When Alvin Kong made friends with a sporty, feisty woman who shared his passion for fishing, he did not quite expect his life to be entirely changed.

Alvin, 36, got to know Dawn Lim through social media. Both had commented on posts by a boatman who was their mutual friend.

Because of their common love of fishing, Dawn (left) and Alvin met.

“From there, we knew that each other existed,” said Dawn, 47.

Serendipitously, they would meet in person repeatedly. At the time, Alvin worked in logistics. He ended up delivering parcels to Dawn’s home, as well as to her neighbour’s on several occasions.

“Coincidentally, each time I would be going out and I would see him,” said Dawn.

Despite the fact that both wore face masks, they would recognise each other.

“He said, ‘Let’s go fishing one day.’ So whenever I went fishing, I would invite him,” said Dawn.

Alvin added: “We were fishing buddies then. I didn’t like her yet.”

Alvin is not just an avid angler, he owns a fish stall in Bedok called The Chapalang Shop.

Over time though, Alvin began noticing Dawn’s Facebook posts more and more. Before long, they started dating.

When Dawn, who had gone to church with her grandmother as a child, decided to attend church again, Alvin went along.

“I followed because I wanted to make her happy,” he said.

He would end up following more than his heart.

Used by spirits

For Alvin to even step into a church was no small thing because not only was he of a different faith then, he had also been a temple medium for half his life.

Alvin grew up in a different faith.

“From the time I was in kindy, I was able to see all those spiritual stuff. One night, I saw a real figure (of an effigy) that is usually placed next to the joss stick urn.

“I was scared and curious. I told my mum I could see the figure, but she couldn’t see anything.”

From then on, he was taken to the temple to be trained to be a medium. He had to learn to meditate to such a point where he could channel spirits and allow them to take over his body.

By secondary school, he had become a medium at the temple, divining the fates of those who sought help, hope and direction in life.

“I just did it as a good deed – let the bosses, the gods use my body in exchange for my soul so I don’t need to go to hell,” explained Alvin.

He did not have a good impression of Christians at the time.

Until he met Dawn and went to church, Alvin did not have a positive impression of Christians.

“I hated Christians because they would come to my house, knock on the door and say, ‘If you don’t believe Christ, you will die.’ It was like they curse me. I thought: Why I don’t follow your religion you curse me?”

The first time Alvin attended a worship service, he “sat there like a block”. When everyone stood up to sing worship songs, he remained seated. When the Pastor preached, “100% I don’t understand anything”.

“I also had a bad headache.”

The deal-breaker

Yet when Dawn wanted to continue attending church, Alvin went along.

“I respected her,” he said.

His decision was made, in no small part, also because of what Dawn told him. When they began dating, Dawn knew Alvin was of another faith though she did not know he was a temple medium. But as the relationship progressed, his not being of the same faith became a deal-breaker for her.

By the time Dawn (left) and Alvin (right) stated getting serious about each other, Dawn was also getting serious about her faith.

Said Dawn: “I told him, ‘If you really want to be with me, I am determined to be in a Christian marriage, or else I don’t want the relationship anymore.’”

Dawn had married a man who was not a believer. When the marriage fell apart, she went into a relationship with another non-believer. That relationship failed as well and she became a single mother to her two young sons.

Now that she was interested in renewing her faith, Dawn was not willing to compromise any more.

Said Alvin: “Because I love her, I didn’t walk away.”

In fact, when Dawn signed up for the Alpha course, he did, too. By then, he had also become curious about the Christian faith.

A Voice that beckoned

When the Alpha course started, Alvin stopped being a temple medium. It was at Alpha that he had a spiritual encounter like nothing he had experienced before.  

“During one of the sessions via Zoom, I was very tired. During that time, I was working in deliveries. When I went home, I still attended the classes with her.

“During the class, I closed my eyes …”

Dawn quipped: “I thought he fell asleep during Alpha. I thought: People holding Alpha class, why you sleep? That’s why we quarrelled after that.”

But Alvin was not asleep.

“When my eyes were closed, an image came to me. I saw a lighthouse and the lighthouse was welcoming me and I felt warmth. Then a dove flew over the lighthouse and I felt peaceful.”

Not knowing what to make of it, Alvin went to talk to his Pastor.

“He told me, ‘God is telling you He is opening the door for you.’”

God would speak to Alvin again. While he was out doing deliveries another day, the same image of the lighthouse appeared to him. This time, he also heard an audible voice.

“The Voice said in my ear, ‘I have opened My hands to you and welcomed you to be my family member.’

“I had a lot of question marks. At that point, I didn’t know what it was but it should be God.”

After work, Alvin went to church to talk to his Pastors. As he was speaking to two of them, the image came again, along with the Voice saying the same thing.

“On that day, I decided to be baptised. I signed up for baptism classes,” said Alvin.

“I was touched. God let me see the image, hear His voice. I felt more peace, more comfort, not so much baggage.

“As a medium, you have to hold a lot of baggage. Spirits (of the dead) would come to you to help them finish whatever they need – find their spouse, their children, pass on messages, money, food.

“Most of the time I reject them, tell them I’m unable to help. What we can do is burn more money, provide more food. It felt like a burden after a while.”

Healing father wounds

As Alvin opened himself up to the Christian faith, God worked in his life.

From his youth, Alvin and his father had had a rocky relationship.

As the oldest child, Alvin’s parents had high expectations of him when he was growing up.

“When my younger brother or sister did something wrong, I would be caned. He would say, ‘上梁不正下梁歪 (if the older ones are not upright, the younger ones would be crooked as well).  Every time he caned me, I would hate him a lot.”

By Primary One, he had to do the laundry, wash the air conditioner and replace light bulbs. By Primary Two, he was tasked to do the marketing and cook for the family.

“This is how I grew up. There was a time I would think: Why am I born so early?

“So (when I grew up), my father and I both cannot sit together at the table to eat. He will say something I don’t like and I can flip the table and go off.”

But as Alvin’s and Dawn’s interest in their Christian faith grew, their desire to learn more also increased. They would attend various Christian courses. One of them was a one-day course called “Freedom and Wholeness” which they attended before they were baptised.

“At the course, the elder asked us what hatred do I have? I told them I hated my dad most. So they prayed for me. After the sessions, I felt better,” said Alvin.

Dawn interjected: “He cried.”

Alvin added: “I cried because something touched me. Suddenly there was a release and tears started to roll. I can’t remember when I ever cried like that.”

After that session, things inexplicably changed between Alvin and his father.

“We were able to communicate better, not like see each other, hate each other and want to walk off.

“I was surprised because I don’t know how it happened. Things just started to change.”

A life transformed

In August 2021, Alvin and Dawn were baptised.

“I felt happier after my baptism, much more at peace,” Alvin told Salt&Light.

“Finally, I was able to really sit down and listen to the Pastor preach. I also began to understand what the Pastor was saying.”

Alvin getting baptised.

Over time, Alvin felt his heart softening.

“During one sermon, Pastor was preaching something about fatherhood. Then I suddenly dropped tears. How great was our Father God. You are able to speak to Him about anything and He will listen to you.”

Alvin and Dawn (front row) with their Pastor and his wife following a marriage preparation class.

Married in 2022 after dating for 18 months, the couple now serve together in various capacities. They cook for their church, Covenant Presbyterian Church, on some Sundays. They also prepare and deliver meals to some 200 lower-income households in Chinatown. Recently, they went on their first mission trip together to a neighbouring country.

On weekends, Alvin and Dawn are chefs for hire. They regularly cook for church events.

“We went to pray for students in the university and share our testimonies,” said Dawn.

Alvin and Dawn (second and third from right) on a mission trip.

Since he became a Christian, the spirits that used to haunt Alvin no longer do and he has renounced the practices of the past. He tossed away thousands of dollars’ worth of amulets that he had once treasured and relied on for protection.

“I never look back. Since I decided to be a Christian, why should I think about the past? Let the past be past, just move forward.”  

Read about how God worked in Dawn’s life here. 

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