Five minutes into his talk on the Holy Spirit, Alice Chua’s friend stopped. And seemingly out of the blue, asked her to share her testimony. 

They had come up from Singapore to provide support for the Alpha weekend at a church in Penang. The Vicar himself had found it tough to share about the Holy Spirit to the “sophisticated and worldly-wise group” who were mainly in their 60s and above.

In her recently-released book, Remember God, Alice (nee Mok), now 80, shared how she was frozen with stage fright in the 2011 incident.

So she prayed.

Her tongue “was loosened” and she began to tell her life story: How she had to deal with the early death of her husband Chua Chor Teck. How she brought up their two young children (then 12 and 13) alone, under circumstances that were drastically different from their life of wealth, leisure, and comfort. How God guided her and provided for her every step of the way.

Alice celebrating her 80th birthday with son Sui Tong and daughter Cindy.

It was love at first sight when Chor Teck first laid eyes on Alice when they were both teenagers. Little did anyone expect the engineering apprentice to rise to become the first local managing director of Keppel Shipyard. Little did anyone imagine that he would be snatched away to be with Jesus a short six years later when they were in their 40s.

She did not expect the crowd to be moved to tears. 

She wrote that the speaker, Gareth Thomas, “later told me that his eyesight had suddenly become blurred and he could not read his own notes. He said that when he asked God what was happening, God had told him to invite me up to give my testimony”.

In the extract below, adapted with permission, Alice recalls the sweetness of her first meeting with Chor Teck, the heartbreak of their parting, and the joy of seeing elderly members of the family come to Christ.

To date, at least 93 family members across four generations of the Chuas and the Moks have come to the Lord.

Love at first sight

I met my husband Chor Teck more than sixty years ago. I was 18. He was 19 and a friend of one of my brothers.

One Chinese New Year, Chor Teck invited my brother and me to his house in Lim Chu Kang. In those days, it was an entirely rural area, dotted with small livestock and vegetable farms. It was a world away from our home in a Malay kampong in Jalan Eunos where we were one of the few Chinese families. The bus ride there was two hours long.

When we reached his house, I was taken aback by its simplicity. The floor was beaten earth. It was almost bereft of furniture. But it overflowed with warmth.

Alice, at age 20, at the Lim Chu Kang farmhouse where her husband-to-be grew up.

Alice hit her head on a helicopter doorframe slightly after this photo at the Iguazu Falls was taken during her 2018 holiday in South America. She was barely conscious when her brother and his wife checked on her at 4am. She was sent by ambulance to the hospital, where a scan showed massive internal bleeding in her brain. In her book, Alice wrote about her “supernaturally rapid” healing as well as God’s protective hand over her during other episodes of danger.

His parents, simple and poor farmers, were generous and hospitable. We were treated to Green Spot, a popular bottled drink. Since they didn’t have an opener, Chor Teck used his teeth to open the cap. He grinned at me. I remember being unimpressed.

From that unpromising start, we grew to like each other. For him, it had been love at first sight, but he had been unsure if I could accept his poor family background. That did not concern me. I was attracted to his integrity and simplicity. He was not embarrassed by his family’s poverty and saw no need to pretend to be someone he was not.

After about three years of courtship, we got engaged. He did not have a secondary education but sat for his ‘A’ Levels as a private candidate. He did extremely well and found a job that paid him a decent salary. I was working as a secretary for a property developer.

Years of plenty

In 1965, Chor Teck was offered a scholarship to pursue a three-year course in Naval Architecture at a university in the United Kingdom. A year later, I quit my job and joined him in the UK, where we were married.

We returned to Singapore in 1968. Chor Teck was given the opportunity to take on a big assignment in Keppel Shipyard. He rose rapidly through the ranks, and became its first local managing director before he turned 40.

With that came many perks – a large company house (with a swimming pool, a squash court, and a huge garden), two maids, two gardeners, and a company car with a driver. It was a world away from where we grew up.

He travelled frequently for work, and I often had to accompany him. We also entertained regularly, hosting large company functions in the house.

Happy family. Chor Teck and Alice (first and second from left, carrying their children) with Chor Teck’s mum (in cardigan) and family in the Lim Chu Kang farmhouse. Photo taken in February 1975.

Success did not change Chor Teck. At his core, he was still the simple boy from Lim Chu Kang. He was happiest when he was spending time with me and the children, and would keep his Saturdays free for us as far as possible. We often talked about our plans for the future. 

The holiday that wasn’t

In 1985, we spent months carefully planning for the year-end break. Since Chor Teck had a business trip in Beijing and Shanghai, the plan was for us to head over to China first and then have the children and my mother join us in Hong Kong.

While in Shanghai, Chor Teck suddenly fell seriously ill. He was jaundiced and in severe pain. We decided to fly to Hong Kong to seek medical help.

“Success did not change Chor Teck. At his core, he was still the simple boy from Lim Chu Kang,” wrote Alice in her book, Remember God. He was happiest when he was spending time with his wife and the children – Sui Tong (left) and Cindy – and would keep his Saturdays free for the family.

There, blood tests revealed that he had Hepatitis B.

When my mother and my two children, Cindy and Sui Tong, arrived in Hong Kong, I could not bring myself to tell them that Chor Teck was in the hospital.

When I finally broke the news, they were shocked and bewildered.

Chor Teck’s condition deteriorated. We returned to Singapore and he was immediately admitted to the Singapore General Hospital.

Two months to live

Not long after, he was diagnosed with stage four liver cancer. His attending doctor advised that he had only two months to live and did not recommend an operation to remove the tumour.

We were stunned to silence.

I was in tears and had no words to comfort him. But Chor Teck, true to his character, remained determined and hopeful. He told the doctor he wanted to pursue all possible options. He decided to go ahead with the operation – he felt he had nothing to lose.

The operation took place the following day. I cannot recall how long I waited outside the operating theatre.

I will never forget what the surgeon said to me when he finally came out: “Sorry, Mrs Chua. We could not do anything. We had to close it back as the tumour was too big.”

I blacked out.

Minister of prayer

Two days later, Dr Tay Eng Soon – then the Minister of State for Education and in charge of polytechnics – visited Chor Teck in hospital. Dr Tay found out about Chor Teck’s sickness when a board meeting had been cancelled (Chor Teck was then chairman of Singapore Polytechnic).

After initial greetings, the room fell into an awkward silence. Then out of the blue, Dr Tay asked Chor Teck if he could say a prayer for him.

To my surprise, Chor Teck agreed.

After praying, Dr Tay asked Chor Teck how he felt. He said he felt peace.

Dr Tay then told him: “Jesus is Peace”.

On his next visit, Dr Tay brought along a couple from Wesley Methodist Church, Mr and Mrs Tan Boon Chiang. From then on, the couple frequently visited Chor Teck, sharing the Gospel and praying with him.

Desperate and drained

At the same time, driven by desperation, I went with my mother-in-law in search of supernatural assistance. But no answers were to be found.

I was in total darkness, confused and gripped by the fear of Chor Teck’s imminent death. I was also panicking at the prospect of raising my two young children on my own (they were 12 and 13 at the time). I did not even know how they were coping with their father’s looming demise.

From the time we returned to Singapore, I had camped in his hospital room, leaving them alone at home, under the nanny’s watch. There was no one to guide or comfort them. I was just rushing in and out of the house every day. At the same time, whenever I left the hospital, I would immediately feel guilty for not being with Chor Teck.

By the fourth week after the diagnosis, I was physically and emotionally drained.

The inner voice

One day, in Chor Teck’s hospital room, I suddenly felt a strange restlessness in my heart. I then distinctly heard an inner voice telling me to turn to the true and living God. I had no idea who that was.

But the voice lingered.

Slowly, the thought grew in my mind that this might be the voice of the Jesus that Dr Tay and the Tans had been repeatedly invoking in their prayers.

I happened to glance at Chor Teck and was perturbed to see that he seemed upset. When I asked him what was wrong, he refused to talk to me. I realised I had been running around doing so many things, leaving him to meet with visitors after visitors on his own. I had hardly spent any time talking with him.

The atmosphere was so unpleasant. Not knowing what to do, I went to wash my face. And I asked God to send someone to come and break the ice.

As soon as I uttered that prayer, I heard a knock on the door.

It was the Tans with another couple, Mr and Mrs Khoo Oon Thean. Mr Khoo (a committee member of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship) was grieved by the sight of Chor Teck.

There was no small talk. He went straight to the point. He said it was urgent. The choice had to be made – heaven or hell.

That day, in that room at the Singapore General Hospital, Chor Teck and I said the sinner’s prayer and accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

“Give me anything good”

Things moved quickly. Mr Tan arranged with St Andrew’s Cathedral to send a member of the clergy to baptise Chor Teck, myself and the children in the hospital.

I started attending the Cathedral’s 8.30am service with my children. Although we did not fully understand the service, the atmosphere was incredibly peaceful. Everything in the Cathedral was clean, neat and beautiful. I felt so calm in there.

On 12 January 1986, coming back to the hospital room after a Sunday service, I was introduced to three people from the Cathedral. Ever since we were baptised, they had faithfully come to pray with Chor Teck in the hospital while I was in church on Sundays.

The ladies asked if they could pray with me. They asked if I wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit and pray in tongues. I told them that I did not understand what they were talking about, but they could give me anything that was good. I stretched my hands out, ready to receive their prayer. 

As they began to pray, I quickly felt the burden on my shoulders lifting. The lightness in my heart was incredible.

Then they asked me to follow them in saying “Hallelujah”. I did and very quickly, my tongue began to roll. My heart was warm with great joy.

I noticed Chor Teck watching me with a puzzled look on his face. 

The experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues was uplifting – almost indescribable. It seemed totally inappropriate to have that joy coursing through me while Chor Teck was about to be rolled into the ICU ward as his condition had deteriorated.

A clean house

That afternoon, Mr Tan and another Christian came to my house to sweep the house clean for the Lord. My mother-in-law and some of my brothers and sisters-in-law were with us. 

When that was done, the hospital called. Chor Teck had fallen into a coma.

Mr Tan brought us together to praise God and pray before we made our way to the hospital.

As we were singing the hymn He is Lord, my mother-in-law fell on her knees, hands outstretched, calling on the name of Jesus. That was a miracle because she had always opposed Jesus. (More on this later.)

Chor Teck’s mother (right) and Alice getting confirmed in church. In the early days of Alice and Chor Teck’s marriage, she rarely visited them as the proximity of their home to a church made her uncomfortable.

When we arrived at the ward, Bishop Moses Tay and Dr Tay Eng Soon were already there. They told us to pray, but none of us knew how. I remembered the ladies who had come in the morning telling me to continuously pray in tongues. So I did.

Dr Tay also asked Cindy and Sui Tong to read Psalm 23 to their father.

Sometime later, he opened his eyes.

Last kiss

At 3am on 13 January 1986, Chor Teck moved his lips, trying to say something. I thought he wanted a bed pan, but I was wrong. He continued to look anxious.

I started to pray in tongues, asking God to reveal to me what Chor Teck was saying.

Immediately, I sensed that he was asking for a pen to sign certain transfer forms. I asked if that was what he wanted. He nodded in relief.

God gave me the wisdom and strength to handle that painful, critical situation with discernment, courage, and calm. It was time for me to say goodbye and let him go.

“Don’t worry about the transfer forms,” I told him. “God will take care of me and the children. You go and be with Jesus. Go in peace.”

I gave him one last kiss.

After some time, he closed his eyes.

His face was radiant. No more pain or suffering. After 46 years, Jesus brought Chor Teck home.

Rainbow in the drizzle

At Chua Chu Kang Cemetery, as the coffin was lowered into the ground, I was numb with grief. But the tears did not flow.

It was a gloomy day with a persistent drizzle. Then I happened to look up and saw, to my great surprise, a huge rainbow right across the sky. It was a wonderful sight. I did not know the biblical significance of rainbows then. But I later realised that in the depths of my despair, God had painted his promise to me in one brilliant brushstroke across the sky.

“And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” (Genesis 17:7)

Sleeping through the storm

I returned to a house that had been swept and washed clean by friends and relatives. But it no longer felt the same. A tsunami had swept away all the happy memories of a previous life. It was not a home – just an empty shell.

I wanted to talk to my children, but simply could not muster the energy or strength to do so. I left them to my mother and their faithful nanny. The uncertainty of a future without Chor Teck seemed to suck me into a black hole.

The night after Chor Teck’s burial was a real test of strength and faith. For two months, I had been sleeping on the sofa in Chor Teck’s hospital room. To come back now to the king size bed and sleep alone in that big room was so depressing.

I cried to the Lord, “God, where are you?”

After a long time, I began to feel God’s comforting presence. It soothed my mind and my heart. It was like a raging storm had stilled.

A doctor friend of mine had given me some sleeping pills in case I had trouble sleeping. Indeed, it was not easy to fall asleep. There were numerous decisions looming over my mind. Chor Teck and I had made many plans for our life together and for the children, and now I was left to do it all alone.

But I did not need to touch the pills that night (or indeed any night after). By the sheer grace of God, I slept through the storm.

In those dark times, God kept me by blessing me with the ability to speak in tongues. This does not make me a more spiritual or more faithful Christian. Rather, it helps me to pray when I do not know what to say, to cry out to God even when I cannot understand what He is doing in the challenges facing me. Praying in tongues allows His Spirit who knows all things to lift my prayers to Him. It connects me to God. Through those difficult years, this was one way God grew my prayer life, sustained my faith, and brought me to love Him more.

Although Chor Teck never had time for God in his busy life, God had time for him. He was given time to hear the Gospel and receive Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. While in hospital, he even told me of a vision he had seen of Jesus waiting under a tree and saying to him, “because of your faith”.

In the beginning, we both thought that meant that with faith, he would receive healing. But God’s plans and purposes are infinitely wider, longer, higher, deeper than we can possibly comprehend. His plan was far more spectacular. 

3 blessed ladies in their 70s

In the decades since Chor Teck’s passing, it has been my privilege to witness the salvation of our family unfolding before my eyes. Three months after Chor Teck’s death, both our mothers were baptised – together with nine other family members.

Chor Teck’s death presented an opportunity for the Gospel to be shared with my mother, his mother, and our old helper Yip Kan. They were all in their 70s and had never been exposed to the Gospel. They were all believers of another religion with varying levels of conviction.

Mr Tan Boon Chiang brought Rev Oh Beng Kee from Grace Assembly of God to share the Gospel and the love of Jesus with them. They were not convinced. My mother-in-law said that all gods are the same, my mother listened without comment, and Yip Kan said that at their age, it was not right to switch from one god to another for no reason.

Alice and her mother, celebrating the latter’s 80th birthday.

But the seeds of life had been planted in each of them. They could not escape the relentless love of God.

Chor Teck’s mother was the first to embrace the good news. Knowing her then, you would never have believed it. Her superstitious nature made her very hostile to Christianity. In the early days of our marriage, Chor Teck and I lived in a rented flat near a church. She hardly visited us because its proximity to the church made her uncomfortable.

When she heard Chor Teck had accepted Jesus, she was very upset … until that day before Chor Teck passed on, when she suddenly knelt down, stretched out her hands, and called out, “Lord Jesus!”

This was a woman who had charms tattooed on her arms. Her worldview had been totally shaken. God showed her that He is the true God.

Initially, she was embarrassed to meet her old friends, for fear that they would mock her for becoming a Christian. God solved that problem by giving her new friends. Some members from St John’s Chapel were quick to invite her and one of Chor Teck’s sisters to their church service. My mother-in-law became an integral and much-loved member of that church. She had a real hunger for God’s word. She read the whole Bible twice through and was always eager to talk to anyone about what she had learnt. Her life became more purposeful. She no longer feared death. Instead, she was hopeful that she would see Chor Teck in heaven.

She passed on peacefully at the age of 76, three years after her baptism.

My mother, on the other hand, was not particularly religious. Unlike my mother-in-law, she had no ingrained hostility towards Christians, and was quite receptive to the Gospel.

At our age, it is not right to switch from one god to another for no reason, Yip Kan (centre), Alice’s faithful helper, had said. But God would show her otherwise. Pictured with Alice’s son, Sui Tong, enjoying Christmas dinner in 1988.

Yip Kan came from China and worked for one family for 40 years. When that family migrated to Australia, I was looking for a more mature helper and she was recommended to us.

She proved to be a loyal helper and a very good cook. She loved the children as if they were her own.

When my husband passed on, she wanted to stay on with me, but I told her it would be better for her to retire, since I had moved into a small rented apartment. Unfortunately, a year later, she met with a minor accident. I took her back as she was not married and had no family to support or take care of her.

Every Sunday after breakfast, we left her behind to go for the St John’s-St Margaret’s Church service. We tried to invite her to come along, but she always said it would be boring for her. One day I asked my cell group leader whether her Cantonese helper could take care of Yip Kan if I were to invite her to the Cantonese service. She agreed, and the next week, Yip Kan came with us.

One year later, she accepted Jesus and was baptised.

Remember God, $15, is written and published by Alice Chua. All proceeds from its sale go to Methodist Church of the Incarnation (MCI). For where to buy, email [email protected] or click here to purchase online from SKS Books Warehouse.

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