I want to thank God for giving us, family and friends here such a wonderful person, my mother. I want to start with telling you how caring and she was to her children. She was always very loving to us and whenever we were sick, she would do her very best to wake up at night to feed us with food and medication and also prepared a wet cloth to cool my head and body. I remember that I was very sickly in the past and had to go to the doctor almost every week. I have never ever heard any complaints from her and she always comforted me when I told her that I did not want to be so sick or eat these medicine all the time. It was difficult for me then, but my mum understood that I needed support and was always there for me, skipping work if necessary to take care of me. Even when we grew older, she remained the same during, and it applied to both my brothers. I’m really touched by her never-ending love and care for us.

As a devout Christian, my mother knew no bounds in evangelizing. She always switched on Chinese gospel music every morning and she will pray and read the Bible with my father without fail. She truly believed that Jesus Christ is the way and we can only be saved through Him. Most of my friends remember her for her enthusiasm when she shares about Christ with them. I always had to tell my mum to stop because she took so long. But I really admire her tenacity to do it with so much passion and love. She wanted my friends to know Christ so that they can be saved. Her jovial nature is also really infectious. She is really cute and bubbly, and she always can link any conversation topic to God and Bible verses. Even when cancer struck her, she didn’t stop. She continued to share the gospel, even with strangers and with more fervor.

After an op last October, when she was staying in the hospital, she reached out to the person in the bed beside her and shared about Christ. This person’s daughter had been preaching to her mum for over 7 years, and my mum did not know but a few weeks later, the girl looked for my mum and wanted to thank her. Because my mum had had helped her mum accept Christ. Praise be to God. It was truly a heartwarming encounter for us as a family. She really was an amazing mother, a role model and blessing to us all.

For 3 and half years, my mother had been battling with cancer. My mum showed me the grit and perseverance no normal human being can have. It was with the blessings of God that she was able to withstand this ordeal for such a long time. There were times where there were hardships together, but I believe it made us stronger as a family. Even so, she was able to make jokes and create laughter around the dinner table. She had wanted to see all her children and wives to become Christian believers and we did. I am really happy to announce that our whole family including my sister-in-laws are all baptized. Without her determination to guide us, I don’t know how my brothers and I would have known the importance of having Christ in our lives.

During the last few months, she would always come to my room to talk to me. It was difficult for me to put myself in her shoes to understand her pain, so I tried to talk to her as much as possible. Even though her daily routine was almost the same in going to the doctor for checkups, staying at home watching TV, she still smiled while speaking and asked me not to worry too much. Though she is in pain, she would mask it so as not to worry us. But we know that she was enduring the pain within her. It was torturous and yet she still made sure to nag at us about our health, what we eat, little things that showed she cared for us.

As some of you may know, I took a flight back to Singapore on Tuesday night and reached the hospital at 6am. Though her eyes were closed at that time, she responded when I told her I was there by her side. Her heart beat and oxygen levels increased and I felt a twitch in her hand. I’m glad I made it in time. I think she was waiting for me, and I really want to thank God for making it possible for us to be together as one whole family at the last moment before she left peacefully.

Her conviction, love and cheerfulness will be remembered in our hearts forever. I will miss her dearly for all the times we had together, no matter happy or sad. Now that she is in a better place, we know that she is in peace. And I don’t think I have said this enough to her, “I love you Ma”.