Heaven on Earth

Searching for Restoration

“What’s that?” my husband asked, pointing at some brightly lit skyscrapers as we sped down the freeway with some friends. ? We had just moved to New Jersey from California, and a couple we had recently befriended had graciously offered to take us out to dinner.? “Oh, that’s just Newark,” came the reply, “you don’t want to go there.”? This comment stuck with me--how could the largest city in the state be a place where nobody wanted to go?? Why did all of the freeways just skirt around this city???

Ever since I moved to the United States as a teenager, I had been struck by this paradox:? how could America, with all of its prosperity and promise, also be a place with such suffering, division, and indifference?? As a poor immigrant from Malaysia growing up in Queens, NJ, I experienced this suffering firsthand.? Yet here I was now, a successful professional with an advanced engineering degree and a comfortable life in a wealthy suburb, and these questions continued to haunt me.??

Even though Newark was in many ways different from the neighborhood where I grew up, I could instinctively feel the sense of being disrespected, taken advantage of, judged, or ignored.? I longed to see signs of hope that people from different backgrounds could care for and respect one another and that it wasn’t inevitable for rich and poor to separate into camps of mutual distrust and hate.??

From an early age, I was raised as a Christian.? As an adult, as I studied Jesus’ life and teaching, I came to understand that his mission, to bring the “kingdom of heaven” to earth, included not only spiritual regeneration but also profound social and societal renewal. ?Jesus identified deeply with the poor and marginalized and consistently challenged those with wealth and power to use what they had been given to benefit others and undo the world's injustices.??

This idea of “heaven on earth” gripped my imagination, and I began to look for opportunities to spend my energies serving in inner-city Newark.? As I began to do so, much to my surprise, I learned that it was not my acts of service themselves that would bring about the restoration and change I was seeking.? Rather I discovered that heaven on earth happened through the deep relationships that formed when people from very different backgrounds worked together as equals, giving and receiving, accepting and caring for one another as people.

Finding Transformation

People from Newark who befriended me, who welcomed me into their homes and their lives, fundamentally changed my values, my priorities, and the way I viewed the world.?

I learned a new definition of generosity: someone who earned only a fraction of what I did gladly brought refreshments to our get-togethers even when none of us were contributing. Her actions taught me to let go of money a little more easily.? I learned what true hospitality looks like when a family, who lived in an apartment so small that it could have easily fit into my living room, hosted a meeting for a large group of people every week (we sat on their beds).? I couldn’t help but confront the fact that I had been too ashamed to host get-togethers at my two-bedroom townhouse just because all my friends had bigger houses.?

These experiences freed me.? I realized that heaven on earth could be found when we opened our hearts to others who seemed on the surface to be so different from ourselves. Healing happens when we break through all the surface characteristics (language, religion, wealth, dress, careers)? that make us distinct from one another and recognize our common humanity, relating to one another as friends and equals.?

These experiences also brought me to a place where I was close enough to see opportunities to help in meaningful ways. I saw disparities not just in material wealth but, more importantly, in access to social networks that are critical to instilling the expectation of success and providing ongoing support and guidance in achieving it. These were privileges I had previously only shared with others we were in my family or those who were so similar to me that they felt like family.? I started to see that I had the opportunity to expand my vision of whom I considered to be part of my family and share my privileges more broadly, building on the lessons of generosity and hospitality that my Newark family had instilled in me.?

Receiving and Giving

The community in Newark had so generously welcomed me and my family that I was inspired to give back. I tried to think about what were some of the most precious things in my life that I could bring to others. One of them was the experience of learning how to play the piano.?

Through the piano, I acquired unique skills, new perspectives, and powerful connections. I learned to love the discipline of hard work that rewarded me with success and recognition. I became familiar with the feelings of accomplishment.? Performing taught me how to calm my nerves in high-stakes situations. Memorizing music taught me how to make sense of complex compositions with conflicting themes and seemingly endless variations.? Piano competitions taught me to prepare systematically over several months and to reach out for help and recover emotionally after particularly disastrous auditions. The simple pleasure of creating beautiful music brought me comfort through the trauma of immigrating to a new country and the struggles of adolescence.? My piano teacher became my inspiration and guide as she mentored me through the last years of high school after my mother died.? My musical experiences helped me stand out in a crowded field of high-achieving students applying to colleges.? ?

Learning how to play the piano was more than about music. It was about learning life skills and developing social networks, which helped me navigate life’s challenges and succeed in all areas of my life.? It helped me see myself as someone special.? This is the success-oriented heritage that I am passing down to my children. These are my keys to success that I also wanted to share with others who have become precious to me. This desire led me to found Keys 2 Success, a nonprofit organization that brings rigorous musical and classical piano instruction to elementary public school students in inner-city Newark?

Sharing Hope

As I began preparing to launch Keys 2 Success in Newark, I began to share my story and my vision with my friends and neighbors in my home community and my church.? As I did so, I was once again surprised to find that many people strongly resonated with this desire to break down the divisions that separated communities in New Jersey and to share their talents, time, and privileges with others. ? I immediately saw that this desire to bring healing to society transcended religion, political views, age and socio-economic status.?

Most of the people who rallied around this vision were not Christians.? We did not all belong to the same political party.? Some of us did not speak English fluently, while others came from families who had already been in the United States for centuries.? Some of us owned multiple vehicles, while others had to ride for hours on multiple buses to get to and from work daily. ? Musicians and non-musicians, stay-at-home moms, hourly workers, and retired professionals immediately started asking about how they could help.? Inspired by their response, I invited my neighbors and friends from Newark and the suburbs to participate as volunteers and teachers in Keys 2 Success.

Having gained so much from trading in my comfortable social settings to live in a community whose culture was foreign to me, I tried to organize Keys 2 Success in such a way that would allow others a chance also to experience an environment that turned the tables on the norms. Since classical music has historically not been inclusive of minority groups, Keys 2 Success deliberately has kept the ratio of minority groups high in the leadership, teaching staff, and especially the student population.? The music lessons were conducted in familiar places that felt comfortable to the students.? As a result, those of us who had come from the traditional classical music world were forced to depend on others to help us navigate the unfamiliar environment. This created opportunities for people from disparate social groups to reconnect as peers, see life from different perspectives and have the potential to inspire and share their best with one another.???

The result has been truly inspiring, as we have seen caring relationships form among the volunteers, as well as amongst the students, regardless of background. As a result, volunteers have been able to develop such a keen sensitivity to the needs of the children and their families that they have devised new ways to inspire growth in the children and even taken initiative to reach out through their social networks to recruit friends and family to sustain and grow Keys 2 Success.?

Inspiring Healing in Society

I looked for heaven on earth and found it in inner-city Newark. But it didn't happen the way I thought it would. It didn't come about through me and my acts of charitable service. ? Instead, I experienced heaven on earth when the people of Newark welcomed me into their community on equal terms.? Through loving and being loved, receiving and giving of myself, I saw the outlines of heaven on earth taking shape. I also saw that this desire to be reconnected, to transcend these boundaries that separate us from one another,? is not limited to only a few--it dwells in the hearts of many who long to participate in healing and restoration.? I hope that by sharing my story, others will see that it can address the suffering, division, and indifference that plague our society and be inspired to pursue heaven on earth in their communities.?