“I am not an entertainer, but a minister in song, bringing God’s glory down” is what you will often hear her say whenever she gets a platform to glorify God. Phillipine Morkel, Gospel singer/minister, Author and Presenter at Radio Cape Pulpit speaks passionately about her Kingdom Mandate and her love for the Lord. “You might have been written off by people, but that’s the time when you were being signed up by God” is her encouragement to many who might find themselves feeling lonely and deserted; but she can truly testify to how God saw her potential. He sees what no one else does. He loves like no one else, He understands you like no one else.
Phillipine hails from the beautiful town of Somerset West and is the youngest of four children. Her late father, Harold, was a principal of Vergelegen Primary School and also the Captain of the Boys Brigade. Her late mother was a nursing sister at Lourensford Clinic as well as a midwife. Her brother, Mark Wessels, passed on in 2012, but she still has two siblings left, her elder brother Trevor, who is married to sister-in-law Frances, and sister Charlyn, whose daughter, Frances Dyers, is her niece. Phillipine also has a beautiful daughter, Charlene, whom she calls her pride and joy, a wonderful son-in-law, Craig, and an adorable grandson, Blaine.
Phillipine always dreamed of becoming a singer one day. As a little girl with pony tails and skinny legs, she would stand in front of a mirror with her hairbrush- an imaginary mic in her hand- singing her heart out, swaying to and fro before an imaginary crowd! Little did she know that her dream would become a reality one day. As the little girl developed into a young lady, the ponytails were replaced with a shorter style as she started her school journey at at Bellville South High. Phillipine also used to sing in Sunday School when she was much younger and she enjoyed every minute of it. Her talent was discovered in her Matric year when, at the last minute, she decided to enter a singing competition at school. She won the competition for “Best Female Vocalist” and she was thrilled! One of the competition judges approached her after the her win and made her a very attractive offer, telling her that he could help her to pursue a singing career and that very soon she would become “famous”. To everybody’s surprise she declined the offer, as she was in Matric and wanted no distractions while completing her last year at school. Little did she know at that time that it was all in God’s plan (Jeremiah 29v11)
On graduating from high school, she was determined to pursue a career in music, visiting Karaoke Clubs and winning every Karaoke competition, hoping that she would be discovered by someone who would open doors for her in the music industry, but it was all in vain.
Phillipine had to go through many traumas, including divorce, to realize that God had something bigger in store for her than singing secular music. Today, she is grateful to God for not allowing her to sing secular music, but to only glorify God, whom she grew to love deeply after she committed her life to Him in 1995. She recorded many Gospel Albums and also travelled to many places, as far as Namibia, to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the nation. Her passion in life is to lead as many souls as possible to Jesus Christ. She wrote her first Afrikaans book during the Covid-19 lockdown, “Die Borsel, Spieël en Aanseën,” sharing her life story with the reader, including the way that God miraculously healed her from cancer after a huge growth was discovered in her neck. She also faced a huge challenge when her daughter was diagnosed with leukemia at a later stage. Although it was a long and complex process, Jehovah Rapha once again proved Himself to be the Healer of all healers as her daughter has been declared cancer free! Phillipine received the “African Honoree Author’s Award in 2021 for her book,” Die Borsel, Spieël en Aanseën,” and in 2019 she received the “Joy Of Gospel Awards” for Female Gospel Vocalist. God also opened a door for her as a presenter at Cape Pulpit, where she is currently hosting her own programme, “#Koffidate met Phillipine” and her one goal is to see lives change through the testimonies of guests sharing their stories.
“There is a BETTER LIFE after all, a life that JESUS makes possible,”. I would never have come this far without Him. He promised me a BETTER LIFE, and I enjoy every minute of serving Him, loving Him, worshipping Him…and remain faithful to this God who has become my everything!”