Testimony

Name: Edward Ling

Year Graduate: 2003

Current Occupation: Business Development Executive AND Political Secretary to Hannah Yeoh, State Assemblyman of Subang Jaya, Selangor

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The main challenges faced when moving on from “student” environment, especially relating to your faith journey.

• I have been a Christian my whole life.
• However, since I was a high school student, I was a rather “angry/rebellious” person due to the systematic oppression in the Malaysian education system.
• My university days in Australia were definitely a confirmation of my thoughts that “the grass is greener on the other side.”
• However, although the urge to remain in Australia was very strong, I knew God had called me back to my homeland of Malaysia. This is in line with OCF’s purpose “Reach out, build up, send back”.
• Being very idealistic, I faced difficulties ‘synchronising’ the Christian faith with the real world, especially in my working life. I fell into depression as my vision was shrouded by worldly wrongs, such as corruption and unethical behaviour that was rampantly practised at work. The selfish pursuit of wealth seems to supersede love, truth, compassion and the ability to want to help others. It seems to me that the good and Godly people are sidelined, whilst the evil and wicked prosper.

Explain how God has been faithful over the years, you may give specific examples.

• God has always provided for me, and I lack nothing.
• In my initial years of depression after returning from abroad, God told me that I needed to move from a “complainer” to a “change agent”. From within, with God’s help, I channelled my frustration and anger into passion. I moved from inaction to action. One of the areas which I felt God calling me into is the area of politics. I decided to join a political party in 2006 as I wanted to be like Joseph of the Bible, used as the salt and light to increase His influence in the world.
• At that time, I rallied for other Christians to join me in the fight where “righteousness would exalt our nation”. Hannah Yeoh was one of the friends who took up this challenge.
• In 2008, God opened the door for her to run for office in the state assembly of Selangor (Subang Jaya seat). I agreed to be her campaign manager.
• During the campaign, our message was clear; we wanted to “preach” righteousness and Godly principles into all areas of society, especially governance.
• We had no money to run the campaign, or any idea how to win the seat, but God has His plans. His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts higher than any other thoughts.
• We have read of how God multiplied the 2 loaves and 5 fishes in the Bible, but we experienced that provision when we saw how God multiplied RM700 to more than RM100,000 to run our campaign and now our office.
• By the grace and power of God, we defeated the Goliath of today with a 2/3 majority in a seat where it has not been won by the ‘opposition’ before.
• Today, we continue to share the testimony of how God uses the weak to show that He is strong.
• I continue to work in the ministry of politics, touching lives through the administration and governance of an assemblyman’s office as the political secretary.

Share one particular breakthrough in life so far that you believe will encourage young students’ faith when returning home/going into missions/going into work environment/going into the “world”.

• I would like to encourage all of the OCFers who have no problems reaching out and building up but have problems going back to their home countries. I believe that it was in God’s plan that I was born a Malaysian. I believe that it is in God’s plan for each of you to be born where you were born. It was a very difficult decision for me to return home, and stay home. But God does not make mistakes. He positions us in strategic places for us to do mighty things for His glory.
• Someone once told me that if you have a passion for the poor, start looking for them from where you come from. If you have a passion for the sick, start looking for them from where you are placed. If you have a passion for the illiterate, start looking for them where the need is greater. If you have a passion for people to hear about Christ, why not start with the ones closest to you?
• I started looking deep down into my heart and searched myself. I knew that if I had stayed in Australia, it would have been for a higher quality of life. I knew that if I had stayed back, it would almost entirely be for selfish reasons as I knew that there were greater needs back at home.
• It was a tough decision, as I knew that coming home would be less comfortable, and there will be many obstacles ahead. But looking back at what God has done through me so far, I trust that it was the right decision. God will provide for our every need. We need to trust, obey, persevere and set our eyes on God as we fight the good fight.
• I sometimes still struggle with the “want” for a “better life” overseas, but I see each day as an opportunity for the purpose of God to unfold in my life, and to make a difference back home, here in Malaysia.

Edward Ling
Melbourne, Australia (2003)

2 Things in Common

My turn.

My turn to come 'home'. And, my turn to write.

...

Believe it or not, the decision was voluntary.

And believe it or not, it was matched with the usuals of uncles and aunties telling me what an unwise decision to make at this very point in time.

...

I will blame this great tragedy on FES. No, really.

It was the words of a certain few very wise people that urged us students to return to smaller towns to serve, and not just crowd in bigger cities after we graduate. The usual picture is that there is a missing generation - the elderly remaining cuz that's all they've known all their lives, and the little kids that, well really, don't have much of a choice.

The missing link - young adults.

Well, that was vaguely what those wise people said anyway. You get the gist of it.

Being a true-breed KL-ite, there wasn't a 'hometown' for me to go back to as such. But I remembered the analogy. Or rather, it latched onto me and wouldn't let me go!!

...

The other reason came from a mission trip we had to C-land.

The time where I learnt the importance of presenting the gospel in a culturally relevant manner and in the heart language of the recepient.

And that is exactly the advantage I have being a Malaysian. And that advantage came from? Being a true-blue Kebangsaan school student. Speaking the language, knowing the culture - mission school training before I even knew it.

Now, see? We may have picked up lousy studying skills (but make it through uni anyway!) through the SRK/SMK system, but we picked up other skills that are so crucial and precious.

...

So, I bought a one-way ticket home after 3 years of studying.

Didn't I want to stay on for work experience? Of course I did. Anything to prolong the wonderful moments of Australia.

But I figured, learning and gaining experience is a lifelong process anyway. Besides, knowing and understanding how things work here IS an experience in itself. And when I see the need to learn more in order to fill in the leakages of the system, I can always go back to studying.

...

It's been 9 months.

8 months of which I spent being in utter despair at my decision, and trying to come to terms with it without having to bomb anything to pieces.

What have I done to change this place? Nothing much, really.

...

Tonight, I was amongst 10,000 people in a stadium. Praying.

It was the Global Day of Prayer. Malaysia was one of the 216 nations that participated.

As I looked around the stadium, I saw that we had 2 things in common.

1. We know who our God is. And who the God if this nation is. Most of all, we know His heart for the people and this nation as a whole.
   
   
2. We all knew the words and tune to 'Negaraku'. A song we once sung proudly in our navy blue school uniform with our brothers from another race.
   
   

I can't describe the feeling of singing my national anthem with 9,999 other people who still have hope simmering deep within our hearts for this place we call 'home'.

It was the most breathtaking moment of the night.

...

I am more than blessed to see on stage - leaders of the Malaysian church being excited about the things to come, spurring us to continue looking to the One who wants change more than we do.

I am so proud to say that I have great examples ahead whom I can respect and follow! People who have eaten more salt than I have rice, and more french beans than I have french fries - but are still rooted firmly in this place.

And we sung whole-heartedly to Mr Tomlin's "God of this City" ala Malaysiana.

Greater things have yet to come,
Greater things are still to be done in Malaysia.. (..aa..aaaaaa..),
Greater things have yet to come,
Greater things are still to be done here.

...

And tonight is the night that I found 9,999 other people who have kept a teeny bit of hope alive for this place.

I don't feel so alone anymore.

...

Esther Goh
Adelaide, Australia (2006-2009).

That’s how I decided to come home. Or something like that. Mostly.

I’ve always wondered if it is indeed the most natural thing to do, ya’know, studying in Australia and getting a PR and settling down. Seems like a rite of passage of sorts, for almost everyone I know who got the same experience as I. Of the many nationalities represented in Oz’s international student population, that idea seemed to some extent, very prevalent among Malaysians. Come to think of it, it’s like a culture even.

Malaysian reasoning behind that definitely holds water. Yes, cause and effect. Voting with your feet. Compared in relative terms there are definitely more reasons to stay than not. Great country, great weather, fresh seafood, the prevailing rule of law (mostly) and a decent shot at life despite being born overseas. The satisfaction of one’s thymos! One would indeed be weird in not wanting to live in one of the most livable cities in the world –Sydney- a place I called home for a good four years.

Being at the cusp of full fledged adulthood, the whole thing of “what are you going to do with your life” was a reoccurring theme in conversations amongst my peers and immediate circle of friends. We’d recognized that at school, we’d live from exam to exam. From vacation to vacation. From party to party. But in ___ years time, those markers won’t be there anymore. After graduation, the restraints come off and your life runs off into a big empty field and among us, we’d all shoot off into different directions.

In second year uni after I came across this whole thing about ‘backwards induction’ somewhere in a class I sort of liked. Something about reasoning backwards- from the end of a problem, and determining a sequence of optimal actions to solve that problem most effectively. I guess you could say at that point, i identified “your(my) future” as the problem.

So that’s when I thought about it. The “end” would be my deathbed. What would I want to be able to think and be proud of at that moment before I depart the world? Alex the G said, empty handed into this world I came and empty handed out of this world I go. Undoubtedly, he was a very very rich man at the time, and even today, obscene wealth is very desirable. But I figured, wealth couldn’t be the end because that would leave any means to it justifiable. Wealth had to be the by-product of another purpose, if indeed it was wealth that anyone would seek, right? (Indeed I was young at the time.)

I remembered Mother Teresa. I remembered, in an interview, when the interviewer lamented upon her wrinkled hands and worn out body and that she answered that she was thankful for her body, as a tool, had allowed her to carry out all the great works that she had accomplished. That she knew that because her body was worn out, it was well used, and she could go, knowing she had done her best.

And so it was. I would give going back a shot. To do something about the perverse trend that made it ok to condemn a society without doing anything about it. I resolved to do something I could be proud off at my deathbed, for myself but more importantly for the lives that I could possibly impact in a positive way (like I said, I was young). I knew what was wrong with society. Indeed, all of us do, and so, we work to improve on it. For me, the first step was to remove that big geographical impediment to that end I sought.

That’s how I decided to come home. Or something like that. Mostly.

Sern-Li
Sydney, 2004 - 2007

On being a "superhero".

I've always wanted to come back.
Really.
I believe that this is my homeland, so that's just the place I ought to be.

I was at the OCF Convention in Melbourne in 2006, and something that convinced me even more that I should come back to Malaysia was this OMF video they showed during one of the workshops.
And I remember one of the missionaries just briefly, but excitedly, saying that God had told him, "I'm there. Come and join me".

So, God is in Malaysia.
Yes, He is.
All I had to do was decide if I wanted to join Him in what He was doing here.

That was how it started.

But somewhere along the way, I must have thought that I was gonna be a superhero and "save" Malaysia.

My name is Qian. Some people know me as Patience. (That's a story by itself)
I was a psychology student at UniSA, Adelaide mid-2006 to mid-2007.
I knew Esther and Mindy from HELP days.
Just couldn't get rid of them.
Now I probably couldn't survive without them.

Like most of you, I had a fantastic experience in Australia, albeit a short one.
After I came back, I got myself a job at Malaysian Care. 1 year later. (That's also another story).

Well, to be perfectly honest, saving Malaysia hasn't looked at all like what I imagined.
Maybe I'm just trying to do something with my life so that I will feel...

That I'm important.

That I'm needed.

That I am contributing to the Kingdom of God.

But what is life anyway?
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon states over and over again, that everything in life is meaningless.

You would think that working in full-time ministry would be rewarding.
But the realities of life just make it seem stupid.
It's all fine and dandy to say "have faith" when your transport costs less than AUD20 per week, you have great support from OCF and your awesome church in Australia, and the future looks promising.

I've discovered that being in full-time ministry is not easy. (I know, like duh, right?).

It's not been easy to give back when I have a beat-up car, no savings and I'm still counting on other people's charity. (Definitely helps you to stay humble, though).

It's not been easy to stay in a church that (I feel) is not nourishing my spirit.

It's not been easy to see God when discouragement comes along.

It's not been easy knowing that you're a sinner, and so is everyone in your "Christian" office.

It's not been easy trying to accept that maybe I'm not meant for full-time work.

It's not been easy trying to see that God is God wherever I am.

Malaysia. Australia. In a Christian organization. In the marketplace. With the hearing. With the Deaf.

I've been challenged with this every. single. day.
Did I really mean it when I called Him LORD?

I sing it so carelessly.

I really thought I meant it when I was worshiping in Edge.

I really believed it when I was with my OCF buddies hanging out in Magill.

When I was baking cupcakes, or cooking with my housemates.

But I really have to fight it with all my might here in Malaysia.
Can you really fight it without the support you had in Australia?

Is God really "all I need"?
Now it just sounds naive.
"I simply live for You". .
Wow.
Did I really sing that?

But... I still believe in God.
And I trust that His word is true.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for peace, not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)

Whatever His plan may be for my life, I know that my identity cannot be fulfilled in the "perfect" job.

And I have to believe that there is a GOOD purpose for my life, and for me to be in Malaysia. (And no, it doesn't look like marriage is the reason).

I'm not saying I feel this way. But it's the only thing I can cling to.

It feels like I'm clutching onto this with just my fingertips, trying not to fall off the ledge.
It hurts, and my fingers are getting tired, and I'm really, really, REALLY scared that I'm gonna die (or something that feels like death).

I kinda feel like Jacob.
Wrestling with God, and saying "NOOOO! I refuse to believe that this is it! I'm not gonna let You off until You promise me something better! Bless me! BLESS ME!!!!!"

..............

I guess what I'm saying is... this is all I've got.
To have faith that God knows what He's doing even when I don't.
To consider that maybe the only thing I CAN do, is try to know God a little bit more.
Coz trust me, there have been countless times that I feel I'm not doing anything. Like, SERIOUSLY.

Having had some experience in the caring ministry, I realize some of the perceptions I had about ministry work and coming home was that I would make a big difference in a short amount of time.
I guess that's what happens when you live in an "instant" generation.
Microwaves, Internet, SMS-ing, 3G, Preferred parking, online bookings, u name it, we've got it.

But ministry is seldom like that.
It takes a long time to see fruit.
Sometimes we may end up like Abraham or Moses.
We might not even be the ones to see the promised land, although we worked our butts off to get there.
Ministry is often very slow, very tough going.
Can you imagine trying to teach a child to recognize a picture of an apple everyday for 3 months?
Most moms of kids with special needs have to.
Superman, Batman or Spiderman come in, they save the day and get the girl in 3 hours. Or less.
I guess God's sense of timing is quite different.
And I guess His idea of a hero is quite different too.

I don't have a wonderful success story to tell you. My life, as it stands, hasn't been such a great success thus far.
But if you're looking to fight a battle, Malaysia's the place for you.
Being in my line of work, I see the needs all around me. So yes, definitely Malaysia needs people to come home.

I'm not a superhero. And I certainly don't feel like one.
Despite all the difficulties I've had being home, I don't think I would have been satisfied in Australia either.
It would have gotten too comfortable. And I may have forgotten my need for God.
Somewhere, somehow, I just gotta trust that God's gonna make a masterpiece outta me and my life.
Coz that's all I've got.

I just gotta keep moving while I'm waiting.

Why?

Dear Homecomers,

I guess I should start by introducing myself first. My name is Patrick Sim. I graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from the University of Adelaide, Australia, at the end of 2008.

I came back to Malaysia in 2009 and have been working as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers since March 2009. It has been a little more than year as of the date I am typing this.

I was privileged to meet both the blog founders : Esther Goh and Mindy Oon at OCF UniSA in Adelaide during my time there (2006-2008). Yes. We are the crazies that came back.

Now to begin the first part of my story.

WHY?

Why? Why come home?

Why didn't you stay back and try to get a PR? And.....

• Enjoy the better pay
• Enjoy the better work / life balance
• Enjoy the company of friends there
• Enjoy the freedom
• Enjoy the government (if you are a Malaysian, you will understand)
• Enjoy the weather / the air / the public transportation
• Enjoy the good life
• Enjoy being around people like myself. That understood what I was going through.
  

It is a question that I ask myself constantly after I came back. "Did I make the right decision?" Well, sometimes its not so much a question, rather a regret. "You idiot!" I would tell myself while looking in the mirror.

But lets go back to my state of mind back in 2008. Before I was exposed to all the crap.

Back in 2008
I was going to graduate at the end of the year. The million dollar question kept looming through my head.

What to do after this?

And also being a kiasu Malaysian, What is EVERYONE ELSE doing?

No one else was going home at that time. Just me. And Ian Hong. Which made me question myself even more. = P .

A friend of mine from OCF once told me: - "I think there's a reason God made me a Malaysian. I don't think he specifically placed me in Malaysia to be an Australian. "

I thought he made a very good point. During my 3 years in Adelaide, I attended OCF (Overseas Christian Fellowship).

This is the vision of OCF: Reach out , build up, send back.

Reach out: To reach out to all overseas students in Australia.
Yes. Someone did reach out to me. And I did reach out to others.

Build up: Build them up to be Christ’s disciples;
Yes. I was trained and developed as a disciple of Christ there. And I did help build others up.

Send back: And send them back to their home countries as disciple-makers.
....................

It's empty.

So I decided. I need to go back.

Why?

• God made me a Malaysian
• My parents who worked so hard to put me into University are back there.
• To fulfill the OCF vision
  
• To make a change , be the difference
• I looked at my reasons for staying. They were mostly for my own self interest and comfort.
• Also, i had a job offer. So before thinking I am that self righteous to deny all self interest and come back to save Malaysia, just let you know that I had some carrots too.

But the idea is that I was quite idealistic back then. Gung-ho. Optimistic. I had a believe that I was holding on to.

Because if you are going to come back to a 10% Christian of total population country from a 60% Australia, then its best if you are gung-ho. When you are coming back to a Muslim country, where open racism is practiced, where the government is corrupted, where people are poor, uneducated, where opportunities are scarce, where more about 70% of the population earn below RM 2,000 a month, then you really need faith. Because its different here.

So know that if you come back, you will be a hand to help us here who are trying our best to stay above the flowing tides. Know that we need you back.

But this is just the first part of the story. There is so much more to tell. Will keep you posted.

God Bless
Patrick Sim
Adelaide (2006-2008)

Hello! :)

Hello there.

We're people who have lost our minds along the way, and decided to come back to Malaysia after more than two years in Australia. Along the way, as expected, we have been angry with God and bitter at Him for hiding our minds so that we actually made such a decision to come back! People around us look at us like we're a couple of crazies not to have stayed on, apply for a PR and head on to a better life. We've ourselves have wondered why we came back, struggled with fitting in once again, and wrestled with our arms that so dearly want to pack up our stuff and book a plane ticket back to where we were.

Most of us return with the idea that we can "Change Our World" and that "We Can Make A Difference" (we are, after all, well educated and have experienced different cultures). Weeks back home turn into months and we find ourselves not doing anything like what the PowerPuff Girls did. We just can't save the world before bedtime. We still want to, but we just don't know how. Or rather, we don't know how or where to start.

It is our desire at this blogspace to give information about what is being done in Malaysia, as well as what can still be done. This, after all, our country and there's no where else in the world with more delicious nasi lemak and teh tarik.

We started out with the idea of sending letters (electronically of course) back to Australia. And then realized that much more could be done - hence the birth of this site. But for starters, we just want our friends to know that if they do decide to come back, they are not alone in going against the flow. There are people who have done that. And there is strength in numbers. And to let them know that if they come back, they've got people here who have been there, and done that.

We believe that the next few years will be very important for Malaysia. We want a change in Malaysia. And we want to say positively that change is already on its way. Still, talk without action ain't gonna amount to anything much is it. So for starters, we hope that this will be a platform for voices to be heard. This is just the beginning.

Mindy Oon
Adelaide, Australia (2006-2009)