Not the Time To Leave

A letter from Marta Bennett serving in Kenya

October 2015

Over 20 years ago, when I responded to the call to come to teach at Daystar University in Kenya, it was with an unequivocal heartfelt response of “Yes! Absolutely!”—which has served as a steady anchor even in tough seasons, even these many years later.

Before Kenya I had served in ordained ministry for over 12 years in parish and campus ministries in Seattle, Wash., and though I was not looking to leave my position at the time, I was in the final steps of being called to what I was viewing as an ideal pastoral position at a church in another state, which was a location I was thrilled to consider.  I was one of the top two final candidates, and everything seemed perfect:  perfect job description as associate pastor for adult education and for urban and global missions, an incredible senior pastor and pastoral team, wonderful lay leaders, beautiful location, and it even would have significantly increased my income. Yet as I left my weekend interview with them, my heart was heavy.  Something about it was not right, and I was praying anxiously, “What will I tell the committee if they call to tell me that I am the one?”  Everything seemed perfect, yet I had no inner peace.  Instead I felt depressed whenever I thought of accepting the position.

ILU leaders: Vice Chancellor Prof. Eric Aseka, Marta, Dr. Dela Adadevo, Dr. Mike Wicker, Mr. Dominic Deng (recent graduate)

During the few weeks that followed, leaders I knew from Kenya, where I had done half my doctoral research the year before, were passing through the city, so I went to greet and welcome them.  In that brief encounter what began as a light conversation suddenly turned serious when I was jovially asked, “And when are you coming back to Kenya?” and I jousted back, “Well, one never knows—someday, I’d love to.”  Their response was, “Really?  Would you consider it?  Would you come for a few weeks or for a year or more?” to which I responded from somewhere out of my depths, “If I came, I think I would want to come long-term,” and everything in me jumped with exhilaration at my own statement.

To “fast forward” from that conversation, I soon after wrote to the church that had been pursuing me to withdraw from the process.  I will never know if I actually would have been the one selected, but I knew in my heart that I did not belong there.  I belonged in East Africa.  Within a few months I had resigned from my position as Director of Campus Ministries at Seattle Pacific University and begun the process of heading toward Kenya.  In that process I also knew that I desired my sense of call to be confirmed by the local church and my presbytery and to be commissioned and sent out by God’s people at home.  And thus it was that through PC(USA) World Mission (then the Worldwide Ministries Division) my appointment to Kenya was eventually actualized. I arrived to begin serving in Nairobi in December 1994.

Now, after 12+ years at Daystar University, followed by 8+ years at Nairobi International School of Theology (NIST), which recently has become International Leadership University (ILU), this past December it was time to renew my appointment once again for another four-year term. It was agreed that I would continue to be based in Nairobi, still at ILU, but would also go once or twice a year to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to teach three-week intensive courses at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology (EGST).  All was well, and the reappointment commenced in January with me teaching a course in Addis Ababa and then beginning the new academic term at ILU in Nairobi, teaching in the master’s program and coordinating the Ph.D. in Leadership.  Then, out of the blue on Thursday evening, April 30, I received a phone call from the PC(USA) informing me that due to the current severe financial challenges, eight mission personnel positions were being discontinued, and mine was one of them, effective December 31, 2015.  As can be imagined, I was thoroughly shocked in that we had just gone through the discernment and reappointment process with a deep sense that this is where I should be.  I did not see this coming.

Transformational Leadership Africa Board members at Lake Kivu, Rwanda, planning for Thousand Hills International University

Upon receiving the news, and after considering the possibility of returning to the U.S., I have had no sense that it is time to leave East Africa.  For my children’s sake: For Justin, who will be in the middle of his senior year of high school, having just switched schools and educational systems this past year. For Imani, who does not do change very easily, and who has also just switched schools into a different system, it would be too disruptive to change once again at this time.  For Steven, who has now graduated from university and has launched into IT business, this is home.  From the ministry side, certain aspects are just opening up, and I feel as if I have just recently received a new lease on life here.  I feel compelled to stay on, to enable my teenagers to finish high school, and to continue in what has been started at ILU and other ministries.  I cannot say that what I am here to do is yet complete, nor the timing to leave is right.

Therefore, though my service through the PC(USA) is being discontinued, I am committed to staying on in Kenya for at least the next several years.  As I have re-examined once again God’s call on my life, I cannot shake the sense that I am still to be here. I am in the process of exploring other mission-sending options through which to raise support and enable us to continue on here.

For the PC(USA), my prayer is that God’s work will continue on and flourish through the many faithful mission personnel of Presbyterian World Mission, who are spread around the globe, even as I seek to continue to serve him here in East Africa. I encourage you to even increase your support through World Mission, so that the others can continue on and the ministries expand in their scope and impact.  As for me, if you would like to be kept informed of my next steps and plans as they unfold, my email is mjiben@yahoo.com, and I would love to keep in touch, and continue to share in ministry together as God leads.

I write with sincere gratitude for the many of you who have been faithfully giving through prayer support, finances, and encouragement over these last 20+ years.  May God bless you, and keep you, and use you mightily in whatever capacity and context you are called. May God’s Kingdom priorities be established, and all honor be given to God.

With joy and hope,
Marta

NOTE:  Since I am choosing to remain in Kenya, the PC(USA) is assisting us with a transition grant for January–June 2016, which will cover basic living allowance, medical coverage, and a few other expenses.  If there is enough support coming in, they may even assist with housing costs.  Therefore, through June 2016, to give financially please continue to contribute through my PC(USA) mission account E200312 for individuals, or account D506057 for congregations (see the link to E200312 on my main webpage or below). Every contribution makes a difference, as we partner together.

For after June 2016, if you wish to continue to support a PCUSA Mission Co-worker serving in Africa in theological education, I would encourage you to consider supporting Kay Day. If you would like to be kept informed of my next steps and plans as they unfold, my email is mjiben@yahoo.com.

Marta

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 145