Cedars, March 2019

March 2019 14 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Hitesh Kewalramani: Journey to Christ by Lauren McGuire A fter years of growing up Hin- du, Hitesh Kewalramani rebelled against his religious upbringing and converted to atheism. Upon meeting a Christian student in America, he converted once again to Christianity. Now, he is con- tinuing to grow closer to the Lord and in his faith at Cedarville. Kewalramani was born in India and attended a Hindu school, living in a family that practiced Hindu traditions. It was after sixth grade that Kewalramani decided that the religion wasn’t for him. “I didn’t know where I was,” he said. “I was just blindly following them.” He started eating meat as part of a re- bellious attitude towards his upbringing. He had few friends and focused on studying and figuring out life. “I lived in rebellion and at every festi- val I ate meat, just to rebel against God ... For that reason I had no friends in my life,” Kewalramani said. “Even my family was not there with me because I was an atheist.” He reached a point where he wanted to do something else with his life. He went to Germany for a couple of months to gain new experiences. He also applied to a school in Germany, but schools in the U.S. offered him scholar- ships and host families which would make his experience cheaper. At first he picked Connecticut, but after he did some explor- ing in the Midwest and East Coast cities, he landed in Chicago. “For some reason, Chicago had a big place in my heart,” he said. “I just felt it in my heart — this is the place.” He worked at Subway and then at Star- bucks at the community college he attend- ed. He then met Ethan Hand in calculus class and their friendship was initially built around studying. One day when they were eating at a Subway on campus, Hand asked Kewalramani some profound questions. “He asked me a lot about how I viewed the world … and he had some different per- spectives,” Kewalramani said. After a semester, he found himself feeling guilty about the life choices he had made. “Ethan told me something about a guilt-free life through Jesus Christ,” Kewal- ramani said. “I was like, let’s give it a try.” He finally decided to go with Ethan to church one day, and it changed his life. “I was still comparing [God to] other gods ... but the fact that I knew God came on Earth and took our sins and died for our sins made me cry,” he said. Hand still remembers that day and how nervous he was for how Kewalramani would react to the service. Hand knew Kewalrama- ni had experienced religious services before and had wanted nothing to do with them. “After service he looked at me and he said ‘that was awesome,’” Hand remem- bered. For the first month after that, Kewalra- mani still wasn’t a believer, but he was con- nected to the church. He served in a min- istry, making coffee for church members listening to their stories and testimonies. “I got to see my whole church play a part in [Hitesh’s discipleship, and] it really gave me a renewed sense of what the church is and how it works in the process of evange- lism,” Hand said. “It’s not just a one-on-one relationship between me and Hitesh, but it’s my dad, the elders in my church, the mem- bers of the hospitality ministry, the people in the youth ministry and the pastor every week … I got to see the whole church work- ing both inside and out.” After a month, Kewalramani finally gave his life over to Christ on Jan. 25, 2017. That fall, Hand began attending Ce- darville. During his first semester there, he invited Kewalramani to a Beautiful Eulogy concert on campus. During this time, people were excited to hear about Kewalramani’s life, and he re- alized that Cedarville was the place he was supposed to be. He applied, was accepted and started attending the spring of 2018. Although Kewalramani has found joy in Jesus, he still has some struggles. He still has to ask a lot of questions about his future, especially because his parents are still a part of the Hindu community. “There are a few days where I am so ner- vous about my future, like I don’t know where I’m going,” he said. “Am I going back to India or am I going to stay here? I have trusted God and trusted Jesus so it’s OK if persecution happens to me, but I cannot see my family being persecuted just because of what I do.” But in the midst of the stress of an un- known future, he still trusts the God that brought him to salvation over two years ago. Lauren McGuire is a sophomore profes- sional writing and information design ma- jor and writer for Cedars. She loves birth- day cake ice cream, watching “The Office” and late-night runs. Photo by Kelsey Feuerhak Hitesh Kewalramani grew up Hindu in India before becoming a Christ follower.