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How It Began

The idea for The Last Resort had come even before Ken and Addy were married. After spending four years witnessing missionary work overseas—Ken in South Africa and Addy in South India—they connected in 2004 over a shared desire to make a difference in the lives of those from troubled backgrounds. On a trip together with Ken to Hoedspruit, South Africa, Addy was struck by how close-knit Christian communities there were. They not only lived together, but shared everything with each other. It was a great example of loving both God and people, something they wanted to bring home.

Back in Singapore, they saw another need: to help young people whom existing social services couldn’t fully support. It reminded Ken of Matthew 9:36, which describes Jesus’ compassion for the helpless crowds. “That’s the challenge to us,” says Ken, “would we have the same compassion?”

The couple found their own answer to this challenge: offering themselves and their home as an example of what Christian community should look like—loving, compassionate, and nurturing. “Building communities was something that God had laid on our hearts, and when we got married, we knew we would want to open and share everything we had,” explains Addy.

The opportunity to do this came shortly after their wedding, when they came to know of a young lady who needed a place to stay. She had just came to faith in God, a decision that her family opposed. She had nowhere else to go, so Ken and Addy opened their home to her. At the time, all they had was a two-bedroom apartment.

Before long, word got out about this couple who was willing to house anyone who needed a safe place to stay. Some came through social workers, while others found their way through friends. “We didn’t set out to look for people,” says Addy. “We just made space for those who had nowhere else to go, when we came to know of them.”

Since then, Ken and Addy have hosted missionaries from overseas, Christians needing a retreat, and young people needing a safe place. Some stay for a few weeks, while others have stayed for more than a year. Right now, The Last Resort is a refuge for a 25-year-old mother, her newborn child, as well as a 19-year-old girl needing an alternative place to stay. Also staying with them are two Christian young adults wanting to live out radical hospitality in a Christ-centered community.

Not wanting to be weighed down by a housing loan, the couple decided, early on in their marriage, to rent a three-room HDB flat. They moved to a larger flat later. Throughout this time, God was sending them people in need—while expanding their capacity to serve others. “We were being taught along the way how to avail ourselves, no matter how much we had,” says Ken.

In early 2018, the couple felt directed by God to look into moving to a bigger place. The search led them to The Last Resort's current location.

Overcoming the Challenges

This ministry, however, has not come without its own set of challenges. For one, the couple has found that providing refuge for people often means having to deal with some aspects of people’s troubles. Once, loan sharks came looking for one of their guests. It eventually led to someone breaking in to steal some of their family heirlooms.

There’s also the not-insignificant detail of paying the rent and providing for the people staying with them. This is made all the more challenging by the fact that neither Ken nor Addy currently have a paid job—Ken left his director role at a non-profit organization some months ago, and Addy stopped having an income since 2014. Both saw the need to be fully devoted to this ministry, in availing their time to be present with people.

When asked about such challenges, Ken and Addy say it’s all about responding to what God has laid on their hearts and believing Him, even when their ministry may not seem pragmatic.

(Excerpted from YMI)

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