Confusion gives way to hope

Two years ago, when Axel Grisim Lopez was stranded in Costa Rica with a broken leg, people came through when he needed them.

Community members raised thousands of dollars and a family flew a private plane to bring him back to the United States.

Now the five-year-old is bringing hope to people during a global pandemic.

It started with a lot of questions for his Nana, Cara Grisim, after school went on hiatus in March.

Why, he wanted to know, were the school buses out when there were no children to ride them? She explained that they were bringing things to students so they could learn from home.

The questions kept coming.

“I said, ‘Let’s just go for a walk,’” she said.

They went to the lakeshore and Cara explained to him that he was going to be learning differently now.

“You have to keep hope,” she told him.

Later on the walk Axel picked up a few small pieces of driftwood and said: “Maybe we can make crosses out of these. Maybe we can give it to old people or other friends and give them hope.”

“I thought that was pretty deep for a five year old,” Cara said.

They began to collect pieces and make crosses.

Axel selects the pieces for the cross, punches the tags, ties the twine, and puts the tags on the crosses, Cara said. She nails the two pieces together.

Cara said that on his breaks from distance learning Axel would come to her and ask to make more crosses.

Now, over one week later, they’ve built over 120 “Crosses of Hope.” They’ve delivered many locally and mailed others.

Because of social distancing, Axel hasn’t been able to meet many of the recipients of his crosses.

“He just runs up, puts it on the step, and rings the doorbell,” Cara said.

Sometimes its difficult for him, Cara said, like when he delivered a cross to his great-grandparents in Lake City.

They talked to him from their patio above, but he was sad that he couldn’t give them a hug.

He’s also delivered crosses to some of his friends from school.

Each cross is different. Sometimes Axel has a specific recipient in mind for a particular cross.

“He said: ‘Nana, this one looks like an angel,” Cara said. “I looked at it. He said: ‘You are going to keep that one.”

A tall teacher at school got a tall cross.

“It’s cute,” she said, “because many time he’ll look at one and say: ‘It’s beautiful Nana.’”

After word got out about the crosses, requests started coming in, mainly through Facebook.

On Tuesday they planned to deliver a cross to a local man who had a terminal cancer diagnosis.

They’ve mailed crosses all over the country from Yakima, Wash., to Wynantskill, N.Y., to Kissimmee, Fla.

People have asked to pay for the crosses.

“We’re not taking any money. This is all wood that’s floating down the river,” Cara said.

Instead, Cara suggested that a personal message might mean more to Axel.

“I think these types of things are morals and values,” she said. “Doug (her husband) and I just feel that this is a great life lesson for the little boy.”

They plan to send a special cross to the family who flew Axel back from Costa Rica.

And the race is on to get as many crosses as possible in the mail so they can arrive by Easter.

“We’ve got to keep mailing them Nana,” Axel told Cara.