By Joseph Masilamany
Kevin Lai Thien Teck was a free thinker, consistently skeptical of religion, wary of faith peddlers, and secure in his belief that life needed no divine anchor.
As a practicing lawyer in Malaysia, Lai found meaning in logic. To him, evidence was everything.
But life has a way of challenging even the firmest convictions.
For Lai, the initial seeds of the Gospel were planted when he met his wife, Karen Voong Ai Jing, a Catholic.
Their relationship started amid religious differences, with their families hesitant about the marriage as they were uncertain about the couple’s future.
However, love transcended these barriers.
One day, Voong said, “Come, let’s go to church.” This would be the first of many visits to the Church of Divine Mercy in Shah Alam, Selangor.
Lai walked into the church, unsure of how he would be received. “I wasn’t one of them,” he recalled.
But Voong, ever the supportive partner, turned to him with a smile and reassured him, “Don’t worry about what others think. You are here with me.”
That visit was the turning point. Lai continued attending church every Sunday.
Over six years, he began to feel a sense of peace, a connection that seemed to reach beyond the tangible.
However, his wife never pressured him to change religion. “When you’re ready, you go. I don’t want to be the reason for you to embrace Catholicism,” Voong said to him.
That was when he began asking questions, seeking answers, and praying for a sign.
As his journey toward marriage progressed, so did his quiet transformation. The couple enrolled in a pre-marriage course at the Church of Divine Mercy.
Their wedding at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Kuching on Sep 23, 2023, marked a new chapter in his life — a union not just of two hearts, but of two journeys toward God.
Test of faith
But the test of faith was not yet over. Shortly after their wedding, Lai’s wife was diagnosed with a tumor in her womb. The shock was immense. Lai found himself grappling with doubt and fear.
“Why me? Why us?” he asked God in desperation.
A honeymoon in Taiwan, which they had been looking forward to, seemed like an impossibility now. The doctor had warned that the tumor might be cancerous, and it had to be removed immediately.
Despite the uncertainty, Voong stayed calm. “If this is God’s will, I’m ready. Just pray,” she said.
And so, Lai prayed with a fervor he had never experienced before. For the first time, he believed in the power of prayer. He trusted that God would do what was best for them.
When the surgery was completed and the biopsy results were returned, they received the miracle they had prayed for: the tumor was not malignant.
Lai said it prepared him for the next step in his faith journey. “I am ready. I’m ready to be Your servant,” he told God.
He then joined the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), the Catholic process that prepares adults for baptism.
He began attending catechism classes every Thursday.
Lai will be among 1,591 catechumens, who will be baptized on April 20 during Easter Vigil Mass at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Kuching archdiocese.
“My journey of faith does not end with baptism; rather, it marks the beginning of a deeper walk with God. With this faith now rooted in Christ, I pray to live each day with a renewed sense of hope — an eternal hope in the Savior who gave His life for me.”
The former freethinker now walks with unwavering faith, calling himself a living example of “not conversion, but transformation.” – UCA News
