FREEDOM IN FARMING
By Christopher Quah
When Eugene Leong left his job as a doctor in a big hospital, he was very unhappy with his work as a doctor in a hospital. After his big decision he was rather unsure of which step he needed to take. But during this period of doubt and uncertainty, this was where he discovered Christ which led him on a journey of discovery towards God’s plan for his life.
“A lot of people questioned my decision to leave my job as a doctor in the beginning. In Malaysia, the mindset of people is that being a doctor equals to high pay, steady income, and comfortable life. But that is not the case. In fact, doctors work really long hours. But what made me leave my occupation was not the stress, but the way I saw how the patients were being treated. I become a doctor because I thought it was about helping others, and curing them. But what I saw from the practices here, was that the doctors had become peddlers of medicine for big pharmaceutical companies. They give medicine out indiscriminately without really going deep into the causes of why the patient was sick in the first place,” Eugene explains.
He recalls an incident that finally made him choose to leave the medical field.
“It was a case that involved a diabetes patient who was undergoing treatment. The doctors were only interested with supplying the patient with medicine, but did not care about the patient as a person. The reason why the patient was not getting better, was that he kept eating sweet and sugary stuff, even when told not to. But the medical staff who were taking care of him weren’t insistent enough to stop him. To them if he listened it was ok, but if not, it was his problem. Because of that, both his legs had to be amputated. He passed away shortly after that,” Eugene explains.
He then begun to question the practices that was being done in the hospital. Unhappy that despite all the promises of health, and healing, many of the patients never recovered. After studying the situation carefully, he noticed a pattern.
“After much contemplation and questioning, I believed that the real reason was the value system of the medical industry. It was business oriented. Doctors were working to make a living. Not for the well-being of patients. It was all about selling medicine and follow procedures even if it endangered the patient’s health. It’s all about greed,” he explained.
Eugene began to question the reason for why there was so much social injustice, pain, and suffering in the world, from his analysis of the medical filed. At the hospital where he worked, he also discovered the same pattern of thinking motivated by selfish desires which led to suffering and discrimination despite the hospital being a place where the sick was sent for treatment.
“Due to my convictions, I felt that the medical system caused more harm on others instead of helping. I am not sure how other people see it, but as for me, I feel as though there might be blood on my hands if I continued,” Eugene explains.
A non-believer at that time, Eugene began to read and explore the many religions and philosophies of the world in order to find a reason and solution for all the human condition. It was when he came to Christianity that he was finally convinced that he had found the answer. It was through the teachings of the Bible. Yet Eugene explained that there was a problem.
“When I became a believer, I was told that the Bible held all the answers to our lives. Yet I didn’t see this happening in the world or even the churches around. So, I thought to myself surely there must be a reason. Perhaps they were not practising something that was commanded?” Eugene said.
After leaving the medical field, Eugene wanted to spend more time on his journey studying the Word. Yet he needed more money to survive. He then decided to open a photography business.
“Soon after, I went into the business of organising modelling events where photographers pay me to organise photoshoot sessions with models on their behalf. Unfortunately, this business took first place in my heart, as I placed the interests of my customers above all else. As I negotiate their modelling fees, I realised how closely related the fees were with that person’s perception of themselves. Prices were haggled with all consideration to the model’s physical outlook, and how popular she was as well as how much flesh she was willing to reveal in these shoots. Somewhere in the middle of this modelling event business, it did strike me that it was as if I was running a meat market and my business was more entertainment base than professional base. I noticed also some photographers who join my shoots were addicted to the “products” or artist that I work with. I realised this could be the reason why the media labelled these artists as “idols”,” Eugene explained.
Eugene said that this did not stop him from working in this line. It was only after some unpleasant experiences with these models, Eugene decided to slowly transition from the photography modelling business to that of selling film, and other things from the popular Chinese online shopping website Tao Bao. It was then that he discovered what it was like to be a business owner working from home.
“With the time I had now, I was able to take days off to study the Word of God, and even put it into practice. Whether it be in my dealings with my customers, or anything else I do, I could implement the teachings of the Bible. As I studied the Word, I was able to reflect on my past experiences and came up with a conclusion that I do not want to live for money alone. But it is true that money is needed to survive, as I would need it to buy food and other necessities. So, I was led towards the idea that I should learn to grow my own food and crops so that I would not have to be dependent on money,” Eugene explained.
It so happened that Tao Boa also sold a lot of farming and gardening equipment which he would be using for his current endeavour of experimenting with self-sustainable farming. He decided this was indeed the way he wanted to live and began to get involved in experimenting with all sorts of crops and ways to grow plants in his home.
“In the Bible it was said that men were meant to till the soil and work on the land. This means farming is a very important part of Biblical culture. As such I hope to learn to grow my own food even with the limited space I have in my terrace home. This way, if there was an emergency I would not have to worry about food. And if I have a bountiful harvest, I would not have to worry about making money and would be able to focus on the more important things in life such as studying the Bible in a deeper way and teaching others about what I have discovered,” Eugene explained.
Even now, Eugene said that he has been using his free time to study the Bible in both Hebrew and Greek by himself to truly understand the context of the messages being preached.
“I believe that it is a duty of every believer to study the Word themselves rather than depending on others,” he explains.
He adds that while he is working hard for his goals towards self-sustainability, he also wants to teach people these lessons too.
“I would want everyone to be self-sustainable. So, I have started to share my knowledge with those who are interested. I even share it on my blog and make YouTube videos. One of the main reasons is that I do not want people to be slaves to money. Working for the sake of working, and not self-fulfillment. It is my belief that once, one is financial free, he or she can use the time to pursue other pursuits such as self-discovery. From a Christian point of view this means that they are free to pursue the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth. For me this equates to creating a better society through the practices which Jesus preached of,” Eugene explains.
As such Eugene continues to work hard, learning to grow his own food, in hopes that he will be able to be self-reliant and also be able to teach others from his success. Throughout his journey, God has been providing for him generously. Giving him an online business being contacted by customers through his website which is called famecherry.com, and has written his own book called One Kg Of Love which talks about his life experiences.
