A local nurse and mother of three, Abby Teba (39), recently released her first online gospel album.
Teba, who works in dialysis for chronic renal failure patients, says her passion for singing started from the age of 8. At school she was in the choir and in her matric year, 2000, she won Russell Girls’ High’s inter-house choir competition.
“Back in 2010 God inspired and guided me through the Holy Spirit to start writing,” she recalled. “I came back from a pentecostal service in Port Elizabeth and I could not sleep. I kept hearing a melody playing in my head. First I thought there was music playing outside or in the house, but I realised soon enough that the TV was off, the radio was off, neighbours weren’t playing music so I must be going nuts,” she recalls.
“But as soon as I laid my head down I would hear this song. So I sat up and started to write to the melody I was hearing and the song ‘Come to the Lord’was born. The song became the altar call and the tap that God opened within my spirit, that whatever I may be going through I could come to him to be restored, renewed, recreated. So much so that writing and composing music became a way for me to express what I was feeling and a place of healing at the same time.”
According to Teba she went through many hardships in her personal life and struggled with her health, but all the heartache and challenges are what led her to write the songs.
“My battle with sarcoidosis, TB, fibromyalgia, asthma and depression has impacted every song I have written over the years.
“The death of my dad, my first husband’s infidelity and the divorce; all of this pain God turned into beautiful songs that I pray will uplift others going through any of these situations I have mentioned. Hence the cover name, Intimate moments of Worship.”
In 2012 she married Noël Teba, whom she describes as her number 1 fan, her biggest supporter and manager.
Teba said last year she asked her husband, Noël, if he would ask his friend Marco Mentoor, who is in the music industry, to listen to one of the songs she had written and to add instrumental music to it, for her to hear what it sounded like.
“Marco listened and asked Noël if we could meet. After a discussion I decided to complete the task that God had laid on my heart in 2010 and asked Marco if I could record 10 songs I had written over the years from my black book of songs through my lived experiences. And so Intimate Moments of Worship came to life.”
According to Teba her biggest challenge at this time was deciding to actually start the process of recording her songs, because she is an introvert, who mostly shies away from the spotlight.
“So the first step was to believe in myself and believe in what God had planned and deciding to take that step to do what he asked and to stop running away from the call to worship ministry.
“The second challenge was finding time between nursing in a dialysis unit, managing staff, patients and Marco’s busy schedule to meet up and practice before recording as I had sent him vocal recordings of each song so he could hear what it sounded like. And experiencing intermittent episodes of asthma, when one no voice because one’s chest is tight, made it difficult at times to sing.”
Teba said in the end she enjoyed being able to sing and to listen to the end product.
“What it sounded like was just heavenly, and the thought that this is what God inspired me to write was just amazing. I stood in awe.
“I pray this album will inspire, move, lift people up and transcend their positions to where God wants them to be.
“May it speak to their hearts so they allow Him to heal them and love them.”
If you would like to listen to the songs, visit Spotify, Itunes, Youtube, tiktok or Twitter.
The songs are also available on a USB stick at R120.
Inbox Noël Teba on Facebook for more details.
