of the form it would take.

Gek Teng and her first co-founder, Aiden, at their deli along Battery Road which serves Melbourne-style sandwiches. He has since sold his shares to another shareholder.

While driving one day, Gek Teng had a “download” from God.

“The thought just came to me that God did not put me in Australia for no reason. I knew my upcoming business had to be Australia-centric,” she said.

Leveraging on her former contacts of farmers and suppliers in Australia, she hit on the idea of opening an Australia-centric grocery, with a small café linked to it that would show customers how they could use the fresh produce from the store in their cooking.

Gek Teng sourcing for fresh produce in Australia, such as black truffle, for Surrey Hills Grocer in Singapore.

Surrey Hills Fish Farm, located in Pasir Ris, where barramundi fish and mussels are grown to support their farm-to-table vision.

Gek Teng visiting Yarra Valley Dairy, a brand carried at Surrey Hills Grocer.

This was the biggest idea she has had among all her prior business ventures, and she needed the funding to put it off.

A family friend volunteered to put in S$400,000 without much persuasion as he trusted her.

But Gek Teng was burdened by the decision of whether or not to accept the money. If she failed, her parents warned her that they would not be able to help her to pay him back.  

A guiding vision 

As she brushed her teeth one morning, she had a vision.

Before her eyes, she saw two birds on the thin branch of a tree. One bird asked the other: “What if I fall?”

The other replied: “What if you don’t?” as he spread his wings and flew off.

“This vision came out of the blue. I knew it was God’s guidance. So, I went to collect the cheque from my family friend straightaway,” said Gek Teng.

That was the start of Surrey Hills Grocer, which opened at the D’Arena Country Club in Jurong in December 2021.

Surrey Hills’ first outlet in Jurong, which has since been replaced by its Woodleigh Mall outlet.

Cereal-crusted French toast, one of the brunch items on Surrey Hills cafe menu.

Surrey Hills prides itself on its farm-to-table concept, serving barramundi from its own farm.

Despite its obscure location (a few minutes away from Tuas checkpoint), the pet-friendly grocer-cum café broke even in six months. Its success led to the opening of more outlets in prime areas: Ion Orchard, Raffles City, Woodleigh Mall, One Holland Village and its latest and largest outlet so far – an over 6,000-sq-ft space at VivoCity.

Surrey Hills’ latest outlet at VivoCity.

Surrey Hills Ion has been pivotal to the group’s growth.

Gek Teng’s years of relationship building with farmers from Australia paid off when they trusted her to bring in their produce into Singapore.

The Surrey Hills Grocer Group also unveiled three new dining concepts – Japanese, Spanish and Taiwanese restaurants – at Raffles City this year.

Surrey Hills’ first new brand opening: Mensho Tokyo Ramen at Raffles City.

Spanish restaurant Movida in Melbourne, a brand which Surrey Hills brought to Singapore.

“Looking back, I was not the one who held this entire grand plan. God placed the right people along the way to guide me forward and point me to see things a certain way,” said Gek Teng, who worships at RiverLife Church.

Gek with Ps Sarah (in floral dress) and her husband, with other church friends at Surrey Hills’ first outlet in Jurong.

Knowing how it feels to start from humble beginnings, she makes it a point to use the Surrey Hills platform to collaborate with other small-time or home-based chefs so as to give them more support and exposure.

Gek Teng’s team at Surrey Hills Grocer celebrated her recent birthday by dressing up like her.

Her journey is far from over. She hit the lowest point in her life last year when she was faced with some business and legal troubles. Fortunately, no charges were filed.

“I was very troubled over what was happening because I was afraid it would affect my family or the people who were working for me,” said Gek Teng.

The ordeal drove her to God, and she learnt to trust Him to vindicate her.

Gek was baptised in Riverlife Church last year.

During that time, there was once she was at Sunday service in church when she kept hearing a prompting from God to “go to the Cross and kneel”.

The prompting was persistent during the one-hour sermon but she was equally persistent in refusing to go down. She was seated at the back row in the auditorium and feared what others would think should she make her way down in such a noticeable manner.

“Some of the church members know me as the CEO of Surrey Hills so I didn’t want to embarrass myself as some may wonder what crisis has happened in my life,” she admitted.

A staff gathering of Surrey Hills Group in October this year.

After the sermon ended, she again heard the same instruction from God. Before she could tarry any longer, she felt a nudge on her shoulder that turned her body towards the staircase that led to the Cross.

“No one pushed me. It was a supernatural force. As I made my way down the 50 steps to the stage, I felt lighter and lighter, as if all the burdens on my shoulders lifting. When I reached the Cross, I again felt a supernatural push and I automatically collapsed and knelt at the Cross,” said Gek Teng.

It was a humbling moment of surrender for her.

“I told God I am done with building things on my own strength. I give my life back to Him for Him to do his work in me.”

She felt like a child who had been messing around with the keys of a piano, making weird sounds.

“But when God, the master pianist, came, he didn’t stop me from playing. Instead, He stretched out His arm and played his notes in between my own playing. The result is a beautiful melody – because of His relentless pursuit of me.”

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He was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a genetic disorder in which muscles in the body are progressively lost over time. They include muscles in the limbs, heart and lungs. 

“I felt sad when I was told that I would one day not be able to walk,” said Nicholas, recalling how his mother broke the news to him when he was seven. He is now 21.

Nicholas, around age four, before he was diagnosed with DMD.

Symptoms of DMD can show up as early as the age of two. With improved care, more people with Duchenne are living into their early 30s and beyond. The disorder is estimated to affect one out of every 3,000 male children.

Growing up with DMD

Nicholas gradually lost his ability to walk and, eventually, to stand when he was 12. 

“At first I could still run, but very slowly because my muscles were very weak. My running speed was other people’s jogging speed,” Nicholas recalled.

As the condition progressed, Nicholas noticed his muscle strength deteriorating.

“When I walk, I’d fall,” he explained.  

When he started Primary Three, Nicholas needed a wheelchair to move around school.

He remembered feeling bored every Physical Education (PE) lesson as he would sit in a corner and watch his classmates play sports. When curious friends asked why he could not participate, Nicholas remained silent, not knowing how to explain his condition.

However, the gradual degeneration gave him time to accept his loss.

“I felt less sad after I got used to it.” 

In Primary Three, Nicholas also discovered his passion and talent for drawing. It was during an art class when his teacher complimented his drawing. 

Nicholas proudly shows off a sketch he made in his favourite style – doodle art.

It gave him the confidence that he could do something well in spite of his physical limitations. 

Home away from home 

When he was eight, Nicholas, together with his sister, was placed in a children’s home due to the lack of suitable caregivers.

Nicholas and his sister with their grandmother and aunt, both now deceased, who were their main caregivers.

Not knowing how to cope with his anger and sadness, Nicholas was frequently in tears.

Yet amid the series of painful events, Nicholas experienced safety and stability at the children’s home. 

Through chapel services there, Nicholas learnt about Jesus. 

Subsequently, a few friends from the home invited him to join their weekly Bible study group and services at their church. 

There, he learnt to pray – a habit that helps him cope whenever he feels sad or angry. The group was also a safe space for him to share about his struggles.

Nicholas developed a close relationship with one of the caregivers at the home. When his money was stolen by so-called friends in secondary school, Nicholas confided in this caregiver who sought justice for him. 

More bad news

Nicholas was 15 when he discovered a lump on his body while showering. 

It grew larger in the following weeks, and Nicholas’ caregiver took him for a medical examination. 

Nicholas underwent surgery to remove the lump.

Afterwards, doctors broke the bad news that he had cancer. It was unrelated to DMD. 

He underwent chemotherapy in the hospital, and could not attend school. During this period, he was placed on home study. 

Nicholas with friends who visited him in the hospital while he was undergoing chemotherapy.

He also had difficulty sleeping as he often felt uncomfortable and anxious throughout his treatment – until one momentous encounter. 

“One day at the hospital, I saw a sun (bright light) in the room. 

“Even though the room was usually cold, I felt warm. I also felt peaceful and comfortable.

“After that, I could finally sleep well without discomfort,” he said.

Nicholas believes he had a personal encounter with God. He also believes that God was the One who healed him of cancer through the one-year treatment.

Round-the-clock care

When Nicholas was 18, the muscles in his heart and lungs had weakened to the point that he needed round-the-clock medical attention.

He was transferred to Singapore Christian Home (SCH), the only home in Singapore that provides round-the-clock care of children and young persons with chronic medical conditions.

Nicholas was 20 when he had a near-death experience.

“It was very scary. I tried to breathe but I felt there wasn’t enough oxygen,” he recalled. 

In his semi-conscious state, he vaguely registered being rushed to hospital where he was given an oxygen mask and an injection. 

“At that time I didn’t think much of the pain even though I am usually scared of needles,” he said, recalling his struggle to survive.

Nicholas was resuscitated in the nick of time.

This close call prompted Nicholas to consider the matter of death more seriously. 

Having spoken to other sufferers of muscular dystrophy, Nicholas is well aware that his disorder would eventually progress to a terminal stage.

When asked how he feels about having to face the inevitable, Nicholas paused thoughtfully before answering: “I’m more afraid of the process of dying – becoming bed-bound.

“I have seen other patients at this stage. They are unable to move and require help for all their daily activities.” 

Nicholas’ admits he fears being trapped in a paralysed body while fully conscious. 

Focusing on what he can control

Instead of dwelling on his worries, Nicholas is learning to focus on what he can control. This includes tasks and activities like drawing and playing games that he enjoys.

As for what he is unable to control, Nicholas commits it all to God. He prays, usually before bedtime, for God to sustain his health and to heal him from DMD. 

Nicholas admits that he sometimes doubts whether God will answer his prayer for physical healing. 

He also finds himself going to God with many “whys” concerning his circumstances: “Why do some people suffer more on this side of earth but everyone gets the same treatment after death? Do those who suffer more on earth get a greater reward in heaven?”

But amid these questions, Nicholas acknowledges that God has caused him to grow through his pain.

“I have learnt to cope with my emotions and become a braver person,” he said.

Even if he does not receive physical healing here on earth, Nicholas finds comfort in knowing that one day he will have a new body in heaven.

“Jesus said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’,” said Nicholas, reading from John 14:6,  a Bible verse that gives him hope. 

His personal experience with God during his teens helped him to have faith, and an answered prayer strengthened his trust in God.

He said: “My loved one used to be addicted to drugs. During their second time in prison, I prayed to God to help them to stop taking drugs. God answered my prayer.”  

Nicholas’ loved one has been drug-free ever since.

A new community

Nicholas did not have the opportunity to return to church after moving to Singapore Christian Home. But he heard that Tung Ling Bible School – located a stone’s throw away from the home – holds morning chapel sessions during term time.

He received special permission to attend. 

On Monday mornings, Nicholas makes his way to Tung Ling on his motorised wheelchair, with minimal assistance from SCH staff.

He enjoys the worship and the warm interaction with the students and faculty there. 

Moses Lim, an SCH staff member who interacts frequently with Nicholas, said: “Nicholas used to be very reserved and would not talk to anyone. 

“He has become a lot more open and jovial since going to Tung Ling, which is like going to church for him.

Nicholas celebrated his 21st birthday earlier this year with friends from Tung Ling. Photo by Moses Lim.

“Going to Tung Ling has also given Nicholas – who has lived in a home for 13 years – an opportunity to make friends with peers in the wider community. He enjoys being part of conversations with other adults,” said Moses, who is head of community engagement and development at SCH. 

Nicholas with young friends at Tung Ling. Photo by Moses Lim.

During his free time, Nicholas reads the Bible guided by Moses and volunteers.

He is encouraged by Bible verses that remind him that he needs God. 

He treasures John 15:5,“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Gifted to give

Since learning about Nicholas’ passion for drawing, SCH has been brainstorming ways to help Nicholas turn his artwork into merchandise for sale.

During a conversation Moses had with a volunteer who is passionate about helping Nicholas, a similar topic surfaced. 

“This was a confirmation of the SCH care team’s idea for a collaborative project. The conversation gave us the final push,” he related.

“We hope that this project will give Nicholas a sense of dignity and financial independence, as he transits into adulthood,” said Moses, who is spearheading the project.

It is SCH’s first attempt raising funds through the sale of merchandise: 30% of the proceeds will go to Nicholas to help pay his bills at the home and to support his family. 

Since March 2024, Nicholas has been working on an illustration for the first product which is set to be launched in the first quarter of 2025. He is now halfway to completing it.

Nicholas draws using his tablet which enables him to sketch with less effort. It was one of the first things he bought with his own money on his 21st birthday and is a symbol of his independence.

“I kept getting sick and have not been able to finish the work,” said Nicholas, who attended a three-month graphic design course in early 2024, and now goes for practice sessions at an adult learning institution.

However, as DMD progresses, Nicholas is gradually losing muscle strength in his hands and feels easily tired when he draws. 

When asked how he copes, Nicholas replied calmly: “I slowly take my time.”

He takes a break every 15 minutes. 

“Sometimes I just continue even though I am tired. It is one of the few things I like to do,” he said, adding that he hopes to make the most out of each moment while he is still able to do what he likes. 

He is unfazed by his pace, steadily returning to drawing whenever he feels better, motivated by his passion for art and his desire to make a positive contribution to the home. 

Nicholas, working on his project with SCH. He uses traditional paper and pencil to draw as he is still learning to master the technique of sketching with the tablet.

Empowered by this opportunity to contribute, Nicholas hopes that his work can encourage others with disabilities to discover their gifts and potential to give. 

Nicholas, 21, is the oldest person in his ward. He teaches the younger ones to play Nintendo switch games. Photo courtesy of Singapore Christian Home.

“Don’t focus on something you cannot do, but do something you can do,” Nicholas said, quoting Nick Vujicic, the Australian-American motivational speaker and evangelist who grew up without arms and legs.

A version of this story first appeared on Stories of Hope.

About Singapore Christian Home

Singapore Christian Home (SCH) is a 240-bed nursing home that has been serving chronically ill patients from all races, religions and social economic status since 1960. Known for accepting difficult and challenging cases that are generally refused by other institutions, SCH is also the only nursing home in Singapore with a dedicated ward for medically-fragile children and young persons. 

Click here if you would like to find out more, donate or volunteer with SCH.

Or give here towards the care of Nicholas and other SCH residents with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Singapore Christian Home is an Institution of a Public Character (IPC). All qualifying donations (above $20) are eligible for a 250% tax deduction.

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He was an officer in the Air Force and a sergeant under him had failed to hook up a missile launcher properly.

As a result, the launcher unhooked itself while being transported downhill and suffered surface damage.

“It was a big issue because the equipment was expensive and it was also a safety issue. So, I was about to be charged – going to detention barracks was a real possibility,” said Kyle, now 32.

Kyle in uniform during his army days.

Then a 19-year-old, the prospect of going to prison and having a permanent mark on his record scared him greatly. He went sobbing to his mentor and asked for advice on what to do.

His mentor urged him to trust God and tell the truth of what had happened. The army boys had told a half-truth – that they had done a visual check but not a manual check – when in reality, no checks had been carried out. 

Resolving to tell the truth, Kyle went to tell his sergeant, who was driving the launcher, what he intended to do. His sergeant pleaded with him not to reveal the truth as he was afraid the incident would make his father – a high-ranking officer in the army – look bad.

Tested and found wanting 

“I desired to honour God and trust Him for mercy and intervention, yet I also had very mortal fears. My sergeant’s pleas gave me another reason not to come clean,” he admitted.

In the end, they chose not to volunteer the full truth.

“Despite our wrong decision, God still showed up with mercy and gave me favour with the master sergeant who knew me and knew this was just one momentary lapse,” said Kyle, who subsequently repented of his wrongdoing. 

He was not charged eventually but given extra duties in camp.

Kyle (left) being commissioned as an officer during his army days.

As a young Christian then, this episode showed him that one will only know if he truly trusts God when one is put to the test.

He would go on to experience test after test till his trust in God was refined.

Experiencing guilt and shame from a breakup 

In 2013, when Kyle went to Durham University in the United Kingdom to study law in 2013, he also began a long-distance relationship with a Singaporean girl.

“I was immature and projected many of my insecurities on her. I was a monster and unconsciously made her feel like she was not good enough,” he told Salt&Light.

Wracked with guilt over how he was treating her, he broke up with her a year later.

Kyle (second row, second from left) at a law faculty ball.

“Despite the break-up, the guilt kept me from feeling that I deserved any grace or forgiveness. I was very hard on myself,” said Kyle, who suffered constant self-condemnation.

“To cope with all of this, I drank a lot. I found that I could only sleep if I drank.

“(Then) I started to sleep around and stopped going to school. I lost all will to lead a proper life,” he said.

“I loved God and believed in Him, but my life was still led by the flesh. I placed my own guilt above His grace, out of pride,” he added.

Kyle during his partying days in university.

Failing key modules in law school  

He failed two core law modules – criminal and land law – during his second year of undergraduate studies, and had to retake them to be promoted to the next year. Had he failed one more module, he would have been kicked out of school.

That year, while back in Singapore for his term break, he tried to study for the retest.  

“I just kept reading the same line of my notes over and over again. I realised I couldn’t process what I was reading,” said Kyle.

As he struggled with studying in his living room, a strange yet persistent thought instructed him to “call IMH” (the Institute of Mental Health).

He heeded the prompting and called IMH, and after seeing a doctor, was diagnosed with depression.

“It was God’s grace and mercy that I got an official mental health diagnosis. Though I failed the first retest, the school allowed me to take a gap year to rest and recover before taking the two exams again due to my illness,” said Kyle.

During that gap year, Kyle began to heal mentally and spiritually. God provided him with authentic Christian community and role models in the form of a loving housemate and a church called Bethshan.  

Kyle with some friends at Bethshan church in the UK.

It was also during this time that Kyle volunteered at a school for special needs children and juvenile delinquents.

“I fell in love with teaching and journeying with young and lost people,” he said.

One of the youth that Kyle taught at the special needs school.

However, it was still difficult for him to study as he was still depressed. He could read and reread the same paragraph for a whole 20 minutes.

Thus, when he retook his exams at the end of the gap year in May 2016, Kyle knew he might pass his criminal law exam, but not the land law exam.

When he came back home after the exam, he sank into a heap on the floor.

“You have given me so many chances. I am retaking this for the third time with a full year to prepare for it. It is already so much grace, yet I still squander it,” Kyle told God.

Coming Home to God 

He felt like the prodigal son who did not know how to go back and live with the Father. He had hit rock bottom.

At that moment, a song began playing on his Spotify radio. It was “Come Out Of Hiding” by Steffany Gretzinger.

Written in first person as if God Himself was speaking, the lyrics spoke deeply to Kyle: “Come out of hiding, you’re safe here with me… ’cause I loved you before you knew it was love.”

“It ministered to me because I realised it is not about my understanding of grace and love. It is His love and how He wants to interact with me. I told Him I cannot do this myself,” he said.

In that moment of utter surrender, Kyle promised God: “Where You go, I go. Where You stay, I stay.”

Fortunately, he had one final chance – the fourth time ­– to retake the land law exam as students could retake their final exam once per summer for each academic year.

However, the adventurer in him (not knowing that he would fail his exam again) had already applied to work as a counsellor in a US summer camp that summer break. There was no time nor space for him to study there as he was overseeing children there.

The US Summer camp –called Camp Chen-A-Wanda– that Kyle volunteered with.

“Obviously, I wasn’t going to pass the land law exam for the fourth time,” said Kyle.

Kyle, who was a counsellor to these young adults at a US summer camp

At the end of the summer break, he was due to fly back to the UK from JFK airport in the US to take the exam.

But he did not make the flight.

A terrorist attack at the JFK airport 

He heard what sounded like gunshots. It was believed that an active shooter was on the loose at the JFK airport at that moment in time.

Kyle and other passengers were told to lie flat on the floor as the SWAT team moved in to tackle the terrorist threat. Needless to say, all flights were grounded.

JFK airport after all the passengers were evacuated post terrorist attack

Kyle had official documentation from the authorities to state why he had to miss the flight and by extension, his upcoming exam.

“You can’t make this stuff up,” he told Salt&Light.

“At this point, the school just decided to move me up to continue my third year without needing to take that exam.”

By the time he was in his third year, he was mentally strong enough to focus. Against all odds, he graduated with Second Class (Upper) Honours.

“I don’t know how that happened. I just surrendered to God and there was a miraculous unlocking of my brain,” said Kyle.

“It reaffirmed to me that God is really in control. There was nothing I could do to plan such a sequence of events. It was unmerited grace that got me to where I was and I knew that He is a God I can trust.”

Still, Kyle knew that going into law after graduating was not the path for him.

Having felt purpose and passion in his previous teaching role at the special needs school, Kyle planned to remain in the UK after graduation and continue teaching and walking with the vulnerable youths there.

Alas, those plans were not in line with God’s plans for him.

Kyle (pictured with his parents) graduated with Second (Upper) Class honours in law, despite failing core modules multiple times.

A few months before he graduated in the May of 2017, he went for a church retreat.

On the first day after the sermon was preached, the church members were given some quiet time on their own to respond to God.

As he sat in the silence and prayed, Kyle received an open vision. He saw himself walking with Jesus along some cliffs. When Jesus jumped into the water, he followed. The deeper they swam, the darker the ocean appeared to be.

“In real life, I was feeling actual palpitations because I was fearful,” said Kyle.

Because of the fear, Kyle stopped swimming. Jesus also stopped.

“Jesus told me: ‘I can show you where you will end up or where you need to go, but that is not what you need to know. All you need to know is to follow me,’” recounted Kyle.

Jesus then snapped His finger and the ocean lit up and became clear. After that, Jesus snapped His finger again and they continued in darkness. When they reached the bottom of the ocean, Jesus stepped across a threshold. Kyle followed suit, somehow knowing that the place he had stepped into was Singapore. He felt peace when the vision ended. 

Kyle hanging out with some friends at the church retreat where he received visions from God.

When he came back to reality, Kyle wondered whether he had just been daydreaming.

“What I saw just didn’t make sense. God led me to the UK and I had a beautiful church and a beautiful job there. I didn’t want to come back to Singapore. I assumed that what I saw must be from the devil,” he said.

A day later, after another sermon, Kyle received another open vision.

This time, he saw himself on the stage of Grace Methodist Church (GMC). He knew it was GMC because he had been there once before and recognised the distinctive glass Cross that stood three storeys high.

In the vision, God told him two things, said Kyle.

“’I want you to lead worship in a way you have not known before. I want you to bring hunger.’”

“When I asked him what did both statements mean, I began to understand. I had only led worship in the form of music, and God wanted another type of worship.

“He also revealed to me my underlying fear of why I did not want to come back to Singapore,” said Kyle.

“I had a church community in the UK that was really hungry for God, like the church in the book of Acts. I didn’t want to lose that as I remembered what a number of Singapore churches were like – outcome- and event-driven instead of people-focused,” he added.

Bethshan church members having some outdoor time during their church retreat.

After receiving the second vision, he could not deny any longer that God was calling him to return to Singapore and to go to GMC.

“I could not logic this second vision away because there was no way I would think about GMC. I had only been there once before and it is under the Chinese Annual Conference umbrella (Mandarin-speaking Methodist churches), while I scored C6 for my O level Chinese exam,” said Kyle.

By then, he had experienced enough of God’s grace and love to desire to obey Him completely, just as he had promised.

“It was a hard decision to make. But I made the right decision to honour God, unlike making the wrong decision back in my army days,” said Kyle.

Returning home to Singapore and its Church 

In December 2017, Kyle returned to Singapore. His flight landed on a Saturday, and he made his way to Grace Methodist Church the next day.

When he stepped into the church and saw the glass Cross, he knew he was where he was meant to be.

The glass Cross at Grace Methodist Church

Kyle told Salt&Light: “I realised that my whole time in the UK was just meant to bring me to the end of myself and to bring me back to Himself.”

He assumed that he was just meant to serve in GMC, so he subsequently went to work in two different roles in the education sector, which were in line with the teaching passion he discovered while he was in the UK.

In 2019, God opened the door for him to consider an internship at GMC, and the possibility of full-time ministry thereafter.

“I never thought of doing full-time ministry when I was so young and early in my career. I was tempted by other job possibilities in education and law, which paid so much more,” Kyle admitted.

Yet the timing of the open door and a significant prompting from God eventually led him to take up the six-month internship and enter full-time ministry after that.

Kyle hanging out with the youths as part of his ministry work.

Fortunately for Kyle, who has a much stronger command of English than Mandarin, GMC is an outlier among the Chinese Annual Conference churches and its services are in English.  

In 2019, Kyle began serving full-time in Grace Methodist Church, taking up various responsibilities such the Young Adults ministry and Alpha programme.

Kyle serving and having fun with the teens during youth camp.

Kyle preaching at Grace Methodist Church.

Challenges abounded in the next four years of his ministry, which coincided with COVID.

“There were times of disappointment when I also questioned my calling. I felt my ministry didn’t really grow,” he admitted Kyle.

His pastors, however, saw otherwise and encouraged him to go for further theological studies, with a view to become a pastor.

In late 2022, God gave Kyle the confirmation that he needed to start his next season of studying for his Masters in Divinity at Trinity Theological College, as part of preparation for pastorship.

Kyle (bottom right) with fellow classmates during the orientation programme at Trinity Theological College.

Once he is ordained, he knows full well that it is highly likely that he would be posted to any of the Mandarin-speaking churches under the Methodist network of Chinese Annual Conference churches. Thus, on top of his heavy workload now, he is also taking weekly Chinese tuition.

“Many of the decisions or paths in my life don’t make logical human sense. I may not know what’s happening but my prior years of experience with God leads me to the point where I choose to surrender and trust God, and follow Him,” said Kyle.

“This is not the life I had dreamed of or planned for, but it is a beautiful, abundant life. Our choices matter, as they interact with the will and providence of God.

“God really has a plan for each of our lives.”

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Little did Tay Wei Lien, then in Secondary Four, realise that this new car would kickstart his passion for singing for Christ, a passion that has lasted well into his 70s (and counting).

One day, Wei Lien accompanied his father to the car showroom to service the Opel, and got to talking to the car salesman.

The car salesman recruited Wei Lien (pictured) into the 7.30am Dawnbreakers choir in 1964.

The salesman turned out to be the lead tenor at Dawnbreakers. (Fun fact: Dawnbreakers was the choir heard singing the National Anthem that played at the start and end of television transmission when television was introduced to Singapore in the early 1960s.)

Wei Lien’s father was Dr Tay Teck Eng, a pioneer in dental education. Dr Tay was 92 when he passed away in 2006.

Shortly after that conversation, the young Wei Lien found himself waking up at the crack of dawn on Sunday to make it for choir practice half an hour before the 7.30am service at Wesley Methodist Church.

Now, more than 60 years later, he continues to do the same.

Said Wei Lien: “I don’t know why he invited me to join the choir. Maybe from talking to me, he heard the resonance in my voice and thought, ‘This fellow probably can sing’.

“But I suspect it was because the choir was short of men, especially tenors,” he quipped. Wei Lien’s whose only musical experience prior to that was playing the piano as a “horrible student – lazy to practise”.

“But at Dawnbreakers, I discovered my knack and love for singing,” he said, thanking God for gifted conductors who developed his talent and skill. 

Nearly sidetracked

When Wei Lien was in Pre-University, his vocals were noticed by another group, a religious order.

“They discovered, ‘Eh, this fellow can sing. He will be a good temple chanter.’”

The brother of his then-girlfriend (subsequently wife) Tan Poh Imm, had introduced him to the group.

Wei Lien and Poh Imm, with their grandchildren, daughters and son-in-law. Poh Imm and Wei Lien were neighbours and pre-university schoolmates; he gave her a ride to Anglo-Chinese School every day.

“The chanter needs to hold the right tone for the right amount of time, at the right volume – and then transcend to the next tone – in order to ‘get the right connection with the spirit you are trying to connect with.’

“It was quite a complicated series of ‘ooms’ and ‘ahhs’,” Wei Lien related.

Then, he did not see the spiritual danger.

“I thought it was just a religious practice. It didn’t occur to me that I was calling down some spirit.

“I also did not see the danger in the out-of-body experiences.”

While Wei Lien was most grateful that Christ had died on the cross for him, he was drawn to a key tenet of that religious order: That all paths led to God – and each way had its particular spiritual beliefs.

“It was all very fascinating stuff to me,” said Wei Lien, who would have probably have pursued it further had God not intervened to sever his connection with the religious order, physically and spiritually.

Touched by God in Australia

Wei Lien was a cadet quantity surveyor, when his employer posted him to their Australian office in the early 1970s to gain working experience while concurrently studying at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).

It changed the course of his life.

In Melbourne, Wei Lien accompanied a colleague to an evangelistic meeting at the CrossCulture Church of Christ on Swanston Street. There, his “heart was strangely moved” in a sweep of the Holy Spirit that Singapore also experienced around the same time in 1972.

“When the preacher made the call to come forward, I remained seated as I was too shy. Then the preacher said something strange: That shyness is just pride turned upside down.”

It struck a chord within Wei Lien, who had earlier been “profoundly moved by the scene of Jesus hanging on the cross” in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

“I found myself getting up and going forward, weeping buckets in gratitude for what the Lord had done for me on the Cross.

“Later back in my apartment room, I felt such a sense of peace flowing over me. It was literally the peace that passes all understanding.

“It was so meaningful to be touched by God, especially with the song ‘Amazing Grace’ that happened to be playing on a neighbour’s radio.

“That night was the first time I could truly say ‘I am a Christian’,” he said.

Hungry to learn more about the faith, Wei Lien dug deeper into the Bible and listened to teachings by preachers such as Derek Prince. But he was still troubled by his personal view that all paths lead to God.

Then early one morning during his quiet time with the Lord, Wei Lien asked Him about this.

“I opened my Bible and it landed on Acts 4:12: ‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.’

“I know people say you shouldn’t just open the Bible to get a verse like a lottery. But this was too much of a coincidence for me. God had answered my prayer immediately.”

The road to Spirit-led worship

Wei Lien started looking to worship with groups that moved in the Spirit.

On his return to Singapore in 1974, he returned to Wesley where he met other like-minded members. 

“It was the time of the movement of the Holy Spirit among Singapore churches, especially among the lay people.”

The fire of God had started in his alma mater, Anglo-Chinese School in 1972, in what was known as the ACS Clock Tower Revival.

One of those filled with the Spirit – Melvin Huang, not yet a Reverend – became a close friend and co-worker after Wei Lien joined the church as a staff member.

“As interest in the Charismatic Movement increased, Melvin and I felt that there needed to be an expression of prayer and praise at Wesley, in addition to the traditional service. 

“Decisions like introducing a new service needed the pastor’s permission. If the pastor was not for it, we quietly went underground and prayed for him,” said Wei Lien.

At that time, Pastor-in-Charge Rev Dr Tony Chi was handing over the reins to Rev Dr Isaac Lim, who later launched the Prayer & Praise Service at Wesley in 1985. 

The Prayer and Praise service at Wesley Hall circa 1980s.

Subsequently, the pastors “had their own discovery of the power of the reality of the Spirit of God”.

“It was more God’s movement on the pastors’ hearts than anything that we did. But we hope that our prayers also moved God to move them,” said Wei Lien, who was the first Prayer and Praise (P&P) worship leader at Wesley, and built up a team of such leaders.

Unlike the traditional service that followed a more prescribed order of songs and service, P&P was contemporary in approach and choice of music, with opportunities to worship in tongues as and when led by the Spirit.

“However, with P&P, there is the danger that the physical (the lights, drama or excitable worship leader) rather than the spiritual (the presence of the Lord) becomes the focus.

“My constant prayer was that I would be hidden behind the Cross. So that people will not see me as the worship leader, but they would see Christ on the Cross instead.”

From Dawnbreaker to doorkeeper

Wei Lien joined Wesley full-time in 1986 as Church Project Coordinator to look after all the back-end logistics and free up the pastor for the work of shepherding and nurturing.

He preferred the term “doorkeeper”.

“I was convinced that God had called me to be His doorkeeper,” he said, referencing Psalm 82:10.

Wei Lien’s responsibilities were diverse. He applied his professional expertise as a qualified quantity surveyor (QS) to supervise renovations to the sanctuary.

The ceilings at Wesley were painted red (“to remind us of the covering of the blood of Christ”) when Wei Lien was the in-house quantity surveyor during works to expand the original sanctuary in the late 1970s,

“I was also the consultant-on-loan to other churches and Christian organisations, providing QS services pro-bono.

“Church facilities and maintenance were also included in my portfolio, as well as being the church bus driver.”

Working full-time at church meant that Wei Lien had to leave Dawnbreakers as he could no longer attend choir practices.

Working at the Wesley church office.

“I was the first person in church and the last one out every day. The first duty of each day was to get the different areas in church ready for each activity, ensuring the chairs, the sound, the OHP (overhead projector) screen, the water flasks and cups were in place.

“Every Sunday, I manned the soundboard. And with my knowledge of music and choir anthems, hopefully I made our choirs sound good,” said Wei Lien.

Not only was he involved in the day-to-day logistics of the church, he also orchestrated the development of musical talent at Wesley.

“God probably saw that I was a reasonably skilled coordinator. I can persuade people to do things, such as get the ‘real’ guitar players like Gordon Wong and Leslie Quahe to teach members to play the instrument, raising a generation of worship leaders who could play at cell level,” said Wei Lien.

He also organised the evangelistic musical Victory Meetings with the help of an army of “enthusiastic volunteers who were on fire for God”.

Wei Lien’s younger daughter Evangelin painted her father worshipping God on his guitar in the mornings on the hotel room balcony whenever the family went to Malaysia.

To train worship leaders and the music team to enhance worship at the Prayer and Praise service, Wesley worked with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) to conduct the inaugural School of Music Ministries workshops in Singapore.

Wei Lien coordinated all that was necessary to bring in Grammy-nominated American song-writing and writer team, Jimmy and Carol Owens and their band of musicians (including a soundman) whom they believed could train up Asian teams. The workshop was held at Wesley, but was open to members of all churches.

After serving a decade with Wesley, Wei Lien left in 1993 to work full-time at another church for a year before returning to the private sector as a quantity surveyor. 

Coming full circle

After being a church worker, Wei Lien returned as a “pew sitter, a Sunday worshipper”.

He served as a soloist singer, where he was rostered to sing during collection at Prayer and Praise only once in two months.

Wei Lien also once played the taiko drums for the Rhythm and Praise ministry which features percussion and stringed instruments. “These days, I only use my voice and play a shaker,” he said.

“At that time, I saw no pressing need to rejoin Dawnbreakers, especially since we now attended a later service. I didn’t think we would be able to make it on time for the 7.30am service,” he said.

But God had His way with Wei Lien when COVID struck.

“COVID was one of God’s ways of making you change,” he said.

“Stuck at home, I saw that the choir was singing on Zoom. I found out that we could record our parts at home at any hour of the day. We would submit it, and someone would piece it together. They would technically improve the sound to make us sound good,” he said. 

These days, Wei Lien finds comfort in talking to God as he puts in his 10,000 steps a day.

And so Wei Lien rejoined Dawnbreakers – 10 years after he had left the choir. 

Since then, Dawnbreakers – including Wei Lien – have been back to singing in-person. (His wife Poh Imm, who joined the choir as a soprano after they got married also came back to Dawnbreakers during this time.)

“Now I have to wake up at 5.30am on Sundays or we will be late for service,” Wei Lien revealed.

“You could say I have come full circle back to my ‘first love’: Singing in the choir where I started when I first came to Wesley.”

Extracted and adapted with permission from Our Stories, His Glory 2, by Wesley Methodist Church. Read the full-story here.

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The post How a visit to a car showroom led a teenager to sing for the Lord for the next 60 years appeared first on Salt&Light.