To Jesus, I surrender ALL
A testimony by Zoe Grant
Kia ora koutou katoa. Ko Zoe Mihi (Williams) Grant ahau. No te whakatohea no Torerenui-a-rua me te whanau a Apanui ahau. Tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. My Grandfather, my Mother’s Dad, Rev Timutimu Tawhai, went to Te Aute College with Ta Apirana Ngata (the first Maori MP) and Sir Peter Buck (the first Maori Judge). My Grandad trained to be a minister in the Waiapu Diocese, working with brothers Henry and William Williams – prominent, and very effective missionaries in the mid 1800’s. I am a direct descendant of these humble servants of the Lord, and am named after William William’s daughter, Zoe. I had an excellent upbringing at Omaio. Our parents, grandparents and great grandparents were there for us, and we belonged to everyone. Our homes were never locked. We knew what it was to care and share, even with strangers. We were loved and disciplined and we lacked nothing, spiritually and holistically. Today I am believing for that communal lifestyle to be relived among our whanau, our hapu, and our iwi on a national scale. Miss Skinner, our shopkeeper, was our Sunday school teacher, and all the children attended at her home. She was a pianist and we sang beautiful choruses. One chorus that really spoke to me was “Come into my heart, Lord Jesus...., come in today, come in to stay....” I gave my heart to Jesus as a 5-year-old. Miss Skinner gave us Bible lessons using Maori Postal Aotearoa. At 10 years of age I moved to Omaramutu to live with my Grandma, Hema (Nikora) Williams. School was just over the fence. I enjoyed accompanying my Grandma over the paddocks to the Waiaua Catholic Church. Later when I went to Opotiki College, 7 kilometers north of Omaramutu our principal Mr Williams, always began assemblies with a prayer. That set the atmosphere for the whole day. His daughter, Jocelyn Williams, invited me to Christian Crusaders meetings once a week. After graduating from College, I went on to Ardmore Teachers’ Training College. These were two special years as far as my Christian growth was concerned, because there I attended a vibrant Christian Fellowship. Under the Godly leadership of Murray Godwin and Lyn Laskey we were all encouraged to get together for prayer and weekly fellowship. At one of these gatherings, the speaker, Campbell McAlpine, said, “If God is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.” That is when I completely surrendered my ALL to Jesus Christ. My desire was to serve the Lord as a single lady missionary overseas. During my probationary assistant year as a teacher at Omaramutu I felt so drawn to my whanau there, that I asked the Lord if I could change my mind, because I longed to have children of my own. I made it clear to the Lord that I desired to meet someone of His choice who loved Him as I did.
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