Pigsa

PIGSA!

By Kelvin and Julienne Ng

‘She must be confined in hospital right away!’ By September 2019, we were almost three months into our year-long mission serving the poor in Marilao, Bulacan, Philippines. We had just gotten used to dusty commutes, living without running water, and being away from family. Every week we had fought off a different stress monster. Our ministry had finally found its rhythm. Then these words from the doctor knocked us back to ground zero.

Theo had a pigsa (boil) on her forehead that had kept growing over the week despite antibiotics. The infection had spread to her sinuses, swelling up the upper part of her face. We were hapless and desperate for answers. Finally this third doctor we saw diagnosed it with accurate severity. So we made a twohour journey to the only hospital our insurance policy covered, incidentally the best hospital in Manila.

Julienne and Theo in hospital

We had known that bringing a two-year-old on mission to a developing country would be challenging. Yet we had not expected that the biggest challenge would be emotional, not physical. The ugly truth is we grappled with mounting frustration that she was holding us back from fulfilling our ministry potential. We had fond memories of ministry here as a young couple - late nights with skaters on the kerbside, and climbing into cardboard shelters to pray for the homeless. Now with Theo, we took fewer risks. We were taking turns being at home or in a back room with her while the other worked on the frontline. It was often lonely. For Kelvin, it was new. We also struggled with feeling less productive than we had been in Singapore.

When Theo was hospitalized, we had nowhere to run from these feelings. God placed us in an incubator to literally do nothing but be with her. No ministry, no work. For nine days, we sat together and simply enjoyed Theo. We learned that all other ministries could be done by someone else. Only we could fulfill our God-given roles as parents.

There were other upsides too. Theo was cheerful throughout her stay, while she was on a drip and all. We experienced the selfless love of our colleagues, who accompanied us for registration, brought us food, and even took a night shift so we could rest when Julienne fell sick midway. We met US diplomats who housed us, did our laundry, and sent their driver to take us home. There was even a doctor who introduced herself as an ex-professor’s disciple, and prayed for us at our bedside. All these angels let us know that we were right where God intended.

Looking back, we see that God gave us this pigsa episode to overhaul our mentality towards ministry and parenthood. We now treasure the privilege of being at home with Theo. There is no greater calling than to simply worship God, whatever our roles for this season are.

CHANGING MY SHAPE… HUNGRIER FOR GOD

by Nick Chung

I guess my “reappearance” in BFEC in September 2019 and, then, January 2020 after being in the field for most of last year caused a “stir” to many who have known me for a long time. The three most common comments I received were, “Nick! Are you unwell?!”; “You are half the man you used to be!” and “Did Pauline [my wife] mistreat you?!”

Yes, I have lost weight, almost 30kg to be exact, and it was intentional.

It started on my 41st birthday in March 2019. At a personal retreat to reflect on my 40 years of existence, I asked the Lord what resolutions and direction I should set for the year ahead. I thought I heard the Lord say specifically, “lose weight”. Come to think of it, He may have implied it metaphorically rather than literally, and I decided, “why not?”

I had just undergone a medical checkup and almost all markers were in the red - obesity, high cholesterol, pre-diabetic symptoms - and my father had suffered a second minor stroke a few months back as well. Given all these triggers, I decided to embark on my weight loss journey. I honestly thought it would be a long and tedious process. Having been overweight most of my life, I gave myself three years to reach my healthy BMI level. God somehow helped me muster enough courage, faith and conviction to be whole-hearted about my weight-loss. Hence, I changed my lifestyle and diet, not drastically but entirely, by eating healthily and exercising more regularly.

Nick in 2013

Nick and Pauline, CNY 2020

Surprisingly, it was not a long process, but definitely a tedious one that challenged my commitment and discipline. Initially, I would cook up a thousand excuses to avoid exercising, and whined at eating healthy food. I almost switched from being a non-vegetarian to a full vegetarian. Many nights I was so hungry that I was tempted to put my hand into the cookie or pong piah jar to satisfy my hunger, but thank God I was able to persevere. I reached my healthy BMI within eight months and my latest medical review shows that almost everything is now in the healthy range!

Many have asked me what kept me going in my weight loss journey. I think my experience as a business owner for the last five years played a significant part. I have come to realise that I am responsible for every action and decision I make and I cannot blame others for what happens to me. To see change and/or growth (or loss in this case), I need to work on it. What’s more, for years I knew God’s Word tells us that “...your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you...” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Unexpectedly, my weight loss journey has, in turn, inspired me spiritually too, as I have learnt that my relationship with God is very dependent on my commitment and attitude to fully pursue Him. We can pray for a closer walk with Him but if we do nothing to make it happen, we will still be malnourished (pun intended).

P.S. No, I am not on a keto diet. I love my rice and noodles.

We can pray for a closer walk with Him but if we do nothing to make it happen, we will still be malnourished