I was born to a modest Catholic family. My mother was born into a Catholic family, but my father was converted to Catholicism after he married my mother. My parents raised our family in a Catholic way of life. My mother attends mass on Sundays and says prayer every time she starts doing her activities. My father, before he entered God's eternal home in 2006, liked to read the Bible before he went to bed. So, I treasure those good examples from them, and I always try to remember God in all good and bad things in my life.  

            I went to a Catholic Middle School, which made my Catholic faith become stronger. Speaking about Catholic Schools in Indonesia, do not imagine that most students are Catholics; no, they are not. Indonesia is the most populace Muslim country in the world - over 220 million Indonesians are Muslims. What does that mean? Christian and Muslim students are brothers and sisters at school; they are blended together as Children of God.

            I grew up as a moderate Catholic rather than conservative or traditionalist. My parents always taught me to love all my friends including those who are Muslims. I treat Christians and Muslims as brothers and sisters equally. Indonesia is all about diversity. Its people have different skin colors, religions and languages, yet all come together as Indonesia.  Indonesian culture allows me to be a person who believes in Jesus Christ as my God and my Lord. It also encourages me to respect those who understand God in a different ways and worship with different rituals. In other words, I am Catholic, yet I respect others with different upbringings. I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church as a home for me to meet, relate to, and communicate with God. God is present in his Church. He truly is.

            I believe that God has never created bad or "junk" persons or religions. He creates everyone and he lets everyone believe in him and worship him in different ways or with different rituals. I remember when I was in Indonesia, I would hear and see different religions worship God in different way and rituals. How did I react to it? I simply believe that this is how it is. Christians go to Church to pray and to worship him in holy Eucharist; Muslim go to mosque and bow down entirely on the ground to worship God. Hindus and Buddhists go to temple and burn incense to praise the God of the universe.

              Here I am as a regular Catholic man coming to look for God in the service of his Church. I started serving the Lord at the age of 15 as an altar boy in my home parish in Indonesia. I enjoy being in ministry in the sanctuary of God. I believe that the Church is the Sanctuary of God where God lives and reigns. Church is the place where people come to seek comfort from God himself. God is presents in his Church.  

            As I Journey my vocation to this priesthood, I pray to God to bless and guide me that I may improve myself and that I may become a better person. I desire to help others in my ministry no matter who they are or what religions they embrace. I pray to God that he grant peace to all of us, no matter who we are. I pray that Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus--all religions--preach peace and love to all people. No one is better than another; everyone is created in the image of God. We are all created according to the "face" of God, thus we are the "face" of God to others. As faces of God we should bring peace and love to our families, neighbors and the world.