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When Christian embarked on the journey that would carry him across oceans—from Indonesia to Canada—all he brought was his calling. He remembers it with tenderness and quiet trust, knowing how unclear it once was, yet believing that God’s hand would lead him forward.
One of the earliest challenges was the profound leap of faith required to begin anew in a different country—learning to navigate a new culture, forge new relationships, and embrace new teachings. Shortly after he arrived at the Vancouver School of Theology, this journey took him to the Okanagan, to St. Andrew’s & the Farm, where he experienced firsthand the intersection of theology and the Land.
In trust, he embarked on an adventure that—he admits with a laugh—he entered without any clear expectations. His goal was simply to learn more about the Land and Eco-Theology. Yet this experience would prove transformative, offering him discernment through lived practice and cultivating the leadership that would later ground his ministry.
“Working the Land is physical, but I developed instead Spiritual Strength. One that was constantly nurturing my physical body,” he says.
Through farming, harvesting, living in a supportive community, and sharing the produce with immigrant families in need, he not only felt compelled to engage more deeply with the community God had placed him in, but also began to see with clarity what he was truly called to do.
“I learned from Dr. Norman that our hearts are connected to the Land and that we are not here only for the people, but also for the Land. We have to love it. It is also part of God’s mission for us.”
The experience on the farm offered Christian not only biblical and theological reflection but also the opportunity to discern how he wanted his leadership to grow, his role in community, and how to bridge those teachings with his own people in Indonesia.
“During the program, I learned about Reconciliation. In Indonesia, we were colonized for hundreds of years, but there has never been Reconciliation like what is happening here in Canada. I believe God wanted me to witness this, to bring some of it to my own people in Indonesia. Jesus came to Earth to bring liberation to people.”
After ten days immersed in the breath of God’s Creation, Christian came to understand that his calling was a mission of Land stewardship and social justice—one that honors the Land as our shared heart and invites humanity to walk gently upon it. It is a call to renew our covenant of care, for, as he reminds us, “Heaven is not somewhere else, Heaven is on Earth.”
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