In Primary 6, this boy found out he had Stage 4 bone cancer. In his dying months, God sent a motley crew to bring him Home.

Elijah Ng loved a good game of soccer. He was a thoughtful boy who avoided drawing attention to himself, preferring to keep his troubles to himself rather than worry others.

In 2023, he experienced pain in his left knee. He dismissed it as mere soreness after playing soccer and went about life as usual.

Elijah (third from left) having fun during a soccer match.

Over time, the pain became worse. He endured it without a word of complaint, though his family members noticed him limping at times. When questioned, he brushed off his parents’ concerns and even continued cycling to his tuition classes.

It was only when he fractured his leg and was sent to hospital that August that the doctor sensed something was amiss.

Stage 4 bone cancer at 12 years old 

A lump was discovered behind his left knee. Elijah, then 12, was told that he had Stage 4 osteosarcoma, an aggressive type of bone cancer. The tumour cells had spread from his bones to his lungs.

“I was frightened and I asked the doctor to save him,” his mother Elizabeth Khoo, 40, told Salt&Light.

“Elijah was calm as he didn’t understand what was happening at first. When the news sunk in, he asked questions like why did he have to get this and why did he need to go through suffering,” she added.

The survival rate for his condition was five years – he was not expected to live beyond that.

Elijah in hospital, before he lost his head of hair to chemotherapy.

Immediately, Elijah was sent for chemotherapy. After three months of treatment, the doctors managed to save his limbs and avoid amputation. Subsequently, he went for surgery to remove the nodules in his lungs.

The medication and surgery drained Elijah. He was in so much pain that he often expressed his wish to die.

Seeing her usually strong, cheeky and energetic son become suicidal, Elizabeth felt overwhelmed and helpless.

On a quest for answers and meaning 

Her son’s illness shook Elizabeth to the core and propelled her on a quest to seek for answers and solutions.

She did not believe in a single god, but in many spiritual beings and concepts such as the idea of balance, energy and the interconnectedness of everything in the universe.

She sought out mediums and had chanting arranged for Elijah. However, he did not like the chanting and asked for it to be stopped.

“I was lost and I did not know where to go as no one could help my son. I had turned to so many different gods that Elijah asked me not to confuse him and to just choose a god to pray to,” said Elizabeth.

In February 2024, the doctors delivered more bad news to the family.

“The cancer was too aggressive and resistant to treatment. The doctor said there was nothing they could do and told me to ask God instead,” said Elizabeth.

“Who is this God that I ought to be finding?” she wondered in despair. The family had little exposure to Christianity apart from the time Elijah had taken up a friend’s invitation to Bukit Batok Presbyterian Church and visited out of fun and curiosity.

Then Elizabeth’s sister, a Christian, introduced her to the online services of New Creation Church (NCC).

One Sunday, Elizabeth decided to tune in to an NCC service. Suddenly, her ears perked up. She realised that the Pastor was sharing the testimony of a six-year-old girl who also had osteosarcoma and nodules in her lungs. Though she had to amputate her right leg, she is currently free from the cancer.

“For me, it was a sign from God. In my confusion of searching for answers, I realised God wanted me to know that He is with me. Hearing the testimony gave me hope, peace and courage,” Elizabeth told Salt&Light.

From then on, she and Elijah began tuning in to NCC’s online services every week. Her sister Joan also invited her to join the Alpha programme at Wesley Methodist Church.

Elijah playing computer games while warded in hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, Joan’s fellow cell group member from Wesley – Riella Tan, 39 – had learnt about Elijah’s condition in 2023 and had been praying for the family. She wanted to visit him but the family wanted privacy and did not allow visitors at that time.

“When Elizabeth joined our Alpha programme, we were so hopeful and prayed that the Word of God would open her heart. But Elizabeth couldn’t continue coming as she was working and caring for Elijah then. Still, I kept praying,” said Riella.

Her prayers were answered. Elizabeth’s heart was becoming more open to God.

The following month on Good Friday, the mother and son pair attended an NCC’s service onsite and raised their hands to give their lives to Jesus.

During those few months from March till July, the cancer stopped spreading. Elijah had a brief respite from treatment.

By July, however, his leg muscles started to ache again. He went through another surgery to remove the nodules that were – once again – growing in his lungs.

In September, the medical team found that his cancer cells had mutated and Elijah was put through another round of chemotherapy. He also underwent clinical trials of various experimental drugs; when one did not work, they switched to another.

Despite the long and dark days, Elijah’s faith in God was slowly growing. Every night, he prayed to God before he went to sleep.

“He prayed so silently. I did not know he was praying before bed until one day when I asked him what he was doing. He didn’t want us to worry so he would pray by himself,” said Elizabeth.

Elijah praying for himself and his siblings.

“He prayed over his medication and asked God to use it to shrink the tumour. He trusted that healing could come, but he also trusted God even if it did not happen the way we hoped. He wasn’t just asking for relief but believing that God was with him in every moment,” she told Salt&Light.

By March this year, Elijah’s condition had deteriorated further. A scan showed that the nodules in his lung had spread to the right lung and both lungs were filled with fluid. They had tried five different types of experimental drugs so far, and not one managed to stem the aggressive spread of the cancer cells.

In April, the doctor told their family that Elijah only had weeks left to live. Burdened by the news, Elizabeth shared the prognosis with her sister who promptly alerted Riella and other cell group members to pray for Elijah.

When Good Friday rolled around on April 18 this year, Elizabeth rallied some of her family members to go with Elijah to church and pray for him. At that time, only she and Elijah were believers.

That day, Riella was pleasantly surprised to see Elizabeth and her family walking through the doors of Wesley Methodist Church, especially since they lived all the way up north in Woodlands.

“It turned out that Elijah had been warded again at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) and since it was nearby, they could finally come. I took the chance to ask if I could visit Elijah in hospital and to my surprise, she said yes,” said Riella.

When she visited him, Riella gave Elijah an anime-style Bible to read and a Jellycat soft toy (a dog with a wooden cross on its neck) to keep him company. Elijah smiled shyly and softly thanked her.  

Elijah with the soft toy dog called Bark that Riella gave to him.

The second time she visited, she brought her cell group members with her. All of them dressed up in different cosplay outfits to surprise him.

Riella (second from left) and her cell group members dressing up in different outfits to bring delight to Elijah.

“We shared stories of our faith journeys. Elijah began asking deep, thoughtful questions about Jesus, questions about God’s grace and whether being sick was a punishment from Him,” Riella said to Salt&Light.

Whenever she could not visit, she suggested to Elijah that he could watch Bible Bento on YouTube. The channel produces short anime-style videos based on biblical stories that she felt Elijah would be interested in.

One week later, Riella was at a Salt&Light event when she discovered that the creator of Bible Bento was Levan Wee – a former Salt&Light employee who founded and works on Bible Bento full-time now.

At that time, Riella had been inviting different friends to visit and encourage Elijah, and she felt the Holy Spirit nudging her to reach out to Levan.

So she sent a message to Levan on Instagram, sharing with him how a cancer-stricken boy had been benefiting from the Bible Bento videos that he made.

In response, he thanked her for sharing that with him and assumed that was the end of their interaction.

Instead, she replied him with a long wall of text, giving him details about Elijah’s condition and asking him if he wished to visit the boy.

“I didn’t know her so her invite came out of nowhere.  It was quite awkward so I hesitated and did not reply,” said Levan, 43, told Salt&Light.

Unbeknownst to him, Riella had been praying: “God, Levan is not replying. What do I do now? If it’s Your will for him to meet Elijah, would You make a way?” 

A series of divine appointments 

Three days later on May 20, Levan was at i12 Katong shopping mall with his wife. They were both rushing to Little Farms grocery store as it was 15 minutes to closing time.

But as they walked past Tim Hortons, Levan had a sudden thought that he ought to make his way into the coffeehouse.

“Coffee was far from my mind and we were already rushing to Little Farms. I had not stepped into Tim Hortons before but I just knew I should go inside,” said Levan.

He walked in, saw the counter where customers stopped to order coffee but he walked past it and went further in. Then, he doubled back to the counter.

“I don’t know why I took that route. The steps seemed to come automatically,” said Levan.

The moment he walked past the counter, Riella recognised him. She is a financial adviser and was meeting with a client at Tim Hortons.

She overheard a woman asking Levan why he needed coffee at that very moment.

“I felt the Holy Spirit led me here,” he replied.

That was a sign for Riella to take this opportunity to walk up to him, introduce herself and once again, invite him to visit Elijah.

Levan admitted: “I didn’t want to because I didn’t know all of them, but in the end, I agreed to it because I felt I ought to.”

Knowing that Elijah might not have much time left, Levan and his wife visited Elijah with Riella one week later on May 27.

Levan (in a cap) first visit to Elijah’s home.

“Elijah was shy at first but he opened up quickly and shared about his interest in anime. He was mature, chatty and full of energy,” Levan recalled.

Thinking that he had already fulfilled what God wanted him to do, Levan presumed that the visit would be his first and last one to Elijah.

One week later, Levan was due to meet his friend, singer-songwriter Charlie Lim – who co-wrote and performed this year’s National Day Parade (NDP) theme song “Here We Are” ­– for a catch up at Parkway Parade.

About an hour before their meetup, Levan felt they should change the location of their meeting to i12 instead. However, he did not do anything about it.

At the last minute, he received a text message from Charlie asking to change the location to i12.

When Levan arrived early – which was uncharacteristic of him – he wandered into Tim Hortons. Once again, he bumped into Riella. She was meeting a friend there.

Their second meeting led to Riella meeting Levan’s friend as well. When Charlie heard about Elijah’s story and how he enjoyed music, Charlie offered to visit the boy.

Riella bumped into Levan the second time at the same place, but this time he was with singer-songwriter Charlie Lim.

A visit was arranged. Charlie asked Levan if he wished to come along, and they went together.

During his second visit there, Levan played FIFA soccer video games with Elijah. He was beginning to genuinely enjoy himself while conversing with the teenager.

Charlie sang some songs for him, including the NDP song “Here We Are” and some worship songs that Elizabeth requested.

Charlie (on the right) striking up a friendship with Elijah.

They shared stories, ate pizza – Elijah’s favourite food – laughed and prayed for Elijah.

Elijah was excited to meet his new friends and eat his favourite food.

From that day, Riella, Levan and Charlie formed a small circle of love around Elijah. Each made time to visit him whenever they could and they coordinated with each other to make sure that Elijah always had someone journeying with him.

Charlie taught Elijah how to play the ukelele. Elijah’s friendship with all of them, especially Riella, deepened.

Charlie taught Elijah how to play the ukulele.

One day, Elijah asked his mother if he could call Riella his godmother.

“Every time I have a bad day, you seem to know and show up, or send me a message that cheers me up,” he told Riella.

Elijah doing hand sculpturing with his mother Elizabeth (on the left), Riella and Charlie in hospital.

Though cancer brought suffering, Elijah shared that this was the season where he felt the most loved by people and by God. The journey had also brought his family closer; all of them could say “I love you” to each other more freely and frequently.

Through her son’s cancer journey, Elizabeth’s relationship with God also deepened.

“I have come to know God in a way I never did before – through suffering. God is no longer a concept. He is the one who sat with me in hospital, heard my cries at 1am and didn’t leave me even when I had nothing left to say,” said Elizabeth.

She has come to experience God as the One who sustains her and provides for her. 

Having fishhead beehoon in hospital 

“There was once when I was at KKH with Elijah and I just felt like having fishhead beehoon. It was not on the menu but I just asked the lady at the foodcourt stall if she had the dish,” said Elizabeth.

“She was so surprised and asked me if I had seen the fishhead in her kitchen. I had not. She cooked it, sold it to me and I knew that was made possible by God,” she added.

As Elijah grew weaker, the time came for Elizabeth and his aunt Joan to ask him about his final wishes.

Elijah did not hesitate. He told them he wanted to be baptised.

On July 21, Pastor Chin Nam from Wesley Methodist Church came to Elijah’s hospital ward to baptise the 14-year-old. It was not possible to do the baptism elsewhere as Elijah needed oxygen support and pain management.

Pastor Chin Nam said he had done many baptisms over the years, but never before had he seen so many people at a child’s baptism. Over 20 family members and friends gathered by Elijah’s hospital bed to celebrate the momentous event with him.

A group of vastly different types of people gathered to celebrate Elijah’s baptism in his hospital room.

Prior to the baptism, Levan had prayed and asked God what baptism gift he should get for Elijah. 

“God asked me to give him a small drone and to share the cost of a Nintendo Switch with a few others for him,” said Levan.

When Elijah received the presents, tears streamed down his face. He told them that he had wanted a drone for a long time after his old one got stuck in a tree. He and his siblings had also always wanted a Switch but it was too expensive.

Elijah playing with his new drone.

“He wondered why we would get him these things. He felt like he was being ‘spoilt’ by God. Through this, I was able to show him how God loves him and knows him,” Levan told Salt&Light.

“We may not understand why some things happen the way they do, but I saw first-hand how God comforted Elijah,” he added.

Levan showing Elijah the features of the drone.

Charlie, who sang at Elijah’s baptism, managed to gently ask the boy about what kind of funeral wake he would like.

Elijah wanted a Christian wake so that others would know about his faith and come to know Jesus.

Three days after his baptism, Elijah gathered his family members to share his last words to them.

The community that God brought Elijah towards the end of his life – Riella, Levan, Charlie – also came by that Thursday, July 24, to spend hours by his bedside.

Elijah, being the fighter that he was, was still preparing himself for a leg surgery that was originally scheduled for the next day. He also requested for an X-ray as he was feeling breathless and wanted to know what was happening in his lungs.

The doctor had to break the news to him that they would not be able to proceed with the surgery and that it was “time (for him) to rest” as the tumours had spread all over his lungs.  

“Elijah just thanked the doctor and his team for doing all of his lung surgeries, knowing that his time was up,” said Elizabeth.

The X-ray showed that the tumours had spread to most parts of his lungs.

Yet nothing could steal his joy.

“God has a plan for me. I love Jesus, do you?” he repeatedly bantered with the nurses.

An artwork created by Elijah for the health care staff who took care of him. He wrote: “The angel wing represents that the paediatric doctor as a guardian angel in blue scrubs. When the pain was too much, your presence brought comfort no medicine ever could.”

That day, all of them sang hymns and worship songs with Elijah, who lifted up praise even as his body was failing.

Elijah could barely breathe, and that upset him slightly.

“It bothered him not because he was uncomfortable, but because he wanted to talk to everyone and pray for them, instead of just being prayed for,” said Elizabeth.

Charlie also sang “Here We Are” to Elijah for the last time.

The weeks leading up to National Day in August became a strange and surreal experience for Charlie – going between performing the theme song to 30,000 people at the Padang during weekends to playing it quietly at Elijah’s bedside, with friends and family circled around.

“The song began to carry a new meaning far beyond anything I could’ve imagined,” said Charlie. 

But the last song that they sang that Thursday was Elijah’s favourite worship song – “Raise a Hallelujah”. It spoke of the victory that Elijah knew God had already secured for him.

His impact among the living 

The next morning on July 25, Elijah passed away at 8.20 am. His mother and uncle were with him.

Even at his wake, Elijah’s legacy continued to make an impact.

Many of Elijah’s school mates and soccer friends who came to the wake were deeply moved by the stories and eulogies shared. Some of them expressed their desire to get to know Christ.

God showed how He cared for Elijah in the most personal ways – through music, community, laughter and love, said Riella. 

“The way He orchestrated divine appointments – like bumping into Levan after I prayed for confirmation, or how Charlie ended up meeting us – it was like watching the threads of heaven being pulled gently through Elijah’s story,” she added. 

Many of Elijah’s schoolmates and soccer friends came for his wake.

Levan and Charlie (far right) led worship at Elijah’s cremation ceremony.

Since Elijah’s passing, one of his older brothers has begun going to church. His younger sister is also exploring the faith.

Said his mother: “Through Elijah’s life and passing, I came to know love on a deeper level. I used to think that faith meant answers. God does not always give explanations but He always gives Himself. I wouldn’t have chosen this path, but God met me on it.”

What brought Elizabeth the most comfort as she grieved was Elijah’s final words, which he sent to a relative to be relayed to his mother after his death.

He wrote: “I’m going to a happy place remember so don’t be sad. I’ll see you there but don’t come so early okay? Enjoy your time while you can. Now you can finally rest well and have nothing to worry about.”

Singer-songwriter Charlie Lim has released the acoustic version of his song “Here We Are” (NDP 2025 Theme Song) – dedicated to Elijah and in support of Children Cancer’s Foundation, of which Elijah was a beneficiary. All proceeds garnered from streaming the song will go directly to the charity. Show your support by listening to the song on Spotify or Apple Music, or visiting the fundraising campaign website here. 

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