Sitting in the front corner of Mr. Koepsell’s room during religion often leads me to look up at the crosses on his wall. With twenty-four different crosses, I was motivated to ask Mr. Koepsell about his decorations. He says when he first came to MVL, the large cross with Jesus was already hanging up and over the years, he has gradually added more. The crosses come from many places including students, his family, and Treasure Haus. Many of them also carry a personal meaning, as in the case of one plain looking cross. A dark looking one on the left side about halfway down was made from a walnut tree that grew on Mr. Koepsell’s father-in-law’s property. The tree was cut down but the wood was not used before his father-in-law died. A relative took the wood, made a cross out of it and gave the cross to Mr. Koepsell.
All the crosses have the underlying reminder of Christian faith to Mr. Koepsell. He says, “Images are a big deal in today’s world.” As more people are becoming less literate, he believes crosses serve as an important image of our faith to the world. In this building, there are no maps of the world on display and only two timelines of the world. If schools say they teach history and geography, but do not have images representing them, how important are they? With the crosses, a dual purpose is held. They remind Christians of their faith and show the world what we believe in.
