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Dear All, my name is Tan Kang Fun but I am better known as KF Tan in the market place. I am currently the CEO of a health trust company in Singapore. I started my career as an auditor with one of the Big 4 firms before I joined a chemical company back in 1990. In year 2000, I moved to a high performance material manufacturing plant where I was the Managing Director. Before my present position, I was with healthcare companies where I had different roles at different point in time as the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Thank God I can have this opportunity to share my personal testimony to give glory to God. I want to thank God for His grace and mercy that I am alive today. I am here to praise and glorify God for answering prayers. What I have gone through over the last 10 years or so is truly a miracle.
First, I would like to share with you my salvation back in 1997. My neighbor had been inviting my wife and I to church for many years and I always turned down the invitation. However, I do allow the neighbor to bring our 2 girls to church since 1994. One day, in September 1997, I had a dream where there were voices telling me “I must go to church, I must go to church”. Next morning, happened to be a Sunday, I told my wife let us go to church. She was surprised as for many years the neighbor had been inviting us and I always said no. But now, out of the blue, I want to take the whole family to church. After about two months of attending church, two Pastors visited us in early November to share the gospel with us. That night both my wife and I accepted Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. After accepting Christ, a few days later, I encountered a miracle. I had been having a back ache for many years and doctor could not find the root cause even with many scans done. I remember accepting Christ on Thursday night and over that weekend I realized my back ache was completely gone. Since then I have not had any relapsed at all. Praise the Lord for healing me. This is truly a miracle as doctor could not explain why my pain had suddenly gone away.
In October 2012, just about 10 years ago, I was diagnosed with a stage 4 lung cancer. To many this is, indeed, a death sentence! I had tumours in my left lung, right lung, lymph nodes, adrenal gland just above the kidney and a tumour each in my left & right brain. I was in a deadly condition. Interestingly, 6 months before that, I had a complete body health check-up with blood tests and X-ray done, and was given a clean bill of health. When the doctor broke the news to my wife and I, we were calm in accepting the bad news. I remember the first question I asked the doctor was “How many more months have I got to live?” The doctor told us that it would probably be about 12 – 24 months. Then the doctor went on to say “Mr Tan, I have no religion but I wish I have faith like you in accepting the news.” In reply, I told the doctor that before we came to see him, we already prayed and committed everything into God’s hand. I believe why the doctor said that was because we were calm in accepting the news and that we were not emotional at all. Truly thank God for granting my wife and I the peace in accepting the news that I have terminal disease. This can only be possible with the grace and peace from God. All glory to God.
The doctor told us that with my condition of terminal lung cancer, one does not look at curative anymore. It will be more of managing the disease to ensure I have a quality life before death comes! Without delay, the first treatment for my condition was Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for my brain tumours. The doctor told me that I might lose temporary memory and hair loss as the side effects from the treatment. Thank God I did not have either of these. I can only account this to God’s mercy and grace. Because of the seriousness of my cancer, I was put on chemotherapy 3 days later. However, 2 weeks after Gamma Knife treatment, I had immense headache and the doctor sent me for brain MRI scan. The results were out in the same afternoon. When we went to the doctor’s office, the doctor said “Lo and behold, the tumours are gone!” He said this was unusual as the treated tumours would usually shrink first and then melt away over a period of time. To me this was another miracle. From this episode, God wants to reassure me He is in control of my condition. He wants me to totally depend on Him.
After 4 months of chemotherapy treatment, I completed 6-cycle of chemo. It was really tough over that period as chemo has many side effects like feeling bloated, nausea, vomiting, tired, no appetite and constipation. I want to thank God that He sustained me over that period where I was able to eat fairly well and only loss about 3 to 4 kg. The doctor told me that I will need to resume chemo again in 4 – 6 months as the cancer tumours will start to grow again. Well, I was back to work and did not resume the second round of chemo treatment after 10 months. This was truly another God’s hand at work to preserve me by allowing me to have a quality life. I went through another 6-cycle of chemo back in December 2013 and was back to work again by April 2014. Thank God for being with me again through this period.
I had my medical review in May 2014 and it was bad news as there was new mutation in my left lung. To many cancer patients, a new mutation is always not a good sign. This meant that the chemo drugs no longer work. I want to thank God that my doctor found a targeted drug that is suitable for me and I have been taking the oral drug since then. About a year after I started taking the targeted drug, the cancer tumours in my body started to disappear. As I write this testimony, my body is now completely cleared of cancer tumours. This is truly a miracle. Thank God for walking and upholding me through these trying times. This is a trial and God has been my strength where I can wholeheartedly depend on Him to walk with me through these trying times.
I would like to share with you my experience that trials are real. I want to thank God for granting me the time to indwell in His words over several months during my chemotherapy treatment. It was, indeed, a blessing to be in affliction that I have the time and opportunity to study His words. The trial I was going through has given me the opportunity to study in depth as to whether trials are for us Christians? After searching the Scripture, without a shred of doubt I believe it is real and it is for us Christians too!
Trials and tribulations are words that we do not like to hear. We all face different trials and tribulations. They come to us in every walk of life. Some of us will face financial trials and some will face illness or physical trials like family or relationships issues. So trials can come in many forms. Some people seem to believe that if you become a Christian, then all your problems will go away. Jesus never told his followers that if they follow him, everything will be great and rosy. In fact, He told people that followed Him it will be a difficult journey ahead. In John 16:33 Jesus said that in the world we will have tribulation. The Bible clearly tells us that trials are real and we ALL will have them in our lives. A trial is a painful circumstance allowed by God to change our conduct (that’s what I do) and our character (that’s who I am).
The Scripture clearly tells us that “…..whom the LORD loves He chastens (disciplines)….” Let us go to Hebrews 12:5-6 and see what God is telling us about the children He loves, starting with verse 5 which reads “5And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6For whom the LORD loves He chastens; And scourges every son whom He receives.”
The author of the book of Hebrews actually referred to the Old Testament and quoted Proverbs 3:11-12 “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights”. From these verses, it is clear God disciplines His children. His discipline is not a venting of wrath like “giving us what we deserve.” His chastisement of us has purpose. It is part of the necessary process of bringing us to responsible maturity, making us His holy people. It is God’s sign of love and care, leading us to Him and away from the final judgment.
From the verses I just shared, it is clear that we Christians do go through trials and tribulations. I hope that with this backdrop to my condition, you will have a better understanding of the testimony I am sharing on Total Dependence on God.
Personal Testimony