Urban Report

Power Couple

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Subusiso Victor Mosondo, Gail Mosando

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Series Code: UBR

Program Code: UBR000012


00:01 Have you ever met a power couple that's on fire for God?
00:05 Well, stay tuned and you will...
00:07 My name is Yvonne Lewis and you're watching
00:10 Urban Report...
00:32 Hello and welcome to Urban Report...
00:35 you know... once in a while... you meet a couple
00:37 that's dynamically on the battlefield for Christ
00:40 while accomplishing great things in the world...
00:43 that's a fair statement about Sibusiso Victor and Gail Masondo
00:48 Victor is a famous musician in South Africa
00:51 he produced and arranged the music for the
00:54 2010 World Cup Closing Ceremony as well as the
00:58 100-year Celebration of the ANC or African National Congress
01:03 and he's currently visiting Berklee Music College
01:06 here in the U.S. working on developing
01:09 a curriculum and a college for South Africa...
01:12 Gail is an author of her memoir...
01:15 "Now this feels like Home" she's former Manager of the
01:19 Group "Take Six" she's an International Speaker
01:22 and Lecturer, Chaplain, and Women and Child Advocate...
01:27 Victor and Gail... welcome to Urban Report...
01:30 Hi... well thank you... Thank you very much...
01:32 Yeah... Yeah...
01:35 I'm so glad that you guys are here...
01:37 it is not often that we get to really meet
01:43 couples of your caliber... and this is not to gush you up
01:47 but this is just... actually to really extol the virtues
01:51 of our Great God... who's done some great things
01:55 through you... so let me kind of...
01:57 let me ask you a few questions first Vic and...
02:00 instead of Sibusiso which would get my tongue all twisted...
02:04 I'm just going to call you Victor...
02:05 That's good...
02:06 Victor or Vic... because my tongue will get all twisted up
02:09 now, you had the opportunity
02:13 to produce and arrange the music
02:16 for the 2010 World Cup Ceremony
02:18 and you've done so many great things musically...
02:22 how do you... how are you able to maintain
02:26 your Christianity when you're out in front like this
02:30 on the battlefield... how are you able to do that?
02:33 First of all... for me... what was important is
02:38 God really wanted me from the beginning to be a
02:41 witness for Him in places where other people
02:44 would not go as such... so, I'm one of the people whom
02:49 God wanted to bring a witness first by giving me the gift
02:54 to excel in music so that I can be the kind of
02:58 person that people want to work with...
03:00 and with that... then comes the package of
03:03 while doing all this work... people cannot help
03:06 but ask the questions... because of the interaction
03:08 and the lifestyle that they pick up...
03:11 about "who am I?" really, and that's always an opportunity
03:16 to bring about the gospel and tell people
03:19 that I am a believer... and this is how it works...
03:22 Oh, I love that... see we're supposed to be
03:25 "in the world" but not "of the world"
03:29 and so, we have to interact with people
03:32 that are out in the world and yet we are mandated
03:35 to let our light shine... so you're saying that
03:38 when you go and you're working with
03:40 with these... with famous musicians
03:43 and all that... that you are given an
03:45 opportunity to share
03:46 the gospel... because you are the kind of person
03:49 that they want to work with... Yes... that's all it is...
03:52 it's all the time that I found that God has always put me
03:55 in kind of situations... in work situations...
03:59 that I will not design for myself
04:02 but right in the middle of this because there's someone
04:05 or some more than just one person
04:08 whom God wants to reach through whatever we do...
04:11 just the interaction and talking and working...
04:13 it's so... it's always going to put opportunities that you see
04:17 to minister... That is great... that is great
04:20 can you give us an example of a situation where you...
04:24 you've had the opportunity to share the gospel
04:26 in the workplace? Yes, sure... I remember
04:29 that it was one of my friends... and we took a break together
04:35 after having done... just working on a Set...
04:38 and then we took a break together
04:39 and then he had to take a smoke as such...
04:42 so he looks at me and says, "You don't smoke... do you?"
04:46 I said, "No, I don't smoke. "
04:48 and then he says, "You don't drink either...
04:50 what's the matter with you...
04:52 that you're still doing
04:55 all these things with us and we're enjoying
04:58 your company in a world where people
04:59 do a lot of these things... "
05:01 and that was very easy for me to say,
05:04 "Listen, first of all God has really wanted me to
05:07 look after this temple... so that He can work through it
05:10 when I'm sober... I can do better work
05:13 than when I'm not sober... " and then... from there...
05:16 the conversation started... and he ended up saying...
05:19 "You know what... I love you... but I always
05:21 hate working with you... but I always want to...
05:23 because you remind me... of where... I should be... "
05:27 I said, "Where's that?" He said, "Well, you know...
05:31 I'm supposed to be in Church and I'm supposed to be ministering,
05:34 and that's what you do to me. " I said,
05:37 "Well, then I'm more glad about it... now that I know...
05:40 I'm going to be even be more on you... "
05:42 Oh... that's great... that's great...
05:45 and that's the thing that is so important to remember
05:48 that wherever we're planted... we can really be...
05:51 even though you didn't come across... like saying,
05:54 "Don't smoke that in front of me... "
05:56 or "Don't do that... " you just had a quiet witness
06:00 and yet... people see something different in you...
06:03 Aren't you an Elder also... at the Seventh-day Adventist Church
06:06 in Johannesburg... is it?
06:08 Yes... in Sandton...
06:09 in the Sandton Seventh-day Adventist Church
06:14 in Johannesburg... yes, I'm an Elder there...
06:16 Oh that is so great... see this is why...
06:19 we really want our viewers to know that...
06:22 no matter what position you're in...
06:24 whether you are getting to do great things
06:27 or just... just wherever you're planted
06:30 that's what God really wants
06:32 you to do... Yes... yes...
06:34 Tell us some of the other artists that you worked with
06:38 in South Africa...
06:40 In South Africa... I worked with also others like
06:45 Ladysmith Black Mambazo who is... kind of
06:48 better well-known as well in other parts of the world
06:52 and also the musicians... I'm talking about there
06:55 like Mama Miriam Makeba as well Oh yes... Miriam Makeba...
07:00 Sakhile
07:02 and there are quite a few more of the
07:05 South African Artists that I've worked with...
07:06 Oh, that's awesome... that is awesome...
07:09 you're here... in the States now and you're visiting
07:14 Berklee College of Music...
07:16 Berklee is an outstanding music school...
07:17 It is... it is...
07:18 Tell us what you're doing with them...
07:20 Well, I'll tell you what... we're developing a curriculum
07:23 for a special... because we want to build
07:26 another college in South Africa as well...
07:29 but we're trying to really come up
07:30 with a curriculum that is going to really help
07:33 in terms of how music is being taught
07:36 and to really just develop the educational part of music
07:40 and also come up with something that will be
07:42 so unique... I do not believe
07:45 it is just only for South Africa
07:47 but also for the rest of the world...
07:49 in just the evolution of how music needs to be taught.
07:53 Wow, that would be incredible if we can incorporate
07:57 some of these principles and lessons over there...
08:01 that would just be incredible...
08:04 Yeah... Now I'm going to switch to
08:06 your lovely wife... Gail...
08:08 and Gail just recently wrote her memoir...
08:15 "Now this feels like Home"
08:17 tell us about your journey Gail
08:20 You know, Yvonne, it's been an interesting journey
08:23 and it's not until you really start to write
08:26 that you really understand just how blessed
08:29 and how everything is ordered...
08:31 everything in your life is just ordered
08:33 and so I start with looking at my life as gifts...
08:38 special people, places and occasions
08:41 that I run into these last...
08:43 I'm not going to say how many years...
08:46 but these last years... and just how God just placed me
08:52 in places I never would have been
08:54 and had me meet people I never would have thought
08:57 of meeting... it's such a gift, He places you before the
09:01 kings and queens of this earth...
09:02 Yes... and also, the special occasions
09:05 you know that you can forget...
09:06 and you can sometimes see your glass half empty...
09:10 when you review... you'll see that
09:12 it's really been half full and so...
09:15 I've had an amazing time... just reviewing and
09:18 looking back over my shoulder...
09:21 Give us an example of one of these
09:25 gifts... in terms of a person or an event
09:29 or something like this... give us an example...
09:31 In the chapter... "The Gift of Welcome"
09:35 I really recognize that coming to South Africa
09:39 was not something that I wanted to do...
09:41 in fact when the invitation came in '94...
09:43 I refused it 3 times... and then when I accepted it
09:47 it was one of those, "Okay, I'll go... "
09:49 and... but you know... it was like...
09:52 it was really a dreading... to go...
09:55 Why did you not want to go?
09:57 I was going through a very difficult personal time,
10:02 Okay... and I had still two...
10:05 my daughter was about to enter College
10:07 and my son was in Elementary School at the time
10:10 and I was just an emotional, mental, physical,
10:14 spiritual wreck... and that's probably an
10:16 understatement... Hmmm...
10:18 You know there are times when the enemy comes in
10:20 with such a force... Hmmm... hmmm...
10:22 and you don't really recognize it as being warfare...
10:25 because sometimes you're not as spiritually...
10:27 I wasn't as spiritually mature at the time...
10:30 to be able to really understand that we are at war...
10:34 and the enemy is at war with us...
10:36 and so it was a dark time in my life...
10:38 and so traveling half way around the world
10:41 just didn't make sense... Yeah...
10:43 I finished Executive Producing a project called
10:45 "Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration"
10:48 and that won a lot of awards...
10:52 Oh, that is still one of my absolute favorite projects
10:59 The Messiah... because... Soulful Celebration...
11:02 I mean... that was just a huge success...
11:05 and it just... it changed... when you have the
11:10 the classical way to hear the Messiah
11:12 and then you have the Soulful Celebration
11:14 and it is just amazing... and I was looking for it
11:18 actually recently because it's timeless...
11:21 I mean... it's just timeless... Thank you... thank you...
11:23 so anyway... I just had to say that...
11:24 Yeah... I got a chance to work with some wonderful people
11:27 I would like to take all the credit
11:28 but you know... a great team of folk that came on board
11:34 to make this possible and from Mervyn Warren
11:38 Yes... to Quincy Jones to...
11:41 Yes... you know we had an ensemble
11:43 of over a hundred artists both secular
11:45 as well as Christian Yes...
11:46 because of the awards that that project received...
11:50 it's 20-years-old this April...
11:52 April 2nd is when we went in the Studio and recorded
11:55 the Hallelujah Chorus... which is a cornerstone
11:58 of Messiah Project... Yes... for sure...
12:01 and when we got our Grammy for that project
12:03 I remember Placido Domingo coming behind stage
12:06 and saying to us... Mervyn and myself...
12:08 "If Handel were alive... this is how
12:10 he would have wanted this sung... "
12:12 so we were really pleased but on the heels of that Project
12:16 I was invited to come to South Africa...
12:18 and again... because of what was going on in my life
12:22 that was the last place... you know... democracy...
12:26 was still very new to the Country...
12:29 and we believe what we see in media, don't we...
12:34 whether it's true or exaggerated whatever we see... we believe...
12:38 The only thing that I recall seeing about South Africa
12:41 was just what was happening in the Townships...
12:44 in Soweto... and Alexandria and other places
12:47 so you know... I say, "I'm a product of the '60s...
12:49 why would I want to throw myself
12:51 back into the Civil Rights Movement
12:54 of another Country?" and so...
12:56 that was another thing
12:57 I had on my mind... You're right... you're right...
12:59 I arrived in South Africa... and in fact...
13:05 I hired my husband because of his resume...
13:10 and he had just been slated... he was working actually
13:14 he was touring with Dizzy Gillespie
13:16 and Mariam Makeba on their European World Tour
13:20 but he had come back and he was highly recommended
13:24 before I even engaged and said, "I want to do the Project"
13:26 he was highly recommended as, "If you should be interested"
13:31 Hmmm... hmmm... "this is the man
13:33 that should do the Project... " I love it...
13:35 and so I met the "Cream of the Crop"
13:36 of the South African musicianship at that first...
13:40 my first visit... but I began to...
13:43 that first visit... I was also meeting
13:47 other South African Luminaries, and I got a chance to meet
13:50 the former President... Nelson Mandela...
13:54 and I remember... when I was sitting on stage...
13:57 he came up to me... well he motioned me... excuse me
14:00 to come to him... and the first word he said to me
14:03 was... "Welcome, welcome... " and it wasn't the usual
14:07 you know... kind of casual... it was almost like
14:10 there was something else under that "Welcome"
14:12 and every South African I would meet after that was like,
14:16 "Welcome home... " and "welcome back... "
14:18 as if I had left and now was coming back...
14:22 and the most gracious welcome I received in South Africa
14:26 was my... after my husband made me
14:28 an offer I couldn't refuse... after two years
14:31 of working on a project we did together
14:34 I received a welcome from
14:37 his uncle which would become my uncle...
14:40 and the words were... "Welcome"
14:42 I began to realize that... isn't that what God does to us
14:45 when we finally wake up and come back
14:47 to where we need to be... Come on... come on...
14:49 He says, "Welcome... " He says, "Welcome... "
14:51 Yes... and so that has stayed
14:54 in my heart... the gift of "Welcome"
14:56 Oh... how beautiful...
14:57 and that... you know...
14:59 then I kind of didn't understand
15:00 for so many, many years that when we embrace people
15:04 when they come into our presence we're actually welcoming them
15:07 making them feel at home...
15:09 and I was given that gift...
15:10 Oh, that's beautiful... that's beautiful...
15:12 Okay, so... you know I got to go off a little bit on this
15:16 "how you guys met" deal... okay... so Vic... when you first
15:20 when you first met Gail... what was your impression of her?
15:25 First impression was... a hard worker and creative
15:32 Hmmm... hmmm... and also a great visionary...
15:35 which was very, very... you know, for me,
15:37 those were things that were so like...
15:39 "It's going to be very easy to work with someone like that"
15:42 Yes... yes... someone who knows what they're
15:46 looking for as opposed to just trying to work out
15:48 how things should go... and... yeah...
15:52 So, did you guys have like an instant feeling of teamwork
15:58 when you started working together
16:00 was it... did you communicate readily
16:02 or was there... like a conflict?
16:05 We had great communication
16:08 we spoke a lot and we don't remember conflict at all
16:14 as much as I remember that we sat, we spoke,
16:17 we listened to music, we discussed,
16:19 and it was more like we know on a mutual basis
16:22 that we're looking for something spectacular...
16:26 Ah... and so, conversations were
16:29 very much on that... and, of course,
16:32 the roles were very clearly defined
16:35 so... there's no room for any...
16:38 it was... "You walk in this lane and I'll walk in this lane... "
16:42 So, at what point did you decide to walk in the same lane?
16:47 It's when my telephone bill killing me...
16:51 We wish we had e-mail or Twitter or...
16:56 we only had Ma Bell and he had MOM South Africa
16:59 I remember when the conversation changed for me on the phone...
17:04 it took us two years... it was two years to complete
17:08 the Project... and Victor was always very professional
17:12 and very easy to work with, but I remember
17:15 we were talking about something and he asked me...
17:17 "So, how did that make you feel?"
17:19 Hmmm... and I almost dropped the phone
17:21 because... it was rarely that I would hear a man ask
17:24 and then he waited for me
17:27 he didn't edit my answer, he just waited for me
17:31 to give a complete answer, and then we started
17:34 talking about his family, my family...
17:40 we started comparing notes,
17:41 his father passed away in '83...
17:43 my mother passed away in '83...
17:46 we both share a birthday in June
17:48 so those kinds of things started creating
17:53 an interest... yes... Okay... great...
17:59 so, after this two-year period and this first Project
18:03 was completed...
18:05 did you guys get together as a couple
18:10 after the Project was completed
18:12 or in the midst of it... how did that work?
18:16 We completed the project... Hmmm... hmmm...
18:21 but of course towards the...
18:23 when the Project was coming to an end
18:25 you know... you can tell... when you got a
18:28 positive and negative magnet it just... kind of like...
18:34 gravitated towards one another...
18:36 so, you try to keep it professional
18:39 but you know exactly
18:40 that there's something else developing here...
18:43 Yes... yes... yes... you know... one thing that is
18:46 so great about you guys is that...
18:49 you travel all around the world, Japan and... I mean...
18:52 you've just have been to the UK... Gail was saying...
18:55 "I have to go to the UK to do something... "
18:57 I mean... you just travel around the world...
18:58 how do you maintain... your relationship
19:03 when you're... many times going in different directions
19:06 how do you maintain that connection that you have?
19:11 You know what... communication
19:14 is a good thing and also,
19:16 it's almost like... whenever we're working on
19:20 different projects... the time that you spend apart
19:25 doesn't really mean... really apart...
19:27 and as much as we're catching up
19:29 with what's going on and technology has made it
19:32 even easier these days Right...
19:33 it just will be a whole lot of communication and knowing that
19:37 when she takes off to do something...
19:39 I can be able to say... you know, to be a support system
19:42 and be able to say, "Wow, well done... "
19:44 and then let that continue and so it really is an...
19:49 also just maintaining that whole life of...
19:52 even when we don't see one another at that time...
19:54 to pray for one another... Yeah...
19:56 Hmmm... and... because that's one thing
19:58 that's quite important...
20:00 And to pray a lot when we are with each other...
20:02 I think that that's the scene... you know I...
20:07 Victor comes from a very powerful family...
20:11 in South Africa... his father... he's a PK actually
20:15 he's a Pastor's Kid... Oh... okay...
20:17 but he grew up with the... what's the word...
20:20 the really understanding of the power of prayer...
20:23 I remember the first time as a couple after marriage...
20:26 and praying and he's a prayer warrior...
20:29 and I was a New... you know... I'm a New Yorker...
20:35 we do everything quick and fast,
20:37 and so... we were on our knees praying
20:41 and I was kind of looking... at least 20 minutes had passed
20:46 and then it came to... like a half hour...
20:48 and this was our morning devotion,
20:50 and then I looked up and it was like almost 45 minutes...
20:53 and so I'm thinking we prayed for...
20:55 we prayed for everybody...
20:57 we rebuked the devil and I'm in Africa now...
21:01 so I have to pray for the little children in Africa...
21:04 and then I looked up and then he said "Amen"
21:08 and I started to rise up... and he pulled me back down
21:12 and I'm thinking... we're going to start over
21:14 and he said, "No, now we need to wait"
21:17 one of the things in my relationship...
21:20 Victor tends to be... he works hard... he plays hard,
21:23 he prays hard... Hmmm... hmmm...
21:26 and one of the things that I have gained...
21:28 in my life with him... is the ability
21:32 to really understand just how loving
21:36 God really, really, really is...
21:38 Oh, come on... come on... I like that...
21:40 that's a reflection... a man who loves God...
21:43 that reflection kind of... it can't help but
21:45 Baby... look at me... it can't help but gravitate
21:49 it can't help but gravitate and roll off...
21:53 you know it's an influence and so my life with him
21:56 when we are apart by miles
21:59 I'll always know I'm still in his heart
22:02 and he knows he's in mine...
22:03 and yes there has been the blessing of technology
22:06 where you can text... where you can Skype
22:08 where you can e-mail... I'm not as technically...
22:11 I'm a little technically illiterate
22:14 compared to what's going on
22:16 but I think... once you have established
22:19 a relationship with God individually...
22:23 then the relationship collectively...
22:27 it's smoother sailing... it's not all smooth...
22:31 but it's smoother sailing because I don't have to explain
22:36 to him when I say, "Baby, I need you to pray... "
22:37 he doesn't have to have all the details
22:39 of what that means...
22:40 Hmmm... hmmm... or if he writes me or texts me
22:44 "Pray" I know... and the times that we are apart
22:47 the times that we are together is even sweeter...
22:51 so, that's what makes it rich...
22:53 Oh, I love that... I love that, now, Gail, you have been doing
22:58 some Chaplaincy work as well... besides the speaking
23:01 and writing... you've been doing some Chaplaincy work
23:05 is there any particular situation
23:08 that kind of stands out in your mind that you...
23:10 any experience that you've had recently
23:13 that you'd like to share?
23:14 In the gift of "Goodby" in my book... I talk about
23:17 my first patient at Sandton Clinic
23:21 Sandton Clinic... just to back up a second
23:24 I didn't mention that I also got very ill in South Africa
23:27 on my first trip... and had 8 inches of my intestines
23:31 removed because of the disease Sarcoidosis...
23:35 and so... that was a battle
23:38 for about 4 to 5 years...
23:40 in that hospital...
23:43 Sandton Clinic is the Hospital
23:45 that I was taken to... and then I was asked to serve
23:47 as a Chaplain at the very same hospital
23:50 years later... and so I walk into the ICU
23:53 and I'm going to meet a patient named Juanita...
23:56 and Juanita had on her bedside table...
23:58 every book of religion you could think of...
24:02 everything... and she was actively searching
24:06 this woman had battled cancer for more than 10 years
24:11 she was a TV Producer in South Africa
24:13 that climbed Kilimanjaro... but you could sense the fear
24:18 in her eyes... because her body was ravaged
24:21 with cancer... they showed us a diagram
24:24 and there was no spot on the diagram
24:26 where cancer had not appeared...
24:28 and was appearing at that time...
24:30 and she had tubes in her mouth so she couldn't speak
24:34 and so I came in the bedroom I mean... next to her bed...
24:37 and I said, "I understand your name is Juanita...
24:40 I'm a Chaplain here and your doctor actually asked me
24:44 to come and visit... is there something I could read
24:47 on this list of books... and she pointed to her Bible
24:51 and it was underneath all the other books...
24:54 and I pulled it out and I read Psalm 23...
24:57 that started a five-month relationship
25:01 she stayed in ICU... and I remember that so vividly
25:05 because Juanita didn't necessarily trust anymore...
25:10 her trust in people... her trust in all the other
25:13 little g-o-d-s and her trust in the Creator God was shaken...
25:17 Hmmm... and God just allowed me
25:20 to just speak as girls... once those tubes were out
25:24 we developed a friendship... Yes...
25:27 and then she wanted to know "Why did I believe
25:31 in the Creator God?" you know those doors
25:33 that Victor was talking about... it just... God opens up for us
25:36 Yes... yes... and I was just able to share
25:38 about having been in Sandton four floors down...
25:41 and angry at God at that time in '95...
25:46 very angry...
25:47 and I'm from a foreign country, didn't know anybody...
25:50 and God, through the power of the Holy Spirit,
25:54 spoke to me... the only thing He said audibly in my voice was
25:58 "Gail I love you... and you will have to trust me on this... "
26:02 every time I would meet Juanita after that...
26:05 that would be the question... "Does God love me too?"
26:08 "Does God love me too?" Hmmm...
26:10 and through that particular time in my life
26:14 I was able to affirm and re-affirm to Juanita
26:18 "God does love you... "
26:19 and she soon passed... and I was asked to officiate
26:24 as her Chaplain... they said,
26:25 "Now, you're her Chaplain" to come and officiate at her
26:29 Memorial Service... and one of the things
26:31 that I was able to say... because she did have
26:34 Christian-believing friends in her life...
26:36 I was able to re-affirm to her family and to her friends
26:40 that I believed with all my heart
26:42 that Juanita accepted the Lord Jesus Christ
26:44 as her personal Savior...
26:45 Amen... before she fell asleep in
26:48 eternal rest and so... that stands out...
26:51 Amen... yes... yes... You know what...
26:53 I could talk to you guys all day...
26:56 I mean we could... I wish we could...
26:58 I know... I wish I could too plus I miss you...
27:00 but I'm going to have to say, "Thank you"
27:04 thank you so much for sharing what you did... today...
27:06 you guys are such a blessing and I pray that
27:10 our viewers really got blessed like I did...
27:13 because you have so much to share...
27:15 May God bless you as you continue to serve Him...
27:18 Thank you Yvonne... Thank you...
27:21 One of my favorite Scriptures and I apply it to marriages
27:25 Ecclesiastes 4:12 where it says,
27:27 "A cord of three strands is not quickly broken"
27:30 today you've witnessed a couple that's doing great things
27:34 in the world and on fire for God...
27:36 how are you... and your significant other
27:38 working for the Lord?
27:40 If you don't have a significant other...
27:42 what are you doing for the cause of Christ?
27:44 We may not be international like the Masondos...
27:48 but we can do great things for God...
27:50 wherever we're planted...
27:51 Thanks for joining me on Urban Report...
27:54 It's a blessing to have you...
27:56 and we hope that you'll be blessed
27:58 by the Programs that we offer...
28:00 You know this Program wouldn't be the same...
28:03 without you... God bless...


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Revised 2015-05-21