This is the fifth of a 10-part series on the finalists in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC) Gospel Festival Song Competition. The final is scheduled for the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in St Andrew, on July 27.

HANOVER-BORN Aneisha Walker is hoping her entry Unchanging Love will be the top pick in this year’s Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s Gospel Song Competition.

A teacher at Merlene Ottey High in Hanover, Walker said she penned the lyrics out of personal experiences.

“I was at a point where the approval of others mattered too much, and when I really needed those who cared, they were nowhere to be found. God allowed this to happen, so that I’d have nobody else to turn to but Him. As a result, I was able to experience His amazing and unchanging love, and that made me realise that he is the one I should always work to please, and regardless of what I’ve done, his love remains the same yesterday, today, and forever,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

Walker — a former student of Herbert Morrison Technical High and Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College — said the melody came to her one day while doing her household chores.

“I sat down and then the lyrics of the chorus came. I always tried to pen a verse, but it just never felt right until two days before the deadline to enter in this competition. The words just came and that’s how I knew it was inspired by God for such a time as this,” she said.

For her, to be in the top 10 is a great feeling.

“The publicity and exposure is overwhelming and exciting. It’s truly a blessing to be given the opportunity to use this gift, in this fashion, to witness to the world,” she said.

After the competition, Walker said she would be pursuing a a career in gospel music.

“My ultimate goal is to not just be another gospel artiste, but to be a world changer. Jamaica and the world doesn’t need another great singer to perform at concerts. Jamaica needs Jesus through music; music that will touch lives and effect change,” she said.