By Joyce Peh
When their paths crossed decades ago, these brothers and sisters in Christ never thought their friendships would last till today.
Dr Hoon Hian Teck and Tan Chow Boon met in 1976 at their college YFC Club. Hian Teck came to know the Lord through a YFC Club in Katong a year earlier and joined the college Club meetings held in a nearby bungalow. Chow Boon was invited to the same Club. He shared, “Every week, we had a speaker to teach us the Bible. We had events like Wild Goose Chase and Agape Day. It was a lot of fun!”
Fun also attracted Chong Sue-Anne, Huang Yu Rui and Yew Lian Sie to SYFC in the late 1980s and early 1990s, while studying in different vocational institutions. At Yu Rui’s first SYFC camp, different ones spoke with her about the gospel every day. She recalled, “Finally, I decided to believe because I was afraid of death and eternal life that the gospel promises seems so good.”
Sue-Anne and Lian Sie were Christians when they joined SYFC. All three spent time in Bible study with our staff and volunteers to better understand what it meant to follow Jesus.
Subsequently, Lian Sie and Yu Rui joined the staff team while Sue-Anne started work as an accountant. They kept in touch. Lian Sie quipped, “We weren’t always close to one another as students… but when we started working, we met more regularly. There are seven of us now in the group.”
The brothers served with six other committee members in their college YFC Club. Chow Boon was the treasurer and Hian Teck oversaw follow up for the technical stream. After college, Hian Teck continued volunteering, but Chow Boon stopped. However, their friendship didn’t stop then. These committee members continued meeting for Bible study after their A-level in 1978.
Hian Teck was the default leader in rallying the group together. When he left for overseas studies from 1986-1989, the group continued to meet. Hian Teck was slightly surprised since they could have easily stopped meeting. But he said, “When I returned, I was getting married. I was already tremendously encouraged that the group was still meeting. And the group helped with my wedding preparations in full force. They took care of everything!”
The group of ladies celebrated birthdays, travelled and met to read the Bible together since 2018. They are one another’s accountability partners, ensuring each is walking close with God and supporting one another in prayer and practical acts of love.
Yu Rui shared, “When Sue Anne’s mum and my mum contracted cancer, they stayed in the same hospital at the same time. We visited each other’s mum. The other ladies prayed and visited frequently.”
Sue-Anne added, “When my mum passed away, this group kept vigil during the wake and a family member commented, ‘what good friends you have!’”
Chow Boon also felt very supported. “Once, I asked the group to pray for a project in my company and when it was completed, the group was so happy for me! They are true friends who are there in my times of need and also to celebrate my success.”
Today, the college group together with their spouses, try to meet once every three weeks. The ladies’ group tries to meet monthly.
What brought both groups together was the gospel. What keeps them meeting one another is their commitment to grow in the gospel together. Hian Teck shared, “As the Lord adds more years to our lives, we are enriched by each one’s personal journey with Him and the insights He gives. This is the joy of meeting for close to 50 years.”
How good it is to have true friends to journey with us through life’s different seasons!
