“I was planning on staying for only a half an hour or so to be with my friends, but the music was so engaging, I decided to stay the whole time.” – Indian Student at the UTA Aradhna Concert

Nearly a year ago, as our ISI DFW team was considering how to touch the large S. Asian community in the Metroplex with the love of Christ, we were challenged from many different quarters with bringing the Hindi worship band Aradhna to sing in the area. S. Asians comprise the largest group of students in the metroplex by far. At UTA, for example, there are over 1300 Indian students and around 500 Nepalese students not to mention the many Pakistani and Bangladeshi students. At Northlake College, approximately 800 of the nearly 1200 international student hail from Nepal. At the same time, outside of the Big Howdy and some of the special work Vinay is doing at UTD, we were having limited impact with this community. We felt that God wanted us to build bridges with this special and important community – to show them how much He loves them.

“When I was in India, I had Christian neighbors who sang Bhajan music in their apartment and many in the neighborhood came and also sang these worship songs. I really enjoyed it. So when I came here, I recognized many of the songs and it reminded me of home. I loved it then and I love it now.” – – Indian Student at the UTA Aradhna Concert

Aradhna is a Hindi word which translates to “Worship”. This band was formed by children of Americans, followers of Jesus who grew up in Nepal and India whose heart languages were those of these special lands. Under the watchful eyes of India’s best, they mastered the sitar, tabla, tambura, key instruments of Indian culture in addition to more western instruments like bass, violin and guitar. They became students of “bhajan” the worship music of India and they formed Aradhna. They play concerts for groups of followers of Jesus (but also they have played in Hindu temples as a testimony) both in India and around the world.

So less than a year ago, our team in cooperation with several other groups like BSM, churches, etc. felt challenged to bring this group to the North Texas area for a series of concerts as a gift to out South Asian friends. Assignments were passed out, (Ron was chosen as point with the rest of us coordinating the rest of the work on the different campuses and doing the things needed to make all this happen) prayer teams were mobilized, research was done and we set off doing something we had never done before. We chose Northake College, UTA & UTD, the campuses with the largest populations of S. Asians.

This last weekend was a culmination of all that work and what a special weekend it was. (see pictures) As one expected the band was truly delightful. For many of our American friends who were in attendance, they were amazed at the professionalism and quality of the band. The sonorous tones were so deep and rich. Each instrument were played as if by a craftsman. The response of the students was even more profound. I could hear people around me talking about how genuine and real this band was. Looking at students’ faces you could see that the band was touching students at a heart level. It was really touching to see. In one Indian Hindu student who has been meeting regularly with some followers of Jesus lately to learn more, you could really see the joy in meeting the band and hearing what they had to say. It was almost like students were being exposed for the first time to the idea that it was okay to be an Indian and still be a follower of Jesus.

The band is touching the students at a very deep level – Vinay ISI Staff at UTD

One interesting side story was the response of the Nepalese speaking students. They were so touched that they were not bunched in as  Indians but had songs in their own language as part of the program. Chris, the lead sitar player, grew up in Nepal and is fluent in Nepali and spoke directly to many of them. Many of the students were Nepali and Anugraha, a student friend and Nepali Christ follower was able to strengthen relationships that could help him as he seeks to start a Nepali church. One special story is of two separate groups of Burmese refugees who lived in Nepal for nine years but recently immigrated into the DFW area. We saw several of them at all three concerts as they truly connected with the music and specifically with Chris. Interestingly, Chris’ 2nd grade teacher from Nepal now lives near Dallas and was at the UTA concert and she told me that Chris’ mother has a ministry to these same types of refugees.

A special byproduct of these concerts was that it put before the Christian community the great opportunity to share the love of Jesus with S. Asians and to be able to do it together was a special undertaking. Many followers of Jesus who love S. India were there and most of them did not realize how many others also had the same heart. To see them interact with each other and with students was a thing to behold.  Much like when God encouraged Elijah in his isolation that he was not alone in his faithfulness in Israel, so it seemed the spirits of all were lifted. Trust was being built, in each other but also in God. I really believe something very special will come out of the relationships made. This was no small or insignificant divine purpose for these concerts.

I am waiting on hearing the exact number of attenders though the qualitative results were enough to make us smile and for God to be glorified. I believe there were at least 450 total attenders at the three concerts. (approx. 150- UTD, 180- UTA, 120 – Northlake)  Students from as far away as Tyler and Wichita Fall came to see the concerts. The other special thing was how God provided the funds for this. This was an area of tremendous risk and faith building for us and God provided!

Each concert touched had a unique feel. Northlake was outdoors and was the first major events by more than one faith organization there in a while and so really was a kick off of working together. UTA was a continuation of the work already done through the Big Howdy, etc.  And UTD, UTD was special because the students did most of the work and you could see God working in developing them as leaders. In addition the band played at three services at 121 community church, exposing the whole church to S. Asian culture. In addition they went over to SMU on Monday to play another concert under Chi Alpha.

So was it worth it? No question! God was there, and he touched many… Will we do it every year? I don’t know… It was tremendous work for the team and disrupted some of our regular work… but the gains and the potential created made it important that we did it this year. Perhaps every other year… Still… no doubt this was a work of God! Thanks all for praying!