5 Questions with...Tjahjo ("T.J.") Adiprabowo

1. How did you first get involved with Friendship Presbyterian?   I came to Taiwan from Indonesia in September 2017 because I was continuing my doctoral studies at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) in Taipei. At NTUST, there was a group of Indonesian Christian students who attended the Sunday service at Friendship Presbyterian Church (FPC). On my first Sunday in Taiwan, I was invited by them to attend the Sunday service at FPC. Since then, every Sunday, I go to church at FPC. I feel the theology adopted by FPC is close to the theology adopted by my church in Indonesia, which is a Presbyterian-based Protestant church. (Nevertheless, I have also sometimes been worshiping in another church in Taipei, Grace Baptist Church near NTU).

2. What do you do Monday through Saturday?  From Monday to Saturday, I work on my research at NTUST. My research is about microwave filters that are used to eliminate common mode noise in microwaves so as not to interfere with the performances of other electronic devices. I usually do my daily research in the laboratory in NTUST from around 8:00 a.m. to around 10:00 p.m. with breaks for lunch and dinner. I live in a dormitory in the NTUST campus environment, so it is close to my research laboratory. Usually, after attending Sunday service in FPC, I also continue to do my research in the laboratory in NTUST.

3. What is something people might be surprised to learn about you?  Almost everyone who first met me in Taipei thought I was a Muslim, because it is true that the majority of Indonesian people are Muslim. They were generally surprised to learn that I am a Christian. Their second surprise about me is my age. I just started doctoral studies at retirement age, they thought I was young. Even my professor at NTUST jokingly called me elder brother, because he is younger than me.

4. What do you find most challenging about being a Christian today?  My main challenge as a Christian today is how I can live according to the will of the Lord Jesus. I feel that I often live according to the desires of my own heart. I still worry a lot about my family, about my daughter and my wife who live in Indonesia, who are physically far from me. Still, my life experience is full of God's miracles. One of the miracles that the Lord Jesus gave me is the awareness and belief that the Lord Jesus who is the creator of the universe is very close beside me, within me, and guides me in my daily life in this world (Psalm 139).

5. What is one of your favorite books of the Bible?  One of my favorite books of the Bible is the Psalms because it is full of testimonies and praises to God, as well as the guidelines for living in God. One of the verses in the Psalm that made me very peaceful to live with God as a Christian is Psalm 139: 16 which, in Todays English Version, reads, "You saw me before I was born. The days allotted to me have all been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began. " Before I was born in this world, God had seen me. And whatever will happen in my life in detail is already recorded in the Book of God, before any of it happened. This really strengthens me that whatever happens in my life is already in the plan and the wisdom of the almighty God. I just live my days full of gratitude to God all the time. Yet, this does not mean that I live without my mind, because I am convinced that even this mind of mine is God's creation. And God also uses my mind to lead me to live in His will by inspiring my mind according to His will.