ELISHA TAN — SHIMLA , INDIA
After completing YWAMSG ’ s DTS in 1983 , and the School of Evangelism thereafter , Elisha Tan headed to India as a missionary . He served in Madras , then Calcutta , before setting up a refugee camp for Bangladeshis in Uluberia in 1989 .
Using his first-aid training as a Boy Scout , ‘ Dr . Panadol ’, as he was nicknamed , Elisha provided these refugees with primary healthcare and counselling . Elisha and his team lived frugally . “ Our meals were mainly rice and dhal . We only ate 2 to 3 pieces of buffalo meat a week .” It was in such poverty that his faith grew . On one mission , his team only had “ 900 rupees to sustain the 9 of us for 2 months ”. They barely had enough for meals once they had paid for their lodging . But after their ministry each day , the team would often find gifts of 1,000 or 2,000 rupees in their guitar box . In their gratitude to God , they always gave 10 % to the pastor of the local church .
In 1990 , Elisha and his wife , Beppie , whom he met in India , decided to start a base in Shimla , Himachal Pradesh , the least evangelised city in that state . There , they provided primary healthcare to a leper colony and to migrant Nepalese workers . They took in patients who needed to recuperate but did not have access to a hospital bed , provided cremations for the poor , started a preschool , and 2 primary healthcare schools . They even set up a drug rehab centre with a team from Hong Kong .
Miracles in Shimla brought non-believers to faith and into his small home church . He recalls how a baby , who had stopped moving in his mother ’ s womb , started kicking again after they prayed over him . “ We named the baby Jeevan , which means ‘ life ’.”
When the political tide changed in 1998 , Elisha was asked to leave the country . By then , the small home church had more than 200 members . But his departure was a blessing in disguise , as the church dissolved and moved out to other locations in India to share the Gospel . “ I see difficulties as opportunities ,” Elisha says with good humour . Even now , 37 years later , Elisha ’ s pioneering spirit is still strong . In between chemotherapy for liver cancer , the 65-year-old ’ s schedule is packed with trips from Kuala Lumpur to remote places in Nepal and Southeast Asia . “ God has sustained me , so that I do not sit at home and do nothing ,” he chuckles .
His latest initiative equips missionaries to grow their Small Home Enterprise , so that they will not be completely dependent on outside support . By training missionaries to fish , not just with the proverbial fishing rod , but with “ a net to help other people as well ”, Elisha believes that they will have more resources to ultimately make more fishers of men .
SHIH SHU HUI & LOIS LOH — TAMAR VILLAGE , SINGAPORE
Shu Hui graduated from YWAMSG ’ s DTS in 1989 , attended SoFM in 1990 and SBS in 1992 . Lois graduated from Tung Ling in 2009 and a friend introduced her to YWAMSG where she met Shu Hui in 2009 .
Lois Loh is among the pioneers who started Tamar Village in Geylang , an initiative that gives street ladies a second shot at life . She shared , “ A voice asked me , ‘ What if she ( one of the Geylang ladies ) was your own sister ? It then dawned upon me that if I cannot first accept them , how can I expect them to accept me , and Christ ?” At the same time , God called Shu Hui , a Taiwanese lady , to this ministry after she participated in an outreach to the Geylang area . “ I was shocked to see this other side of Singapore . My heart broke as I have a daughter myself .” A voice asked her , “ Who is going to tell these ladies about Christ ?” And Shu Hui knew that God was convicting her to serve them .
Shu Hui and Lois went with a few other volunteers to Pattaya , Thailand , to visit a learning centre that equipped former sex workers with skills that would allow them to embark on a new vocation . When they returned , they set up Tamar Village , and the Geylang ladies were taught how to make bookmarks and jewellery to sell .
The road was tough . On some occasions , not a single person would turn up at the centre . They were also disheartened when the ladies would return to their old trade or end up in jail for other offences . But they refused to give up , and maintained a weekly prayer walk in the persistent hope that God would break through . He is indeed faithful , and His mercies are unfailing and consistent — which came in the form of unexpected sales when they were out of funds — to spur them along . Through these trials , Lois learnt that “ people may fail you , but God is a God of the mountains and the valleys ”. As He stretched her faith , she discovered just how well He could deliver them through the most difficult situations .
After a year of relentless prayer and outreach , the team began to see the fruit of their heartbreaking labour . More ladies started to show up consistently at Tamar Village and God also opened their hearts to be reconciled with Christ . The business aspect of Tamar Village became self-sufficient . But beyond this , Shu Hui ’ s greatest reward was seeing these ladies ’ lives turn around . Shu Hui and Lois have since handed the baton over to a new generation of leaders with these words of advice : You might be eager to see results . But remember that we are only His workers . God is the One in charge . He will provide , and the eventual outcome depends on Him .
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