How is it going? cant believe that i was missing for almost 3 months. I have to say that I will be less active over here and for latest update please follow my facebook ya :) hope that there is still some readers here lol. I had been asked to write my part of the story in a project by GCF to compile stories of overseas christian graduates that came back so that we can share on our experience, struggles, why we come back and what's next to those who will be going thru this. Check it out :)

Hi, My name is Lim Oon Peng or better known as OP. I studied in University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia from 2006 till 2008. I got back to Malaysia after a short stint in Taiwan for missions under OMF upon graduation. That means that I was officially back in Malaysia in February 2009. My hometown is Penang and started working there since April before I move to KL in September 09.

Honestly, I never thought of coming back to Malaysia as I thought that I might end up continuing my mission work in Taiwan or explore new opportunities in other cities. Though I know for sure that my time in Sydney was up and I had a great time there and no regrets of living in this beautiful city at that time of my life but as I look back, I do miss Sydney and wish to visit that city sometime soon but not with the intention of residing there.

When I come to terms with the fact that life in Sydney is over I am back at where I was before an interesting 3 years of adventure and journey in Sydney, honestly, I was excited to be home because I really miss my family and of course the good food. But when I come to terms with the reality of looking for a preferred job is not easy in Malaysia, there’s discrimination in this nation and the mentality of the people here even in church is not the ideal, I start to struggle.

One of my main struggles is there is no companion or accountability. Most of my peers are either still in overseas for work or studies and moved to KL or Singapore for work. I felt lonely because home is not the same anymore and sometimes my family doesn’t understand what I am going through as some word this experience as “re-entry”.  I had changed for the past years in Sydney and Taiwan but people around me are still the same or changed from the way I used to know them. SO it is hard to come to terms with this. I came to a point where I was disillusioned/ lost.

My life was only back to normal and I start behave like how I was in Sydney when I arrived in KL. I met up with a bunch of friends from Australia and some childhood friends from Penang. We share the same experience and we are a small community amongst ourselves and enjoy just do life together like how we did during those good old days. This helped to accelerate my adjustment in KL and also my life back in Malaysia.

 I start to find that Malaysia is a beautiful country in spite of what we as a nation is going through. Though KL is not my home but I start to love the life in this city and church life is amazing as well. I’d made many friends and start to have the burden for this nation. Involving in nation building programs helped to put things into perspective and I found my purpose at this current point of my life here in Malaysia.

I am not sure of what life will throw at me but I trust that God is faithful for He holds my future in His hand. I am having fun back home in Malaysia because there’s no other place like home where we can speak with the same accent and we are so familiar and comfortable with how things work here. In other words, I felt that this is where I can be myself. Perhaps few years from now I will be called back to serve as a tent-maker in Taiwan or pursue an MBA in Sydney again..I don’t know…hehe

My advice to the people who are thinking of migrating or coming home is that we serve a big God that has great plans for our life for “He is the author and finisher of our faith”. Do not live life like on a tight rope and afraid of falling off the will of God. If He wants you to be back then come back and if you see your purpose of staying back in overseas then do so. If you are lonely or bored of life in overseas, then come back LAH!!!!