How well do we know our “neighbours” who have settled in Singapore?

Just over 10 years ago, Lilian Zhao, 47, and her husband, Moses, 49, owners of The Chopsticks Store, left their home in Shandong, China, and travelled more than 4,000km away to make Singapore their home.

“I am actually a very weak person, I am fearful and easily afraid to the point that I feel useless. I see myself as a flower in God’s greenhouse, protected in the palm of His hand.”

That’s how Lilian Zhao describes herself.

However, when the conversation turns to faith, it is hard to miss the strength in her voice.

The volume of her voice lifts up a notch, imbued with excitement. The words tumble out in quick tempo and there’s a glint in her eyes. Her whole being reverberates with passion from within.

And you think, this little flower has bloomed.

Up at 4am to pray

As a young child growing up in China in the 70s, Lilian lived with her maternal grandmother in rural Fuzhou.

“My grandma was a staunch believer. In the countryside, there was no TV. So, in the evenings, Grandma and I would read the Bible. Even though she was illiterate, it’s a marvel how she managed to read the Bible.  

“Grandma was very disciplined, went to bed at 8 in the evening and got up at 4 in the morning to pray for an hour everyday,” she recounts.

As a pre-schooler, Lilian would accompany her grandmother to various homes. “Grandma was a prayer warrior, she would pray for the neighbours and share the Gospel when she visited them or when they came to our home.

“I also learnt to share the Gospel with the neighbours’ children. To me, those were great influences.”  

“Both my paternal and maternal grandmothers were believers,” says Lilian, with her parents on holiday in pre-Covid days.

Nonetheless, those experiences quickly faded into the background when she returned to her parents in the city to start school. There, religion was said to be superstition.

Even so, Lilian would still pray whenever she encountered problems.

One salvation at a time

Things came to a head when she was 22.

Faced with relationship problems and challenges at work, she turned to God.

“When a person is helpless, you search for God,” she says simply. 

“During the tough times, I remembered Grandma’s God, so I went to  a small church and Reverend Kou Shao-en, a Taiwanese pastor, happened to speak that night.

“I  kept tearing up during the sermon. When Reverend Kou asked whoever was willing to be used by God to stand up, I stood up.

“I was baffled by my own actions, I had no idea how I could be used.”

With a new-found faith, she continued to grow spiritually in the local Three-Way Church.

Along the way she met her husband, shared the Gospel with his family and they came to know the Lord, one salvation at a time. 

“When I first visited my husband’s parents in Yantai, Shandong, before I was married, I brought along a Bible and a Christian book, intending to share the Good News. 

“But when I saw the religious idol at the family altar, I chickened out.

“However, just as I was leaving for home a week later, I summoned my courage and gave my future mother-in-law the books.

“She is a very congenial person. So when she said that she would read them, I thought she was just humouring me. 

“A week later, my husband told me that his mum had received Christ. After reading the book, she had said, ‘This is the God I have been looking for!'”  

In 2007, a job opportunity opened up for her husband in Singapore. With a young son in tow, the couple planted themselves in a country where they had no kith or kin.

“When I came, the first task was to look for a church. 

“We were living in Jurong West then. Travelling in the MRT train along the East-West line, we would see the cross of the Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church building as we passed by.

“One day, we just walked in. The traditional Methodist church had similar roots to the Three-Way church I used to attend in China. And it was also a Chinese-speaking church, which suited us.

“The church was welcoming and friendly and we have been worshipping there ever since.”

“Before I had my children, I prayed Hannah’s prayer over them. Every mother wants to give the best to their children, and that, for me, is to have my children be used by the Lord,” says Lilian.

Settling into the humdrum of life in her newly adopted home, the Singapore permanent resident inadvertently allowed the grind of daily living to grind down her faith life.

“Between 2014 and 2016, I started helping my husband run his shop. It was very stressful, having to worry about the overheads and sales. I used to attend evening services in church but I stopped because of the business.

“At that point, my faith was at its lowest point and my health was also affected.”

A decision at dawn

Having chest pains, Jiang went for a medical check-up where the doctor suspected a 40% chance that she might have cancer and sent her for further checks.

“During the 10 days leading up to the final report, my husband and I were in a terrible state.

“I was especially afraid because my paternal aunt had recently passed away from breast cancer after an eight-year battle.

“During the week-and-a half wait, I fasted for 48 hours twice.

“On the first night of my second fast, I watched a sermon on YouTube. Every word spoke to me and I felt comforted.

“I went to bed but couldn’t go to sleep. That entire night, God brought to mind different situations in my life where I was wrong. I spent the night confessing my sins and repenting. I was not even praying for healing by then.

“As I reflected, I realised that, since I came to Singapore, I had not shared the Gospel with anyone.

“Although I get along well with my neighbours, I never once shared Christ with them. I was going to church once and my neighbour remarked that it’s a good thing and that all religions are good. Even then, I did not dare reply to her. 

“By dawn, I made a decision to live my life for God and put Him first.”

A day later, the hospital gave the mother of two a clean bill of health.

That same week, when Lilian attended a meeting at church, she had a surprise.

The verse, Matthew 9:37, was on the screen: “The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few.” It was the same verse that had moved her to give her life to Jesus when she was 22 in Fuzhou. That was 2006. Ten years down, the same verse would turn around Lilian’s life.

Right after that meeting, she signed up for training at church and started serving in different ministries.

“When I began to be more involved in ministry, I told my husband we needed to hire help for the shop so that I could serve even more, even though I knew that we could not afford it. My husband also thought that the business may not break even. Nevertheless, I decided to depend on God.”

God blessed that decision and sales went up three-fold.

“When you are willing to serve God, He opens up the way,” Lilian concludes with a smile.

On the same day that Lilian got to know Charlene Jan, they became prayer partners. “The match was perfect, we both come from a single-child family, with parents back in our home countries. Our sons attend the same school. When I asked her to be my prayer partner, she said she had also been searching for one!”

“I have grown much in the area of faith in last several years.

“Before, when I went through trials, my faith got shattered. When I thought I had cancer, I behaved like a non-believer. Although I prayed, fear still gripped my heart.

“How can I know my God and not trust in His might?” Lilian pauses, then adds,”I felt ashamed.”

Now she is involved in several church ministries, has enrolled in an on-line bible study programme and heads a cell group.

She purposefully prioritised prayer in her life, an example she had seen in her grandmother’s life. “Since we believe in a true and living God, whatever we do, we must work together with Him. How we demonstrate that is to pray.” 

Holding on to the tenet of faith, Lilian sought out a prayer partner in church friend, Charlene Jan. Before Covid, the two ladies would spend an hour or more every night praying with each other wherever they were, including when they were travelling.  

As Lilian shares her faith story, she is mindful of the persecution some Christians go through back in China.  

“In Singapore, it’s very safe, we don’t have the fears and worries of persecution. Because of that, I always pray that we don’t get too comfortable and be seduced by the world.

“If persecution does not stop others from sharing, it is not right that I don’t even share the Gospel in a safe and secure environment. We can do much more!”

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