As Christmases came and went, Jonathan would watch other families gather, fathers and sons laughing together, and quietly feel the absence in his own home.
His father worked in Kuala Lumpur while he and his mother stayed in Ipoh. Most weeks, his father would return briefly on weekends before leaving again.
“My friends’ dads would teach them how to play football, how to tie a tie, do guy things,” Jonathan, 29, shared. “But I never really had that opportunity.”
Things took a deep dive when his younger brother was born: his dad decided not to play the role of a father anymore, leaving his mum to become the family’s sole provider.
Jonathan, still a teenager, became his brother’s primary caregiver. “As a teenager, you want to go out all the time, watch movies with your friends, or play at the arcade. But I had to forgo all of this because no one was at home looking after my brother.”
Years later, Jonathan began seeing his own story reflected in the young men he mentored – boys who grew up without fathers.
What once felt personal now looked generational, and it was this realisation that led him to leave a high-paying career as an aerospace engineer to walk alongside young men searching for direction and a fresh start.
“Looking back, I realise playing a fatherly role for my brother prepared me for what I’m doing today,” he said.
Through The Seeds Ministry, a Penang-based youth empowerment initiative, he and his team now support teenagers and young adults across the country, offering hope, care, and the chance to begin again – a reminder of what the Christmas season, at its best, is meant to embody.
Twenty-six-year-old Josh is one of the young men Jonathan mentors. “Jon has been a friend. Being surrounded by men who are willing to be real – to share their struggles, doubts, joys and hopes – has been a gift I do not take lightly,” he told FMT Lifestyle.
For Carl Ezekiel, 22, weekly catch-ups with Jonathan became an anchor during a difficult season of growing up.
“Although we all come from different walks of life, it has helped us become closer,” he said. “This brotherhood has played a crucial role in my growth.”
Jonathan hears variations of this story often. During weekly sessions and camps, he notices how young men gravitate towards steady male figures, particularly when they lack one at home.
“They see you as a role model. They’re searching for their identity and their place as a man in this society. It’s difficult to do that if you don’t have a strong father figure,” he mused.
Seeing that need made the question unavoidable: could he keep doing this on the side? But walking away from a promising aerospace-engineering career to commit to this work fully meant letting go of the security of a steady paycheck, and the lifestyle that came with it.
“I had to ask myself: if I chose stability and money instead of answering my call, would I be happy with myself?” he said.
In the end, Jonathan picked uncertainty over comfort. “I needed to process and understand the change that would come from leaving my job for this very important work,” he added.
But he says he hasn’t regretted his decision – especially when he sees the change and peace in the lives of his mentees, which more than makes up for his sacrifice.
“The joy is in listening to their story, seeing the spark in their eyes reignited, and then realising they are called to something greater than themselves,” Jonathan expressed.
As the year draws to a close, he finds himself returning to the same quiet truth he shares with those he mentors: that life does not have to be empty or aimless.
“I think the hope of Christmas is that you’re not meant to just live mundane lives. Knowing you’re meant to live a life of excellence and abundance, and that you were created with love and a purpose, already sparks hope.”
For many young men this Christmas, that steady hope is enough to begin again.
Find out more about The Seeds Ministry here.