They both grew up in church and were aware of each other’s existence. But they were not friends.
Cornelius Wang, then a leader of a teen group at Church of Singapore (Marine Parade), knew of Amanda Lim as the outgoing and “high profile” worship leader in church.
Cornelius (second from left, back row) with his church friends.
Amanda (second from left) growing up in church.
It was in June 2018 that their paths crossed. Amanda joined their church’s annual Bible camp at the very last minute – someone else had dropped out and she was asked if she would like to go.
She agreed, and was made assistant leader to Cornelius, who was the lead facilitator to a teen group at the camp.
Their first meeting at the camp was awkward. Amanda was late and Cornelius was seated right at the end of a large table filled with teenagers. They both had to stretch out their hands to greet each other across the table and introduce themselves.
Amanda (far left) and Cornelius (centre) with other young adults at the annual bible camp.
During the camp, Cornelius and Amanda spent a lot of time hanging out with each other, together with a small group of other young adults.
First impressions
“I found her bubbly and talkative,” said Cornelius, now 33. “I knew that she had a heart condition, but that was about it.”
Amanda, on the other hand, found Cornelius introverted, but noticed that he liked to tease her from time to time.
Once, she and a friend were having a conversation about the way to do quiet time. The friend said that it usually took him half an hour. Out of nowhere, Cornelius piped in to say that quiet time for him could last up to two hours, as he would pray, worship and read the Bible during that time.
“I was like, ‘Serious or not?’” laughed Amanda, now 32. “But it impressed me and he caught my attention.”
After the church camp, that group of young adults persuaded Cornelius to join a young adult cell group. Although he had been leading a group of teenagers, he did not belong to a cell group of peers.
He decided to join Amanda’s cell group since he already knew several people there.
Amanda, being a core member of the group and having interacted with him during the camp, was tasked to “follow up” with Cornelius, the new member.
As such, she began texting and talking with him frequently. They both loved to talk about God and worship, and they soon discovered a shared passion for playing the guitar.
Cornelius recalled: “She conversed well and I found her attractive because our values aligned. But I did not have plans to ask her out because I had just gotten to know her not too long ago.”
Unbeknownst to him, Amanda had taken a liking to him because he was godly.
Amanda (in red) and Cornelius (next to her) hanging out with their cell group mates.
As time wore on, Cornelius began to suspect that Amanda was interested in him – she would text him daily even when he didn’t follow up on some conversations.
One night in October 2018, Cornelius was on lying on his bed pondering this when he suddenly heard God speak.
“I have the best for you”
“Do you believe that I have the best for you?” God asked him. It came in the form of a thought that was impressed upon his heart.
“Yes, I believe. I want Your best for me. I know You will not shortchange me,” Cornelius responded.
A week or two later, Cornelius was at home when he felt God prompting him about Amanda even when he was not thinking about her.
Unsure whether it was truly from God or from his own thoughts, he ignored the prompting.
The next night, Cornelius was in bed when he felt a strong urge to get up to pray about his friendship with Amanda.
“I tried ignoring it and told God that I really wanted to sleep. But somehow I couldn’t, so I knelt down and prayed,” he told Salt&Light.
“I talked to God about how I wanted His best for me. I said that He would have known that Amanda and I have been texting quite a bit. I asked Him to lead me and committed my ways to Him.”
It was only after he prayed that peace came and he fell asleep.
Two days later, Cornelius was playing his guitar when he felt God remind him about Amanda.
“The impression was so strong and clear that I felt I had to tell my mother about it. I believed that God was pointing Amanda out to me,” he said.
He told his mother what he sensed from the Lord. However, she had some concerns and did not seem supportive.
A progressively fatal disease
It was known among the members of their church that Amanda’s older sister had died at the age of seven, from the same heart condition.
The sisters and their father suffer from a condition called Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. It affects the pulmonary arteries and capillaries and leads to fatigue, breathing difficulties and eventually, heart failure.
When Amanda was diagnosed with the same condition in 2017, her doctor told her that she likely only had about 10 more years to live. The condition is hereditary and their father has a mild form of it.
Amanda with her older sister.
“I knew Amanda’s condition was aggressive but I didn’t know how bad it could get. She looked healthy and could walk on her own, albeit more slowly than other people. Her father is also still living with it. So, I didn’t think much about her medical condition,” said Cornelius.
Given his mother’s hesitation, Cornelius felt that there was no rush to pursue Amanda. He decided to remain friends with her, and prayed for God to change his mother’s mind should God really intend for him to take things further with Amanda.
Meanwhile, the pair continued texting every day. It eventually came to a point when Cornelius felt he needed to meet up with Amanda. When Cornelius finally asked her point blank why she was so consistent in texting him, she refused to say much.
