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CTS Honours: Muriel Bent · Called to Serve

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Hello and welcome. Today on Called to Serve, we are
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re sharing an interview in honor of Canadian Baptist Missionary
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Muriel Bent, who passed away earlier this month at the age of
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95. Muriel served with Canadian
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Baptist Ministries for over 35 years, working as a missionary
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in the field of public health. She was a nurse, midwife,
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hospital administrator, and community health advocate who
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completed a Master's in tropical community health and toured
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nearly 20 countries to observe their healthcare programs.
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After retiring in 1998, Muriel continued finding ways to serve,
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including selling many handmade mittens through the 323
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Collective in support of the work of CBM.
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She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Ministry degree by
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Regent College Vancouver in 2007.
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I was able to speak with Muriel in 2022 as part of a previous
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oral history project led by Doctor Maxwell.
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We are so grateful to be able to share part of Muriel's story
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with you today. I'm Muriel Bent.
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I'm a member of Middleton Baptist Church.
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When I was a child, I mean, my parents were certainly believers
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and when I was at the end of a large family, I'm the 13th of 15
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children. But when I was a kid, we, we
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younger ones used to go to with some of the older ones went to
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to church and Sunday school at our schoolhouse, which is a mile
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and a half away. When we got got older, did we go
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down to the to the markets vote to the church, which was 3 miles
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away. And my parents were really
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belong to United Church. But we we always attended both
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the United and the Baptist churches.
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It's interesting. I can remember as a child saying
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to my parents, I want to be a nurse and I want to go to India
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as an India as a missionary. I don't recall of ever having
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someone speak. In fact, in those days, you
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know, we were rather rural and I don't recall ever having a
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missionary speak it at either the 9 or the Baptist churches.
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Where should I say had that notion or I mean it had to be
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God-given, but I remember when I was in nurses training, you
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know, finishing had to decide what I was going to do.
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I had to say was this just a childhood fancy or was God
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really calling me to India? And one night we had a lady
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spoke speak at our nurses Christian fellowship.
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And before I went down to the meeting, I I knelt before and my
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bed and I said God, I need to know tonight.
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Do you want me to go to India or do you not?
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And it was, you know, the old saying as though everything was,
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was just for me and, and I had no doubt after that.
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And so from there I after I finished nurses training in St.
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John, NB, I went to Boston, to Gordon College for a year and a
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half and, and, and took just several subjects and I had no
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money. So I had nursed at the same time
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while I was there. Doctor Ben Galison came down to
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he used to come down to visit the students at Gordon.
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There are quite a few Canadians down there.
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I remember I I told him, you know my dilemma.
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I said, you know, I book going under a Canadian Baptist or what
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I should do. He said you marry you, you
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belong to the Baptist Church and Canadian Baptist have work in
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India. So he said I'd recommend that
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you apply to Canadian Baptist over his mission board and just
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ask God that if he doesn't want you to go, then he close the
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door. And that's what I did.
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And I remember when I put the letter in the mail, I really had
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such a feeling at peace. I knew that that's where I was
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going to be going. I was accepted without an
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interview, I guess. I guess that's how I got there
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from Gordon. I went over to Edinburgh,
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Scotland and took a year of midwifery.
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And then from I went with Mary Cowan.
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One of our we both went at the same time.
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And then it from there I went to India and had two years of
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language study and Telugu, which we we had to do in those days
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because it was the idea of to learn both language and culture.
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And in those days, you know, we went believing we were going to
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be there for as we were our life ministry.
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And so two years was really a small part of that.
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Not in this hurry hurry world of today.
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After language study, I went up to Sampeta, to the Arrogiram Eye
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Hospital, which Doctor Ben Gallison and Dr. Kopli were
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there, and I was there for three years.
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I guess those were not not the most happy years of my time
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overseas because in those days we really had had no
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orientation. He just went and here I was.
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I guess you'd call a nurse without portfolio.
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They've never had a charge nurse and I'd never been a charge
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nurse in Sampeda. And so I really during that time
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didn't know, quite know what I was supposed to be doing.
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Toward the end of that time, I, we became involved in eye
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nursing. Doctor Quapley was an eye
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surgeon. And so I spent quite a lot of
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time out in the villages and drumming cataract patients to
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come to the hospital. And so when I came home to
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Canada, I came with a very heavy heart because I wondered was I
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prepared to go back, you know, into the same situation.
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But while I was home in Canada, I had a request from India to
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ask me if I would go up to Surango, which is up in the up
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in the hills in a rest. It's just over the border.
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And I just, I just thank the Lord for because I felt that was
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a direct answer to my prayer. The rest of my time in India I
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spent up in Surango. At that time Doctor Al McDonald
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and his wife Myrtle were there and they were just ready to come
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on, come home on furlough. I guess I became Jill of all
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trades. I was the necessary nursing
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director but also business manager they so I was really
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there and then that was from 206162 to 68 when I came home on
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furlough. And when I came home on
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furlough, I took public health nursing and I had planned to go
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back to to Surango. I started a small public health
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program where we did immunizations and sore eyes and
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all this sort of thing. But another nurse and I would go
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out to the villages. We'd take a four day trip we had
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to walk through. No, no, it was not cheap able
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there. And we would just go 1 to 1
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village and do our thing and then stay overnight wherever
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they found us to bed. And then next day we go on to
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the next one. And we'd be gone for four days.
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And this way we, we had quite a large program of immunizations
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and, and seal trap trains, which wasn't new there.
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We, we have a mold to make. I think all together we did
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about 150 of those and we made them on at the compound at the
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hospital. And then I came home in 74
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hoping to go back to Durango. But at that time it was very
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iffy as regard to my visa to go back to India because the Indian
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government had become much more. Well, they want to roll their
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own canoe, which is fair enough. But while I was home, I was able
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to go to England and take my Master of travel, Community
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health. Thanks to all you Canadian
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taxpayers. I had AI was given a large
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scholarship under the International International
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Development Research Council. And with the balance of that
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money, I took a trip and visit over 20 countries around the
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world looking at programs of Primary Health care.
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And while I was there, I, I visited all the countries where
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we had missionary submission work, which was really a
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privilege while I was looking at these programs.
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And then when I got to India, I went to New Delhi and I said,
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this is my, I've got to get off my life.
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Either I either I have a yes or a no because I've got to, I've
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got to go out of my life. And so while I was there, I went
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to Delhi and I talked to the to the guy in church and he said,
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you mean you've not heard in three years?
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I said, no, Sir. And he said, you'll hear within
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10 days. And I said thank you.
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And I thought, Oh yes, I've heard this so many times.
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However, when I got to as far as Kenya, Nairobi, the letter was
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there saying we regret to inform you it's not possible da, da,
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da. And at the same time they sent a
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letter to CBM and they, and so in when I got to Nairobi, there
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was a letter also from CBM said we regret to that you're not
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able to go return. But we also know that we need to
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have someone consultant in community health and and you're
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the only one of our missionaries who has had this training.
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Would you be interested? And so when I went back to, I
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arrived back in Canada, I went to CBM and had an interview and
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I guess the rest was history. I, I accepted the position and
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for the next number of years I travelled in, in Latin America
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and India and in Africa fashioning and, and, and
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monitoring community health programs around the world.
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There were so many simple remedies which we could give to,
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to villagers for their children to save their lives, which did
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not require money as it were. And I one thing in particular
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was this idea of what we call electrolyte solution because so
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many of these little ones would be so dehydrated and, and was
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just a simple sugar and salt and water to give them to.
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It's amazing. You could, you could factory see
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the child's of their, their limbs filling out as you, as you
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fit this, this electrolyte solution to them and to teach
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the mothers how to do that which they would have sugar and salt
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in their home or in the village at least.
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And so it did not require expensive medicines.
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The same way the same way was we, we, we taught in a lot about
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using the work what we call ragi, which is it's a, the
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nearest would be like vitamin B cereal, which we have in Canada,
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very nutritious, but it was considered a poor man's diet.
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And we spent a lot of time teaching people that, that it
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wasn't just a poor man's diet. It was a very nutritious diet
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for their children. And as they would give this to
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their kids, it certainly helped their to prevent malnutrition.
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So I would say that I think my most fulfilling years in health
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health were in the community health line because it was so,
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so fulfilling and so rewarding to see and see these kids being
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vaccinated against, you know, the triple vaccination and to
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see the difference it made. It was really quite, quite
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exciting. The actual hands on of community
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health was really 69 to 74. And that's during the time when
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we're able to get a hold of this form to make up these, these
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what we call septic seal trap of the trees.
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They're like, they're literally like a toilet bowl, which we
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have here. But it took minimal water to
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flush them down and you put them over a deep hole which which the
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villagers themselves would dig. And we will supply the the
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toilet bowl with actually with a grant from Oxfam in England.
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And so they they paid a minimal charge and supplied the labor
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because we didn't want just to give it to them.
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And that way we were able to, you know, instill like say three
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or four or two in a particular village at a time.
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During that time I have to say the actual church services were
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see in up in Samanga we had two languages.
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This the area language which is the state language of what they
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call audition. Now it was Orissa and then for
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the Soros. Now the solar church was just
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nearby, but the the area church well was in the village too.
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I attended this the area of service more, but I never well,
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mainly because of my work. I never attended, should I say,
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like the, you know, women's meetings of that sort of thing
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was mainly attending the service itself.
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And occasionally if if we wrote on camp, it was usually in this
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in the in the Sora, the tribal villages that we would attend
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service there. And again, it was long serves up
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to three hours and you would and so it'd be.
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It wasn't, shall I say, a participatory thing.
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It was a matter of listening and and when your language over
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sorrow, certain language skills were were minimal.
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It was it. It was hard.
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And I in fact, I remember the coming home to to Middleton and
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sitting in a church. So I can remember I just sat
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there and wept. It was so wonderful just to
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hear, hear the word of God in my own language.
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And they, you know, they fail, you know, the familiar hymns and
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so on. It was such a bum in Syringo.
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I used to, for a while at certain times I would have a
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Bible study at the hospital, you know, for our staff.
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When we went on holiday, which we, our mission board asked us
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to take, we had, we were supposed to take six weeks in a
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year because of the heat. And while we were there, usually
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in the hill stations, they would have my retreat for missionaries
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and they were wonderful times of fellowship and and being fed
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again spiritually. And but we didn't have, as our
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Bible says that such was mainly you just say on Sundays we would
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go to service. And it was wonderful to, you
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know, to have that fellowship in those days.
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You never, I mean the only time you ever used a telegram was if
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someone had died, it would take about two weeks for a letter.
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But you know, my mother blessed her heart as long as she, every
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week she sent me a letter which was very precious.
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And but so your communication was from India to Canada was
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really very, very limited. Only because of God that I
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stayed. And I remember when I was in
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Sampeda, I can remember, you know, kneeling at my bed and
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just crying out to God. And he heard me.
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And it was it was really because of certainly my, as I said to
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someone once, I may not have learned a lot about nursing and
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sompeter, but I certainly learned a lot about the both the
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graciousness of God because he was, I mean, we, as you know,
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I'm sure when you go through deep waters, that's when the
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Lord, you either reject the Lord or you're very, very close to
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him. And I found when I was up in
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Sampeda, when we had we had some difficulties in the hospital
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with, you know, person as you do it anytime with personnel.
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And it was the essay. That's when you go closer and
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closer to the lower end. And, and certainly he was more
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than sufficient. When Marilyn Smith came along
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along, I remember I told Bob Berry, who was a general
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secretary of the time. I said, look, if you find
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someone you know to to replace me in the sharing way, I'll not
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stand away because I was getting near retirement, but I said I'll
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take an early retirement or I said even send me back overseas.
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That's that's no pain. And that was the time they asked
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me if I would, if I would be the Latin American representative.
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After that, after one year there, they asked me for a
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second year, but my sisters and that were getting older and I
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felt I needed to be spend more time in Canada.
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But I also said that I didn't feel that that was a full time
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job that, you know, someone who was down there, they could, they
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could do the, you know, the advisory and supervision as it
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were part of it as well. And so then they asked me if I
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would, if I would accept a position for half time, have my
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headquarters in Canada, but go down to Latin America for six
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months a year. And that's what I did for the
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second year. So that would have been 19701997
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because I retired in 1998. I became actually quite involved
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in middle and Baptist. I mean, I on the board of
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Dickinson, all those lovely things and with our, with our
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women's missionary group too. And, and until, you know, did
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for a number of years. And then finally, I, I said I
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felt someone younger should take over those positions.
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I, I, because I attend the regular certain I, we have a
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women's missionary group. I don't, I don't take any active
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position, but I, but I attend the women's missionary group.
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And then during the COVID, one things they did in our church,
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they had asked us what they call a 5 by 5.
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You were asked to they're given the name of five people asked to
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contact every weekend, talk with them for 5 minutes or some.
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It's just impossible. But anyway, I would say that
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that my ministry today is more, it's more in prayer.
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And I try to contact people. I try to make it make it a
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specific plan, you know, to contact people who who are
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isolated because this COVID is really played havoc.
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When I was with Brenda Hawke when she visited a few years
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ago, I was knitting these from Mittens and she bought
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something. She asked me if I would be
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willing to knit for the for this collective.
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And during that time I actually I sent quite a few pairs.
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And So what I do is any I still knit, but I mean not to send to
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Toronto, but because of COVID. But what I do is any money, any
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profit which I make IA goes to to the CBMS for, for, for
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training for, for women in South India.
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With the COVID you see, we haven't had any craft fairs and
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so on. But it's amazing how people
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still come. I think I've sold, but I think
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he has 13 pairs during the last month.
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So, so get rid of a few. My vision is not as good as it
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was, but you don't need to see too well to knit.
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And so I just knit away and keep them on hand.
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And if someone comes along, I, I sell to or some I give away, you
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know, just, but any, it has any, any profit I make.
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That's my little, my little Livia project.
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I work with with, but not directly in the church with
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through palliative care. I spent I, I weekly visit church
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member who through palliative care and in fact stayed with him
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for, for a week when his wife had to go away.
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So I I work through palliative care, but as I say, not directly
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as an arm of the church, but connected with in collaboration
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with the church. I got, I think being a way so
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long. I guess I was always so pleased
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to sit and just to hear the worship service and the and the
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service in English is such a bomb.
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You know, after many times when you wouldn't even get to church
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overseas just because of the circumstances.
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I guess if I one watch would have been that you know,
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whatever your circumstances, we we have to lean hard on the Lord
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and and and he will he will see us through as he's promised
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since, and I've certainly proved it.
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We're so thankful we had the opportunity to speak with Muriel
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and can share her story with you.
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You can learn more about her life and work through the links
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in our episode description. And we'll be back next week with
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new stories of ordained women in ministry.