400 students turn up to cancer-stricken teacher's house to sing for him
Ben Ellis has been teaching Latin and Bible Studies at Nashville's Christ Presbyterian Academy since 2008. For the last year, he has been battling an aggressive form of cancer and while he had continued to teach through his chemotherapy and radiation treatments, last week he finished up work.
Last Wednesday, he was having a bad morning after getting some tough news the night before, said Nate Morrow, the school's headmaster.
"The high school principal said, 'Ben has loved us well. Stop what you're doing, load up the buses. We're going to his house to worship with him,'" Morrow told CNN.
All four hundred of the school's students along with teachers travelled to Ellis' house and sang hymns on his lawn while he looked on from a window, sometimes singing along.
It's an incredibly powerful watch.
‘This was a spur of the moment decision to go.. Students were in the middle of class..some taking quizzes and tests…and dropped everything for a bigger lesson on life, love, community, compassion,’ wrote fellow teacher Leslie Ponder on Facebook.
The idea came to the faculty because Ellis loves bringing people together to sing.
"He found peace worshiping with others," Morrow said.
The video was shared on American singer Tim McGraw's Facebook page and it has since gone viral, gaining 16 million views.
Ellis' father, Bob, wrote on Facebook thanking McGraw for sharing the touching moment.
"Thank you, Tim. Ben is my son. Through his ministry and teaching, he has positively touched countless hundreds of lives directly and many thousands indirectly. He, his wife and children are a beautiful family."
