35 Years of God’s Goodness!

We are happy to recount God’s goodness in the lives of Jim Yap (Integrated Ministry Care Manager) and Lee Leng (Social Impact Projects Coordinator) through this interview! Celebrating 35 years of sobriety would not have been possible without the Lord’s faithful provision and goodness in their lives!

Interviewer: Thank you for sharing your story with us, Jim and Lee Leng! For starters, could you briefly share how and where you first met?

Jim: Lee Leng and I first met at a mahjong joint in Geylang. Although I do not play mahjong, I spent a lot of time there because my friend runs the place. Lee Leng would come to play mahjong there, most of the time she will lose because she wasn’t good at it.

Lee Leng: At that time, we were both on “urine supervision” [1] Jim would always “clear his urine” before going for the urine test [2], but for me, I could not do it and decided to abscond from my urine test. As Jim's test cycle was going to finish soon, he continued and managed to complete his urine supervision. During that time, we were staying at Jim’s brother's empty flat.

Jim: We moved out of my brother’s flat and rented a room at a walk-up apartment in Geylang. We continued to consume drugs until someone tipped us off to the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB). We were arrested and brought to the station. At the station, they took our urine samples. I was allowed bail pending my result, but Lee Leng was detained because she absconded from her urine test. I didn’t go back for my urine result because I knew that it would be positive and went on the run instead.

Lee Leng: … and I was sent to the Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC).

Jim and Lee Leng with their eldest son at a PFS prayer meeting back in the day. 

Jim: When she was doing time, I was still doing drugs, until one day, I don’t know what came over me. I felt so sick and tired of running from the law, not knowing when I would be caught. I prayed to God, “Lord, I am sick and tired of all this. Please help me because I can’t do this on my own.” I decided to "cold turkey" myself. I went to Lee Leng’s house and stayed with her mother. During that time, I slept through the withdrawals, ate very little, and took lots of cold showers in between. When finally, the more severe symptoms of withdrawals were over, I got up. Though I was still weak, had goose bumps and chills, I forced myself to go swimming. And that itself was a miracle. I believed it was God Who gave me the strength.

[1] Back in the day, urine supervision was a system adopted to keep re-offending drug abusers in check, by requiring them to do routine urine tests at a police station.
[2] By drinking plentiful amounts of water.

Sounds challenging! What made you decide to get married?

Jim: I wanted to visit her but could not because we were not related. I could only visit if we were married, so I decided to ask her to marry me.

Lee Leng: I was in there for 8 months, and one day, the prison matron announced to me that my boyfriend asked to marry me. She said, “A lot of people get divorced when they come into prison, but you come in and you want to get married! Why do you want to get married?” I didn’t know either but prayed and told God, “If this man is meant for me, let this process go through smoothly. If not, please shut the door.”

As God would have it, the application and arrangement for the marriage went through smoothly. On the day of solemnization, Lee Leng was handcuffed and accompanied by a prison officer to ROM. As soon as the vow was made and documents were signed, she was escorted back to prison. There was no ring and no kiss.

So… what happened to Jim?

Jim and some of the brothers at the PFS halfway house back in the 1980s. 

Jim: One day, I ran into Rev. Henry Khoo outside the female prison while visiting Lee Leng. Rev. Henry was the principal of the prison school and my bible teacher when I was there. He recommended that I seek help from Prison Fellowship Singapore (PFS). I went there, enrolled in their program at Jubilee Centre (PFS Halfway house), and continued to stay off drugs. During one of the routines, while fetching the residents back from work, I ran into a police roadblock. I was arrested and sent to DRC pending observation. However, because I was already off drugs and my urine test returned negative, they let me go. Brother John Lee (PFS’ first chairperson) then brought me to the CNB and spoke on my behalf. They decided to give me a chance and did not charge me for the earlier positive urine result. After which, I continued to remain at Jubilee Centre until Lee Leng was released.

After Lee Leng was released, how was life for the both of you?

Lee Leng: When Jim and I got married, I was serving my fourth sentence. I told the Lord, “I am already past 30; I don’t want to be in and out of prison anymore.” However, I know that I cannot control the triggers and temptations, which is why I kept going back. So, I told God, “If You are real, You will help me to overcome!” After my release, I went to work in a factory. When I was expecting our first child, I stopped working and decided to become a full-time homemaker. I began spending time in the Word of God and joined Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) for seven years. My relationship with God grew, and I was walking closely with Him.

Jim: For me, I left Jubilee Centre, and Sister Glenis (Executive Director of PFS) recommended an electrician job to me. The pay was eight hundred dollars a month. After CPF, I was left with a little over six hundred dollars, which is hardly enough to survive. I worked there for a year, and then with God’s help, decided to start my own business as an electrical subcontractor. We struggled financially a lot.

Jim with his friend, Michael, from The Helping Hand. 

Lee Leng: Actually, at that time in our lives, it was very challenging. As Jim mentioned, we were struggling with our finances. Starting his own business was not easy, and the hours were long. Jim would leave for work at 7 am and return sometimes around 11 pm. I was lonely, and I struggled with this “new life.” There were times I thought of going back to my old ways. In such situations, I could only pray, and I did so often. When I prayed, I remember God would say, “Trust Me.” To me, that meant that He would take control, so I learned to trust Him in situations that were out of my control.

Jim: I know that I could not go back to the way I was before, I have a family; my wife and sons. That kept me going. One day, when I was doing an electrical job for a friend, he asked if I would like to work for him. He was running a karaoke, and I knew he was still in the drug circuit. It was tempting, and the pay was undoubtedly attractive, but I turned him down. For Lee Leng and me, when we started our life together, we intentionally removed ourselves from our circle of friends and isolated ourselves. That was our preventive measure from falling back. One is hard enough, but both of us were substance users, making it even harder.

Lee Leng: There was no such thing as “aftercare” or “accountability groups” in the past! We just learned to depend on God.

Along the way, how did you all get involved in prison ministry work?

Lee Leng having fun with the PFS team during our Chinese New Year celebrations! 

Jim: Times were tough, I had to scale down my electrical work and was doing a part maintenance job at Singapore Bible College. It was about this time that a friend told my wife that a new rehabilitation centre for boys, Community Rehabilitation Centre (CRC) was coming up, situated next to her workplace, (The Turning Point) and they were hiring. I applied and got the job. I enjoyed the work there very much, up till the day I was retrenched during CoVid days.

Lee Leng: I started work at The Turning Point after I resigned from my post at my church cafe. This was my first job after 20 years of being a full-time homemaker. I had been seeking the Lord on my next steps when I heard from a close friend that there was an opening at The Turning Point (TTP). I had been volunteering with Turning Point for many years, visiting them once every month. I had expressed my desire to do aftercare, but when I went for the interview, I was asked to do accounting. I did not have any experience, but I thought I would give it a shot. After two months, I felt that I did not fit the role very well and spoke to the management about it. As it turns out, my colleague who was initially doing accounts but went over to aftercare, was struggling in her role and wanted to switch back. So, she was given back her former role, and that was how I came to do aftercare, and I stayed on for 10 years.

The both of you have come a long way! Looking back on your journey,
how do you all feel?

Lee Leng preparing vouchers for PFS’ flagship event, the Angel Tree Project. 

Lee Leng: God has been so good to us! Many times, we could have fallen back to our old ways because of our financial and relational issues. I was very lonely, and I did not have anyone to talk to about it at that time. We did not talk much to each other about how we felt; we simply kept everything to ourselves. There were so many occasions that I felt so lost, and I would pray, and God’s help would come there and then. One day, I wanted to buy chicken, and I did not have any money, so I prayed. To my surprise, a church member came by my house and said, “I bought some extra chicken from the market!” The best part was that she was not even from our neighbourhood! It is these little episodes that remind me that God is faithful in all his promises. When I look back, I see God in my life. If I hadn’t encountered God, I would still be struggling.

Jim: 30 years ago, I would never dream that I would have a family. Yet now, we have a roof over our heads, we have two sons who have completed their tertiary education and have their own careers, we are happy, and debt-free. The narrow path leads to life. When I look back, I can see God’s hand and footprint in my life. I thank God for everything; to God be the Glory.

What is one thing you would like to share with those who are struggling to stay clean?

Jim: It is not an easy journey, take one day at a time.

Lee Leng: It has been very tough, but God has been holding us together. Find a new community in church, work, and as you keep going along, you will find more people to journey with you in your new chapter.

Jim: With God, all things are possible! Praise GOD!