Anneke's Story
Where do I begin to tell the story of this project? If I follow all the God-links back to where it was truly concepted, it takes me back to the early spring of 1970.
Now, you may ask, what is a God-link?
When something inexplicable happens; when you cannot ignore it, or take the credit for it, or blame your imagination, but it changes the direction of your life forever. That, my friend, is what I call a God-link.
Before I tell you about that first inexplicable thing, I need you to understand something. I remember it all as if it was happening in a dream. Throughout my life, that dream never left me, like normal dreams would. It stayed in my memory just as fresh and crisp as it was that morning it happened.
It was a fresh spring morning in September of 1970. It started just like any other day in South Africa for a 4-year-old girl. I was outside in our front yard, under the willow tree, playing. It was a lovely morning – bright and sunny and the perfect temperature – as only South African spring mornings can be.
Suddenly, a young man (he looked around 30), stood next to me. He was dressed in a long white robe, with a solid gold belt around his waist and chest. He was wearing brown leather sandals with straps over his feet. He had brown, shoulder-length hair, which was slightly curly. His face shone with so much light that I could not make out the details. He was reaching out to me with his right hand. I stood up and took his right hand with my left hand. I knew this man. I don’t know how. It was just inner knowledge which I cannot explain. His Name was Jesus, the Son of Almighty God in heaven! The moment I took his hand, my spirit left my body, and was now about five meters away, looking at myself, holding the right hand of Jesus Christ. We were both looking in a northern direction. I do not remember any words spoken. I just remember that I was completely at ease, as if this was an everyday occurrence. Suddenly I was back in my body, still holding Jesus’ hand. I was looking up at his face, reaching up while holding his hand. I could still not make out his features, as he remained looking north.
Suddenly He was gone. Just like that. This is all I remember. It was like a dream. It was only decades later, when my mom one day took me by complete surprise by talking about “the day you saw Jesus”. She went on to tell me that I had run into the house and told her what I had seen. She apparently asked me what He had said, and I just laughed, and went back outside to continue to play. Her version of it left me speechless. All these years I had thought it was a dream. Now I suddenly had a witness, that this really happened. What a wonderful confirmation of my precious memory. I can still see Him as I write this in the year 2024. I’m 58 years old. The memory has never faded or lost its influence on my spirit. Jesus is real. I know it beyond the shadow of a doubt. He lives forever, and he loves us far beyond words to describe. He is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. The only way to be welcomed into heaven at our death.
In retrospect, seeing Him at age 4 changed the direction of my life. My perspective on everything. My priorities.
The next God-link came when I started hearing melodies in my head at age 10, which I loved to write down in a little notebook. I started learning piano at age 6 and violin and music theory at age 7. Voice training followed a bit later in my early teens. I didn’t know it back then, but God was preparing me for a marvelous mission I could not have imagined in my wildest dreams.
God-link three came years later, in my 20’s.
I had just started teaching at a high school as a music teacher, when I met Louise. She was in grade 8, and one of my students. She had a joy about her that was contagious. She had bright brown eyes and pitch-black hair, and a smile that demanded a response. As I started teaching her, I soon realized why she stood out from other students. She had the same love for Jesus Christ as I did. She understood Him on a deeper level than anyone I had met before. My husband and I soon met her parents, and we all became friends. Her whole family had a faith in God that went so much deeper than anything we’ve encountered before. We were hungry for that kind of daily relationship with Jesus, so we joined the church they attended, and even though both hubby and I were born-again Christians, a new world of a personal, close relationship with Jesus Christ opened in front of us. It was life changing. One day a lady prophesied over me, that I would write music for children. I found it interesting, but as I was already writing adult gospel songs, I put that idea on the back burner of my mind. If it was of God, He would make it happen.
When my husband and I immigrated to Canada three years later, we lost contact with our new-found friends, and church family, except for occasional contact on social media. In Canada I started working as a professional singer in the opera houses in the evenings, and as music teacher during the day. I had forgotten about the prophecy. How could it be true anyway? I had no interest in children’s songs. According to the doctors we could not have children, despite all the medical interventions we had tried. This fact had made me steer clear of anything having to do with kids. Even their music.
On to God-link number four:
While living in Canada, hubby and I found out about a medical clinic that helped many childless couples. We decided to give it one last try and contacted the clinic, which became God’s way of giving us our miracle. One year later we had triplet girls! Having the girls, completely changed the course of my life again. I became a full-time mom, enjoying our wonderful gifts from God. For the first time I started singing baby songs, and as our girls grew, I started writing songs we could sing together. By the time they were six years old, it was time for them to start piano lessons, and I searched for a program for children. I found the Canadian written program “Music for Young Children”, which I loved, and decided the do the training to become a teacher for the company, since the cost for three girls to take lessons from someone else, was out of our budget at the time. I was also home school mom for my girls, so in my role as their teacher, I was choosing our curriculum to be Christian based. I missed that component in the piano program, however. Little did I suspect that this would stay with me and become the main motivation for writing my own piano program for kids years later.
God-link number five happened after we moved to the USA as a family in 2008.
I met another home-school mom in one of the support groups, who had created a rainbow music system to easily teach her kids piano. She simply used the colors of the rainbow in order of the alphabetical note names, and wrote known music in those colors. I liked the idea, but it was still not something I wanted to use for the girls. Again, the Christian component was missing. So, I filed the color idea in my memory bank.
God-link six took a long time to come my way.
My girls had grown up, and I had gone back to teaching piano and voice full time. In the church we still attend, I met a lady who was blinded after a plane crash. She had started to write children’s stories for her grandchildren, since she couldn’t find any books for children that were teaching the true Biblical Principals of Christianity and the reality of a life with Jesus Christ. (She would listen to the audio version of the books, if you were wondering how she could read, being blind.)
This sparked the idea in my head: Why not write a children’s story about musical animals, whose names start with the letters of the piano keys? They could go on an adventure, to find their place on the piano keyboard, and later the Grandstaff. I could use their favorite colors in the story, to write color coded music!
I started working on this idea, using the classicals, church favorites and original melodies to write the biblical lyrics to the songs we would sing and play on the piano. All color coded, and most definitely child-friendly. Suddenly music concepts became characters having adventures in our story, and my little students loved piano lessons! They learned fast and contained information beautifully. But most importantly, they learned the Bible. I wrote new songs every week, and the color book grew into a program I’m still using to teach with today. There was just one problem: I could only fit a certain number of students into my week, and requests for my program started growing fast. I had to get it out there on a website, teaching millions of kids I cannot possibly reach in person. Problem number two: I didn’t have the skills to do this on my own. Isn’t that just like God, to give you a task you cannot possibly do? Well, I prayed about it, and left it with God, while cramming as many students as possible into my weekly schedule.
God-link number seven happened when I least expected it.
In 2023 I got an invite from some school friends in South Africa. It was time for our 40th school reunion. I pondered whether to go, because of cost, and work interruption for my music studio. Finally, after months of thinking about it, I bought my airplane ticket. I started making a list of things I wanted to do and places I wanted to visit, besides the reunion. I could make one day stops everywhere. Of course, Louise and her family were on the list.
As God had planned it, I caught the flu while I was visiting Louise’s family, and I had to stay for a few days longer than planned, which gave us more time to catch up on the past 30 years, since we last visited. When Louise started talking about her work, and what she is doing there, I realized I’d found the person who would fill that missing link in making my children’s program website a reality. “Piano Bible Songs in Color” was born. As Louise started digitalizing the children’s program, my excitement grew by the week, as my hand-written biblical songs came from her computer one after the other. This was the fulfillment of the long-ago-prophecy taking on a brand-new life of its own! Her work was simply beautiful, crafting my ideas into amazing, brightly colored work that carried God’s own glory and truth in such a stunning way, far exceeding my highest hopes! I could only stand amazed as it all came alive. God had done it at last. He had delivered His mission of my life in such an indescribable way, in such a FUN package, that I can just give Him all the glory.
May every song you learn with your kids, bless and enrich your life, as it has enriched mine. May your kids’ kids still sing these songs until the day Jesus comes back to take us all home. May this music NEVER stop ringing into eternity, where the idea came from the heart of God.
Louise's Story
As far back as I can remember, my entire family were dedicated Christians. My parents instilled a sound biblical, ethical and moral foundation in my brother and me.
As a family of 4, we attended weekly meetings at a traditional Afrikaans church in Sasolburg, South-Africa, and for 16 years, the church and the activities we attended there, were part of our fondest memories.
Sunday evenings, I was part of the music team and played the guitar with a few other people.
Friendships were forged in Sasolburg – which are still flourishing after almost 50 years.
My history:
I was born with a condition called ‘Clubfeet’.
According to Wikipedia, ‘Clubfoot is a congenital or acquired defect where one or both feet are rotated inward and downward. Congenital clubfoot is the most common congenital malformation of the foot with an incidence of 1 per 1000 births. In approximately 50% of cases, clubfoot affects both feet. Without appropriate treatment, the foot deformity will persist and lead to pain and impaired ability to walk, which can have a dramatic impact on the quality of life’.
In my case, it affected both feet. For the first 5 and a half years of my life, there were not many medical options to correct this condition, and the doctors tried everything from physiotherapy to special shoes with iron braces. The braces had to be adjusted regularly by my parents to force the feet into a normal position. But when the braces were removed, my feet turned inwards again.
At 5 years old, I already had a bold faith that my God can do anything – since our parents have taught us that nothing is impossible for God.
I knew that we had an appointment in Pretoria at the orthopaedic surgeon during the next week, and the Sunday before that, I got up in church and boldly asked for prayer.
The entire congregation prayed for my healing that morning, and I had no doubt whatsoever that God has heard our prayers.
So, when we got to the doctor in Pretoria, I stated that God is going to heal me. The doctor took my feet in his hands and prayed with us for this miracle. And when he said ‘Amen’ my feet turned to the normal position right there in his hands! It was as if there never was a defect at all! An instant miracle right before our eyes!
I was completely healed and went on to achieve Vaal Triangle colors for tennis 7 years later, and during the last year of primary school! The first person in the history of the school! So: Is anything impossible for God?!
Meeting Anneke
The next year I went to high school – and this is where I met Anneke. She just started at Afrikaans High School as the Music Teacher that year.
During our interactions at school, I learned that she too loved playing tennis – opening the door to many competitive matches.
We shared a love for music – although I could not read sheet music! But I loved to sing, and played the guitar by ear.
We had many God-conversations and soon became friends. When Anneke and her husband emigrated to Canada, it seemed impossible to speak to, or see each other ever again. In those years, Facebook and Whatsapp did not yet exist. And when it did become a method of communication, Internet in South-Africa was extremely expensive and very intermittent.
In the meantime, my parents and I moved from Sasolburg to Hartenbos in the Western Cape at the end of the same year Anneke and her husband emigrated to Canada(1994).
My Dad and I struggled with our health in Sasolburg because of the immense air pollution there. Unfortunately, my brother stayed in Sasolburg, but we always hoped and prayed that he could join us in Hartenbos permanently.
Miracles along the way
During my first 16 years, I was also miraculously healed of epilepsy, and a knee issue.
After moving to Hartenbos, we often travelled to Sasolburg to visit my brother, and to also purchase supplies for our little shop in Mossel Bay. Just to give you an idea of the distance between the 2 towns: It is 1150km apart. Hartenbos is at the southern coast of the African continent, and Sasolburg is situated 75km south of the city of Johannesburg in the north.
During these trips, God saved and protected us numerous times. One time, as we were returning from Sasolburg, I was driving, while my Mom was in the passenger seat, and my Dad in the back of our pickup truck.
In South-Africa we drive on the left and pass on the right. We were just about halfway between Sasolburg and home.
While passing an 18-wheeler truck, the nuts on the rear left wheel of our pickup truck came loose and we just knew that without God’s intervention, we would certainly die.
At that time, we thought the tire had burst because the vehicle had immediately shifted to the left when we heard the bang.
My Mom called out to Jesus for help, and it became totally silent around us. Three options flashed through my mind:
- I cannot hit the brake because at 120km / hour, and what I thought was a burst tire, we would definitely roll the vehicle.
- Option 2: I also cannot just take my foot of the gas – as I have done upon hearing the bang – because by now the 18-wheeler and us were travelling at the same speed downhill. Continuing at this speed, the two 18-wheelers approaching from the opposite direction will close the distance between us eventually. A head-on collision would be eminent.
- Option 3 was to hit the gas and pass the 18-wheeler.
I just knew that with option 3 we had the ONLY possible good outcome, and I knew that God had shown us the way out. So I stepped on the gas and accelerated.
The moment we were in line with the driver of the 18-wheeler, my Mom looked up at him from our vehicle and tried to convey that we are in trouble.
We were still next to the 18-wheeler one moment, and the next – only God knows how – we passed through each other and the 18-wheeler passed us on the opposite side! This was totally impossible in human terms – but God is Supernatural and performs supernatural acts.
As I shifted down gears to effectively reduce speed, I was careful not to touch the brake pedal until the speedometer showed that we were travelling at 40km/hour, it was still unnaturally quiet.
The moment I tapped the brake, the rim with the tyre flew out and rolled far into the field. As the vehicle was still moving, and sank at the rear back, the drum of the wheel carved a line in the tar road up to where we finally stopped.
We just knew that God had saved us supernaturally.
I got out to let my Dad out the back of the pickup truck, but suddenly I could hardly stand. We were in awe of what just happened.
My Dad said that when he heard that loud pop upon being right next to the 18-wheeler, he saw the wheel nuts flying in all directions. But he had no way of communicating with us, since the pickup truck was full of supplies between were he sat and the cab of the vehicle.
He also said that the 18-wheeler went right through us and came out on the other side.
Who is there like God??? Nothing and nobody can compare with Him!
And so we have MANY stories of God protecting us while travelling.
Preparation for this Project
The first time I ever touched a computer was in 1997 at the age of 21. I was employed by an IT company as Receptionist, and this was my first paid employment in South-Africa since returning from Europe.
I bought my first personal computer at age 28, but went to an internet café to send emails since an internet connection at home was almost unheard of.
I never had formal IT training but was determined to keep on experimenting to make my ideas come to life on the computer. I would experiment on installed software for hours – and finally, by trial and error, I would get the desired result.
In 2014 I was employed by a Software company in Mossel Bay to write all product manuals. This was totally new territory for me and had no knowledge of any of the company’s eight software packages. Since then, the company has grown, and more products were developed.
During my very first week at the company, I was handed the software and was told to figure it out and write the manuals.
God knew this would happen. He blessed me with the ability to unravel, understand and interpret software. This is where the experiments on my first computer came in handy, and the determination not to give up until the desired results were achieved.
After a few years with the company, I enrolled in Graphic Design and Video Editing courses and studied after hours. My newfound expertise could be applied to designing modern and striking manual covers for all the software packages.
I also started to create training videos for the company – also exercising the skills obtained from the Video course.
In addition, I was suddenly thrown into the deep end of website creation by my employer at the start of 2023, and God also had a plan here.
When Anneke visited us later in 2023, the connection we had 30 years ago, never changed, and we just picked up where we left off in Sasolburg.
When she expressed her dream and desire to digitalize her children’s music books, it was an instant match made in heaven. It was decided that we would combine our ‘key’ skills – Anneke’s on the piano, and mine on the computer. And God will get the glory.
Anneke also needed a website – THIS website! Guess who God prepared for the job?
Although we have been continents apart for the past 30 years, this project was in God’s mind before Anneke and I even met in 1990, and He orchestrated every detail. He prepared us both, and He knew that the right time for the project to be ‘born’ in this format, is 2024.
My prayer is that many will come to know Him because of Piano Bible Songs in Color!