Today as we stroll down Legacy Lane, I have the privilege of sharing the story of a mighty woman of God. I first met Zelda Merritt about 4 years ago when she and her husband, Frank, joined our church. She had been a member at another church in our area and was very involved in women’s ministry. At that time, I was the Director of Women’s Ministry at our church and Zelda came alongside of me and offered to help in whatever way she could. Over the past four years, she has become a dear friend to me and I am thrilled to share part of her legacy building story with you today.
In 2000 Zelda and, her husand, Frank were invited to teach in the Christian Leadership Institute in Zimbabwe, Africa. Zelda had the awesome opportunity of teaching pastor’s wives, as well as speaking in several churches in the area. While they were in Bulawayo, Zelda saw children sitting on boards held up by bricks. These children, would sit quietly for a while, then move about, inside and out, without ever receiving food or other necessities of life. No one to care about them; no one to love them.
In Victoria Falls, Zelda and Frank encountered literally hundreds of orphans begging on the streets. They had no place to go and a bleak future because their parents had died or were dying from AIDs. Zelda thought, “There has to be a way of reaching them for the Lord.” They needed hope and a way to survive. Frank and Zelda’s hearts were burdened deeply for these orphans.
Over the course of the next few years, Zelda and Frank began building relationships with missionaries in South Africa, as well as pastors in local communities. One pastor, Arnold Mavia, felt led to work with the children. He agreed to take time off from his church duties to attend Petria College in South Africa in order to learn how to minister to children. Pastor Mavia’s excitement about helping the children of South Africa was contagious and soon many adults sought him out in order to learn how to minister to children. All over Zimbabwe, local pastors sought guidance from Pastor Mavia concerning their town’s population of orphans.
Over the past five years, Pastor Mavia and those he has trained have gone into remote areas where few have ever gone to minister to children. Because of Frank and Zelda’s efforts to contact and connect with local Zimbabwean pastors such as Pastor Mavia, over 10,000 children have been reached, with over 4000 coming to know Jesus as their personal Savior. For several years, Frank and Zelda went to Zimbabwe each year to work with and encourage the pastors who care for these children. Zelda will tell you that it never entered their minds that their efforts to engage local pastors on behalf of Zimbabwean children would have such a major impact on the country of Zimbabwe.
Their ministry is supported, financially, by candy machines located in public places in our town. They also receive support from individuals who feel called to help the children of Africa. Despite the downturn in the US economy, God has been faithful to supply this ministry with what they needed to continue to serve the children of Zimbabwe. Zelda encourages us to remember that” little is much when God is in it.”
MEDITATION MOMENT: Although Zelda will never meet most of the children who are touched by the ministry she and Frank started; she is leaving a legacy for those children. A legacy of compassion and care; love in action. Have you considered the legacy you will leave for those you will never meet? It is possible, as you can see from Zelda’s story, to leave a legacy for those you will never meet.
