Sharing Our Shared History

In a community, individual stories make up the whole — so let’s hear it from the Project Spring-Winter (PSW) Executive Team!

SJSM Village has come to life, and both the Nursing Home and Little Seeds Preschool are up and running in their new premises. We’ve all become quite familiar with PSW’s major milestones over the years, but the team that saw the project through has kept a relatively low profile. Here, we ask them to share significant memories, experiences, and takeaways from their involvement.

The almost-a-century-old Madras Thorn tree that now sits as a prominent landmark in the central space of the SJSM Village campus

John Suan

Project Executive Director, 2015–1 May 2016

It was more of a surprise than anything else to have been part of PSW, actually. God has a sense of humour. You move out of Singapore, you think a chapter of your life is over, but you never really know when God will float up pieces of the past and ask you to pick them up again. I’d actually only come back from Canada to spend time with my son who was doing his National Service, when Bp Rennis asked if I was available to help out by working with Ps Joshua to kick off PSW: pull a team together, set out working pieces and get gears in motion, appoint architects, supply a working brief, ensure that subcommittees are in place, etc.

As ex-Group CEO for SAMH and SACS, I’d had opportunity to serve the Diocese, but at a certain distance. PSW was different, up close and precious; doing it with Ps Joshua and Bp Rennis, with whom I go back a long way, was a real joy. I particularly treasure the shared thinking process; it was beautiful to see this coming together of like-minded individuals, this shared grappling with the concept of social work from a service perspective, of building both hardware and software. I also enjoyed helping the architectural team understand our hows and whys—it helped that a few of them were SJSMers as well—and then seeing PSW come alive in the drawings.

I handed the reins over to Michael Wong and left Singapore just before the final goodbye to the old open-air carpark, but I’ve remained in the project group chat, so I’m aware of and in touch with PSW’s progress. I like to think that I’ve always been there whenever any of them needed a sounding board. All in, I’m just really grateful to have been a part of this process.

Michael Wong

Project Executive Director, 2 May 2016–present

Three important concepts stand out to me as I reflect on the whole of my PSW experience:

1. The Lord provides. There were anxious moments when supplies were disrupted, and concerns about possible escalating cost to the construction budget during the COVID-19 lockdowns. However, as God had shown us at the beginning of the project (by bringing in a substantial unsolicited donation even before we launched any fundraising efforts), He has provided us with many cost savings throughout the project.

2. God’s Perfect Timing. As can be expected, the COVID-19 lockdowns also caused unexpected delays to the project. While we were getting anxious and trying to do whatever possible to hasten up the works, we were reminded that God determines the pace as He knows the end from the beginning!

3. Building Relationships. Projects have an expiry date, while relationships last forever! I’ve been sensing that God wants us to build relationships as our key priority, and that the rest of the project management would fall into place. And in the course of this project, He has brought many people from different background in — consultants, contractors, guest workers, government inspectors, church volunteers, fellow church workers, nursing home and childcare stake holders, Dover residents from the neighbouring HDB blocks, and many more!

Megan Ching

Project Executive Administrator, August 2015–September 2017

Megan is pictured centre, in white tee.

Coming in to PSW from a highly structured workplace, it was initially challenging to be in a very fluid set-up, reporting to a committee of volunteers while embedded in the church staff team. Also, the design phase — initially expected to last three to four months — stretched over a year, with more than 27 iterations (various changes were made to strike an equilibrium between the committees’ prayerful discernment of God’s intentions and the constraints of regulatory requirements and costs). I spent many quiet moments alone in the office crying out to God in the face of various work challenges, while grappling with the fact that my father was critically ill from a bad fall that happened shortly after I had started.

During one of these dark moments, God showed me a vision of Himself as Creator, calling things into being. I was standing beside Him on an elevated plane. As His call reverberated into the dark expanse, a light shone in the horizon, revealing the many people of various races and ages who had come to heed His call. Some well-dressed, some in simple clothing; some carrying heavy burdens; some wandering, some striding purposefully. As they came to the source of the call, many dropped their burdens, their movements becoming synchronised with the rhythm of the call. It was as if God was the great conductor, orchestrating a huge display of a much larger scale and duration than what we see at the National Day parade.

This vision sustained me, informed me of the functioning of the body of Christ, and defined my work in PSW. From this vantage point, I was convicted to continue recording the PSW Main Committee’s meeting proceedings and to pray for God’s vision to come to pass even after I vacated my official position to attend to more pressing family needs upon my father’s passing. I am part of the PSW intercession group that has been meeting since December 2015, and continues to meet monthly to intercede for PSW to this day.

Pauline Myat

Account Executive, June 2017–present

It is no coincidence that I am part of the PSW team. It was God’s plan from the beginning.

I moved to Dover in June 2014. My block is just across the road from SJSM. I was then working in the commercial sector, but I really wanted to use my skills to contribute to the Kingdom of God. So I started applying for accounting jobs in churches. SJSM was one of the churches that I wrote in to. When I sent in my CV, PSW had not yet officially started. There wasn’t even an official vacancy in this area.

Almost exactly a year from the date of my application, I received an interview invitation from SJSM. I was in Myanmar at the time and was not really keen to respond, but my sister informed me that this was “the church nearest to home” of all that I had applied to. I flew back to Singapore for the meeting. The second interview was done online as I was back in Myanmar. Before I got any official notice from SJSM, I dreamt of HR introducing me to various church colleagues, room by room. When I received the offer letter, I realised that my starting date was exactly three years since I moved to Dover. And when HR brought me on my orientation, everything looked just like it had in my dream!

Waiting for the lift on my way to work every morning, I’ve watched the space transform. I’ve prayed for all the people working on the site, and everyone who has been a part of the PSW process. It’s been my vision to see the elderly and children coming together at church, as well as nurses from multiple countries. I thank God for the opportunity to work on PSW. He has guided me throughout all these years, through His Word and also my colleagues.

Thomas Lim

PSW Project Manager, October 2017–3 October 2021 Facilities & Security Team Lead, 4 Oct 2021

It has been a privilege and a great blessing to be able to use the skills and expertise God has given me to support the PSW construction work. The journey was challenging especially in the midst of the COVID-19 situation. But by the grace of God, everything fell in place in His perfect timing. While there are still some matters to be resolved and challenges in the integration of managing the facilities of the new Village, I draw from the faith God has given me through witnessing how He has blessed the project thus far.

Victoria Yap

Assistant Project Manager, October 2017–31 May 2021

Being part of the PSW project team has been a privilege. Looking back now, close to the end of PSW, it has been like having a front-row seat to seeing God work His miraculous ways, moment by moment, year by year. I’ve never encountered a project that lasted this long, nor one that faced as many challenges as this one did; yet, I felt so much peace throughout. It was never about us; it was always about Him.

I can’t really go into details as there’s simply too much to praise God for, and we’ve also always known, deep in our hearts, that PSW would be completed in His perfect timing. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” (Psalm 20:7)

The building project is now in the process of being wrapped up, but God’s work is ongoing. May we continue to trust in Him, as we enter into the new season of seeing how He will shape the life of SJSM Village; moment by moment, year by year.