 Grace Ong is far away from home. This Penang nurse is now in Mongolia where she works among the poor in community projects. So how did the call come? Grace Ong tells her story…
Greetings from Mongolia! If you were here I would invite you to have a cup of tea, made Mongolian style. We use tea leaves, milk, salt and margarine. It is different from the teh tarik back home. If you are adventu-rous , you could also try eating some horse meat. And I would show you the Mongolian ger (tent).
Mongolia was under Soviet rule for 70 years, until 1990. Life was hard and it showed on the faces of the people. In my early days in Mongolia, I smiled a lot. I would smile at the vegetable seller, the shopkeeper – and they would smile back. I think my ‘smiling’ face made them curious. One of the women from the community once commented that I was ‘child-like.’ She probably meant that I always seemed to be smiling and happy.
My years in Mongolia have not been a bed of roses. I have faced hardship but the joy of the Lord is my strength.
I have often been asked how I was led to go to Mongolia. Years ago, the Lord had given me a vision that I would be leaving for a faraway land. I took up nursing because I wanted to use my training to serve the Lord, people and my family.
Through the years, the vision dimmed. I went to work in Saudi Arabia from 1992–1997. As a midwife I earned very good pay and I led a comfortable and cosy life. Then one day the Holy Spirit ‘told me off.’ I had just come back from the bank and then in my spirit I heard these words: ‘You are a fool if you gain the whole world and lose your own soul!’
My Calling
This rebuke shook me up. I really was getting very comfortable where I was with the good money I was making. I repented before the Lord. And I asked Him what I was to do next.
He said, ‘What about your calling?’
So I came back to Malaysia but I still wasn’t sure where to go. I worked for three and a half years as the head nurse in one of the private hospitals and was settled in my job. I had friendly colleagues and life was smooth. But deep inside I felt an emptiness.
In the course of my work, I would make regular rounds in the wards to talk to the patients and to reassure them. One day I stopped to speak to an old lady who was being prepared for a simple gynecological operation. I reassured her that the procedure would be completed successfully.
The next day I went to see her again. I saw a Bible next to her and I asked her about it. She told me that she knew I was a Christian by the way I spoke and the way I treated the patients. Then she asked me a question I did not expect to come from her.
‘How many souls have you led to the Lord?’ she asked me.
I received this as a reminder from the Lord that I hadn’t returned to Malaysia to lead a comfortable and cosy life.
I asked the Lord, “What do You want me to do?”
‘I wish I Could Help’
That was the year 1999. One day I saw the news report on TV about the punishing winter Mongolia was facing. Herds of animals had perished. I saw the despair and the destitution. I said, ‘I wish I could help.’
God takes us seriously, although at that moment I was not thinking of going to Mongolia. I was beginning, however, to sense that it was time to leave home. At Chinese New Year that year, my aunt turned to me and said, ‘You don’t have to keep working so hard, you know. It is time for you to go and do what you want to do.’
My family was ready. I took that as confirmation that it was time to go. I asked the Lord to show me where. I called Doreen at Intercare and told her what was in my heart.
She asked me, ‘Which country would you like to go to?’
‘Mongolia,’ I replied. I surprised myself!
When I told my church, they asked, ‘Why Mongolia?’
I wasn’t sure myself so I prayed for confirmation. Doreen had given me a videotape about Mongolia’s open doors. Before I watched it, I prayed and sensed the Lord saying that He would lead me to ‘a sun scorched land.’ Then I watched the video. One day during my Quiet Time, the Lord spoke to me from Revelation 3:8: ‘See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.’
That was the confirmation I needed. God had confirmed to me that He was leading me to ‘a sun-scorched land’. Even when it’s snowing, Mongolia is bathed in bright sunshine for 260 days a year.
My mother did not object to my decision and my family gave me their blessings. My aunty assured me that the family would take good care of my mother.
I left for Mongolia in March 2002.
They Have Very Little
God has given me a love for the Mongolian people. My colleagues and Mongolian friends have very little and I have the privilege, on some days, to share my lunch with my colleagues. They are simple and friendly people. My work includes giving health talks, teaching English and community work.
Challenges Facing a Single Worker
1. Loneliness. It’s there but because I make friends easily, God enables me to be joyful in Him.
2. Maintenance problems in my apartment, like when plumbing work needs to be done, etc.
Biggest Lesson
The biggest enduring lesson I have learnt is that the Lord has taught me to trust Him and to be faithful to Him. His promises never fail and I have no regrets that I heeded His voice and His call on my life.
A Mongolian ger (tent).
---------------------------------------------
Grace Ong, a nurse and midwife, is a partner with Malaysian Intercare.
|
