From a humble background to being a mighty warrior of God, fighting for the sanctity of marriage and the sacrifice of the cross. We sit down to discover the loves, passions and motivations of The Pastor.
Good day and thank you so much for your time. Please give us an introduction to who Pastor Emelda Hairwadzi is.
Well I am a mother, a student, a Pastor and a pastor’s wife. I have been
married for 20 glorious years and blessed with four beautiful children, two girls
and two boys. I am a holder of a BBA Degree as well as a BSc degree in
Internal Auditing, both obtained from the University of South Africa. Since I
got married in 2002, I have been a mother, an employee, a student, and a
pastor’s wife. I feel proud as a woman, because others may see the many
challenges as obstacles to growth. I took this experience as a motivator that
would increase my value as a suitable helper to my husband.
I am grateful to God, who gave me my husband, Bonie who is my mentor, wisdom tank,
cheerleader, motivator, and more importantly my companion. He took me
when I was just a village girl, who could hardly speak English. Due to some of
life’s difficult circumstances, I did not have a complete O’ level certificate.
I knew very little about city life, it can only be by the Grace of God that I am who
I am today. My husband is a jack of all trades. He is a qualified Electrician
who ventured into sales and Marketing. He holds a BBA Marketing degree and an
Executive MBA from ESAMI Africa and is currently studying Theology with SATS. I
remember enrolling for night school to supplement my O levels after we had a
lengthy conversation with my husband, which was the turning point in my
life. My husband emphasised that we needed balance as a couple, and he
has supported my education and career development until today.
With such a storied history, I’m intrigued
about where you are now. Please tell us more about your work and business.
I have worked for several companies in Finance, and I am currently employed by a very successful Airline as an accountant since 2009. When I was in my final year of my BSc Internal Auditing and left with only 10 modules, I fell pregnant with my fourth baby. My husband reminded me that it was another chance for me to defy the odds. Quoting his words, “…a pregnancy is not in the head, tell me how I can support you to complete this program.”
To cut a long story short I passed all modules in
two sittings. With four children to fend for, I realised that we needed to
generate more income to help my husband to support the family. I started doing
network marketing as a side hustle and I must admit that I learnt a lot in this
field. Through recruiting for business, I saw God training me
for evangelism. I prayed to God, asking for a venture that would give me time to
do His work and be there for my family at the same
time. I value family time more than money because it is great to spend money
creating fantastic memories with a solid family than spend money on bills to
fix a broken family. So, I started on a journey with Cryptocurrency trading,
and I am enjoying it peacefully learning while training others along the
way.
From my
experience so far, there are two sides to you, Emelda the business person and
Pastor Emelda. Now would you care to tell us about your journey in ministry?
I have experienced the favour and the grace of God. Every
path that I have walked has taught me that if God has a mandate for you, he will see it through. I
held on to (Gal 6:9) until today that no matter what one can go
through never stop doing good. It got so tough at some point that I was ready
to give up. If you know who you are in Christ, you bend a little and bounce back. I have fought
many battles in ministry and I came out with scars and stars.
I have conquered some and for some, I chose to walk
away. The beauty of it is that, concerning my family and marriage, it made me
stronger and stretched me to discover the capacity I never knew I had. I have
now come to realise that this was all training and preparation. My journey has
been tough but by the grace of God, I am still standing.
Children
today are faced with a seriously hazardous environment spiritually. Our
neighborhoods, schools, and even our own homes present threats to them.
How do you handle external non-Christian influences on your children?
Social influences on children will always be a challenge in society
because of the diversity of culture. We believe that children belong to God and
only He can give us the wisdom to nurture them. Exposure to both worlds is
important for them to distinguish between right and wrong. It helps to build
their character and as parents, we continue to give them the Word of God through daily
teachings. The moment you needlessly shield children, you indirectly promote
curiosity in them that may cause them to become wild. With our children, we
ensure that we teach them Godly principles daily through our family devotion,
usually every evening.
We have a very open relationship with them, and we
discuss issues openly with them. They are part of the family decision-making
process on matters that impact them. One thing that we will not compromise is
their quality of education and Christian life. Selecting schools for them
is very important to us as it brings a good balance to their lives.
How do you
balance your personal life, work and ministry? How do you detox, relax and
unwind?
It is not easy at all to balance everything yet it is all doable. Once the mind conceives it, naturally it creates the capacity to achieve the set goals. I attend to everything according to priorities. My relationship with God, my marriage and my family always come first, because if I fail to minister to them with my time and deeds then I do not qualify to minister to anyone else. I can delegate other things except for my God, my husband and my children; I am very active in their daily routine.
I adequately spread my attention through out the day
which feeds into weeks and months. God has blessed me with a beautiful family and to
unwind we usually play games in our house or backyard, dance to music, talk and
laugh a night away, cook and eat or go away on vacations. I also love serene
environments like visiting spas for treatments, dinner dates with my husband,
prayer retreats and shopping.
The power of
mentorship cannot be overstated in business, ministry and even personal
development. Do you have a mentor and
are you mentoring anyone now?
The word of God is my first mentor because everything I do, I base it on what it teaches me. My husband mentors me through life and I have different mentors who help me in different aspects like self-development, finances, ministry, marriage and parenting. I believe that people are given differently; hence, I will not short-change myself by sticking to one mentor. Yes, I am mentoring a few people through the ministry of marriage.
This has given rise to the conception of WANANO
where my passion lies. This is a
platform where my husband and I teach the foundational biblical principles of
marriage. WANANO started as a WhatsApp
group with a few individuals and we saw the need to extend it to family and
friends.
As a parting
shot, what pearls of wisdom can you give our readers?
Seek God in everything that you do and commit your works
into His capable hands (Proverbs 3:1-2) “Do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they
will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.” Never limit yourself to what you can see, extend your vision to the
horizon. Do not compare your life to anyone else but pick motivation and
inspiration that you can also do it. Time and chance happen to us all and your
time will surely come.
