IOJ INTERVIEW: DUNIA MASSA

Instruments of Joy had the privilege of talking with Dunia Massa, a worship leader from LifePoint Brussels. She shares how she has seen music and worship touch people from other cultures and well as how her own life has recently been impacted by receiving the gift of an instrument.

DM: My name is Dunia. I’m 19 years old. I’m Belgian and I’m from Belgium.

IOJ: Do you sing, write, or play music?

DM: Yes, I’ve sung since I was 11. And I started writing songs a couple months ago. And I’m learning the guitar.

IOJ: What role does music play in your life?

DM: Because it is actually the way I can connect with God.

IOJ: Where have you led worship around the world?

DM: In Belgium, in the U.S. now, in France, Switzerland, Latvia, Finland, and South Korea.

IOJ: How have you seen music touch people from different cultures?

DM: (The town) was called Tamere (in Finland). It was during a Christian festival, and so, they asked me to sing some songs. I remember one was “Above All” by Michael W. Smith. It was in English and apparently in Finland there is the Finnish language and it is not necessary that everyone understand English. It was just the people were raising their hands as if they were moved to raise their hands. And at the end of the festival, the people came and they said to me, “Even if I couldn’t understand what you sang, I was touched. I still received something.” So that means that through music, there are messages that are transmitted, no matter the place or venue, or what you are going to do. It (the message) lies deep in the music.

IOJ: You were recently given an instrument. How will that impact your life?

DM: I think that having an instrument, it is…and instrument is a lot. That says a lot. Like when you hear the piano or the guitar, the sounds that come out are so intense, and I think that really, personally that really helps me to work and enter in, to further develop my intensity in the way I express myself. I think that actually to learn (an instrument) is a privilege. It’s a gift.

IOJ: Why would you encourage others to give instruments or to play music?

DM: It’s truly a discussion, an exchange. Because it’s true. For example, when I was in Muju, in South Korea, at the end, an old lady who was around 80, and who came to tell us she was very touched and who told us in Korean, “I love you” in Korean. An interpreter told me because I said ‘What? I didn’t understand.’ She told me, “She told you she loves you” and I said, ‘Why?’. She said, “Because she had the impression that the moment you opened your mouth, you could feel love. You were receiving the love of God and you passed that on to us.” So, it (music) is really, truly a mode to transport something. And when you begin to cultivate the will to learn, you will be compelled to raise up others, to make friends, to talk. Also that will permit you to open up. Just go and just fly!