Today Ian speaks of the many “God moments” that he and Madeleine have had. But surely, these God moments started even in their earlier years as God extended His grace, love and mercy, protecting and sustaining them through family conflict, illness and challenges.
Madeleine worked with Prudential Singapore in the late 1980s. While she was with Prudential, she joined the informal Christian Fellowship group with meet-ups on a weekday morning, to worship and listen to the Word by a speaker. This coincided with a time in which she was searching for purpose and meaning in life. A friend invited her to Wesley Methodist Church (WMC), where Madeleine was drawn to attend the More Precious Than Jewels2 course conducted by Mrs Cathy Houba, an American expatriate who had lived in Singapore for 13 years.
Madeleine remembers Cathy’s testimony of how she entrusted everything to the Lord, as her husband underwent major surgery in hospital. This reminded Madeleine that God is always in control. She started to attend Bible study at WMC, which was conducted on a week night by Richard Foo. By then, she was hungry to know more. She joined the Baptism and Membership Class (BMC), and was baptised in December 1991.
Initially, Ian did not attend church regularly with Madeleine. He would drive her there, but would only accompany her for service when Orchard Road was closed once a month for car-free Sundays. Looking back, this was a flimsy excuse! Though Ian had no objection to Madeleine attending service, his heart was not yet warmed.
Then in 1992, Ian’s mother went for a heart procedure. What was supposed to be a simple procedure that included ballooning and stenting, became complicated. The procedure had to be re-done, and she had to be rolled back into the operating theatre. Ian bargained with God: “If you allow her to live, I will follow you.” His mother recovered and Ian accepted the Lord as his Saviour. He was baptised in 1993.
Husband and wife then started to attend weekday early morning Bible study classes by Dr Isaiah and his wife, who were missionaries from India. God began to speak into their spirits and hearts as they started to go on short-term missions to places like Nepal and Bangalore, India with the Isaiahs. The mission-themed hymns in WMC – You are the Seed, and Here I am, Lord, began to speak to Ian and upon singing them, he teared up. “I have always loved hymns. The words of these two old hymns resonated with me, and I said to God – ‘Are You calling me, Lord?’”
God Hears the Desires of Our Hearts
After her baptism and just before the Chinese New Year in 1993, Madeleine had a dream. She dreamt of her mother’s house in Ipoh – and there on the kitchen floor were lots of colourful fish, but not in water. She realised that these fish floundering on the kitchen floor were “souls” of men.
With this dream, Madeleine felt an urgency to lead her ageing mother to the Lord. Her mother was not a Christian, and had practiced traditional ancestor worship.
When she was three years old, her mother remarried after Madeleine’s father died a month before she was born. “My step-father was good to my mother, who helped him with the family business, as we were agents for beverages like F&N, Tiger Beer, Carlsberg and some liquor brands. He was very kind and a good provider.”
At home, Madeleine’s mother brought her up with a very strict hand, urging her to always study hard and to score well in school. Young Madeleine would be rewarded when she was able to score 100 marks, and would get $10 if she came in first in class when she was in primary school. “I was not allowed to go out freely. All my friends came over to my home instead. It was a regimented life, as I shuttled between school, home and tuition classes for English, Science and Maths. Once I asked my English tutor, ‘Who made God?’, and I got scolded. After Primary Six, I was in a convent school in Ipoh till Form Three. I didn’t attend chapel as it was not compulsory, but I do recall a nun coming to our class to share some scripture. When I was in Australia later for my high school, my landlady did bring me to church, which I found very boring as it was full of old people.”
Later on, Madeleine would share the gospel with her mother whenever she visited Ipoh, and also brought her to church in Singapore when she came down to visit. “My mother would always say – ‘later, later.’ On one of her visits here around the mid-1990s, I brought her to the home of Pastor Oh Beng Kee3 who shared the gospel with her. It was then she asked Pastor Oh – ‘if I were to become a Christian, can I be buried with my husband who is not a Christian?’ Pastor Oh assured her that heaven and earth belong to the Lord, and it did not matter where she would be buried. That untied the knot in her heart, and she accepted Christ.” She was baptised in Ipoh.
Madeleine’s mother passed away in 2015 at 95 years old.
On Ian’s side – both his beloved nanny and his mother were brought to Christ through Mrs Oh Beng Kee after his mother’s recovery from heart surgery. Ah Sin would look forward excitedly to attending the Cantonese service at Grace Assembly of God every Sunday. She would put on her Sunday best – well-pressed samfoo (traditional Chinese top and pants), jade earrings and ring – to attend service.
Ian said: “Ah Sin was with our family for 55 years. She was also a devoted companion to my mother. When she died in 1997 at the age of 77, my mother was devastated. Maddie and I put up an obituary for her in the local Chinese press as well as in the Straits Times, as she had many distant relatives in Singapore whom we did not know how to contact. Many came for her one-night wake. Mrs Oh Beng Kee kindly conducted her funeral for her. We will always be grateful for Ah Sin who was truly God’s gift to my family.”
After his mother passed away in early 2004, and just before both he and Madeleine embarked for theological studies in Singapore Bible College, conflicts and heart-breaking disputes arose in Ian’s family. Challenges were posed by his siblings. This brought on a great deal of stress and distress for both Ian and Madeleine. Eventually, Ian was vindicated by the Lord with the assistance of a fellow Methodist lawyer who helped them navigate through the acrimony and unfounded accusations.
Ian shares: “I believe God allowed this challenging period to happen so that we would both surrender completely to Him, and depend on Him alone. God spoke to us through Psalm 37:6-7 which reminded us: ‘He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes (NLT).’ “.
Madeleine adds: “It was at times like these where the community of faith, instead of flesh and blood, became our real family, as they gathered around to pray for and support us.”
Inspiration by the Body and Many God Moments
In 1996, both Ian and Madeleine went on a trip to Israel where they got to know many of WMC’s long-time members, like John Lee, Liau Nyuk Siong4, Lim Lay Nee, Irene Lim and Harriet Doraisamy5. Each of these members were already actively serving at church, either in church development or ministries like Family Life, Sunday Choir and for Harriet – the Sunbeams children’s choir.
They were invited to serve in the Family Life Committee which was chaired by Nyuk Siong at the time. John Lee also invited Ian to help raise funds for the first Christmas at the Fort outreach event in 1996. Sometime later, Ian became chairman of the church’s Witness & Evangelism Committee.
God was already steering them towards missions. Ian shared: “We had already been going on short-term mission trips after I accepted the Lord in 1993. In the year 2000, I went to visit the Fongs6 in East Asia, where they were serving as missionaries. Paul Satari, Pastoral Team Member for WMC’s Missions, had organised this trip for the church to attend the first partnership conference with Project Grace, which the Fongs were serving with.
“While I was there, I met Samuel Chiang, the chairman of Project Grace. I was very impressed with him. I saw how he handled the older missionaries – with much compassion and heartfelt pastoral care, and in turn, how they took to him. We became good friends and later on in the mission field, Samuel was my mentor. We spent several days with the Fongs, listening to their experiences and getting a deeper understanding of their work. One day, during worship in the conference, Bob Fitts’ praise song “Take My Healing To The Nations” really moved my heart, in His call to bind up broken hearts with love, bring joy where there is pain, preach good tidings of love and bring light to darkness.”
Ian and Madeleine continued to serve in the various ministries at church. By then, Madeleine was leading a very successful insurance team at Prudential Singapore. The team included Ian – who had given up his own well compensated job as the General Manager of an Indonesian company to join Madeleine in 1995, so that they could better focus on their church ministry while waiting for each other’s calling.
In August 2003, they both attended a talk by then Bishop Rev Dr Robert Solomon in WMC. He challenged those who had been distracted along the way to renew their commitment to serve. Madeleine immediately recalled what she had heard during a church service in Kuala Lumpur soon after her baptism in 1991, that said: “Be my rod and staff, comfort my people.” That night, after hearing Dr Solomon’s message, Harriet Doraisamy, whom she was seated next to, prompted her to go up for prayer.
Initially, Madeleine did not think she would serve full-time. But the Lord took away all her desire for worldly and material success, and she stepped out by faith. Ian was already ready by then too.
Soon after, Madeleine discussed their next steps with Ian. Together, they met with then Pastor-in-Charge, Rev Melvin Huang to discuss what they should do. Ian said: “Pastor Melvin encouraged us to get equipped to go and study. Soon, we signed up for a two-year course in inter-cultural studies at Singapore Bible College (SBC), which was very mission-oriented. By then we were already in our fifties. We were admitted in July 2004, and were blessed to receive full support from the church.”
It was tough to study again, but they learnt a lot during their course at SBC. They were also blessed to have met and made friends with fellow students from different cultures and countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, India, Thailand, Burma, Korea, Vietnam and the USA. God spoke through fellow students, lecturers and books, and their worldview was changed for the better. They adopted a simpler lifestyle. Ian was a student leader for the Students Mission Fellowship, which taught them to be more effective servant leaders amongst their peers. Ian received the G.D. James Award for Missions in his final year at the school.
“It was a wonderful two-year journey from 2004 to 2006. Yet, we had to continue to trust the Lord, as up to the time we graduated, we did not know what we were going to do. During those two years, we met many missionaries who visited or studied in SBC. We also went on vision trips to different locations in East Asia.”, shared Ian.
When they graduated, both felt much affinity for SBC where they had spent two wonderful years. So, God led them back to serve at the bible college. WMC, their home church, also came forward to support half of their SBC salaries. Ian was appointed Director of Development with the responsibility of raising funds for the school’s new student residential block. Madeleine helped out and supported in the administrative support role.
Indeed, every time God opened a door to a church and cleared obstacles, it was a God moment. Within three years, with God’s help, Ian raised more than S$8 million – exceeding the target set for the building fund. He also raised funds for the endowment and legacy funds, as well as for student scholarships.
In 2009, Ian and Madeleine answered the call to the mission field to serve in a bi-vocational ministry in East Asia.
Ian’s role was to mobilise Christian professionals internationally to serve in East Asia with their professional skills. He worked with 13 mobilisation centres across the world.
Madeleine’s role was to coordinate placement to match professional qualifications with field needs, training, orientation and member care. Together with Ian, she would visit colleagues in the field to encourage them, listen to their needs and challenges as most of them served in remote places either alone, or in small teams, isolated from other believers and support.
“My house is a house of prayer”
This was the loud and clear message to Ian mid-way through his five-year tenure in the mission field.
It was a tough and demanding portfolio for both Ian and Madeleine through their time with this ministry in East Asia. There was a lot of work, and not enough workers. They were both drained. One morning, as he looked out the window of his office, Ian cried out to God: “What should I do, how do I do it? I am at my wits’ end, Lord. And the Lord said to me: ‘My house is a house of prayer. I just want you to pray.’”
Ian was prompted then to start a monthly prayer meeting via Skype. This online platform brought together all the regional centres to pray for more workers and the needs of the field. “Indeed all glory to God for reminding me that His house is a house of prayer. I praise God that this Skype prayer meeting continues till today.”
In each of their roles, Ian and Madeleine had to learn to be nimble and versatile. Their roles evolved and changed with the needs, and it was continuous learning on the job.
Madeleine shares: “I thank God for enabling me to be patient and persevering, even when things become challenging. The first time I travelled into East Asia, I received an earful of complaints from one missionary about another missionary. I kept quiet and just listened. Later that evening, this same missionary told me that her problems were resolved. Once, a missionary colleague did not like what I had suggested for some training. I continued to be patient, and did my best to explain to her that things needed to be done in a certain way.”
Both affirm their time in the mission field. They said: “It was an adventure with God – not knowing what would cross our path as we went in, not feeling equipped for the roles. But this was when global mission really came alive for us. We had very good role models in the field. These veteran missionaries helped us to persevere when the going was tough. We were also very enriched by the cross-cultural experiences. Our faith increased as we witnessed God’s amazing works and provision. As 19th century British missionary Hudson Taylor said: ‘God’s work done in God’s way never lacks God’s supply.’”
Sometime in 2012, Ian and Madeleine took a three-month sabbatical. They chose to spend this time at a language school in another East Asian city. Over the weeks and months there, Ian befriended his teacher, a 24-year-old young lady. He gave her a bilingual Bible, and Madeleine brought her to Christ. They continue to keep in touch with her, as she remains a Christian till today. Madeleine said: “With our language limitations, this breakthrough is really to His glory!”
In 2014, Ian had to return to Singapore to have a heart procedure. Later that year, they returned to Singapore for good. Ian was appointed the Executive Director in the Singapore office, supported by Madeleine. They served till their retirement in 2018.
“God – The Strength of Our Hearts”
Together, they reflect: “We are all frail in the flesh. Spiritual dryness can come about. We each need to learn to rest in the Lord. Very often, missionaries encounter health issues, but we can assuredly look to Psalm 73:26 – ‘My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.’”
Both Ian and Madeleine look to the Lord as the “strength of their hearts”. What the Lord has brought them through has reiterated to them the importance of exercising faith and dependency on God in all circumstances.
Ian recalls the cataract surgery that he needed in 2009 just as they were preparing to go into the mission field. This is typically a simple operation, and recovery is usually smooth. However, after the operation, his eyes were inflamed for seven weeks. They struggled and started asking if they had heard God correctly to go out to the mission field. God in His mercy and grace sent two doctors who were not known to them to help Ian. Dr Leong Keng Hong, a rheumatologist, found that Ian had an auto-immune condition. The eye pressure built up quickly. Together with opthamologist Dr Heng Lee Kwang, they were able to bring down Ian’s eye inflammation and eye pressure. The two doctors were God’s provision during this very stressful period as they treated Ian, and ‘did it as unto the Lord’. Ian then received medical clearance to leave for the mission field.
Just earlier this year (2024), Ian was told that he had to undergo a major surgery for a health condition. He was devastated – but he heard a voice chiding him: “Haven’t I done it for you before?” Ian broke down and cried.
God provided again. A young couple from WMC, Kelvin and Lin Xin came forward to help with the medical arrangements. Lin Xin accompanied Ian for the first medical appointment and Kelvin sent him to the hospital in the early hours of the morning on the day of surgery. God’s love has truly shone through the lives of His children. Ian and Madeleine both affirmed: “We experienced God’s faithfulness and goodness yet again. We are so moved and grateful for the support and love of the community of faith, prayers and visits.”
Even as Ian continues to face some health challenges, both he and Madeleine look to God and His Word to be the compass in their lives. They continue with their ministry of hospitality, by opening up their home to missionaries passing through Singapore and their hearts to raise the next generation of leaders, through mentoring and the Small Group Ministry. They have also found opportunities to speak values into the lives of the next generation on secular platforms as well.
They are both encouragers and equippers who have made a difference to all who encounter, engage with and befriend them. They acknowledge: “We are all pilgrims here on earth, journeying home. Hence, it’s so important that we stay close to our Maker and His Word, on which we can stand firm, as a light unto our feet, and a light unto our path.”