Cross The World is busy preparing for SonShine Festival.  Our shop is teeming with the sounds of saws whirring, sanders buzzing, the endless ‘plink’ as pieces of wood flip into this tub or that.  Scissors snip jute, cutting it into just the right lengths; supplies are being gathered and booth schedules are falling into place.  SonShine is coming in a little over a week and we’re getting excited!!

We were there last year. We brought tubs of cross components so people visiting our booth could have the opportunity to assemble, and take ownership of, their very own cross.  From the wood pieces, they took an upright and a crossbar, pounded them together with a hammer, and finished them by attaching a hangtag with a short piece of jute string. It was a wonderfully spiritual opportunity for everyone … and a noisy one!

And, the repetitive rat-tat-tat of the hammers caught the attention of lots of people. Here’s what one of our friends in Christ had to say:

“The noise was what first caught my attention: ‘pound’, ‘pound’, ‘pound’! Curiosity got the best of me and I just had to find out what the rhythmic noise was and where it was coming from. I followed the sound and saw a large group of young people.

What were they doing?

I stretched and stood on my tiptoes but couldn’t see what was going on. Still the noise continued … ‘pound’, ‘pound’, ‘pound’. The crowd began to shift and what I saw brought tears to my eyes. Each young person had stepped forward to ‘pound’ the two sections of a small wooden cross together.

My heart was stirred with gratitude. The experience was powerful and the message was clear: Jesus Christ had heard that same sound as He allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross to cover your sins and mine.

Thank you, Lord, for that wonderful, terrible cross.”

Wow!  Thank you, Nyla, for that awesome testimonial!

Nyla got in touch with us shortly after SonShine and wanted unassembled crosses so she could take them on two of the mission trips she would be going on – one to the Ukraine and the other to Guatamela. She wanted cross pieces so the youth and adults she worked with there could feel the presence of Jesus as they worked together, assembling the visual representation of His love for us all.  Thank you again, Nyla, for helping bring others closer to Jesus!

The response to our unassembled crosses was overwhelming at SonShine!  And, so, we’ll be doing the very same thing this year.  If you are planning on attending the Festival July 17th through the 20th, we invite you in to drop by our booth and learn more about our mission. You can find us in the Willmar Civic Center, or the ‘Mall of SonShine’ as it’s called for the Festival. Just look for the 8’ cross and follow the sound of the pounding! See you there!!

A couple of other important notes:

We’re pleased to welcome to the Cross The World family, and continue to serve, the following partners in Christ:

Stella, Oregon

Joan, Minnesota

Crossroads Community Methodist Church, Spicer, MN – crosses for Vacation Bible School

Tracy, Minnesota

Resurrection Lutheran Church, Monticello, MN

Jadynne, Minnesota – crosses on their way to Belize

Betsy, Minnesota

Additionally, I wanted to let you know that the IRS recently granted our 501(c)(3) request!  We are very happy to finally receive this status which will make any donations received to Cross The World tax deductible.  Thank you, God, for answering our prayers and guiding the IRS to a good decision!!

And, in closing, I wanted to share this photo which was sent to us by our friend in Christ, Susan. Sometimes, we wonder if our crosses are carrying the message we intend them to. I think the smiles tell the story!