My name is Hendra. I was born in Klungkung, a small town in Bali. My family was Buddhist. As a Chinese boy, ancient Chinese religious teachings and customs were parts of my life as well. As 80% of the population in Bali are Hindus, I also had to study Hinduism at school.
As far as I can remember, there was only one Christian family in my hometown. To me they seemed weird, therefore Christianity was far from being attractive to me.
Sometimes my mum would take me to a Buddhist temple, sometimes my grandma would take me to the Hindu one. I went along with them just to please and respect them.
Although I studied a lot about religions, actually I didn’t believe in anything but me, myself and Hendra.
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I did well at school. Most of the time, I got no 1 in my class at primary school. When I was in year 6, I was awarded as the best poetry reader in my region.
My parents sent me to Denpasar (the capital of Bali) for my secondary education. I was often selected to represent my school to be a flag raiser for our Independence Day.
Having finished high school I went to Uni. I studied civil engineering.
I was growing up as an arrogant guy as I got almost everything I wanted in my life. I hardly care for other people. For me, there were only three important people in my world: me, myself and Hendra.
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24 Feb 1988 marked a new chapter in my life. I was 22 then. That day I was involved in a car accident, which almost took my life. My small Ute collided head on with a huge truck. My Ute was smashed and dragged 8 meters away according to the local paper report. People had to remove the car roof to get me out. They thought I was dead. I did not know what was happening at all. Before driving I had been very tired after a basketball competition. The last thing I remember was starting the engine half an hour before.
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On the accident spot, I asked people what had happened to me. They lied and said, “Nothing happened to you”. Though I could not open my eyes, somehow I knew that my right forearm was badly injured. I felt my body was so light. I knew I was going to die. It was dark. “Am I going to hell?”
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I was rushed to the hospital. I was unconscious for days. One day, I heard a lady made noise near my bed. I tried to open my heavy eyes to see who the lady was. Guess who? There she was…the lady from the weird Christian family…praying for me.
Though I didn’t believe in God, by then I knew that God did not want me to die yet.
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My parents sent me to China for treatment because I got a serious infection. The doctor there said that I needed to get my forearm amputated to prevent the infection spreading. I did not want it to happen. During that period, I had thoughts of committing suicide a few times like; jumping down from the high building in China, throwing myself in front of a running train in Hongkong and hanging myself in my room in Bali.
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In November 1988, my parents sent me to Singapore. Over there, my mum’s cousin, Serene and her hubby, Alex helped and cared for me a lot.
One day, while out of hospital but waiting for another operation they took me to a Christmas Celebration Night at Sentosa Island but rain stopped the performance. While waiting for the performance to resume, Serene and Alex’s friend, Danny Goh came over to say hello. During the conversation he asked me whether I knew a God who can give forgiveness, hope, meaning and purpose of life. I said no. I knew a lot about religions. They taught me good stuff and how to do good, but I never heard a God who could give forgiveness, hope, meaning and purpose of life. He asked me again whether I wanted to know Him? I said Yes. He led me in prayer to invite Jesus into my life. I was born again that nite, 22 December 1988, which was also my mum’s birthday.
Someone suddenly came to my mind after I received Jesus….the weird Christian lady who prayed for me while I was at the hospital in Bali. I believed that lady not only prayed for my healing but for my salvation as well.
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On 20 Jan 89, I had a major op. The bone in my left leg would be transplanted to my forearm. The surgeon was the best in Singapore. The op would take about 4 hours.
However, things did not turned out to be as expected. My mum waited for 14 hours to see me came out from the op theatre. The next day we knew that the op failed totally. Now, not only that my forearm could not function but my leg was also damaged. Because of this failure, I had to stay in my hospital bed for 6 months continuously. And I had to go to operating theatre almost every week to get something done on either my forearm or my left leg. Initially, I counted the number of operations that I’ve been through. After my 20th operation, I was tired of counting.
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During my 6 month-long stay at the hospital, I kept asking God, why all these things happened to me. Through the Bible and Christian books that my friends had given me, I started to understand a few truths about my sufferings:
- If I consider all these sufferings pure joy, I would develop perseverance. And perseverance would lead me to maturity
- God would never let me to be tempted more than I could bear. And He would always give me way out.
- I needed to trust in the Lord with all my heart and not to lean on my own understanding. And He will direct my path.
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Many people supported me while I was at the hospital, including the nurses. One particular nurse came to my special attention. Not only was she good and beautiful, but her heart was so wonderful as well. During my hospitalisation she became my great friend. She gave me a bookmark which got Psalm 121 on it,” I look up to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and earth.”
One day, somewhere in April 89, I asked that nurse a question that I never asked anyone before, ”Will you marry me?”
I understood that question must have been so shocking for her. So I gave her more time to think so she could be assured that I was not being effected by drugs or what..
A few days later, she came to me and said…..yes.
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On 11 August 90, that nurse Rachel and I opened a new chapter together in our life as husband and wife. In our wedding matrimony in Singapore, we invited most of the people we knew in Singapore, including the surgeon who didn’t perform my operation well.
Since then, Romans 8: 28 has become my personal eternal golden verse.
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
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