“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”
– John 5:24
I am grieving last weeks ministry. I want to cry my feelings out to you, scream at you to help me, and even doubt my thought of going to ministry after ministry for 11 months. But instead I want to show you how good this place was. I want to show you who made me laugh everyday. I want to show you how I was loved every minute I was at the Covenant School of Worship (CSOW).
It started with a conversation at the Covenant Worship Center (CWC). I introduced myself to Naveed and Neseem and began getting to know them. From that they realized that I had a funny laugh and I would hear all the time, “Your laugh is so beautiful!”
I got to meet all 10 men at the CWC and see how beautiful they worship. Some of them come from Christian backgrounds and some of them come from Hindi or another religious background. It is the most amazing sight to see a man transform a false tradition of an idol into a complete act of worship to our Father. On top of that, there is worshipping happening 24/7! One Racer describes it saying, “I love this place. I wake up to worship and I fall asleep to worship.”
Then after a few short days at the CWC we began a small conference at the CSOW where I met another 20+ worship students. Including someone I would call my Indian best friend. Two teams of racers helped facilitate the conference with many tasks including kitchen duty, cleaning, website design, logo design, photo shoots, writing the brother’s testimonies, video testimonies, and just hanging out with the brothers.
I met so many amazing worship leaders that I will never forget. On the photo shoot I met this guy named Satea but I kept forgetting his name. He was completely hilarious and had me laughing the entire time I was with him. So from then on I called him Comedy. He in return called me ‘Vetagadu’ which means ‘Hunter’ in Telagu. Hearing ‘Vetagadu’ soon became the most endearing word I’ve ever heard. I met Babu through taking his testimony and at first he was shy but all of a sudden he started imitating my laugh and we’ve been close ever since. Don’t even get me started on Balu. He calls me his best friend, kisses me on the cheek with every greeting, and all I can say is that I love him and I know that I will see him again in eternity.
Every 30+ guy would hug me more than once a day. Some would kiss my cheek and hold my hand. Because in Indian culture it is very normal for men to be that close. And I was completely fine with it because there was something much more than just my physical touch love language that I was attached to. It was as if God was loving me through these men. He was loving me the way I receive love best through all of these men for a week straight.
Saying goodbye was in my words, “Shit sad.” I say it like that because when I’m completely overwhelmed by emotions I don’t know how to articulate my sentences correctly. I felt sad but at the same time I felt completely honored and loved. All of the guys came out to say goodbye to myself and the other Squad Leaders as we left. I got one last hug and the same thing was whispered in my ear in many different ways from every wonderful worship leader. The sentence is going to be always with me.
“I praise God for a brother like you. I love you. I’m praying for you.”
Covenant School Of Worship from Hunter Young on Vimeo.
