Giving teaches me compassion

Recently, I read and prayed with tears from a letter from Gospel Mission To the Blind Ltd, a Christian charity organization. This organization reaches out in love and compassion to the blinds, encouraging them and helping them to find new meaning in lives and most importantly, eternal lives. Sister Cheng Choo, blind herself and a graduate from Singapore Bible College, has been instrumentally running the organization. Her monthly letters to all donors have always touched my heart and teaches me compassion. Here is an excerpt of the letter:

Life and sight are very precious and wonderful gifts from God. Our hearts ache whenever we know of some one losing their sight. Please pray for Chua Bin Lay, our new contact, a pre-believer, who was also told that she is suffering from cancer, and at the 4th stage.

One of our youths, Amanda Chong, was suffering from cornea problem and had undergone several eye surgeries. However, her vision was getting very blur in spite of those surgeries.

In March this year, her doctor found a suitable cornea for her, and with much fear and anxiety, she had the transplant of a cornea done. The surgery seemed successful, and she was enjoying clearer vision in one eye for a while. However, in mid July 08 when the stitches were supposed to be removed, her eye doctor found foreign bodies in the eye, and he was fighting very hard to prevent a rejection of the cornea. Amanda was put on steroid. She became very depressed and fearful that her body would reject the transplanted cornea when the doctor said that there was not much improvement when she went for her check up after about 12 days. Her mother sent us SMS requesting that we encourage her. Instead of just encouraging/counseling her, we also prayed with her over the phone. In early August she came for Bible study, and we laid hands on her and prayed with her. During subsequent check ups, her doctor told her that there was a 60% improvement, and reduced the dosage of the steroid.

Amanda is now very happy, and would appreciate it if we can continue to uphold her in prayers, so that she can receive divine healing and see with perfect vision, not just in the eye that has the transplanted cornea, but in the other eye as well.


There was a time when I also learnt compassion through giving, from the homeless in London. It was 1993 - 94. In one cold winter evening while walking home from my University, I saw this homeless squatting and shivering at the corner of a street. Looking up, our faces met. His agonized face instantly triggered me to dip into my pocket for a British Pound and flung it to him. A transformation took place and I saw a jubilant and smiling face. In those days, one could get a good meal of fish and chips with a pound and a half from a subsidized nursing home’s canteen nearby. Since then, I would sometime walked the streets of London, with a pocket full of coins, though I always gave intelligently and gracefully. On another occasion in Chinatown, a haggard and worn-out woman with a baby in arm came out to me, “Spare a change, please.” I asked her many questions to ascertain her need, and after I gave her some money asked why she chose to approach me. Apparently, before she begged from someone, she would look into their faces, hoping to see a compassionate face for a better chance of success and bigger change. As a scholar from British Council and with a monthly salary and allowances from NTU for my studies in London, giving away a few coins on many occasions meant nothing to me. But the value of compassion and kindness will always serve as a fond memory of my stay in LONDON.

He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD ... (Prov 19:17)