John Mondi

Interview with CTS student John Mondi

1. Speak briefly about who you are - where you were born, where you grew up.

   I am John Mondi, and married to Loice, and we have a 3-month-old baby named Samuel. Before coming to Calvin Theological Seminary, I served as a minister in our denomination (Africa Inland Church Kenya) for six years. We are from Kenya, East Africa. Kenya is a home of many tribes with many languages and cultures. I come from a nomadic tribe living in Northern Kenya called Pokot. People from my tribe do not have permanent homes because being a nomadic pastoralist requires that you move from one place to another in pursuit of pasture and water for the animals all the year round. I am the second oldest son in my father's polygamous family. I grew up knowing that the only think a young Pokot boy would do in life is to become a good shepherd. This is what my parents, my relatives, and community instilled in me as I grew up. So, for my life as a young boy, which is from 8 to 13 years old, I was a herd's boy tending my father's livestock.

2. What kind of calling has God placed on your heart as far as full-time ministry?

   In 1976, an African missionary was sent to our place to start a church. Among the first converts was my mother. As a new convert, my mother began to pray for us, and even taught us about God as she was taught in the church by the missionary. Regardless of the opposition from my dad and relatives, she continued to impress in us the love of God. She was persecuted for this-for example, she was beaten, ridiculed, and given names for "leading us in the wrong way"-but she made it through by the grace of God. To cut the long story short, I went to school at the age of 13, in the year 1980. This was another hard time for my mother, because according to my tribe, a child that was sent to school was considered a lost child.

   While in the primary school, I attended Sunday school every week. These classes began to open my understanding of who God is really is. I loved Sunday school! After two years, the pastor (the African missionary) enrolled me in the catechism class. After one year, I was baptized. My baptism was in 1983 at the age of 15. In 1988, I went to high school, and while I was there in the second year, I heard a conviction that God wanted me to serve him in full-time ministry. I began helping with the Christian Union ministries in the high school, where I helped with the Bible study and leading worship in the school chapels during Sunday morning services. These ministries in the high school were confirmation of my calling by God to his service. My passion is in the area of church planting and missions among the pastoralist communities of Northern Kenya. I hope and pray that Northern Kenya tribes will be able to experience God's love through the saving grace of Christ.

3. Are there one or two specific times (or situations) that God used to unveil His call in your life?

   One Sunday afternoon when I was in high school, I took a walk, and on the way I met two elders from a nearby village. After we greeted each other, they told me that they were the pastors from around. One of them told me, "You are one of us, you will be a pastor!" Indeed this was God's voice confirming what I was going through in my private life. For one week prior to meeting these pastors, I was wrestling with whether I should go to Bible college after high school. God gave me an answer on the road that Sunday afternoon. The second part of the story is that, after sharing my call with elders of our church, the issue of money came up. God in a remarkable way provided the needed funds for my tuition to go to Bible college. This was another confirmation of God calling me to his work.

4. Why did you choose Calvin Seminary? What has your experience been like thus far?

   I was introduced to Calvin Theological Seminary by RCA Missionaries (Bill and Carolyn Overway) who were working in Kenya. They are from Holland, Michigan. After reading about Calvin Seminary, I felt that it was the right place for me to receive my seminary education, an education that has its base in Reformed theology and tradition. Calvin Theological Seminary has been a source of inspiration and growth. My two years of study at the Seminary have helped me to expand my horizons theologically, skillfully and spiritually. I am happy that God opened this opportunity for me to be here for my seminary education.

5. What has it meant to receive scholarship assistance through CTS?

   Receiving a scholarship has helped me to pay my tuition, and as a result I can focus on my studies without worrying. Coming from a poor church in the rural part of Kenya, I do not know how I could have paid for my tuition without such a help as this. And so, my sincere thanks to the Seminary and to all the Seminary partners for making this help available to us students. May God's name be glorified!