As Edwin Choo tells of his life story in a detailed narrative, one cannot help but raise one’s hands in response to a loving Heavenly Father who never let him go. He looks back and sees a loving God who impressed upon his heart as a young lad to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Prov 3:5-6, ESV).

These verses were in fact artistically painted on the four cornices of the chapel wall at Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) at Coleman Street. Edwin recalls: “I was admitted to Primary Four at ACS after the war years. We used to gather in the chapel for choir practice. I noticed and appreciated the artistic renderings, but not the actual verses. Yet, years later, this was the very same Scripture that impacted me.”

In many ways, what happened during the war years (1942–1945) was very much beyond young Edwin’s understanding. His mother, who was already ill from diabetes, suddenly collapsed after she asked for a spittoon while he was caring for her. “As she collapsed, she pushed the spittoon towards me. This gave me such a fright that I ran out of the house calling my Grandma to attend to her. And, that was the last time I saw my beloved mother, who passed away soon after. I was just seven years old.

“I was also shocked when I lost a good friend whom I played marbles with on the back lanes near Veerasamy Road. He had asked me to join him for a game, but I couldn’t make it as I had a family event. While he was waiting for me, a warplane that had been shot down plunged into the centre of the road close to where we were supposed to have our game of marbles. 

“It was traumatic for me to experience death up close at such a young age, with the loss of my mum and my good friend. This trauma continued to impact me all the way to adulthood, until the Lord delivered me from it.”

Some years later, Edwin attended Wesley Methodist Church (WMC) after finishing his Senior Cambridge examinations.² Here, he enrolled in the choir which was conducted by Chay Seng Pui, who would very kindly invite choir members to his home for lunch and fellowship as well. Edwin says: “This was my first experience with Christian fellowship, which I really enjoyed. I was also very blessed when we sang carols in the homes of different families around Christmas, after which we were always treated to home-cooked goodies. When my group of friends decided to get baptised, I followed along and got baptised too in 1954, but journeyed on only as a nominal Christian.”

No Going Back

It was not until a few years later that Edwin encountered God in a life-changing and transforming way. Edwin had gained admission to study architecture at Melbourne Polytechnic, and subsequently to earn his bachelor’s degree at Melbourne University. In 1957, he made his way to Australia—first travelling to Perth in a cargo ship over the choppy waters of the Indian Ocean, then flying on to Melbourne. Edwin’s father, a teacher by profession, gave him the seed money to start his education there, despite being financially challenged as he had to take care of Edwin’s five other siblings. It helped too that Edwin was able to bunk in with his late uncle, Choo Teik Wu, at his hostel to further save costs. 

Initially, Edwin was disoriented, being overseas in a foreign land for the first time on his own. He was rather unsettled, going from church to church, as he sought out fellowship with fellow Singaporean students from ACS. 

In 1959, Edwin was led to attend one of the rallies at Billy Graham’s ground-breaking Australia Crusade. This American evangelist and ordained Southern Baptist minister had written earlier: “For some reason I could not fully understand, although I believed it was the leading of the Holy Spirit, I had developed an overwhelming burden to visit the distant continent of Australia.”³ In the three months that Billy Graham subsequently spent preaching the gospel across Australia and New Zealand, it was estimated that half the people in Australia had heard his gospel message either at a live rally or over the airwaves and telephone lines. 

For Edwin, attending the rally at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, with thousands of other worshippers and seekers, was a spirit-stirring time. “Billy Graham declared that you must be born again. He talked about what life was all about. And as the choir sang Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, my heart was stirred, and I sensed His presence for the first time as I focused on Jesus. I gladly joined in the sinners’ prayer led by Dr Graham before leaving my seat to move towards the stage area to be ministered to. 

“The next morning, at around 3am, I had a wonderful dream about a glorious place where there were flags of all nations fluttering to the majestic sound of music. A sense of God’s presence and peace overwhelmed me. It was a peace that surpassed all understanding. It was then that my attitude and life were irrevocably changed.” 

It was a new season. There was no going back. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Cor 5:17).  

Soon after, Edwin was invited to stay at the Church Missionary Society (CMS) hostel for overseas students at Queensberry Street in Melbourne. This offered Edwin the perfect Christian environment to live and study. Not only were all his food needs met, but also spiritual needs. 

Here, Edwin met Edward Cheah, a Malaysian who was passionate about reaching out to overseas students so that they could, in turn, win others to the Lord when they returned to their home countries. Edward was one of the main drivers to kick start the Overseas Christian Fellowship (OCF) in Australia.⁴ 

Edwin served enthusiastically with the OCF as they held their first annual convention in 1959/1960 in Adelaide, with Dr and Mrs Harold Steward as ‘convention parents’.  The convention theme was: “Preparing Now in Australia to serve Jesus Christ Overseas”. 

Edwin was then elected chairman of OCF Melbourne from 1959 to 1961. During this tenure, and with the support of Edward Cheah, Betty Tan and members of the Fellowship, a second OCF Convention was held at Melbourne Bible College, with the theme of “Ambassadors for Christ”, and the theme song, “Christ the Only Answer for Asia”. 

Programmes organised by OCF Melbourne were well-received by overseas students. “By His grace, the Lord helped us ‘put feet’ to our activity line-up, with Sunday afternoon meetings as well as occasional gatherings, welcoming newbies and outreach programmes at the hostel. We even organised very affordable ‘snow trips’, especially for those who had never seen snow before. The trips included a barbecue, followed by a short devotion and prayer.”

OCF Melbourne was also blessed to be able to use local church premises, including Queensberry Street Chinese Church. “Indeed, we are very grateful to our Australian Christian friends who welcomed us into their premises. Again, this was God’s providence in action.”

It was at OCF Melbourne that Edwin first set eyes on Lilian Ho Lee Lien. Lilian was a Colombo Plan⁵ scholar from Singapore pursuing her Bachelor of Music degree and a Diploma of Education at the University of Melbourne. She played a very active role with OCF and had composed the first two Convention theme songs for OCF.  

Edwin recalls: “I was very drawn to Lilian’s quiet yet passionate personality. Whenever she was volunteered to conduct, sing or play the piano, she would do so with much passion and excellence. I prayed that if Lilian was meant for me, He would open the way. And He did. He parted the ‘red sea’ for me to meet and finally to court Lilian.”

Upon returning to Singapore, they made plans to get married. Though she was from a Brethren background, Lilian agreed to join Edwin at WMC. They met up with the church’s senior pastor at that time, Rev Gunnar Teilmann, who welcomed their joint decision to worship at WMC. He officiated at their wedding on 8 June 1963, which was followed by a memorable and joyous afternoon tea celebration at the Cathay restaurant.

Edwin recalls with much joy and contentment: “With Lilian by my side, I now had the loving support which I missed when I lost my mother at such a tender age. We have now been married for more than 60 years. Through these decades, she has inspired me through her lifelong pursuit of excellence in all that she does. Most importantly, she is a woman who fears the Lord through giving her very best, whether in teaching or conducting.”

Their marriage marked not only a union as man and wife but also a unity in spirit and service, as the Lord opened up opportunities for Edwin and Lilian to serve together through their different giftings. 

He Has Made All Things Beautiful in His Time

While they were blessed with the joy of getting married soon after their return to Singapore, there were developments too that burdened Edwin’s heart.  

He had set a personal challenge for himself. He knew that he had to remain passionate about sharing the good news of the gospel in a sustained manner. “I knew that how I did this would be a testament to my spiritual fervour. I prayed especially for a breakthrough for my parents’ salvation. I tried very hard to reach out to them through close friends and pastors, but to no avail. And then come 1967, I struggled with devastating news.

“My eldest sister, Guek Lin, whom I was very dependent on as a young boy after losing my mother, was diagnosed with liver cancer. She was given six months to live. My childhood experiences with death and the trauma of loss resurfaced. When we gathered around her hospital bed, Guek Lin asked me to pray for her. I started to weep and was so overcome by grief that I was speechless and unable to pray a comforting prayer for my dying sister. I felt so defeated and lost at that point.”

With a deep sense of helplessness and anguish, Edwin cried out to the Lord. “I had heard about the baptism of the Holy Spirit from David Johannes du Plessis, a South African-born American Pentecostal minister, who spoke at a Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship meeting earlier on. At that point, nothing happened, at least not until a subsequent meeting where both Lilian and I were present. To our joy, God planned it such that we would be blessed together—His timing is truly wonderful!”

It was only when his stepmother, whom Edwin called ‘Ma Chim’, was taken ill from a combination of ailments and medical complications, and had to be hospitalised, that the Holy Spirit began the work of healing in Edwin. “I began to feel compassion and love instead of fear. My heart was moved to pray for her, and not to flee the scene. Ma Chim was ministered to by an Anglican pastor—and soon after, she repented and was restored to the Lord. Later on, when a mild stroke rendered half her body paralysed, she asked me to bring my father to church to pray for her.

“For the first time in many years, my Dad agreed to attend and I brought him to service. Led by the Holy Spirit, I turned to my Dad and confidently declared that Ma Chim would be healed. Indeed, she was healed, and then discharged. When we met her, she was joyfully standing up with a walking aid, and told us ‘Look I can stand!’. 

“Sadly a few months later, she lapsed into a deep coma. Lilian and I prayed for her in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). By then, the Lord had shown me how to pray for the dying. We were both overjoyed when we saw her hands move from her side to a position of prayer, before she finally slipped into eternity.”

Edwin’s father became a Christian not long after. 

God-Led Providence & Protection

Edwin started his career with one of Singapore’s oldest architectural firms, Swan & Maclaren, in 1963 as an assistant architect. During his year or so with this firm, Edwin submitted an entry for the Japanese War Memorial design competition. His design, which won the first prize, incorporated the Chinese word for man, 人. Being awarded this first prize was God’s way of opening the path for his career in architecture. However, the competition sponsor used an obelisk design to build the memorial as it was more cost effective. 

In 1964, Edwin then joined Chan Kui Chuan Chartered Architects, where he gained substantial practical experience and was later promoted to a junior partner. After five years, he felt led to start his own practice, Edwin Choo Chartered Architects in 1969.  

Doing what was right in God’s eyes and trusting in His promises were what defined Edwin’s approach to his work and vocation right through his career till he retired in 2016.

God also opened the door in providing a home for Edwin, Lilian and their two young daughters. 

In the late 1960s, Goh Ewe King asked Edwin to build a four-storey walk-up apartment block at Sophia Road. As the property neared completion, Edwin was given the option of buying one of these units. “It made sense for us to buy, as we had been renting for around seven years by then. But I had just started my practice and did not have sufficient finances at that moment. Mr Goh Ewe King was very kind; he told me to take the unit first and settle the payment later. He even approved our proposal to name the building ‘Fairhaven’, after the harbour on the island of Crete which the apostle Paul had stopped at on his way to Rome. It was Lilian who suggested this name. In 1970, we all moved into this lovely 1500-square-foot unit. Here, in this haven for the whole family, we stayed for 50 years. School was within walking distance for the children. Lilian’s students who came to her for vocal and piano coaching could enjoy ample free parking. And the offices which the Lord subsequently provided to me were always in the vicinity, with the church located just minutes away by car.”

When Edwin started his own practice in 1968, construction work sites were often threatened by loan sharks and gangs demanding protection money. Undaunted, Edwin and his team prayed for God’s protection, and miraculously, they were left alone. 

The business climate was also tough at that time, and it was not always easy to bring in revenue. When the accounts went into the red, Edwin and his partner would pray over the statements. Somehow, these got back into the black the next time they reviewed the statements, by the grace and mercy of God. 

Even in these difficult times, Edwin trusted the Lord for His providence and provision, tithing 10 percent of their gross profits to the Lord. “God is faithful, in good and bad times, and I knew that tithing was not an option. I wanted to practise stewardship as a disciple of Christ. 

“During the recession in the 1970s, God reminded me of the widow in 1 Kings 17:7-15 who was assured that her jar of flour would not be used up and her jug of oil would not run dry until the Lord sent rain on the land. God truly provided for us during this challenging period. Indeed, ‘… my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus’ (Phil 4:19).”

The Lord had spoken to Edwin at the first Billy Graham Crusade he attended in Melbourne in 1959. Little did he expect that the Lord would use him for the Singapore Billy Graham Crusade⁶ that took place almost 20 years later in December 1978 at the National Stadium. This Crusade drew a record 337,000 people over five days and was then the largest-ever evangelistic rally in Singapore, with over 35 participating churches. 

As the Chairman of the Arrangements Committee, Edwin was given the mammoth task of planning and managing the logistics and sound, stage and related areas at the National Stadium, a venue that was equipped for football games, rather than rallies and choral music. Lilian sang in the 4,500-strong choir and also performed with the group she had founded, the Bel Canto Choir.⁷ It was God’s way of enabling Edwin and Lilian to serve the Lord together through their different giftings, something He would do time and again. 

Edwin recalls: “There were multiple aspects we had to carefully consider in our planning. With much prayer, and guided by God’s wisdom, we worked with the team to build requisite structures in order to ensure easy navigation and the safety of everyone coming forward during altar calls. 

“The five nights of the Crusade took place during the December monsoon season. We needed to make sure that the costly musical equipment, like the organ and the piano, would be protected from the rain. All electrical circuits and devices, as well as the sound system at the staging platform and the prayer room that was below the stage, had to be weather-proofed. 

“We planned and implemented everything as God guided us, and committed everything to prayer. Although it rained during the day across the five days of the Crusade, He performed the miraculous every single day. The rain subsided to a drizzle before 7pm each day, and then stopped. We sensed a calmness descend on the entire stadium, which was filled to the brim. All our anxieties faded away as we witnessed the Lord’s power. All glory to Him indeed.”

Subsequently, both Edwin and Lilian also responded to God-led opportunities to serve Him at the David Yonggi Cho⁸ and Reinhard Bonnke⁹ evangelistic rallies in the 1980s. For these subsequent rallies, Edwin drew largely from the experience of the Billy Graham Crusade that he had been involved in. Looking back, Edwin acknowledges: “God assigned me to areas that I already had experience in from the 1978 Billy Graham Crusade. For the Cho and Bonnke rallies, I could apply what I had learnt in logistics, sound and other back-of-stage areas, while Lilian led the choir. Through His wisdom and by His grace, everything went smoothly for us.”

Edwin said ‘yes’ to God for everything that he was asked to do. “When God asks you to accomplish something, just say ‘yes’ and step out in faith that God will equip you for His work. Once, I was asked to chair Prayer and Fasting for the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship. I felt I wasn’t equipped to lead a prayer meeting with fasting, and I had a gastric problem. Yet, God knew, and at our usual monthly public gathering, there was an invitation for those suffering from stomach pains to come forward. The speaker laid hands on me, and by His amazing grace, I was healed and could lead the prayer and fasting without any further gastric pains!”

God, His Jehovah Jireh!

It is often only when we look back at our life journeys that we are better positioned to appreciate and see God’s guiding hand and protection. “His glorious provisions started flowing more steadily after the 1978 Billy Graham Crusade in Singapore,” Edwin recalls. “The Lord blessed us with a stream of projects including educational and sporting facilities, public and private residential developments, and industrial buildings.”

The Lord also opened another door of opportunity. 

“In the subsequent years, through a brother whom we had met at the Graham Crusade and who was working at the Asia Insurance Building (AIB), we had the opportunity to renovate and rent the 16^th floor for our office premises. This was most certainly an upgrade from our premises at Cuppage Plaza in Koek Lane. With AIB in the Shenton Way area, we were now at a prime location with a beautiful view of the Marina Bay area.”

Two very skillful architects from Sydney, Noel Bell and Ridley Smith, then joined Edwin’s company as associates. Working in close collaboration with Edwin and his team, they brought a refreshing and creative edge to the business. Together they were able to submit successful designs to win educational projects like ACS (Independent) School and Victoria Junior College, as well as public sector and commercial projects.  

On another collaborative project with Noel and Ridley, Edwin shares: “The Singapore Wax Museum was one of the most meaningful public sector collaborative projects we worked on together. It involved the conversion of the army barracks from colonial times, and the creation of displays on the fall and restoration of Singapore. A British consultant specialising in wax displays was engaged in the design and installation of the ‘Surrender Chambers’. The team was later honoured with the Preservation of Building Award for the Museum.”

A final joint mega project—the Singapore Sports School at Champions Way in Woodlands—was completed within a year as the contractor and related teams were able to organise the work to meet the deadlines from day one. 

Edwin and his team members started most days with morning devotions in their 17^th-floor office at the AIB building, operating on the Philippians 4:8 principle: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Khoo Oon Theam, a key stakeholder at Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International, also moved into AIB, taking a space two floors above for his management consultancy business. Here, he too had morning devotions. And when the Anglican pastor, Canon James Wong, came in to conduct weekly lunchtime meetings, these few floors at the top of the AIB building became a hub for marketplace ministries! 

In 2006, AIB was sold to the Ascott Group, and a year after, Ong & Ong, one of Singapore’s leading architectural firms first established in 1972, acquired Edwin Choo & Partners (ECP) Architects International. Edwin and his partner, Yap Weng Seng, stayed on as directors, with Edwin finally retiring in 2016. 

An Enduring Love for Church and Family

Of Edwin Choo, Rev Melvin Huang¹⁰ says: “Edwin cared deeply for the church and the building as well. His designs also reflected a sense of spirituality. He was easy to work with—a true Methodist gentleman.”

Both Edwin and Lilian have attended WMC since 1963, and it has provided a warm, nurturing and loving environment for the entire family. Here, Edwin has served faithfully as part of the leadership, worship leader and communion steward for decades. For more than 40 years, Lilian served as a conductor at WMC, mainly conducting the John Wesley Choir, which sang at the 9.30am service, and helping on occasion with the Sunbeams children’s choir for special events.  

Both also participated actively in the church’s Small Group Ministry, having been members of the Farrer Park Small Group at the home of Donald and Anna Wee, the John Wesley Choir Small Group at the home of Drs Lim Su Min and Seng Yu, and also at the Wednesday Small Group led by Professor Khoo Oon Teik¹¹. “We were very grateful for the enriching times of learning the Word and fellowship through the small groups. Importantly, at the Wednesday Small Group, we were mentored to be men and women after His heart.”

As an architect with many years of experience and standing in the marketplace, Edwin also had the privilege of being involved in all three major extensions of WMC under the leadership of the respective pastors-in-charge—Rev Dr Tony Chi (1975–1982), Rev Dr Isaac Lim¹² (1982–1989) and Rev Melvin Huang (1999–2012). 

Retired quantity surveyor (QS), Tay Wei Lien,¹³ recalls: “I first worked with Edwin as a draughtsman in his office during my Polytechnic term breaks. I was also recruited to sing in Lilian’s John Wesley Choir occasionally. When I qualified as a QS, I worked with Edwin on Methodist Girls’ School at Blackmore Drive, and subsequently, its extension, and then on Living Hope Methodist Church in Tampines. It is also very noteworthy to remember that it was Edwin who designed the white triune altar table that continues to be used in the sanctuary, as well as the sanctuary ceilings that were painted red before, to reflect the fact that we are covered by the blood of Christ.”

On the various upgrades, Edwin explains: “Wesley Methodist Church sits on a 38,000-square-foot plot of land at the foot of Fort Canning Hill, the only hill found in downtown Singapore. This is a very strategic location, as it is positioned like a ‘beacon’ lit on a hill, so that the body of Christ can shine in the marketplace and beyond. At each point—in the 1970s, 1980s and 2000s—we strategised in such a way to meet specific congregational needs, as well as to optimise every square inch of available space with the funding designated. Our approach was always to present a wholistic architectural blueprint that would complement the church’s footprint, one that dated back to the time when it was first built in the early 1900s.”

By the 2000s, WMC had already undergone a few rounds of renovations and extensions. Ministries and the congregation continued to grow, and the aim, under the leadership of Rev Melvin Huang, was to unify the various building enhancements and extensions ‘under one roof’. 

Edwin and the church’s Building Committee, under Melvin’s oversight, agreed on a solution that included a glass roof covering which would cast light into the atrium space and link the entrance from the upper-level Canning Rise to the lower ramped access from Fort Canning Road at the forecourt of the sanctuary. The implementation of this ‘under one roof’ solution included the complex tasks of designing the skylight over the atrium and ensuring that the red brick building of the original church with its elegant 14^th-century style tower was well preserved. 

“Indeed, a church that is built on a hill will not be hidden but will stand tall as a landmark for generations to come,” Edwin adds. 

Edwin’s love of God’s Word and the Church can only be matched by his love and devotion for Lilian. Since their days of courtship in Melbourne, Edwin had pledged: “I’ve told her that I would always take good care of her. This commitment of love has enabled us to sail through the good and tough times of life. By His grace, I continue to keep that promise.”

Of their Dad, daughters Huey Ling and Sheryl affirm him: “He is a man who fears the Lord, a servant leader who places the interest of others over his own – Mum, us and the grandchildren. In care giving – he is tender and loving. In serving church and at his workplace – he is diligent and fully committed. We have been recipients of his care and support, and we would be forever grateful.”

Indeed, these words from Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 ring true for both of them, as they spend their sunset years together, chatting with one another, doing devotions, enjoying a time-tested companionship; and at all times, surrounded by the love of their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren. 

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”