In late October of 2013, Andy Toh noticed that his urine was unusually dark. He went to the polyclinic to have it checked but the doctor immediately sent him to the hospital instead.

He was found to have severe jaundice and a bloated stomach. It turned out that his liver had been badly scarred and hardened as a result of hepatitis B.

“It is 100% liver failure,” the doctor pronounced.

Andy, then 48, received the sudden news with shock and disbelief. He had not experienced any serious symptoms up till that point.

“It seemed like I was just waiting to die”

Doctors told him that his liver was failing fast and, without a transplant, he would not survive beyond three to six months.

“I was given a life sentence. It seemed like I was just waiting to die,” said Andy, whose two children were teenagers then.

He was placed on the priority list for cadaveric livers, and had to be on high alert to get ready to be operated on anytime should a liver be made available at the last minute, say, from an accident.

Andy’s emotions cycled through the different stages of loss and grief. 

“I didn’t dare to have any hope. I also didn’t want to burden those around me,” he recalled.

Beneath the feelings of hopelessness were also many questions that he directed at God.

“Why me? I have been a believer since young and have been faithfully serving You in full-time ministry for over 20 years,” he asked God. He was a ministry executive with the Nurture and Discipleship department of Paya Lebar Methodist Church at that time.

Those feelings of hopelessness morphed into resignation, and then into surrender.

“I wasn’t afraid of dying, but hoped for a second chance to continue living to complete my race on earth. So, I committed everything to Him, knowing that He is in charge,” said Andy.

When his church friends prayed for him, the word that came to them for him was “regeneration”. None of them knew what it meant. The verse that they proclaimed over him was from Ephesians 3:20 that God is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or imagine.”

Andy had his own interpretation of what these words and verses meant.

“I thought God’s miracle would come by somehow changing my damaged liver into a healthy one without my having to go through a liver transplant,” he said.

Andy’s prayers for his liver to be healed supernaturally were not answered. God had a greater miracle in mind.

A prompting from God 

Meanwhile, Andy’s colleague, Ralph Chua, was in Thailand for his church staff retreat in February 2014.

He was doing his devotion on Philippians 2 about imitating Christ’s humility when verse 2, which says “then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind”, stood out to him.

As he paused and leaned in to wait upon God for further revelation, an old memory came to his mind.

He was reminded of how he had shared Christ with and prayed for his friend’s father who had liver cancer but who’d backslided from his faith. That was the first time Ralph had prayed for someone who was so critically ill; his friend’s father had died shortly afterwards.

“Why are you reminding me of this? Why no healing? Where is the miracle?” Ralph had asked God then.

His colleague, Andy, came to mind. The staff team had been praying for Andy as regular updates on his condition came in. But this time, Ralph sensed that God wanted him to pray for Andy in person.

“I struggled to do so. After all, the last office email we’d received about him was that he was already discharged from the hospital and didn’t seem to be in critical condition. We were also not close. We hardly interacted as colleagues as there was not much overlap between our work duties,” said Ralph, who found himself dragging his heels.

One week later, another email update on Andy came. He found out that Andy had been warded; his condition was bad.

God prompted him again to pray for Andy.

“I stopped arguing with God and went to visit Andy in the hospital. I hoped that God would use me this time for His miracle through my prayers,” said Ralph.  

In the hospital ward, Ralph shared with Andy about how God wanted him to pray for him in person.

Then, he said a simple and short prayer for Andy.

“I was very expectant, and was pressing in to see what miracle God would do because I knew He must have a reason for sending me,” said Ralph.

A heart filled with God’s love

But nothing out of the ordinary seemed to happen. The bloatedness in Andy’s stomach did not subside; neither did he feel any heat or sensation going through him or Andy.

Instead, Ralph felt God’s love for Andy filling his heart as he prayed for him.

“It was the first time I’d felt this. It wasn’t an overwhelming physical sensation but I knew it was God’s love,” said Ralph.

Before he left, Ralph asked Andy about the possibility of having a liver donor.

“No living donors at this point,” Andy told him. At that time, Andy was still on the waiting list for a cadaveric liver transplant.

“Should the time come when you need a living donor, I will step up to donate,” Ralph found himself saying to Andy without a moment’s hesitation. As he made that statement, the verse from John 15:13 flashed across his mind: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

As Ralph stepped out of the hospital and took a breather in his car, he pondered over the tremendous offer he had just made to Andy.

“It just naturally came out of my mouth, so I felt it was a prompting from God. So, I texted my wife to inform her of what I had just said to Andy,” said Ralph.

The couple discussed the issue further later that night.

“I felt strangely at peace,” said Daphne, Ralph’s wife. “Perhaps it was because Ralph had felt the prompting of the Spirit so I didn’t feel I should question it.” 

Andy, on the other hand, was in disbelief at Ralph’s offer.

“I wondered, ‘Sure or not’? He had four young children at that time,” said Andy. Ralph’s four children were aged one to nine years old at the time, and he had just committed to a new executive condominium unit to house his growing family.

One week later, Ralph received an email broadcast that Andy needed a liver donor.

The email appeal for liver donors for Andy that Ralph received.

“I felt it was a confirmation of God’s plan for me to proceed with it because one week ago when I offered, Andy said they weren’t considering that. But now there was an appeal,” said Ralph.

Multiple confirmations 

Ralph went for the medical review and checks. He was not the only one; a few others also stepped forward, though their identities were not disclosed.

Andy’s wife, siblings and 18-year-old son also stepped forward, but they were all found to be unsuitable as donors. Only his daughter, Bernice, was a match.

Although scared, Bernice wanted to help. But at 16, she was too young – donors had to be at least 21.

In the end, Ralph was the one who cleared all the medical tests and prerequisites. He was deemed to be the most suitable donor for Andy.

“The positive result was confirmation that God had intended me to be the donor. When I told my wife I’d been selected as the best suited donor, she said, ‘Did you ever doubt it?’” 

The surgeon who reviewed Ralph’s liver also made an interesting comment.

“He told me that the structure of my liver makes the operation technically easier. The vessel stemming from my liver that would connect to Andy’s body was much bigger than normal. He said it was as if it was designed to be donated,” said Ralph.

The diagrams that the surgeon drew to illustrate how the structure of his liver makes it easier to be donated.

It was also a pleasant surprise when he found out that his insurance could cover the costs of the liver operation. It showed him how God had covered all areas for him, including financially.

“God revealed the way as we moved forward in faith. God had prepared me way in advance for it – from how He’d prompted me to pray for Andy and led me on in small steps,” said Ralph.

“The decision to donate my liver was never forced upon me but it was a decision that was intimately linked to the sharing of God’s love and burden that I’d received through my prayer for Andy,” he added.

Andy’s parents and in-laws, however, had their concerns about his well-being. But they did not stop him from proceeding with the donation.

The day before his operation, Ralph and his wife were doing their morning devotion when they came upon Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

His wife then shared with him that years ago, when they were about to get married and were searching for a wedding theme verse, the same verse had come up. She felt a prompting from God then that the verse was not so much for their wedding, but for her husband.

“We took that again as a confirmation from God that this was His plan and that I was walking in the path He had set out for me,” said Ralph.

Andy saw that Ralph was steadfast about wanting to obey God, and was grateful to him and his family for their sacrifice.

The transplant operation stretched over eight hours. By then, Andy had found out the meaning of the word ‘regeneration’ from the surgeon. He discovered that the liver is the only organ that can regenerate and grow back.

Ralph donated two-thirds, or 66%, of his liver. His liver had two lobes, and he donated the larger lobe to Andy. He was told that a person usually only needs just over 20% of the liver to function.

Ralph donated the right lobe of his liver (or 66%) to Andy, leaving the left lobe (or a third of his liver) left for himself.

Ralph woke up from the operation in extreme pain, a pain he had never experienced before.

Ralph in recovery after the transplant operation.

For Andy, the first person he requested to see after his operation was Ralph.

Andy in the ICU after the successful transplant.

As he was wheeled into Ralph’s hospital room, both of their family members witnessed the scene before them in silence.

It was an emotional moment and no words were needed. Tears flowed down Andy’s face.

“Saying ‘thank you’ would have sounded too shallow. I didn’t need to say anything. I gave Ralph a small smile and I could feel Ralph receiving my gratitude,” said Andy.

Andy with his two children, Brandon and Bernice, at the hospital.

Ralph, now 53, noted that this experience was not only shared between him and Andy, but it was a journey that the church joined in as well.

“They started a prayer chat group, and prayed unceasingly during our operations. They visited us, cooked for us and sent cards and gifts to encourage us,” said Ralph.

Ralph having his vitals monitored post-surgery.

Andy was discharged two weeks later and he returned to work in church in September that year.

Ralph’s liver has regenerated and his bloodwork is normal. Since then, he has had his fifth child and he continues to serve God in Paya Lebar Methodist Church.

A Christmas gathering with both families. Ralph had four children then, and Andy had two.

Said Andy: “Ralph is certainly an example of the Lord Jesus who laid down his life for his friends and I do not take this gift of life for granted.”

Although he retired two years ago, he continues to serve as a worship leader, cell group leader, usher and baptism and membership class facilitator in church.

Both Ralph and Andy continue to serve actively in church.

“This was not only a personal victory of hope for me, but also a greater miracle that the whole community of faith tasted,” said Andy.

“We have seen the resurrection power of God, His love and His living hope which does not disappoint.”

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