One of the saddest, yet inspiring, things that has ever been associated to my tenure and ministry as a Boys Brigade Officer concerns Gan Teong Wee. He had only just turned 18 years old a few days prior to when he succumbed to an illness that took him away from us suddenly.
In fact, I had just arrived in the US for a second time to pursue my Master's Degree when I received urgent emails to pray for his recovery. A few days later, as sudden as the onset of the illness had been, Teong Wee had passed on. I remember raging against God - I was going through one of the darkest periods in my life and this, I thought, was "the icing on the cake".
It during that time, that I also made a promise to myself and to God that I would never be "God's spokesperson" again - not in the evangelistic sense of the word, but in the apologetic sense. I would never spin stories or play PR for him - He would have to be God or He would not. I would not look at a situation like this and assure others that "God had a plan" or that "it was going to be alright" or some such nonsense. Thankfully, looking back, it turns out that I didn't have to be God's spin doctor anyway - He did a great job speaking for Himself (this would be worth another post).
Teong Wee's passing had a big impact on many of us - as Officers and especially his peer group. He was a wonderful Boy with great Character, a caring Leader, and a true Brother in every sense of the word. In fact, just thinking about him as I write this, I realised that it was him who helped me crystalize "The Book of Wong" (I'll tell you about it in another post).
This year, he would have been 26 - and in my estimation, an excellent young man. He would probably be making great headway in his career and I would hope that he would have continued serving in 1st KL as an inspirational Officer... because I know he had the potential to do it.
Thank you Teong Wee. It has been 9 years since we said "Goodbye" but your impact - as it would appear with this posting - still remains.
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