Rev Jennifer fulfils a divine calling

By PETER WARI
JENNIFER Marcus believes that God wanted her to become a church minister ever since she was a child.
On Sunday, she was ordained as Reverend Jennifer Marcus – the only female minister of the United Church in Southern Highlands.
“This is the happiest moment of my life. God is good all the time. I will not give up doing God’s work in changing people’s lives.”
Jennifer, 35, is from Kuare village in the Nipa Basin local level government in Southern Highlands. She is the fifth born in a family of seven.
Her father was a deacon and her mother an evangelist in the church’s Nipa Central circuit. So inevitably, her strict Christian upbringing had a lot of influence on her character and thinking as a child, involving herself in many church activities at a young age.
She attended Sunday School classes until she reached the age of 15, then became a choir leader and a Sunday School teacher herself.
During her primary school days, she always got involved in church activities after school and on weekends.
She completed Grade 10 at Nipa Secondary in 2009 but could not make it to Grade 11. She instead enrolled at the Puril Technical College in the Nipa-Kutubu district studying Tourism and Hospitality.
After two years at the school, she did her practical work at the Kondea Spring Lodge in Mendi town. Then she worked for Pesab Trading for 18 months.
“While working, I never gave up being involved in church activities.”
One day, she was nominated to enroll at the Rarongo Theological College.
“But my application was rejected by the church committee (because) I had only reached Grade 10. I could not become a pastor because I had not reached Grade 12.”
She felt that God was telling her to upgrade her marks.
So in 2012 and 2013 she completed grades 11 and 12 at the Flexible Open and Distance Education.
The theological college accepted her in 2014 to pursue a Certificate in Theology, followed by two years doing a Diploma in Theology.
Students at the college who employed her as a babysitter or house cleaner gave her a grand ovation on graduation day.
She was posted to the Upper North Mendi circuit serving under a minister for about two years and as a probation minister for another two years.

“ This is the happiest moment of my life. God is good all the time. I will not give up doing God’s work in changing people’s lives.”

She often asks herself why she had no interest in mixing around with girls her age since she was a child.
“My desire was instead to be with elderly mothers involved in church activities and women fellowship.”
Rev Jennifer is single and wants to devote her life to her divine calling.
She thanks Bishop Reverend Stanley Buka for ordaining her and the other ministers for supporting her. Hundreds of church members from the Upper North Mendi circuit witnessed her ordination service.
She is looking after churches in Upper-Mendi, Karinz and Lai-Valley LLG in the Mendi-Munihu district.
“Finally, I am now a minister. I have fulfilled my dream to serve the Lord. I spend most of my time now with my church members praying and worshipping.”
She thanks her parents for her upbringing.
“Seeing my mother taking the lead in the church made me have the craving and desire to be like her someday. But I never knew I would eventually become a church minister.”