Lim Sing Sing opened his eyes and found himself lying in a hospital. In pain, he tried to move but realised he couldn’t feel his legs. Looking down, he found much of his body in casts.

“Why am I in so much pain? Is this a nightmare?” he thought to himself. He blinked hard, willing himself to wake up. It was useless. He tried to sit up but he simply couldn’t.

The doctor and nurses noticed that he was conscious and rushed over. They broke the news to him that he had been in a coma for two months after falling from his 15-storey flat.

The car that broke Lim Sing Sing’s fall before he fell to the ground.

Lim had no recollection of falling from such a great height. His last memory was of him trying to get high that January day. His concoction of drugs, glue and alcohol worked – it was so potent that he completely lost his senses.

In his altered state of mind, he had climbed through the window of his flat and jumped. If he had hit the ground, that would have been the end of him. But, miraculously, a car broke his fall. The impact caused the car’s roof to cave in. But Lim was alive.

He was rushed to the hospital, unconscious.

Amazingly, his head was uninjured. But his body sustained seven major bone fractures, including several places in his arms and legs. His stomach had been operated on. And the impact of the fall had affected his spine – he was now paralysed from the waist down.

It was 1992. Lim was just 27 years old.

Loneliness

“Why didn’t you let me die?” a distraught Lim asked the attending doctor in March 1992. He had lost all reason to live.

His life up to that point had been fuelled by drugs and vice.

His gangster father, who was in and out of jail, and mother who was addicted to gambling, had left him in the care of his grandmother. Although his grandmother doted on him, he was angry that his parents had abandoned him. He especially hated Chinese New Year – his parents never visited and it was a reminder of how unwanted he was.

Disinterested in studying, he quit secondary school to find work instead. Lim got to know street gang members and, longing to be accepted by them, started smoking, drinking and gambling. This quickly escalated to drug taking when he was just 15. He eventually moved from marijuana to heroin and hallucinogenic drugs as he tried to chase that high.

His grandmother’s death when he was 17 drove him further into a life of vice. At 23, he was sentenced to two years in jail and six strokes of the cane after he tried to rob a taxi driver while he was under the influence of drugs. When he was released in 1990, he got even bolder and started to be a loan shark.

Lim got into bad company as a teen and start taking drugs when he was just 15. He lived a life of vice and was jailed once for robbery.

During this time, he managed to reunite with his parents as he was tired of depending on his friends for lodging.

But the good times did not last as his parents died shortly after. Consumed by loneliness, he turned to drugs to help him through his days. Little did he know that a bad trip would rob him of his legs.

“Am I still worthy to be loved?”

Lim was hospitalised for 10 months, his body almost completely covered with long scars and scabs – marks of the many surgical operations he had undergone.

All this while, the friends he thought would stand by him for life never visited. Alone and dejected, he longed to die.

A Christian doctor got wind of Lim’s case and started visiting him daily. Besides bringing him food and books, the doctor also shared the Good News – that Jesus loves him and wants to help him.

“Would this Jesus really love and help a cripple like me?”

Lim doubted that such a loving God exists. The doctor’s actions puzzled him even more: “Why is this doctor caring for me when we hardly even know each other? He has nothing to gain from this!”

The doctor’s actions moved him: “He showed me that someone did care for this helpless being, and that God valued me.” He also realised that it was God’s grace that he miraculously survived the 15-floor plunge.

Lim soon accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour. His heart began to feel the peace and joy he had never experienced before, and he was full of new hope for life.

But as the date drew near for his discharge from the hospital, he was again overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness. Crippled and wheelchair-bound, without relatives and a home, where was he to go?

After being baptised in 1993, Lim took on the name of Lazarus, the Biblical man who died and was resurrected by Jesus. The name means “God is my helper”.

Overcoming the odds

Another Christian doctor found out about his plight and started to make enquiries on Lim’s behalf. Many places were unable to take him in but on hearing what had led to Lim’s horrific injuries, Breakthrough Missions – a Gospel-based drug rehabilitation centre – agreed to take him in.

Not only did he receive free board and lodging, his spiritual and social needs were also met. Everyone in the centre, including the leaders, were ex-drug addicts. They understood his struggles and provided constant support and comfort. His faith deepened as he spent more time in prayer and studying the word of God.

When he first stepped into Breakthrough Missions, he was concerned that his physical handicap would be a burden to others. He was discouraged by staircases and felt dejected when taxi drivers refused to take him.

When he moved to Breakthrough Missions, Lim was afraid his physical handicap would be a burden to others. But the love the staff and residents showered on him showed him otherwise.

“But I was pleasantly surprised when they willingly helped and encouraged me. There is love in this world after all!” says Lim, now 54.

The battle of the mind was harder to win. He remembered how he had grappled with sorrow when he saw others being mobile and free – he would have been like them had he not strayed into substance abuse.

To strengthen his arms, the staff got Lim to pick up copper tooling. He also learned how to drive a customised model of the motorcycle.

Lim was overjoyed to be able to ferry his brothers from the halfway house to various places after he learned how to ride a customised bike.

“Even though I could not walk, I was able to transport the brothers on visitations, to church and even on fishing trips!” Lim recalls with a fond smile. His ability to do something for others boosted his confidence and brought him joy.

He went on to pick up the guitar, acquire computer proficiency and even learned to drive a car.

Path to restoration

Lim chose to be baptised in 1993. He took on the name Lazarus, which means “God is my helper”, as he has learnt how to depend on the Lord to face all difficulties with optimism.

He became a pastor after undertaking a three-year certificate course on Basic Evangelism at the Singapore Bible College.

From being disinterested in studying, Lim went on to become a pastor after he undertook a three-year certificate course on Basic Evangelism at the Singapore Bible College.

Although Pastor Lim is now a full-time staff at Breakthrough Missions, managing its finances, he continues to counsel the men who come through the halfway home.

“I also travel to different countries to encourage others with my life story. I’ve also received blessings beyond measure from the Lord. Today, I have a loving wife and son,” says Pastor Lim. He remains in touch with the two Christian doctors, who played a critical role in his journey of discovering the Lord’s love for him.

He has travelled to Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Myanmar, China, Australia and Canada to share his testimony. He hopes his story will inspire many but most importantly, point many more to Christ.

“Falling 15 floors to the ground would have meant certain death or a vegetative state of existence for the survivor. But praise the Lord! I am still alive today and although I am not able to walk, I can work with my hands and testify with my mouth the mercy, love and grace of God for as long as I shall live.”

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“God wouldn’t give up”: It took a suicide attempt, jail and a near-death accident before he turned to God