Life Stories

The Most Touching Wedding Gift from Pastor How and Pastor Lia – a $20,000 Interest-free Loan and Honeymoon Trip to the USA5 min read

By James A. & L. Hui Ling

James: As Huiling and I celebrated our big day, there is another day we will never forget. Let us tell you all about it!

Hui Ling: 19 November is a day that I will remember forever. Knowing that James and I were getting married in a few days, Pastor How and Pastor Lia arranged to meet us.

James:
What happened next left Hui Ling and I speechless.

Pastor How and Pastor Lia passed us a cheque for $20,000. It was an interest-free loan so we didn’t have to worry about our finances.

I never told anyone this but recently my family was going through a rough patch. Among other things, my grandmother fell sick and the hospital bills were piling up. At the same time, my parents are still supporting my younger sister who’s schooling. While the salary I earned was comfortable, the unexpected situation we found ourselves in meant finances were tight.

I did a calculation of the bills we had to pay, the amount I needed to save for the wedding and the costs of renovation of our new home. I realised it wouldn’t be enough. So I decided to teach tennis on the weekends. Some days, I would hold lessons from 7am to 10pm and come home exhausted. I just wanted to help my family in any way I could.

Hui Ling: James is incredible. During this whole time, he never dropped his commitment at work or complained. The thought of borrowing money never crossed his mind. If it was within his ability, he would simply do it.

Pastor How and Pastor Lia shared that the purpose of their business is this –
to bless others.

James: When Pastor How and Pastor Lia found out that I was working extra jobs over the weekend just to earn more, they were concerned. They met Hui Ling and I and told us that they wanted to give us an interest-free loan of $20,000 from their business. This would help us tide over this season and free me up from working on the weekends. Knowing that I already had this financial burden, they did not want us to be stressed about the costs of our wedding and home renovation plans too. 

Pastors shared that the purpose of their business is this – to bless others. They kept emphasising that they wanted us to enjoy our wedding, the process and each other’s company. I was so moved by their hearts for us.

We didn’t just have a ‘stress-free’ wedding, we had a dream wedding!

Hui Ling: That was not all! There was another surprise: Pastors were blessing us with a honeymoon trip to the United States! Flight tickets, accommodation…it would all be paid for – by their business!

We were blown away. Both James and I work in Pastors’ business and they simply wanted to encourage us for working hard while serving in church.

James: In the Pastor & Businessman series, Pastor How wrote:

Our happiest times in business are when Pastor Lia and I can give to our team. We have contributed to some who were buying their first car. At times, we would also extend to them interest-free loans, etc. Truly, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.

While others read about it, we have experienced this first-hand.
We were one of the people receiving interest-free loans.
We were one of the many blessed by the business.

Hui Ling: This is unheard of in any other business…My heart was bursting with so much gratitude that I couldn’t stop crying. 

As they revealed each gift to us in that meeting, I could feel their joy and excitement. Pastor How and Pastor Lia couldn’t stop smiling. They kept telling us they were not done with the gifts. Repeatedly, all we heard was, “There’s more”.

James:
Our pastors then blessed us with ‘ang baos’ (red packets with money inside) and a personalised candle holder with our names engraved on it that we could use in our home. I was so moved by their hearts for us.

That day, it hit me so strongly how my Pastors always love people not just with their words but with their actions too. Hui Ling and I are so grateful for the best pastors and bosses! Again and again, we have seen and experienced first-hand how our pastors use the business to be a blessing to others. Now, we are challenged to be even more generous to those around us. Our desire is to bless others the same way we have been blessed!