Introduction

Today, we begin a new series, Sweet Memories, Sweet Success. It is based on an autobiography by Mrs Kate Cheah.

I met Mrs Cheah at the Global Reachout 25th Anniversary Dinner in November last year (2019). She arrived early. The part-owner of a highly successful family business, she did not look the part of a rich tai-tai though she had the air of quiet elegance about her. She spoke quietly and firmly as with the experience of a retired teacher. She asked for water, not tea, as she thought she might be unable to sleep. When I showed her to her table, she thanked me with a warm smile, settled herself in her chair and began to be absorbed in our GR 25th anniversary book. I dared not strike up a conversation with her, not wishing to interrupt her reading.

Several days later, I read her book, Sweet Memories, Sweet Success. The Kate Cheah story is a story of the redeeming grace of God throughout life - in personal life or in business.

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Kate’s Parents

2 Timothy 1:5 (NIV)

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Likewise, Kate’s mother, Madam Shum Shui Yue, was a very strong influence and a shining example in Kate’s life.

Shui Yue was born in Macau in 1903. Once a rich family, the family fortunes had dwindled by the time of Shui Yue’s childhood. Becoming poor, the family had to split up and she moved to Hong Kong to be raised by her half-brother.  In school, a Christian teacher encouraged her to trust in Jesus. And she did.

She married a Hong Kong widower, Chan Hinky. His first wife had passed away and there was nobody to look after his 4 young sons. In a traditional Chinese household, a new wife had to follow the religious practices of her in-laws especially if your husband was the eldest son in the family. But Shui Yue trusted Jesus and she stopped praying to her mother-in-law’s gods and participating in ancestral worship. This was considered an act of disloyalty. But Shui Yue submitted to her mother-in-law and served as best as she could, doing all the menial jobs, even emptying and washing dirty, used chamber pots. And of course, she cared for her 4 step-sons.

In the early 1920s, Chan Hinky left Hong Kong for job opportunities in Singapore. His twenty-year-old wife stayed behind with his mother and sons. For three years, Shui Yue prayed that God would open the way for her to join her husband in Singapore.

Her prayers were answered. Chan Hinky had worked hard and saved enough money to take over a shop, start a business and buy it many years later. In 1926, the family relocated to Singapore and got to work in the bakery cum café immediately.

What was Shui Yue’s secret?

Kate remembers, “Mum seldom missed her daily devotion with God. Her faithfulness in meeting with the Lord daily in prayer and in the study of His Word helped her draw spiritual strength. Mum learnt that the two important ways to experience this fellowship with God were listening to Him through the Bible and speaking with Him in prayer.

Mum took the words of the Lord in Luke 18:1 seriously, “That man ought always to pray and not to faint.” This meant that we are not to grow weary of praying or lose heart.”

Mother’s Perseverance

In the 1950s, many Chinese students living in Singapore and overseas were encouraged to return to China to build up their Motherland. Kate’s brother and sister both went to China to further their studies, as did many overseas Chinese at the time. They had hoped that after their studies, they could contribute to nation-building. Who would have foreseen the Cultural Revolution? Many of these same young people were sent to communes to do manual labour in the fields. And many did not return. Then the doors of China closed.

For thirty years, there was hardly any news although the family in Singapore sent letters, food, clothing and money. And Kate herself wondered if this was all pointless, after so many years. But her mother, Shui Yue, continued to pray every day for her children’s salvation and hoped she would see them again.

In the 1980s, Deng Xiao Ping was appointed as Premier and China reopened her doors and she was reunited with her son and daughter after 30 years!

Shui Yue prayed for Kate’s half-brothers whom she raised. After 40 years, they too turned back to Jesus as Lord and Saviour and went back to church.

Father’s Faith

Whenever Shui Yue talked to her husband about Jesus, he would become angry. Once, during a meal, he was so furious that he swept some bowls and dishes off the dining table. Shui Yue decided then not to talk about the matter again. Instead she continued to pray earnestly for him, obeying Romans 12:12: 

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Her prayers were answered. When Chan Hinky was hospitalized for a minor surgery, church friends visited, prayed for him and even put a bible and Christian materials next to the hospital bed.

A short time after his discharge, he surprised Shui Yue by saying he wanted to be baptized! All things happen according to God’s timing, not ours. We are just to persevere in prayer with thanksgiving.

Chan Hinky himself became a man of faith and served in his church. When his daughter, Lydia (Kate’s sister) had diphtheria as a little girl and pus formed in her lungs, the doctor warned her parents that she might not live. Chan Hinky looked to Jesus. Early one morning at 5am, he went to a huge field near his shop in High Street to pray. Lydia’s recovery was a miracle! Today, Lydia is retired associate professor at NUS. She also serves at her church and makes frequent mission trips to China and Cambodia, a living testimony of God’s power and grace.

During the Japanese Occupation, he was ordered to give up his shop by a Japanese soldier who expressed his intentions very clearly. Chan Hinky looked to his God for help. And God delivered him – and his shop and family from harm. The Japanese soldier never returned.

Faith in Action

James 2:17-18 says:

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

Kate’s mother showed her faith by praying to God and studying God’s word. She also showed it by her actions. She believed it is more blessed to give than to receive. Kindness and love towards people are always in the heart of God. Loving others, especially those in need shows we have the love of God in us.

The time during World War 2 was one of many occasions. The Japanese had invaded Singapore and the house of a distant relative, Mr Poon, was bombed. One wall collapsed, killing 6 of the 10 members of his family. The 4 who escaped were Mr Poon, his aged mother and his 2 grownup sons. In those dark days, food was expensive, and money was scarce. Despite having to feed their own family of 10 children and 4 grandchildren, Mr and Mrs Chan opened their hearts and home to Mr Poon and his family, sharing their home and food with them.

When a lady from church sold ondeh ondeh (a local dessert) from house to house, to make ends meet, Shui Yue was very moved with compassion. One day it was getting late and most of the ondeh ondeh was still not sold. Shui Yue then gave the lady some money so she could set up a small stall and no longer need to move from place to place to sell her food.

Shui Yue lived a healthy life up to ninety. She had walked and fallen down many times but suffered not even a hairline fracture. In her final years, Shui Yue suffered colon cancer. But she did not complain. Even in her twilight years, she thought of the less fortunate and stated in her will that a quarter of her share of profits from the Polar business be given to Christian organisations and overseas missions.

Kate declares, “Mum’s perseverance in prayer was a constant encouragement to me to trust God. She had the confidence that God would always provide out of His limitless supply. It did not matter that we encountered obstacles or setbacks in our lives, God always provided a way for us. God’s grace was sufficient for us.”

Truly, one life influences another. Kate’s mother and later on, her father’s constant looking to the Lord for answers and trusting Him impacted their children. In the following episodes, we will hear how this constant looking to the Lord shaped the decisions Kate made in her life. Please stay with us.

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