Contributed by Wendy ML Tan • Mar 31, 2026

I can’t help but think about my friend who found herself in dizzy spells since she woke up at 5am last Thursday. Unable to do much at that time, she tried sleeping again only to wake up worse an hour later. Her cry for help, a text message to a group of people, fell on (mostly) deaf ears. Only a handful responded and came to her aid. Her neighbour helped fetch her daughter to the daycare centre. She was hungry and had little breakfast in her room, a cup of Milo to whet her empty stomach as no one had packed her food from the canteen. No one tried to set up a recording of the lecture so she had to go to class. She sat through it but she could not focus. Finally, an off-campus friend noticed her frailty and checked on her. After lunch, she took a nap. In the evening, when her husband came home from work, they went to visit a doctor who diagnosed her with vertigo. She was advised to rest for two weeks.

I bumped into two friends on Friday afternoon. I thanked the couple for reaching out to my friend and they responded simply, “Of course. She is our neighbour,” I shook my head a little, and said, “that’s not a good enough answer.” Yes, I know they are literally my friend’s neighbours but I said this because anyone else who lives on campus should be ‘a neighbour’ to one another.

It pains me to read my friend’s text messages. The lament of the grief she felt for a group of people she thought she could trust. When what happened is not something to be cheerful of nor something to gain from, the loud boisterous popular people were nowhere to be seen. Had they assumed that someone else would help anyway? Might as well chat about something more exciting like plans for a surprise birthday party. Why bother with someone who doesn’t regularly hang out with us?

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What is our faith worth? What does it mean to be true followers of Christ? What does it mean to bear His cross? And to love one another?

What acts of (hidden) obedience can I take in this situation? Well, I think I will buy her some roti for breakfast.