About Us

The HAVEN® is a registered organisation located in Indonesia. We are a father-and-daughter team, which started in 2010 when things were really bad for us both. We were homeless, and we had nothing but our Bibles and a strong relationship with Jesus. We started this as we don’t want this to happen to anyone. Now, we have a group of professionals with various talents volunteering with our ministry.

Beginning
I was born in 1958, a Singaporean with 12 years of military experience as a Gunnery Sergeant with the 20th & 22nd Singapore Artillery, travelling around and enjoying my life. I never smoked, did any drugs, or drank alcohol, but I only had one girlfriend, a Sikh woman who was from the hotel industry. We broke up after 6 years when she aborted my child, which made me very angry, and I left Singapore for Indonesia, where I joined one of the biggest and well-known mafia bosses. One day, I was beaten up by 28 men who were the rival gang members, and I was hospitalised for surgery. The policeman who interviewed me shared Jesus with me, and that’s when I trusted and accepted Christ in my life.

Start-Up & Down
In 2000, I got married and moved to Cirebon, my wife’s hometown in West Java. In 2005, we had a baby girl. I learned the furniture business and moved on. I started working for expatriates. Life was good until, due to circumstances, I was imprisoned and was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months, for which I was not at fault at all. It’s a long story. My wife sold everything and left my daughter, who was 4 years old, with her mother and left Indonesia for Kuwait, and now she is in Malaysia. She has her own family now. After the sentence, I took my daughter from my in-laws, and we had nothing. We ended up sleeping by the roadside, hungry and smelly, and both of us were very ill. Prayer and trusting the Lord, I can get jobs providing my daughter with education and safety. I carried her everywhere I went. I did not leave her with anyone. Every night, I would pray and cry to the Lord for a better life for my daughter, and God did hear us.

Conclusion
For 15 years, it’s just been the two of us. Every birthday, until now, it’s just the two of us. I made an agreement with my daughter that I will not remarry or find any partner as long she behaves herself and does well in her studies. Now, after 15 years, I am still single, and my daughter has also kept her side of the agreement. She has completed her studies, learned all about the furniture business, and we are owners of a furniture company exporting worldwide.

Theme
The theme of this story is to trust in the Lord Jesus, have faith, and move on. Never stay down and do nothing; let there be action. There is no point in praying and doing nothing; you will not gain anything. The phrase “when you pray for something, believe that you have received it” is often associated with the passage in Mark 11:24, which states, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours”. This verse emphasises the importance of faith and trust in God’s ability to answer prayers.

Start-Up
The HAVEN is a place of safety. Currently, we do not have a place to shelter and office one of the rooms in our house, and we are praying for it. We will not ask anyone except God, who is our provider. Training my daughter to take over when I am gone, but gave strict instructions not to accept money for personal use as she has to put her faith in her work, and any donations must go directly to the people in need. Never ask or beg for donations, but put your requests to God. BAN THITHES! The phrase “trust God and not man” emphasizes the importance of relying on God’s unwavering faithfulness and guidance rather than relying on humans, who are fallible and can disappoint. Biblical examples and teachings underscore that God’s love and promises are more reliable than any human source. We believe in serving and giving.