Vic and I could have met in Year 1999, through a post- mission trip prayer meeting that gathered all the Love Japan Project participants. He was a participant of Team Nagano, while I was a participant of Team Tokyo. That day Vic was standing in front playing the piano for the band, and I remember vividly how much I had enjoyed worshiping and praying for the land of Japan from where I had just returned. Though we were both present at the gathering, God had in mind a different timing for our paths to cross again and meet.
In 2004 I graduated from NUS and applied for a four-year term to serve in Japan with Campus Crusade for Christ. To qualify I have to go through nine-months of local new staff training in the Great Commission Training Center (GCTC). One day at GCTC, my PC broke down and since I was still a new staff who has yet to familiarise myself with people in the office, I was referred to “the tallest guy in the IT department, named Victor Toh”. I was told that he is a nice guy and will surely help if anyone approaches him. I had to search around the office since he was not at his desk, and finally at one of the stairways, I found who I thought could be the tallest guy from IT department, Victor. True enough, he agreed without a second of hesitation and promised he’ll be back after he had his lunch to help me.
The PC didn’t work well even after being repaired. Victor helped me look for a desktop that I may use for my work. When he saw the newsletter I was preparing with my faulty PC regarding my calling to Japan, he showed much interest and offered to help me with its design. Since I was trying to meet a dateline and he was working in the same office, I thought it would be convenient to work with him and so I agreed.
That was how we started working together. On some evenings we would go jogging with a few other staff and have dinner together. After some time, a few of my batchmates started alerting me that Victor seemed to be especially attentive and nice to me. At first, I denied every piece of evidence they gave me. But one day, while Victor and I were having dinner at Harbourfront foodcourt, he started sharing how he had actually been talking to the Lord about me. From the venue he had chosen and the way he was fidgeting with the contents in his bowl of beef ball noodles and the way he was so anxiously trying to process his thoughts while he speaks, I could tell that he had only decided to share those feelings at the spur of that moment when we started eating.
At that time, though I thought Victor was a great man and servant of the Lord, I was not excited to start a relationship at all. Knowing that soon I would be heading for Japan, my initial response to him without much thought was a “no”. I was thankful that God has blessed me with his friendship and was content to keep it as that.
To my surprise God started bringing many staff to talk with me and encouraged me to also pray about him.“It is so rare to find someone with the same burden and desire to serve the Lord in Japan,“ many said to me. And so, I started praying. I had to wrestle with different uncertainties. God began speaking to me through His Word, through His people, through several circumstances and coincidences. During that period of seeking, God poured overwhelming assurance to tell me that Victor is His gift for me and I can trust Him to sustain our relationship, even if it was going to be a long-distance one. On 22nd November 2004, Victor and I met up again to talk, and we decided to enter into courtship.
