I am back in Tawau, my home town for the weekend. Tawau does not have any big city giltz like cineplexes or world-class shopping centers. It does have outstanding seafood, rich volcanic soil and most of all, amazing people. Tawau was where everything started for me: most of my childhood memories, schools, church and then the photography business.
I didn’t plan it that way but somehow I find myself back at home on the eve of launching an online photography education portal, possibly the first from Asia. It’s hard to describe my feelings on this project which is a mixture of hope, excitement, fear, faith & uncertainty. Back to my home town, my humble roots, I am reminded of obstacles in the past that I had overcome growing up in a single-parent family where money was usually scarce. Jasmine and I started our photography business in a 120-square-feet bedroom. From there we booked so many national & overseas shoots. I recalled the cynicism I had to battle against when I told some people I was an international wedding photographer based in Tawau. We became stronger, more confident & better people as a result of overcoming obstacles. Our stories become a source of strength and inspiration to other photographers. We didn’t plan it this way. Just as we didn’t plan on a weekend in Tawau on the eve of launching of our project. Someone, somehow scripted this, I believe.
As I walked through the doors of our vacant home which was once our home office, scenes after scenes of my life history replayed before my eyes. I found strength and confidence, not in myself, but on the One who never fails. Honestly, who am I but a simple boy from an agricultural town. Yet never in my life did I lack anything.
Launching forward, I place my confidence in the One who never fails me. It is a project that is much larger than me, but I am not afraid because I know who is walking beside me.
