Edited from a testimony by Koh Li Li
Scripture speaks often about the path of the righteous being determined and guided by God. Psalm 37:23 affirms that our steps are ordered by the Lord who takes delight in our journeys through life, and in Job 23:10, we are reassured that the Lord watches over the way we walk and even though there may be troubles and the path may not always be smooth, if we have faith and trust in God, He moulds and refines us until we become like gold. Often we only realise this in hindsight.
For Koh Li Li, what began as a typical childcare centre in 2005 became the ground for an extraordinary journey of faith. A former Buddhist who became a believer in Christ, she never imagined that God would lead her love for teaching to a ministry that encompasses special needs children and their families. From dreams, divine encounters, and many trials, Li Li learned that God’s call begins with a step of obedience, and that His strength is made perfect in weakness. Recently, she shared her testimony in church. This is her story of how one “yes” to God changed everything in her life.
The Beginnings of a Calling
Since 2005, Li Li has been running a childcare centre, driven by a deep passion to nurture and teach children and teenagers. Both Li Li and her husband came from Buddhist families, but in 2009, the couple along with their children came to know Jesus and accepted Him as their Lord and Saviour. It was a decision that changed the course of their lives.
Just a year later, in 2010, God spoke to Li Li through a vivid dream. She heard a voice say, “Go. Lily, go.” In the dream, she saw people living in deep earthen holes, burdened with heavy, shell-like humps on their backs. Later, during a church camp, she again sensed God calling her to surrender her life. That encounter became her first baptism in the Holy Spirit. Not long after, she received a prophetic word that through her life, people of all ages and races would enter God’s house. It was the beginning intimation of God’s calling on her life but not knowing where to turn, Li Li just kept this at the back of her mind.
In 2013, three years after God had first spoken to her, Li Li received another powerful dream. In this one, she saw a graveyard filled with “living dead” adults, each with an open wound in their abdomen, and inside each wound, a child was groaning in distress. Like the first dream, it was a terrifying vision but in the midst of her terror, she heard God’s voice again: “Li Li, walk through it. I’m with you.”
Li Li later realized both dreams carried the same message. God was showing her the deep burdens, hurts, and brokenness in people’s lives, and how within every broken adult lies a wounded, helpless child. Through these dreams, God was calling her to serve children with special needs and to walk alongside them in their struggles.
Around the time of the second dream, some parents had begun to approach her to accept children with autism or ADHD, but each time she declined because it was a completely new field to her and she felt inadequate. The challenge seemed towering at the time. “Despite the dreams and prophetic words, I still struggled to obey the calling. I felt unqualified – lacking knowledge, skills, and experience in special education,” she expressed.
Two Powerful Confirmations
Then in August 2015, God confirmed His calling in two powerful ways. The first came through a prophetic word from a pastor of the church, Pastor Kala, who told her that God was using her life for something both familiar and unfamiliar. This “something” was already at her doorstep.
The second confirmation came soon after, when Li Li was hospitalized with severe haemorrhagic dengue fever and became unconscious in ICU. Two sisters who prayed for her saw a vision of her as a cow, quietly bowing its head to graze. In that moment, Li Li sensed God reminding her: Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.
“Luke 4:18 came alive in my heart. I knew that God had anointed me to proclaim good news and set the oppressed free. I finally said yes, and took an autistic boy and one ADHD boy into our centre,” Li Li shared.
The Journey: Obedience and Challenges
From that point on, God began connecting Li Li with mentors both locally and internationally, opening doors for her to receive professional training in educational kinesiology, psychology, and neuroscience. By the end of 2016, Li Li’s centre had officially launched its special needs programme, supporting children and families in need.
Li Li shared that the early years were incredibly challenging. Many children experienced meltdowns, sensory overloads, and emotional breakdowns due to their struggles with communication. She doubted herself many times and even cried herself to sleep.
But in March 2017, after one such night of tears, she dreamt she was walking through a storm. There was darkness, torrential rain, and fierce winds were pressing against her. “Walking felt as difficult as climbing a steep cliff,” she remembered. “Suddenly a small light and a pair of feet appeared right ahead. A quiet voice said, ‘Li Li, walk through it. I’m with you.’” That dream renewed and strengthened her.
From then on, she began gathering her Christian facilitators for daily morning devotions, surrendering their struggles and the children’s lives to God. Slowly but surely, breakthroughs began to unfold.
Breakthroughs and God’s Faithfulness
Over the years, Li Li’s centre grew from four children to almost fifty, aged between four and eighteen. Many have since developed self-help skills, self-control, and communication abilities, allowing them to live more independently.
They also witnessed spiritual fruit – three families came to know Jesus and accepted Him as their Lord and Saviour, and some children even joined Li Li in worship and prayer. Li Li believes the seed of faith has been planted.
The mantle of discipleship and obedience is often not an easy one. Besides the steep learning process, the centre had to face many other challenges. One such challenge came during the Covid-19 pandemic where the centre faced severe financial hardship. Many parents stopped paying fees. “At one point, we had only RM27.30 left in our account. All childcare centres were ordered to close. It seemed impossible to continue but God made a way. Through His divine intervention, we received special approval to operate, the first center in Selangor to do so.”
As recently as 2024, when Li Li faced a serious legal challenge that could have led to imprisonment, God intervened once more. Though she was innocent, she was treated unfairly and it seemed impossible to free herself from the situation. But even as she prepared herself mentally for the worst, the charges were miraculously dropped the night before her arraignment. “Truly, He is my Protector,” Li Li declared.
Today, the centre stands fully renovated across four storeys – half a million ringgit’s worth of work completed without any loans, sustained entirely by God’s provision. His faithfulness extended beyond finances: both Li Li’s son and daughter now serve full-time at the centre, carrying forward the vision God began through their mother.
Encouragement and Reflection
When asked how she manages to run the centre five days a week, from morning until evening, all year round, Li Li always replies, “Not me, but Jesus.”
After ten years of answering God’s call, she has learned that faith and obedience are the keys. “It’s still challenging—it’s hard and tiring,” she shares, “but I place my trust and hope in Jesus, who strengthens me to soar above trials. Though pressed on every side, I am confident that I will not be crushed, because God abundantly supplies all our needs from His glorious riches in Christ.”
Li Li’s encouragement to others is simple yet powerful:
“You don’t need to have everything figured out before you say ‘yes’ to God. I surely didn’t. God doesn’t call the qualified – He qualifies the called. Maybe God has placed a burden on your heart, a stirring in your spirit, or a dream you’ve been hesitant to pursue. Trust Him. Take that step of obedience. God isn’t looking for perfection; He’s looking for willing hearts. When you take that first step, He meets you with grace, provision, and power. The journey may not be easy but it will be filled with purpose, joy, miracles, and transformation. Never underestimate what God can do with your small ‘yes.’”
Knowing her as a family friend to ours, we can see clear evidence and signs of God’s work in Li Li’s life. Despite the trials of her calling, she carries an air of cheerfulness and silent confidence. She never complains of the obstacles but speaks of the children with deep affection, seeking in them infinite worth, and finding in their lives the very meaning and purpose of her own.
All glory be to God.
Christianity Malaysia would like to thank Koh Li Li for her generosity and help in the production of this article as a blessing and encouragement for our readers. More information about Li Li’s care centre, Little Sun Kiddyland Care Centre can be found at https://breakthru.com.my/littlesun_kajang/
All photos in this article was very kindly provided by Li Li.
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