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6th September, 2021
The Modern-Day Leper Colony by Ng Pey Lin
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THE MODERN-DAY LEPER COLONY

By Ng Pey LIn

This story is written by Pey Lin of Hope Kuala Lumpur. It was a Pre-Global Fest Writing Competition entry. He tells his story of his journey with his life group and with God in reaching out to people in a leprosy centre. Read this beautiful story of a heart filled with compassion and love for those who are suffering. May we too, step out courageously, knowing that we can depend fully on God!
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“This year we are going to evangelise.
We will step out and preach the Gospel!”

After I prayed and sought after the Lord for my life group’s direction, I shared this with much conviction at the beginning of 2019 during our life group gathering. Minutes later, two suggestions came instantly: one, adopt a family in need; two, visit a leprosy centre. Immediately, the idea of a leprosy centre captured my interest. I was clueless that such a centre exists in Malaysia. All I knew about leprosy was found only in the Bible. We decided to pray and make the decision a week later.

Leprosy centre, it is. I was so excited—I quickly made calls and contacted the Head Nurse of Sungai Buloh Leprosy Centre—Miss Sarina. I expressed our interest to visit the centre. She was friendly and helpful, and all I needed to do was to write an email to inform the Director of the Leprosy Centre. However, a week later, I did not receive any reply. Furthermore, I could not get in touch with Sarina. I became impatient and started to complain to God. Well, what else can I do besides waiting and praying? In the following two months, I prayed, waited, and repeatedly tried to contact Miss Sarina but to no avail. One day, while I was complaining to God (again), I finally heard God speaking, “Trust Me.” On that same day, I received a reply from Sarina informing me about  the visitation approval. I later found out that Sarina underwent surgery and was hospitalized. God truly tested my faith and patience throughout the two months of waiting. Nevertheless, praise God!
That same week, I made my first visit to the centre alone. I went to the information counter and informed them that Sarina was aware of my visitation. The nurses were confused as they were not made aware of this. Thankfully, a nurse decided to bring me on a quick tour around the centre anyway. The place has four female and male wards respectively. While some are bedridden, most patients can take care of themselves. Opened in the 1930s, the centre has about 80 patients remaining today, cared for under governmental provision although they no longer have leprosy. I managed to fellowship with some patients before I left the place.

Even as I shared this first experience at the Leprosy Centre with my life group members, I knew most of them struggled to go. I could see  from their faces—they were hesitant and probably reluctant too. I knew how they felt because I was once afraid to evangelise, meet new people, let alone to pioneer at a Leprosy Centre. The common reasons are fear of rejection, unsure of what to say, or simply, “this is not for me”. However, in 2019, God opened my spiritual eyes and reminded me that every soul matters to God. Although I was unsure of what would happen, I resolved to set aside my worries, encouraged my members, and reminded myself of what was written in Mark 16:15—“Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.”
Throughout all the visitations, we tried various methods to share the Gospel through Bible storytelling, asking questions and praying for their needs. There was this patient in her 80s, Mulan—a faithful and cheerful Christian. Due to her illness, she has a tube attached to her throat and has speaking difficulties, but she never fails to share her personal stories with God. Mulan always says, “As long as I am alive, I will continue to share the Gospel and take care of others in this centre.” Her stories and perseverance always lift our spirits.

There was another patient named Siong, in his 80s too, whom I intentionally reached out to share the love of God. Like me, he was mostly quiet and shy but whenever I shared short stories from the Bible, he seemed to light up. He has never heard of the Gospel, but he always responded positively to it. After reaching out to Siong a few times and observing his openness to the Gospel, in December 2019, I decided to ask him, “Are you ready to accept Jesus into your life?” He said yes and I prayed for him. I was so thankful to witness the first fruit during our first year of outreach!
Even as I recall this evangelism experience with my life group, there were indeed many funny, awkward incidents throughout our visitation—failing to understand the dialects; awkward silence; nurses halting our entry claiming that they were not informed of our visitations; and the same security guard who consistently asked us, “Where are you from? How long will you be here?” Regardless of these situations, we prayed and were determined to bring God’s presence into the centre. God is faithful—while we build friendships with the patients, we build our confidence and conviction in the work even as we stepped out in faith and pioneered in an unknown place.

When the pandemic took place in 2020, it greatly challenged my thinking—how can we continue to pioneer despite the lockdowns? It became clear that whenever visitation is allowed, we will go. Otherwise, we shall call the patients and fellowship. After all, the work of the Lord must continue regardless of the situations. With the change of time and evolving commitment, not everyone continued in the ministry together with me. One thing I am thankful for— my members have had wonderful experiences with the community and experienced God throughout this pioneering work. As for me and the remaining few, we will continue to fan the flame that God has ignited, fully trusting that God will add “seed people” and continue to use us to bring the Gospel to the patients. I look forward to witnessing to more patients, in hope that they will receive the gift of eternal hope and life from God.

By Ng Pey Lin, Hope Kuala Lumpur

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