GOD AT WORK

It took God 4 years!

When her mother passed on in 2021, Mary M P decided to sell their 3-room HDB unit in a prime area and buy a 2-room flexi for herself. The money from the sale of the 3-room unit would be more than enough to pay off the mortgage she owed the bank, and enough to pay for her 2-room flexi. She had to buy the 2-room flexi first before selling the 3-room flat. She could not get a bank loan as she still had to pay for the mortgage. A friend offered to loan her $200k for the 2-room flexi. She accepted the offer, thinking she could repay once the 3-room unit is sold.

Little did she know that she had to handle many hurdles. The first came when she found she could not sell the unit because her late mother was registered as a co-owner, so she had to remove her mother’s name. It sounded easy, surely a lawyer could take care of that. But no, it took her 1.5 years!  She had to go to the bank’s headquarters, and the lawyer’s office several times and failing every time. It happened only when HDB’s patience wore thin, and it stepped in and got the bank to settle it. She had originally been given 6 months to sell her flat but 1.5 years had already passed!

With that settled, she thought she could start to sell the 3-room unit! But the next trial came straightaway—the unit could only be sold to a non-Chinese due to the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP). And 95% of those interested in her flat were Chinese! The years 2023 and 2024 were trying years! She met the Member of Parliament twice to ask for help to appeal to the HDB. The appeals were all rejected!

All this while, Mary stayed close to God. She said God (Jehovah-Shammah, a Hebrew name meaning “The Lord is There”) had prepared her, for in 2020 she attended 16 sessions of Prayer Training & The Empowered Life in The Spirit classes. She said, “The constant teachings and hearings of God’s Word helped me and strengthened me. I had FAITH that God would see me through the trials and difficulties. Always have a high view of God.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8 was a verse she memorized and personalized with her name and her situation. She prayed these verses daily. “But blessed is Mary who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. Mary will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. She does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. Mary has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Indeed, while all these were going on, Mary remained calm and cheerful, and was always out serving others, visiting the sick and befriending the lonely. Not many knew what she was going through.

In 2024, HDB sent a legal letter to state that it would take action against her if she did not sell the 3-room unit by 3 May. If that happened, how would she be able to pay off her mortgage of her 3-room unit and how would she return the $200k owed to her friend. 2024 was a year filled with tension and unknown. On 8 April 2025, she received a call from an HDB officer that no extensions would be given and it would move forward with legal action. That call brought tears to her eyes for the first time and she spoke with Him, “Lord, You have seen me through all my 60 years, You will see me through the rest of my years. I leave the whole matter to You.”

Two days after the phone call, on 10 April, she received an email from HDB—they would waive the EIP in the sale of the unit!!! And within the week, four days later, she sold her flat and it was $8,000 above her asking price!! What a gift during the Holy Week! It took 4 years for God to see her through! All this while, thank God that she remained confident in Him, trusting Him always to see her through. She said, “Always have a high view of God!” With the money she was finally debt free! Indeed, He is to be praised and Mary’s incredible journey through these four years is a great testimony to us.

It should also be noted that Mary is a free-lance Christian worker who receives a stipend from her church. Yet she was able to service her loan of her 3-room unit all these years! Indeed all Glory to Him.