My Songs Of Zion Testimony
By Bro. Philip A. Benyola
It was early-April 2015, when my telephone rang and Sis. Arlene Buffington was calling. I had only met Sis. Arlene a couple of times before, and although I was well acquainted with her because of The Songs Of Zion, we never really had a conversation or had ever spoken on the phone – so you can imagine my surprise when I heard her voice.
After a few casual remarks, she said the reason she was calling was to ask me if I ever wrote music. I told her that since I minored in music as an undergrad, and had been playing the piano since I was 7 years old, that I had written a few hymns in my life, but never had any published, and that I didn’t really consider that to be a particular gift of mine. She went on to explain that since Bro. Eugene became ill and was unable to assist her as he had for so many years, she had accumulated 6 songs, which were sitting in her nightstand because she had no one to arrange the music. Sis. Arlene explained how troubled she was by this, because she knew these songs were a gift from God to our church but that she was unable to share them. She then went on to explain that she had been fasting and praying for a while, asking God to direct her to the right person, someone who could pick up the tasks that Bro. Eugene had been doing. She knew there were many talented musicians and pianists in our church, but she didn’t know which one God wanted her to partner with. She then said that God told her my name – that I was the person to take on this role! I hadn’t quite gotten over the surprise that she was even calling me, before I was again shocked that she had asked me to try to do this. At first, I was very reluctant because let’s face it, who’d want to follow an act like Bro. Eugene? I didn’t really think that I could do what he did, partnering with Sis. Arlene to publish over 200 songs – one more beautiful than the next! I explained to her that despite my training and experience, I really wasn’t sure that I could do it.
She then repeated that she had been fasting and praying for the right person, and if God told her it was me, then how could I doubt myself? She then asked me if I would be willing to take a look at one of the drafts she was saving. She said the name of the song would be, “It Is Too Wonderful” and she said that it would indeed be wonderful if we could work together! She said she wanted to send me the lyrics she was given, along with a CD of her recording her voice, singing the song as she heard it from God. She warned me, ahead of time, that she could not sing very well, but that she believed that if we both prayed about it, I would be able to hear what she heard. Again, I was pretty skeptical, but I agreed to try. She told me that she had no doubt that I could do this work, again because God told her I could.
A few days later, an envelope arrived in my mailbox, with Sis. Arlene’s return address on it. The minute I pulled the envelope from the mailbox, I was overcome with the Spirit of God. I brought it into my home office and set it on my desk and just stared at it a few minutes. I then started to pray. I was still feeling very unsure, unqualified for this job, but I asked the Lord to help me, and to give me the confidence that he showed Sis. Arlene. I promised Him that if He would help me work on this one song, then I would know this was something I could do. I proceeded to open the package, and play the CD of Sis. Arlene’s voice, while reading the lyrics. Much to my surprise, I walked over to my piano, and played and sang the entire song, exactly as I heard it – with chords and perfect timing, and all the music dynamics. I couldn’t wait to grab a pencil and paper, and started scribbling what I was playing. In 15 minutes, I had the shell of the song completed, so I recorded myself playing it on the piano, and then emailed the file to Sis. Arlene. I called her and told her that I emailed the recording, along with a pdf of the hand-written music, but I made her promiseto be honest about what she heard. I didn’t want her to worry about hurting my feelings! If it wasn’t exactly what she heard from God, I told her I would continue to adjust the music until it was perfect — not good, but perfect! She said she would go to her computer immediately, listen to the music, and call me back. Within just a few minutes, my phone rang – and as excited as I was to hear from her, I was very worried that this would turn out to be a fiasco. But as soon as I answered, she said, “Oh, Brother Phil, it’s exactly what I heard! It’s beautiful! It Is Too Wonderful!” We both choked up, and I said, “Praise God!”
A few days later, Sis. Arlene sent me the rest of the drafts that were in her nightstand, and we repeated the exact same process, until she passed away in May 2020, and we had completed 24 songs together! Every time an envelope from Sis. Arlene arrived in the mail, I would place it on my desk, and pray. Then I would open it and read the scripture she included with every title. I wanted the backstory! I then read the lyrics, listened to the CD of her voice, and went to the piano. With few exceptions, every time I sent her the music, she said it was perfect. There were a couple of times when we had to tweak the notes, or the timing, but we always easily resolved the issues until she said the words, “It’s perfect.”
It’s hard to explain how this experience with Sis. Arlene changed my life. For one thing, in April 2015, when I received that first call from her, I was not in a particularly good place, spiritually, having allowed a trial in my life to bring my spirits down. But this calling with The Songs Of Zion re-energized me and gave me a new purpose, a huge blessing in my life when I needed it the most. I felt that it was God answering my prayer during a time of despair, and an answer to Sis. Arlene’s prayers, during a time of frustration for her, not being able to move forward with this precious gift. God knows exactly what He’s doing in our lives. We just have to trust Him completely.
There were several personal experiences between Sis. Arlene and me, while we worked on those 24 songs. One, in particular, was with #222, “The Outcome Of The Battle” where I started to play the song for the first time as a ballad – slow and melancholy. As I attempted to play it like this, my hands literally starting to jump off the keys, and I heard horses galloping (as in a battle). I honestly didn’t know what to do, but I prayed for God’s direction and I recorded it exactly as I received it, even though it was much different from what I thought it should sound like. Before I sent the recording to Sis. Arlene, I called and explained what just happened, and I apologized to her if the song was going to sound a little crazy. I didn’t want her to think I was mocking God in any way. She assured me that she would not be offended, no matter what it sounded like. After she listened to my recording, she called me and said, once again, “Bro. Phil, it’s perfect! That’s exactly how I heard it!” So I was reminded, one more time, to get out of my own way and listen to God’s Spirit.
The following year, I was visiting the Imperial Branch and I was asked to open the service, which is customary in most of our Branches, for visiting ministry. I chose 2 Timothy as my text, and shared a personal testimony concerning the death of my oldest brother. He called me a few days before he died and told me to “Come Before Winter” – his way of telling me that he wanted to see me before he passed away. I didn’t realize what he meant at the time, but I knew he was giving me a hint and wanted me to follow the Spirit of God, which took me to 2 Timothy 4:21, where the Apostle Paul beckons Timothy to, “come before winter” – in other words, “…come NOW if you want to see me before I die.” I immediately made plane reservations to travel from Florida to NJ, to see my brother. We sat together on the sofa in his home for about 12 hours, and he passed away right next to me. As I was preaching this sermon at Imperial, I thought to myself, “wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had a Song Of Zion, entitled ‘Come Before Winter’?” I kept this thought to myself, but when we broke for lunch, I was sitting with Sis. Arlene, and she told me that while I was speaking during the Sunday service, she received a new song, “Come Before Winter.” This was another tremendous blessing in my life. I am humbled and grateful that God allowed me the privilege to work on these songs with our dear sister, whom I grew to love as my own mother. I will forever be indebted to Him for this special blessing in my life.