Every Monday morning at the Melbourne Bible Institute, missionaries from Australia spoke about their work in places that was out of their comfort zones. Kate heard their stories of how they worked among the poor and with lepers, how they walked for miles through jungle, wading through swamps, battling fierce sandstorms, through sickness and pain, being thrown into prisons, encountering life-threatening situations. They were willing to go through all this to share the gospel with people living in faraway places and in harsh conditions. The missionaries challenged the students to reach out to a world that desperately needs Christ’s good news.

One quiet afternoon in November 1963, after her final examinations in Australia, Kate suddenly remembered vividly 3 scenes from her childhood.

In her mind’s eye, she saw a Chinese nation that was hungry and needy, without even basic necessities. She saw refugees in great hardship and distress – some swimming across the sea to Hong Kong; some drowned; some were shot by the Hong Kong Coastguard and others upon landing were arrested, beaten and sent back to the mainland where they faced even more abuse. Those who actually made it to Hong Kong and settled there, lived in lifelong fear. What would happened to them, to their families, if their past was discovered?

Another childhood memory was when she visited Hong Kong when she was eight years old. She remembered the refugees living on the rooftops of the blocks of flats belonging to her mother. The refugees worked very hard just trying to eke out a meagre living to feed themselves and their families.

MBI Retreat

Just before graduation from the Melbourne Bible Institute, Kate went on a 2-day retreat. God spoke to her through the Bible, Christian booklets, the speaker and through the testimonies of her fellow students.

She was stunned when she read the bible verse which spoke so clearly to her visions. 

Isaiah 61:1 (NKJ):

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor

(the refugees to whom Kate would reach out)

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

(the refugees who had left their families in China and fled to Hong Kong)

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

(refugees who were arrested or living in fear as fugitives)

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

(the Word of God would release them from spiritual darkness and bondage, superstition, idolatry, drugs and poverty)

During the retreat, in her own words,

“I experienced a deep awareness of God’s grace and mercy. Like an open floodgate, God’s love seemed to pour out into me in a measure I felt I could not contain. The realisation of such love and mercy humbled me. It seemed incomprehensible how the Lord would stoop to speak to me, to love me – even me – a sinner that I am, and I was overwhelmed with uncontrollable tears.”

 Kate was convinced that God was calling her to work among the refugees in Hong Kong. She was amazed that God spoke so clearly and specifically. So strong was her conviction that the formerly shy and timid Kate was able to speak boldly and confidently in a hall full of students, her lecturers and principal. However, she also sensed that she was not to go immediately to Hong Kong but that the Lord wanted her to be prepared spiritually first.

After graduation, she attended a meeting at the Overseas Christian Fellowship in Adelaide. There, someone gave her a pamphlet about the work of the Christian National Evangelistic Commission (CNEC) in Hong Kong! But Kate wanted to be certain that God wanted her to go to Hong Kong and that it was not her own desire or imagination. She sought to be more sensitive to God’s leading. So during the 4-day journey by ship from Fremantle to Singapore, she ventured out of her cabin only for meals; spending time in her cabin praying, reading Scriptures, seeking God’s will.

Back in Singapore, she collected as much information about different mission societies, regularly attended weekly prayer meetings of the Overseas Mission Fellowship (OMF) which had a long history of missions in China.

The Lord continue to speak to Kate from devotional classics like Streams in the Desert and even words from a hymn from the Keswick hymn-book.

After teaching school for about a year and preparing herself, the time was ripe for her to go. In December 1964, she left for Hong Kong, serving the Lord with CNEC. When she arrived, she informed the field superintendent Reverend A. Song that her calling was to be a teacher among the refugees.  Reverend A. Song told her that CNEC had 4 rooftop schools. To teach refugee children, she would have to go to Grace Light School, located in the Walled City of Kowloon. Kate declared boldly, “I don’t mind going anywhere as long as I can work among refugees.” Reverend Song then wisely cautioned her not to be hasty in making up her mind. He showed her an old newspaper article. And as she read it, she grew frightened.

Several years ago, some Hong Kong policemen were deployed there to maintain law and order. None of them came out alive. The place was infamous for Chinese triads, high crime rate, drug abuse and lawlessness. Reverend Song then asked her again, “Do you still want to go there?” Kate replied that she would as she trusted the Lord would protect her.

The next day, Reverend Song arranged for someone to take her there.

The Walled City of Kowloon

The old Walled City does not exist today. It was torn down in 1994. In its place is a beautiful park with historical remnants to mark its past. But in the 1960s, the Walled City was a different world. On a site of about 5 football fields, it was a huge slum of some 350 buildings interlinked by ladders, walkways, pipes and electrical cables. It holds the record of the world’s densest area with more than 30,000 people living there. The only ventilation was through the airshafts. It was suffocating. The buildings were separated only by 5-foot walkways in black hardened mud. Sanitation laws did not apply in the Walled City and people use anywhere convenient for a toilet. The place stank. There were no drains so when it rained heavily, the whole place flooded quickly. Stinking rubbish and unmentionables floated up.

On her visit, Kate saw a heroin addict inhaling fumes; they call it “chasing the dragon”. An area where serious crimes of robbery, rape and murder occur regularly is not the place for an attractive 26-year-old young woman whose teacher’s uniform was a cheongsam. To make herself look dowdy, Kate wore a grey raincoat whether it was raining or not. She kept alert and walked briskly within the Walled City.

Kate’s schedule was very tight. Three times a week, she taught the Bible to 7-12 year-olds in Primary One to Primary Six. Once a week, she preached in Cantonese to pupils and teachers at 2 sessions. She also taught English to students at the Hong Kong Bible College, some of whom were refugees from China who had obtained Hong Kong citizenship after several years.

In addition, Kate was lady-superintendent for 10 Bible college girls aged 20-35. Personality clashes, inadequate space with only one toilet and one bathroom made life rather unpleasant. Kate also looked after any girl who was ill, even driving and accompanying them to the hospital.

Once a week, she helped at the Youth Centre, planning summer camps and activities for the CNEC church youths in Hong Kong. As she speaks English, she was also driver and tourist guide for foreign visitors to CNEC Hong Kong.

Home Rest & New Mission

After 17 months, Kate was spiritually, physically and mentally exhausted. She didn’t have adequate nutrition, as others ate more and faster than she. The weather also didn’t suit her, and she had fever and sore throat many times. One day, she was too weak to even hold a porcelain spoon properly – it slipped to the floor and broke into pieces. Only then did she realise she needed to return to Singapore; she could not go on. She applied for no-pay leave to return home.

During her long rest back in Singapore, she agonised over several questions: What happened? Didn’t God call her to Hong Kong? How and why did she end up in such a sorry state? What, what had gone wrong?

(Kate) “The Lord needed to slow me down to get my attention again. The devil uses many subtle tactics to shift our attention from God. He knows that if we caught up with doing many things and helping many people, we will neglect to spend time with God. If this is allowed to continue long enough we would become ineffective in your work, I learnt from painful experience that doing God’s work does not consist only of what you do or what you give. Rather, it depends on a life of continual communion with Him. A zestful, fruitful, ebullient life becomes a natural out-flowing of His life in you. And when He uses you, be mindful to keep our eyes on Him all the time.”

After resting for a month in Singapore, Kate still felt weak and applied to CNEC for another month of leave. But she heard nothing from Reverend Song who was, unknown to her, away in the United States on work-related matters.

When she felt strong again and still not hearing from Reverend Song, she thought she was no longer needed in Hong Kong because of her poor health. She applied to teach and serve God in Brunei but didn’t get any reply either. She continued to pray, read the Word and asked the Lord.

After seven months, Kate was well-rested and very keen to hear from God. One day, Kate, her mother and her friend prayed together, asking God what she should do next. A short while later, a teaching post was offered. She sought the Lord about this as well. When she felt the peace of the Lord, she applied to the Ministry of Education to teach in Anglican High School in Singapore. Then the two letters she had waited for so long finally came – CNEC asked that she return to Hong Kong and the Brunei Ministry of Education sought an interview with her.

But the late timings of these two letters served to remind her it is the Lord who says,

‘I can call you here,

I can call you there;

I can call you night or day,

You just obey.’

The Ministry of Education, Singapore, approved her application to teach in the new school year of 1967.

The lessons Kate learnt were that time spent with the Lord in prayer and in the reading of His Word was more important to God than to be involved in too much work for Him. God enjoys having fellowship with us and He wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. As we yield ourselves to Him, He takes control of us and we can experience Him in a real and practical way.

In the next few years, she taught Bible Knowledge to Secondary Three and Four (i.e. Years 9 and 10) students. After school hours, she had many opportunities to share with teachers and students about God. When Christ is the centre of one’s life, His power and love is visible to all.

Seven years later, Kate had an opportunity to do a one-year course at the Institute of Education in the University of London. Upon her return to Singapore, the Singapore Bible College offered her a part-time job of teaching English to students from Taiwan, Hong Kong, East and West Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Kate’s mission field was in Singapore and it has expanded.

Reaching Out to Young Ex-Prostitutes

The Mount Emily Social Welfare Home is a home for young girls under 21 years old, who had been caught for prostitution. Many had sad stories.

One young girl was forced into prostitution by her own mother to solve financial woes. The boyfriend of another girl claimed that he loved her but when he got tired of her, he sold her to a brothel. Some girls had venereal disease and were undergoing medical treatment. Then there were some who bragged about how they could earn hundreds of dollars in a day.

Every fortnight on Sunday afternoons, Kate and 3 other young women served in the Home. They taught cooking, baking, sewing and folk dancing to these young women. After these activities, they sang hymns and shared about Jesus.

But the work was difficult and discouraging. When the girls were released, they gave false addresses. Kate’s team would look for these girls at their given addresses in the public housing estates, searching door to door, level by level. But to no avail; even people living there didn’t seem to know of these girls. The relationships built over weeks and months simply ended abruptly.  Even a girl that Kate had accompanied to church for a few weeks disappeared one day, and Kate was not able to find her again.

But Kate reminds us, “ ‘That our struggle is really not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’. (Ephesian 6:12). Our consolation is found in Isaiah 55:11, ‘My Word shall not return to Me void.’

We believe seeds of righteousness were sown in their hearts that would one day take root, blossom and bear good fruit as they turn to Jesus for their only hope and direction in life.”

Yes, Jesus’ Word will never return to Him void. Next week, we shall listen to how God’s promises to Kate were fulfilled many times over.