I was three years old when I lost a kidney. 

From a young age, I had been having regular fevers. My mother kept bringing me to the general practitioner, but there was no other sign from my body that reflected a deeper health issue.

Over time, however, my body became very bloated. That was when my mother brought me to the hospital. It turned out to be a suspected case of hydronephrosis (swelling of one or both kidneys), but it was too late when this was made known to us as one of my kidneys had already been damaged.  

Since then, I have been on lifetime medication.

Apart from that, I was also born with Pectus Excavatum – a condition which causes the breastbone to sink into the chest. 

Though the latter condition did not affect my physical health much, I struggled emotionally because of my appearance. There were times when my teammates would call me names like “concave”, because of how my body looked as a result of my condition. 

Yet, through my imperfections and flaws, I would still come to know God and witness how He worked all things for good amidst my circumstances.

Through sickness, coming to meet the God of salvation

When I was hospitalised for my kidney damage, my mother prayed to different gods for my recovery, but nothing worked. 

One day, a pastor came to my ward. He had come to pray for someone else, but my mother requested for the pastor to come and pray for me.

Interestingly, this was when my mother first learned about the Christian faith. Through this pastor, my mother began to attend church and brought me along with her, which was how my mother and I received salvation. 

But even after we became Christians, things at home were far from perfect.

I still grew up in a violent environment as my parents fought frequently. This happened for more than ten years until one day, when my father simply stopped fighting anymore.

He followed my mother to church and that proved to be such a pivotal moment for my family as he turned to Christ that day.

From a violent father, God transformed him into a nurturing one who is committed to the faith and still serving in the church. 

Seeing how God has changed my father was life-changing for me because it showed me how evident God is in my life. I was always reminded of how I have to trust in His timing.

A God-given ministry

Despite having an imperfect body, God has given me the power of influence to impact others through avenues like sports. 

My passion for basketball began when I first picked up the sport as CCA in school. In my teenage years, I was invited to join national team, but I rejected them thrice because I did not want to go through the tough training.

Thankfully, the coach of the team was very forgiving. He came down to my game and invited me to join Singapore Slingers, which was how my sports career began. 

For the next 10 years, I played for the Slingers, and I was also given opportunities to have basketball training sessions with underprivileged children or children with disabilities.

From then on, giving back became my purpose for playing basketball. 

Towards the last season of my sporting career, I had a lot of accumulated injuries and I was taking a lot of painkillers which would harm my kidney.

So, at that time, I considered that perhaps it was time for me to come out of my sports career since I had already given years to it. 

That said, my journey with basketball did not end there.

During the COVID period, I was given a chance to coach basketball in the prison. Through the four sessions, I shared my story with the inmates, in the hope that they would share their stories with me too.

Eventually, they opened up to me and solid connections were made through those four coaching sessions. 

That experience showed me that even though I have stopped playing, there is still a lot that I can give and help people with. Not just in basketball, but in life itself. 

Working as a basketball coach today, I just want to live with the purpose of impacting someone else’s life and being a positive influence on them. 

Imperfect but made whole

For a long time, I prayed to God for healing and I used to tell God, “If you are real and you want to use me as a miracle or a testimony, I wish that I would be normal again.” 

However, holding onto my life verse has helped me to understand that my flaws and imperfections are a testimony in itself. 

Romans 8:28 reads: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”.

I have learned to accept myself for who I am as I realised that I need not be perfect on the outside to be a miracle.

Through it all, I’m thankful for even my injuries and my struggles because they bring me deeper in faith.

I know I can trust in God anytime because of how faithful He has been in my life.

Liked NG HANBIN’s story? He’s with Athletes in Action, who continues to do great work in the sports scene. Check them out here!