MARRON DWAH CASSELL
A Biography
Contact: madwacass@yahoo.com
www.macami.org
Tel. 267-592-2259, 763-350-3841
Family & Educational Background
My name is Marron Dwah Cassell, the third of ten children, born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Kargou Dwah in a village called Graie in Nimba County, Liberia. My parents were unlearned farmers. Most of my siblings grew up in the village, but at the age of nine, I was brought to the capital city, Monrovia, by one of my older sisters. Up till then, I had never been to school though that was my one desire. In my culture then, it was not customary for girls to be educated. Notwithstanding, it was not prohibited because the older girls who wanted to go to school were allowed to do so. However, I thought coming to the city with my sister was an opportunity for me to be educated, but that did not change anything. Rather, I became the babysitter for sister’s children for the next two years. In the third year (1980) when I turned 12, I went to my half brother’s office and told him that I wanted to go to school that year. He gave me $15.00 Liberian dollars which at that time was equivalent to $15.00 United States dollars. I used that money to buy a set of uniform and few copybooks as well as pay the registration fees at a tuition-free government school. I enrolled in the first grade because I was much older for the kindergarten called ABC in Liberia. Obviously, I failed that year and had to repeat the kindergarten. I could not end the school year of 1981 because my sister had another baby which I had to babysit. I went back to school the following year and passed to the second grade. In 1983, I got pregnant at the age of sixteen and thus, I dropped out of school for another two years to manage the pregnancy as well as take care of the baby which I named Benetha Johnson. When she began walking, I summoned the courage again to go back to school. By the grace of God, I persevered and graduated from high school in 1994. I then enrolled at the Baptist Theological Seminary and graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor Degree in Religious Education. Currently, I am married to Rev. Edward Cassell though we are separated and pursuing a divorce. Sadly, my fourteen years of marriage were nothing but strife, disagreement and loneliness – very toxic indeed. I worked very hard for the marriage to succeed. At this point, the relationship between my husband and me has seriously deteriorated. However, I am depending upon God to make all things work together for good for that is His promise to His servants.
Spiritual And Ministry Background
I am a born again, devoted Christian and minister of the gospel. I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior in 1987 at the Sinkor Assembly of God Church then under the leadership of Rev. Isaac Winker. Though I accepted Christ, I was just a church-goer until 1998. Prior to this time in my life, I did not believe that it was possible for a young lady to live a chaste life for God. My major problem was that I was being supported by my boyfriend especially when I got pregnant and was put out of my sister’s house. I then moved in with him. He was financially provided for me and the child. When we later broke up, I moved in with a girl friend of mine and then started dating another guy since that was the only way I knew to survive. At that stage in my life, every time my friends told me about Christ, I told them they were faking holy living or acting righteous because they were being cared for by their parents. I further justified that the only source of support I had was my boyfriend. How could a young lady survive without any source of physical support? One day after school, my class mate took me to her female friend’s house and introduced us to each other. The young lady started to testify of the goodness of God and His divine provisions in her life. I could see that though she was not working and did not have anyone to depend on for help, yet God was faithful in supplying her every need. That was the turning point for me. From that day, I made up my mind to commit my life to Christ and live totally for Him. I reasoned that if God could do it for this young girl, He sure could do the same for me. Since then, my life has never been the same. I started devoting my time to Bible studies, prayers and attending other church services regularly. I was then faced with a very serious decision. I had to quit my relationship with my boyfriend which meant total dependence on God and living a life of holiness and faith. I moved out of my friend’s house because they could not understand what change had come over me and were not ready to live with that. I prayed and asked God to help me overcome every sex sin and He did. By faith, I ended the relationship with my boyfriend without knowing how I would survive. Miraculously, a family at the church took me in to stay with them. God is indeed faithful.
One Friday night while attending an all-night service at the church, the pastor came up and started to say, “There are some of you in this church with the call of God on your life and you are sitting in the congregation doing nothing. God wants you to come out now and use the gift He has given you. If you can sing, come out and sing a song tonight”. A lot of people went up but I did not. The longer I sat there, the more he kept calling though many people were already lined up. There was this young man sitting next to me who kept pushing me to go up also because he had heard me sing during the praise and worship. I reluctantly went up and the pastor passed the microphone over to me and I sang a song. To my utter amazement, the pastor called on me the next Sunday morning and asked me to sing a song before the entire congregation. I was shaking with so much fear and almost passed out. When I was done, he told me to get my Bible and sit with the choir. That is exactly how I started the singing ministry. Today, by the grace of God, I am a music minister, write my own songs and have recorded six albums. I have a ministry in my country, Liberia, called Marron Cassell Ministries International (MACAMI). The ministry runs a school of worship that offers training in music and worship leadership and also does community outreach programs with youths and children. We have a music band that hosts concerts, crusades, revivals, etc. By the special grace of God, I have upheld the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Achievements
In December 1999, I received The Highest Honor ever in the history of the Liberian music industry - Ambassador of Gospel Music – an honor bestowed on me by the Government of the Republic of Liberia. I was also crowned Queen Of Gospel Music in 2000 by the Christian Community in Liberia. I did an opening performance for a Renown American Gospel Singer and Awards Winner Tramaine Hawkins in 2008 in Minnesota USA. I hosted the African musical legend Sonny Okuson of Nigeria, West Africa in a National Peace And Reconciliation Gospel Musical Concert hosted by Marron Cassell Ministries International (MACAMI) at the ATS Sports Stadium in Monrovia. In 2009 I was appointed to serve on the Liberian Copyright Management Board by the President of Liberia, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and reappointed again in 2011. I thank God for all He has done in my life and also for that which is yet to come.
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