SALT Sample Spreads. For Review Only Most of our waking hours are spent at work. For many, we spend more time in the office than we spend with family and loved ones. But we don’t stop being a Christian when we clock in at work; we’ve all faced the challenge of living out our beliefs amid the & SALT often competing demands of our professions. Living out our faith at work isn’t always the easiest, most straightforward journey. LIGHT This compilation from Christian portal Salt&Light shares stories of encouragement and equipping on how to navigate that balance. Read about fellow believers in the marketplace, and how they overcame the challenge & of being “in the world but not of the world”. Draw inspiration from these true accounts from Singapore and beyond, so that you too may experience personal growth in our relationship with God and living out His Kingdom calling. of Faith at Work at of Faith Inspirational Stories LIGHT Salt&Light is a digital gathering place for Christians to unite in spirit and purpose to see God in the 9-to-5, to influence and to impact, to find meaning in the mundane, to wrestle with doubt and despair in faith – and find amazing grace for the journey ahead. Inspirational Stories of Faith at Work Marshall Cavendish FICTION Editions ISBN 978-981-4893-71-8 ,!7IJ8B4-ijdhbi! Sample Spreads. For Review Only SALT & LIGHT Inspirational Stories of Faith at Work Sample Spreads. For Review Only © 2021 Salt&Light Private Limited Contents Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International Introduction • 8 Work My two copper coins: A doctor returns to the frontlines • 11 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or Desi Trisnawati: Helping others succeed was part of her MasterChef transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, Indonesia victory • 16 recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish • International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196. When SARS pushed an infectious diseases doctor toward God 22 Tel: (65) 6213 9300. E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.marshallcavendish.com “We were meant to be here”: SARS doctor who arrived in Singapore just before the outbreak • 28 The publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his CYC shirt: “God moments” in the journey or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, of an iconic Singapore Brand • 36 consequential, or other damages. Other Marshall Cavendish Offices: “Sighted or not. I will serve the Lord.”: Legally blind principal Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 800 Westchester Ave, Suite N-641, Rye Brook, Peter Tan on seeing miracle after miracle • 46 NY 10573, USA • Marshall Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd, 253 Asoke, 16th Floor, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand • “How do I lead by loving others?” Claire Wong, Head of DBS Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Foundation, on the key principle in her leadership • 53 Marshall Cavendish is a registered trademark of Times Publishing Limited Preserving the aroma of Christ: The secret behind Chek Hup’s coffee • National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data 61 Palliative care nurses: Bedside angels to the dying and their families • 66 Printed in Singapore Banking head honcho now works with villagers and ex-convicts • 74 “Unless we look after others, we cannot get out of this crisis”: CEO Arthur Kiong on running a business amidst Covid • 80 Malcolm Lee’s Michelin secret: God’s in the kitchen at Candlenut • 90 Sample Spreads. For Review Only Her darkest moments prepared F&B CEO Jocelyn Chng to steer Faith through COVID-19 • 96 “I thought I was forgotten, but today I know that God knows One man’s crisis led to jobs for thousands • 104 me”: A starving widow who is one of thousands God is feeding in Africa • 188 Leadership Falling into grace: What moral failure taught a reverend about God • 196 What faith has to do with Singapore’s $24 million Invictus Fund • 109 “God is alive, available and real”: Pilot of last plane out of Palu before disaster hit • 203 Should we work towards success? Lucas Chow on being God’s trustee • 120 My name is Raymond and I am an ex-convict • 207 Eagles, still soaring at 50 • 126 “If God doesn’t heal, then what?”: A question Pastor Philip Lyn grappled with • 215 “God directed me from the beginning”: Singaporean Lawrence Tong on leading Operation Mobilisation • 132 “It had to be the Lord”: Former national swimmer Joscelin Yeo on her life’s dramatic turnaround • 221 He sold his companies, donated his assets and became a janitor: YMCA CEO Steve Loh’s headlong journey into missions • 141 “God told my pastor, ‘Tell Felicia that I am her Father’”: Mediacorp actress Felicia Chin, who lost her father to cancer at 17 • 227 “He will bring you across the finishing line”: Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong on staying the course in Christian ministry • 150 “There is no safe place in Afghanistan.” She went anyway •236 “If you just give money, how do you change a person’s heart?”: “Just love them”: How the late Pastor Philip Chan became Why Fullerton Markets CEO Mario Singh is hands-on at his “Papa” to scores of troubled youths and their families • 247 foundation • 159 Three children with fatal genetic disorder, yet David Lang sees The secret behind property maverick Thio Gim Hock’s success • 166 God’s sovereignty • 253 Meekness in leadership? It’s possible, says Choe Peng Sum in farewell look-back at Frasers Hospitality • 171 “I’m really proud of our miracle nation”: NVPC’s Melissa Kwee About the writers • 261 on her dreams for a City of Good • 180 Work 23 Sample Spreads. For Review Only Many of us would remember 2003 as the year of SARS. Stories of the shared experiences in pain and joy have been told; the actions of heroes honoured, the lives of victims remembered. But Dr Leong’s remarkable story towards God is one that few have heard. A MYSTERIOUS DISEASE Work In 2003, Dr Leong and his wife, Dr Lim Hong Huay, were infected with SARS and quarantined in Frankfurt, Germany, for two-and-a- When SARS pushed an infectious half weeks. It turned out that Dr Leong had contracted the virus while diseases doctor toward God treating the first SARS patient in Singapore – “patient no. 1”. He happened to be the infectious diseases doctor on-call the day she was admitted. At the time, her illness was a mystery. No one knew about SARS then. The working diagnosis of her illness was “atypical pneumonia” – which only meant that she had an unknown lung infection. But Dr Leong came down with a high fever and severe body pain – symptoms he attributed to dengue. After plenty of rest and fluids, his fever subsided. So he and his wife decided to go ahead with their plans to attend a conference in New York. Two days into his trip, he fell ill again. This time, it was he who was diagnosed with “atypical pneumonia”. Before Dr Leong and his wife left for Singapore, he called a trusted colleague in Singapore to update him on his condition. By then, patient no. 1’s illness had been identified and the term Photo by John Crawford, National Institute of Health on Flickr “SARS” had just been coined. n epidemic that caused a national crisis and international Unbeknownst to him, Dr Leong’s phone call would set off a alarm? Hardly anyone would consider that an intervention chain reaction which eventually led to his being quarantined in of grace by a sovereign God. Frankfurt, Germany. ABut 48-year-old infectious diseases specialist and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) victim, Dr Leong Hoe Nam, is not SUFFERING THROUGH SARS just anyone; he is a man whose excruciating experience with SARS Dr Leong suffered badly from the effects of the SARS virus. He recalled: while quarantined in Germany was a key step towards knowing his “I had to cope with hacking bouts of cough. Every single attempt to Father’s love. adjust my posture would result in my coughing out blood.” 24 Salt & Light Work 25 Sample Spreads. For Review Only Even breathing was difficult. “One evening, I tried to take deeper though he says now that he thinks the Gospel of John would have and deeper breaths but to no avail. I felt suffocated – as if the air been a much easier to start with. had no oxygen – even though I had on a full-face 100% oxygen By the time he was done, Dr Leong was confronted with the mask. person of Jesus: “Jesus was either an incredibly charismatic and “The sensation of breathlessness was terrifying.” influential leader with a bunch of fools for followers, or there is He said: “I was not a Christian then but I was not afraid of death, indeed a true God and Jesus is the Son of God.” because all of us will die. I just knew I had to avoid mechanical Dr Leong could not decide if the God of the Bible was real … ventilation if I wanted to keep the odds in my favour.” or not.