For the second year, St. Croix Lutheran Academy was honored to host Night to Shine, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation. Night to Shine is an unforgettable prom night experience, centered on God’s love, for people with special needs, ages 14 and older. On one night, February 9, 2018, 537 churches and schools from around the world came together to host Night to Shine for approximately 90,000 honored guests through the support of 175,000 volunteers!
Night to Shine 2018 at St. Croix Lutheran was an extraordinary night that brought together over 225 honored guests, their parents/caretakers, and over 500 volunteers, including students, staff, alumni, association congregation members, and community members. The student volunteers, over 250 strong, primarily served as buddies to each of the honored guests. Having the opportunity to crown each of the honored guests Kings and Queens of the prom was a true privilege. A parent of one of the guests wrote, “Honestly, I have never been a part of anything
so heartwarming in my life!!” Another mom wrote, “Please thank everyone involved for really creating memories and acceptance for individuals with special needs. It is so special that for three hours they have such positive and loving attention placed on them!”
An important goal of the Night to Shine movement is to change the narrative on how individuals with special needs are viewed. In a world where human life is often not properly valued, Night to Shine presents the St. Croix Lutheran community and students the opportunity to celebrate the gift of life in a meaningful way. Students have the opportunity to grow in empathy, selflessness, compassion while reaching out to honored guests with the message of God’s love – the message that all lives are extraordinarily important to God. As a host of Night to Shine, St. Croix Lutheran receives a grant from the Tim Tebow Foundation which helps offset the cost of the event. This year the Foundation grant covered approximately one-third of the event cost. The remaining expenses were covered by businesses and private donors who have a special place in their hearts for the honored guests and generously offered their services and donations. The evening is completely complimentary for the honored guests. In an effort to grow Night to Shine into an even larger worldwide movement, the grant received by the Tim Tebow Foundation decreases each year as each host takes on more of the costs. This model allows Night to Shine to grow worldwide, impacting more individuals’ lives.
Night to Shine 2018 was the perfect opportunity for the honored guests to do just that – SHINE! As one student volunteer said, “I remember ALL THE SMILES!! It brought me so much joy to see all of the smiles on everyone’s faces.”
Even though she has moved into The Commons and is retired, Sylvia’s heart for the Lord hasn’t slowed down. A year after she moved into The Commons, she heard they needed a local church to lead a Worship Service. Sylvia knew her pastors would be up for the task, but one hurdle remained…Who would play music for the weekly services? Sylvia thought to herself, “I have had more time to practice the piano since I moved here.” So… that’s exactly what she did. In her own words, “I practiced my little fingers off!” Now she plays piano for the weekly Tuesday service at The Commons and our three pastors from Crown of Life rotate leading the services. But that’s not all she does. She also volunteers and leads a Sunday afternoon Hymn Sing and Bible Story up on 4th floor in Memory Care at The Commons. “It’s probably the happiest hour of my week! I absolutely love these folks! In addition, I am currently playing piano and leading a 6 week Christmas Carol Sing-along on Thursday afternoons for The Commons residents. The group is really growing each week.”
This team effort begins with pastors recording, staff coordinating, translating, duplicating, address and mailing cassettes. If a braille translation is requested, one volunteer (visually impaired) is dictated the material, types the translation into a computer which is then sent to a special printer that prints in braille. The stack of 
A great deal of my time in Mahahual was spent interviewing members of the church, many in their native Spanish. Working with Pastor to translate my questions, we asked them to share their story of faith. While I have some understanding of Spanish, I’m far from fluent. However, their physical responses bridged the language barrier in a way that mere words could not. Unbridled joy shown on their faces and through their body language as they spoke about the power of the Gospel coming into their lives. As someone blessed to be raised in a Christian household from birth, “hearing” this testimony was rare, raw and inspiring.
Sunday morning comes and Iglesia Cruz de Cristo is abuzz with activity. Children set up chairs. Volunteers from the States make new acquaintances. Kids pour in from the vans outside. The service begins and songs of praise echo into “Casitas” or “little houses” neighborhood where the church resides. Yallo, a man with a weathered face and eyes of deep compassion, stands to read a scripture lesson, sharing the Word with his fellow Mexicans. This is critical. The mission, built by the tireless efforts of Jerry Zimpelmann and countless volunteers, now needs the people it serves to take ownership, to make it their church, to spread the joy they’ve found whenever they go. Watching Yallo as he read, face beaming with pride, there is no doubt strong roots are taking hold.
Every year Darrell spends countless hours cultivating this massive garden. Why? It’s a passion. “Gardening for me is a good form of exercise. It brings me back to the basics of planting seeds and taking care of the new plants. Each seed or plant is like a little miracle.” The produce also gets put to good use. Darrell says, “A good amount of the garden produce is given to the food shelf in Crown of Life’s name. Of course, family, friends and neighbors also get to enjoy the blessings of the garden.” Darrell has made a name for himself at The Open Door, a food shelf dedicated to offering healthy food options to those in need. Several times/year The Open Door sends a thank you card to the members of Crown of Life for the donations of fresh produce.
