Our high school students go on an annual mission trip called APPA. The program began with trips to support missions in the Appalachians. We no longer go there, but the name has stuck. APPA 2015 took place in Dalhart, Texas. This is a reflection inspired by this trip and those before it.
I’m not sure how or when the tradition of making a cross started, but I think it’s relatively recent. On my first APPA, we all signed a board that went into the project, but it was hidden away inside the construction, like a beam signing for a church building. Today each work team makes a cross, signed by each member of the team, usually containing our theme scripture for the week.
It seems natural for a church group to leave behind a cross as a marker of its work, but in a short time these crosses have become the symbol for the trip and the work. When I build a wheelchair ramp, I like to do a “victory run” where the team lines up on each side of the ramp to cheer while the homeowner comes down the ramp. It’s a ritual to mark handing over the ramp to the homeowner. The crosses have created a different ritual. The team presents the cross to the homeowner as a way to present the completed project. You can see two cross presentations in this video. Note also the prominence of the crosses with the work teams.
Homeowners are as proud of the crosses as they are of the entire project. They like to have them displayed in prominent places. Floyd, a 2014 homeowner in very poor health, told his family he wants to be buried with his.
According to Thomas Aquinas, Jesus on the cross opens his arms wide, to receive all humanity, while at the same time pointing upward to our heavenly Father. The APPA cross shows how homeowners and work teams receive each other, transforming each other’s lives to the glory of God. One day I hope to drive through a small town and see a project with a small cross next to it, the mark of gifts given and received.
The Feral Deacon 