Samuel Beng Tsai

Born in a small farming community in Fujian, China, Samuel (Chua Kue Beng) was the eldest of three children of Chua Cho and Juan Siu Kiem. Soon after his birth, his dad left for the Philippines to earn a living. His mom, a godly woman who loved the Lord was seventeen years old. She brought Samuel to church on Sundays whenever possible; the trip took over an hour by foot each way. Her godly influence was passed on to young Samuel.

Through hard work and ingenuity, Samuel’s dad, together with his brothers started a grocery store along the main strip of downtown Dagupan City, across from the city’s public market.

About six years later, Samuel and his mother reunited with his father. In the next few years, Ignacio and Rosa joined the Chua family.

During Samuel’s teenage years, basketball was one of his favorite pastimes. He attended the Southern Baptist Seminary in Baguio City to prepare for ministry, something his father was not pleased about. He also met and got to know Elena Ko, a teacher at a school in Dagupan City and they were married in June, 1955.

David, their first child, was born in 1956. After graduation from the seminary, Samuel accepted a call to pastor a church in Davao City, leaving David under the care of his grandparents, Uncle Ignacio and Aunt Rosa. Samuel received an invitation to pastor the Manila Chinese Baptist Church in 1960, where he served until 1967. This family of three living on the first floor of the church building became four when Deborah was born. In April 2005, Samuel had the special honor and privilege of being present at the Manila Chinese Baptist Church to celebrate her 53rd Anniversary, and the dedication of a new eight-story building built on the original site, at the heart of Manila’s Chinatown.

Samuel arrived in Vancouver, fall of 1967, for further studies at the Northwest Baptist Seminary. Upon graduation, Elena and the children joined him in Vancouver in 1970. He became a bi-vocational pastor, working evening shift as a custodian and serving as a pastor whenever opportunities arise. Over the years, he served in various roles at a few churches, including being the founding pastor of the Grace Community Baptist Church, now located in Killarney, Vancouver.

Since 2016, due to health conditions, Pinegrove Place has been Samuel’s home. Elena joined him there in 2018. Pinegrove Place’s caring staff, with its mixture of English, Tagalog, Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien in the air, made him smile and feel at home.

On April 1st, the day after celebrating our Lord’s resurrection, Samuel had a stroke. Due to his pre-existing health conditions and the stroke, important body systems started to shut down. Under the loving care of the Pinegrove Staff and surrounded by his children and their spouses, grandchildren, and great granddaughter, Samuel entered the Lord’s presence peacefully Sunday April 7th, 2024.