Paul Yap and Tinagarani Alagi met at a children’s home in Malaysia when they were 15.

Paul had lived at the home, Desa Amal Jireh (DAJ), also known as Jireh Village, since he was four years old after being sent there by the country’s Welfare Department.

“My parents had six children and were extremely poor. We lived in terrible conditions. The six of us got split up and I came to DAJ with my sister,” he told Salt&Light.

Tinagarani, or Rani as she is better known, was raised by her mother in Klang. Her father was absent, and after her mother’s breast cancer surgery, he left for good.

Knowing her days were numbered, the older woman arranged for Rani to enter DAJ.

“She had three final wishes for me: To never leave the Lord, to finish my studies, and to enter DAJ because it was a Christian home committed to seeing their children through university,” said Rani.

Her mother passed away when Rani was 15 and in the midst of national trial exams.

At the home, she cried herself to sleep for three nights until she fell sick. She couldn’t wrap her head around being in a children’s home. But, more than anything, she missed her mother.

Then, she met Paul.

Puppy love

“I liked her first,” Paul said, grinning sheepishly. “At that age, feelings or crushes come and go. But with her, my feelings never really went away.”

Since they were the same age, they attended tuition classes together and became friends.

When they were 16, Paul confessed his feelings. But Rani showed no interest.

Six months later, on December 10, 2008, he confessed his feelings to her again. This time, Rani responded with a 16-page letter, detailing her past and her concerns about starting a relationship.

“I told him my mother wanted me to focus on my studies and not be distracted. But he was very honest, helpful, caring and humble. I also looked up to him because he was very smart,” Rani admitted.

On December 22, 2008, she acknowledged her growing feelings for him, and they became a couple.

“It was all under the radar since DAJ doesn’t allow relationships. For the next two years, we had very few chances to hang out or even speak to each other. But we trusted that we had committed to each other,” Rani said.

Paul and Rani in 2008 (top) before getting together. In 2009 (bottom), they had committed to each other but focused largely on their studies.

The first two years were especially difficult for her as she wanted to honour her mother’s wishes and feared that a relationship would derail her studies.

“I often prayed, ‘Lord, if this is not from You, please remove it.’ But He didn’t, and after a few years, I gathered the courage to embrace it fully,” she shared.

After high school, the couple attended the same college. Paul studied engineering while Rani pursued accountancy.

It was during those three years that their relationship truly began.

A shared desire for a family

Both bonded over a mutual desire to build a family of their own, having not experienced an intact one as children.

For Rani, there is little evidence of her life before DAJ. When her mother passed, she had to leave many things behind, including photo albums.

“I lost all the photos of my mum and my childhood, and have nothing to show my children today. We eventually managed to source one precious photo of my mum and me, and it’s all I have,” Rani shared.

The only picture that Rani has with her mum.

Paul remembers watching other children get picked up by their parents after school. On report card days, there would be family celebrations with ice cream.

“For us, it was one DAJ staff member going around the classrooms to collect 17 or 18 report cards for all the children in the home,” he recounted.

Though his parents visited every month and stayed in touch, their absence was especially painful on days like these.

“At DAJ, we did, in a sense, become a family – but it’s different, isn’t it? So we really wanted our own family one day to be able to create these experiences,” he said.

Sticking together in the highs and lows

Nine years after getting together, Paul proposed to Rani. On December 22, 2018, the tenth anniversary of their relationship, they tied the knot at 26.

Paul was thriving as a project engineer, while Rani worked in the retail department of a property developer. With life on cruise control, they decided to try for a child.

However, it was then that Rani was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as well as an unclassified autoimmune disease. “The diagnoses drastically reduced my chances of conceiving. It wrecked me,” Rani said quietly.

The mental, physical, and emotional strain of trying to conceive became overwhelming.

After a year of weight loss and regaining her mental fortitude, they prayed before seeking a new gynaecologist who prescribed medication to regulate her menstrual period. Six months later, she conceived.

The young couple was overjoyed, but the pregnancy was difficult. Their son, Brian Rey Yap, was born prematurely at 32 weeks and spent a month in the neonatal intensive care unit.

A photo of their firstborn son, Brian Rey Yap, captured by Paul. He first held Brian three weeks after birth.

As first-time parents of a preemie without any family support, the first few months stretched them in unimaginable ways.

When Brian was three months old, they sent him to daycare so Rani could return to work. However, he was admitted to the hospital seven times for various illnesses before his first birthday.

Realising his immune system was weak and that he needed to be at home, Paul made a career shift.

Family is the first ministry

“It wasn’t a difficult decision,” Paul shared. “All I needed to do was pray, get God’s ‘yes’, and seek Rani’s blessing.”

In a move that raised eyebrows, Paul pivoted from engineering to become a Grab driver and insurance agent so he could care for Brian during the day.

With Rani’s workplace offering a hybrid arrangement, the decision made the most sense.

Despite facing fertility issues, Paul and Rani are now blessed with two children.

“That’s just who Paul is – selfless. For the family, he didn’t think twice about giving up a job he liked. I am always reminded how blessed I am,” Rani said.

In late 2024, the couple welcomed another child. Bridgette Reyna Yap entered the world just shy of 37 weeks, healthy and pink. Both mother and daughter were discharged the next day, and their family was complete.

God always makes a way

Today, Paul and Rani hold no bitterness in their hearts – only gratitude.

While Paul carried some angst during his adolescence about his childhood, he realised during his university years how good God had been to him by leading him to DAJ.

“At DAJ, we were all treated equally and given the same opportunities. No one was treated better than the other. I received two crucial things at DAJ: A relationship with God and an education,” he said.

They speak fondly of Reverend Terrence and Kamala Sinnadurai, the couple who established DAJ 40 years ago. Since its inception, more than 700 children and seniors have found shelter there.

At DAJ, Paul and Rani learned a simple but profound truth that when you put God first in any area, whether finances, work, or family, He will make a way every time.

“It’s God first. Whenever we face a stumbling block or a hazy area, we pray. We go back to God, and He always provides guidance on the way to go,” Paul said.

As parents, their goal is simple: To be known as a Christian family and raise children who have a personal relationship with God.

“Our children don’t have to be the best, but we would like them to give their best. To be thankful and appreciative of whatever we have. To be open with us and be good kids,” the father added.

Bearers of His hope

For Rani, her story of redemption would be incomplete without honouring her late mother.

In the face of affliction, the older woman had trusted God with Rani’s life and ensured her daughter had every opportunity to thrive.

“I was so angry at God when my mother passed. But now I’m the happiest, never having to beg people to love me. I’m seen, heard and so loved by my family.”

Taken a decade apart, Paul and Rani have celebrated life’s wins together. In 2022, Rani held Brian in her arms at her MBA convocation.

As the words spill out of Rani, Paul sits by her side. His face is filled with contentment and delight as he rocks Bridgette in his arms.

Rani reveals that their hearts are now burdened for families with preterm babies. They are praying about how to be bearers of God’s love to parents who are on a similar journey.

She said: “We are still learning and taking one day at a time. We hope that our story will encourage you (to know that) whether you’re in a family or not, each of us has a place in God’s family.”

RELATED STORIES:

How one couple opened their hearts to love children in need of a home

Heartbroken by children in need, this young couple opened their home and became foster parents

“You bring them in, I’ll take care of them”: He founded Living Waters Village in Borneo for children abandoned in jungles and married off young