Alice Wong had a reputation for being a troublemaker during her childhood.

Born in Limbang, a small town in the interior of Sarawak, Malaysia, Alice spent her primary school days picking fights, playing truant and exasperating her teachers.

“I was very naughty. I beat other students up all the time and even vandalised my teacher’s car,” she said with a sheepish grin.

However, the young Chinese-Lun Bawang girl displayed an extraordinary talent in badminton.

At 13, she entered Malaysia’s elite sports school in Kuala Lumpur (KL) and went on to play for the national team.

However, after a man from her village was murdered in KL, her father grew concerned for her safety and decided to bring her home after just a year and a half.

Seeking her place in this world

Lost and without a clear sense of direction, Alice found herself constantly chasing the next “cool” thing.

Her path led her to vaping and drinking. With a fiery temper, she often found herself in pub brawls, clashing with both strangers and friends.

“I was vaping up to 30ml of vape juice a day,” Alice shared. Anything over 10ml a day is considered heavy use.

With her natural charisma and larger-than-life personality, she introduced her friends and university peers to her lifestyle.

After finishing her studies in Kuching, Alice returned to Limbang in 2020. A few months later, the pandemic struck, and like the rest of the nation, Alice’s life was forced into lockdown.

The power of love and acceptance

During this time, a friend from the church she had grown up in asked Alice to help with live-streaming the worship services.

Though Alice was raised as a Christian, her faith and relationship with God never felt real to her. She also had stopped attending church, and doubted that her church would accept her.

“I told my friend, ‘You know my life, everything’s on Instagram. How can I attend, let alone serve in church?’” she recalled.

Her friend responded: “God can change anyone, even you. Just come.”

So she did. And at BEM Bandar Limbang Church, Alice was welcomed with warmth, enthusiasm and sincerity.

There, she discovered love, hope and a safe space. She remembers thinking: “This is what it means to be a family in God.”

A desperate prayer

For three years, Alice helped her church and other struggling churches to transition to online services.

However, while she felt closer to God during this time, she struggled to break free from her habits of drinking and vaping.

She had also entered a new relationship. “It was toxic. I’d cry every day for weeks, trying to figure out what I’d done to upset my partner,” she recalled.

The relationship consumed her life and mental health, leading her to cry out to God.

“Without thinking, I prayed, ‘Can you get me out of (Limbang) and bring me somewhere new?'”

Little did she know, God was about to answer her prayer.

“Why are people here so happy?”

Several months later, Alice moved to Miri to work with her uncle. It was January 2024, and it felt like the start of something new.

“My friend Tricia, who lives in Miri, got really excited when she heard I was coming. She wanted to bring me to her church,” Alice said.

When she stepped into Cornerstone Community Church in Miri, she was floored.

“I asked Tricia, ‘Why are people here so happy?’ I couldn’t make sense of it,” she said.

Alice (middle) with her pastors and spiritual mothers, Ps Rachel Bulan (left) and Ps Sabrina Low of Cornerstone Community Church Borneo.

One Sunday, the sermon was about how the Israelites remained in bondage by clinging to their past lifestyles, despite having been set free from slavery.

Alice felt something stirring inside her.

She prayed: “Is it time for me to return to Your presence? I want to come back to church, stop my life of sin, and leave my past behind. King of Glory, enter my life, my community, and my world.”

Her conviction was so deep that when she got home, she threw away all her vapes. Her desire for vaping and alcohol had vanished.

Soon after joining Cornerstone, Alice joined Breakthrough cell group, whom she credits with helping her find hope, peace and a sense of belonging. “These days, I’m always telling God, ‘Thank you for giving me this church as my home.’”

She then opened the Bible app and began reading.

“I cried and cried, filled with regret over my past choices. ‘I want to be more like You,’ I told Jesus. ‘I want to use my talents to bring others like me, broken and shattered, back to You.'”

Leading others back to God

Not everyone believed her transformation was genuine.

Friends invited her to pubs and challenged her to drink or vape. “I was able to say, ‘No, thank you,’ and order a Coke,” Alice said.

On November 23, 2024, Alice was baptised as a mark of rededication to God. “I have found my peace and happiness again,” she said.

As more people became aware of her transformation, her testimony began changing lives.

“People my age who knew the old Alice are intrigued. Some are turning to God again, returning to church, breaking bad habits, or distancing themselves from toxic relationships,” she shared enthusiastically.

The 26-year-old credits her change to her mother, who had prayed faithfully through Alice’s turbulent years: “Lord, if I cannot change my daughter, I surrender her to You.”

Alice (standing, middle) with Jacklynne, Wendy, Muriel, Yvea and Rebecca. Together with Cheryl (not pictured). These friends from Limbang fasted and prayed for her salvation.

Years ago, pastors and family members had told her she was a born leader.

“I used my leadership gift wrongly back then, but I believe God wants me to serve Bahasa-speaking Christians and reach out to friends who’ve left the faith or been hurt by the church,” she shared.

Her face radiates with joy as she reflects on the prayer she now offers every night: “God, if You’ve given me the gift of leadership, show me how to lead people back to You.”

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