Note: Dr. Chow Li Sze should be familiar to most of our longtime and/or regular readers. For those who are newer, we featured her story in 2022. You are encouraged and welcome to read the article at: https://christianitymalaysia.com/wp/dr-chow-li-sze-from-many-losses-to-newfound-identity-as-daughter-of-god/
I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in April 2021 after having consistent joint pain in my arms and fingers for several months. According to the rheumatologist, it has probably been in my DNA for a long time, which is inherited from my father who had SLE too. I was scared in the beginning, worrying it could get worse after knowing that SLE might even damage the kidney. Unfortunately, the rheumatologist said that there is no cure for SLE except to control the symptoms. Since there is no cure except the steroid, I decided not to take any medication but to rely on Jesus.
I felt very sad when I had joint pain in my finger because it was hard to play the piano. But I insist on continuing to play the piano in worshipping the Lord. I could only play simpler and slower worship songs, yet I continued to record it and shared it on my YouTube channel, to encourage myself and someone.
I was very down when I couldn’t lift my arms to worship with the flags. Nobody could help me. Nobody could take care of me. All I needed to do was to pray. Every morning and every night, I laid hand to my head, my arm, my fingers and prayed with Isaiah 53:5, “But Jesus was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
After many brokenness and losses in my life, as a single mother, I have not much left except the talents that He has given to me. I remember how I gave my life to Jesus after my 2-year-old son passed away in 2014 due to liver failure. “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him…” (Philippians 3:8-9a). I am very grateful to my Lord despite many losses in life I am always very committed to serving the Lord wherever He calls me. Gradually, I have lesser joint pain in my fingers and arms. I was very glad that I could continue to worship with piano and flag.
However, the Anti-nuclear Antibody (ANA) index, which indicates the severity of the autoimmune disease, shot very high to 2560 in August 2022. A normal index should be less than 80. Yet, I continued to pray and trust God even without seeing the rheumatologist or taking any medication. The joint pain in my fingers returned at the end of 2022 till the beginning of 2023. However, I do not remember when it disappeared! I had no pain for several months! Recently, I have played many challenging and fast piano pieces without feeling anything. My annual blood test in September 2023 showed that my ANA index dropped by half to 1280! Wow! Jesus is truly my Healer, He is Jehovah Rapha! Hallelujah! Do not worry about the medical report. We have an Almighty God who can heal all diseases as long as we keep on praying without giving up and dedicate our lives to serving Him and the people around us.
eNewsletter with Piano Worship
God has called me to write the eNewsletter with every new piano worship that I publish on YouTube. My vision is to lead you closer to your Creator through piano worship. I came across many challenging situations in life that are beyond ordinary understanding where every incident brought me closer to my Creator in the contemplation of life. I believe every incident in life has a lesson for us; we can either ignore it, complain about it, or turn it around and overcome it. I never allowed any bad situation to drag me down; instead, I would turn it around and use it as a testimony to encourage someone. I tend to dive deep into every challenge in life to understand my emotions and the consequences of every action that I take. Therefore, I am committed to serving you and sharing with you my testimonies and reflections together with the power of worship. I even paid for the email system myself to serve you.
Hospital Mission
God also called me to the hospital mission, specifically in the pediatric ward, after my son, Zhen Kan, passed away in 2014. However, I have no clue how to start this. There isn’t anybody in my church or anybody that I know who is serving in the hospital. All I know is that when a child is terminally ill, a mother will try everything, literally every religion, every treatment, every doctor, every hospital,… in whatever way to save her child. That’s me when my son was dying. That’s how I became so open and accepted Jesus in my life at the darkest and most desperate moment.
I am truly thankful to God for the opportunity for me to start and pioneer a women’s ministry called Women of Acts (WOA) at Christ Lutheran Church on 2nd July 2022. Through this ministry, I have trained and inspired the women to come on board with me in the hospital mission. Glory to God that WOA has raised a team of 10 volunteers for the Christmas Outreach at Selayang Hospital in 2022. Many people couldn’t believe that we got approval from the hospital’s Director to sing carols at the Pediatric Ward even during the recovery phase of COVID-19. But we got it through the favour of God!
Nevertheless, I didn’t stop there. I have applied to visit the hospital again this year. Many churches and individuals told me that it’s unlikely for a church to get formal approval to visit the hospital, especially the Pediatric Ward, in a Muslim country. However, I never give up on trying. After several attempts, eventually I received approval from the Women and Children Hospital, also known as Hospital Tunku Azizah (HTA), the largest government hospital in Malaysia, which is only a 10-minute drive away from our church. I received the approval on the same day that my dad passed away on 10th July 2023. I knew that it was the right time because God had released me from caring for my dad, closing one chapter of my life, and opening a new chapter in starting the hospital mission.
The approval was granted for a formal visit on 30th August 2023, which is the 9th death anniversary of my son! Both of these dates are double confirmation of what God has called me after all the trials that I have been through in life. I was a regular mom at the hospital with my son, and a regular career for both my parents bringing them for various checkups every month. I’m not a stranger in the hospital.
Our volunteers even took leave to go for this hospital mission. “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15). After our first visit, we have been returning almost every weekend to follow up and reach out to more children and pray for them in Jesus’ name. We are not only bringing gifts to the children and mothers, but we also bring the hope of healing from Jesus, especially to the long-term patients. I told every mother that my God, Jesus is a Healer. I have compiled all the Bible verses for healing into a booklet, which is a very effective tool for sharing the Bible verses for healing. I shared with every mother the first 3 Bible verses for healing in this booklet, as I believe that the “Word of God is living and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12a). It is the best tool for prayer.
Children have a very simple faith; those who can speak followed me in prayer asking Jesus to heal them. There was one time I sang a lullaby song “Jesus Loves Me” to a 5-month-old baby girl, and she kept smiling at me. At that moment, I felt the presence of Jesus next to me and I felt so loved. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10)
Chai Yao Jiunn, 9 years old, was admitted to HTA in June 2023. He is diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract. Unfortunately, there is no cure at the moment. He was unable to eat in the beginning but had to be fed by tube. The doctor prescribed Infliximab to reduce the inflammation, for up to 2 years. A segment of his intestine is disconnected at the moment, so he has to wear a colostomy bag for 24 hours. The medication costs of RM3,000 a month is a big toll on the family where the father is just an employee in a hardware shop. His mother Yan stopped working to take care of him after he was hospitalized.
Jiunn is an obedient boy. Every time we visited him, he followed us to pray and ask Jesus to heal him. Both Jiunn and his mother Yan have accepted Jesus in their lives. The love of Jesus and His light of hope have come to this family through our WOA Hospital Mission team. Although there is no cure, yet we know that Jesus is his Healer! Now, Jiunn can eat a small portion of food since November. “It is more blessed to give than to received.” (Acts 20:35). If you are compelled to give, please bank in to Christ Lutheran Church (RHB Bank Berhad, account no: 2 64414 00000 575, payment reference: Med Fee – Yao Jiunn). We will transfer all the donations to his parents. Please send your bank-in receipt and enquiries to lisze.chow@gmail.com
All glory to God that I can live out my life fulfilling His calling. “I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24) I can only do all this because of the amazing love of Jesus that fills my heart. Hallelujah! All the Glory to God!
Li Sze extends her welcome to subscribe to Lisze eNewletter, which is filled with testimonies or reflections with every new piano piece that she releases on her YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/@liszepiano). Subscription to the newsletter is free, find out more at: https://www.liszechow.org/contact/subscribe
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