One of the events of Welcome Days is when our College Choir sings in a worship service on Friday night. We had just come back from a successful choir tour and were excited about singing before all the visitors on our campus in an energized, yet relaxed setting. Our morning chapel service was packed with students, faculty, parents, and chaperones in an electric atmosphere. The events were promising to build over the weekend.
Shortly after the morning chapel service, I was informed that one of my College Choir members, Zach Yoho, had been found dead in his dorm room and had evidently died suddenly of natural causes associated with a pre-existing illness. The shock of this cannot be overstated. Our school, which is a small family community of believers committed to academic excellence, instantly became a group of weeping relatives that grieved the loss of a loved one, at a time when we had over a hundred visitors in our home.
Zach was one of the finest examples of a Christian young man that I have known. He was excited about his walk with the Lord, was always surrounded by friends who gravitated to his ready smile, and he was looking forward to a future of service to God. He will be missed greatly!
When we heard the news, decisions had to be made about whether the Choir would perform in the evening service or whether we would even have services at all. We were also scheduled to sing two days later on Sunday. A decision was made that we would go ahead and sing in a modified service that deleted a couple of numbers which provided a little comic relief in normal times.
Before we sang that night, Neal Gilliland, a counselor from our national office spoke to our choir. I'll never forget him saying the words, "Tonight, this will be the worst singing and the best singing you have ever done." He was right. The choir sang from a spirit of brokenness, but with a deep sincerity of faith.
All of a sudden the words to our songs that we had somehow glossed over became very real and close such as in an arrangement of "Because He Lives" when we got to the words:
"And then one day I'll cross that river and fight life's final war with pain."
