For Liennekke Malan (19), singing has been part of her from a young age. “Singing is my calling from Jesus, I sing to glorify Him alone and my voice is God’s voice.” She says she set singing aside for a while wanting to focus on athletics. She participated in javelin, shotput, and discus. “But when I moved with my family from Pretoria to Limpopo eighteen months ago, I took the drastic decision to focus on becoming a gospel singer.”

Liennekke recently performed at the Klofiefees in Modjadjiskloof, only her fifth performance so far. She is also a songwriter. “A lot of us ‘claim’ that we know God but do not live according to his ways. When I changed from other genres to the gospel, I lost friends, some even came up to me and asked me why I am wasting my time singing gospel, I can go far if I changed genres.”

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She says she is receiving great feedback after performances. Unfortunately at one performance, the sound system was turned off when they heard her sing gospel. “I was heartbroken when that happened, but I told myself that I know why I chose the genre.” She gets her strength from God when she sets foot on stage. “He knows why I do what I do,” said Liennekke.

“My dreams are to coach athletics and travel the world spreading the word of God. I have my family’s support in all of this and will forever be grateful to be blessed with such a wonderful family,” concluded Liennekke.