Army veteran makes crosses of hope

Sept. 19--YORKTOWN -- Beneath a shaded tree along a sparse country highway, Brad Vorpahl piles planks of old wood and barbed wire.

Musical hits from the '90s blare through the speakers of an early-model RV, where he lives outside his parent's home, formerly David & Sons Country Store in Yorktown.

"My dad poured his life into that store before he got sick," Vorpahl, 39, said, discussing his father David's not-so-recent Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.

Inside the country store, which the family converted into livable space following his father's diagnosis, Vorpahl's handcrafted wooden hope crosses are piling up on a table.

"I can't bring myself to charge anyone for them," Vorpahl said. "If they can inspire hope for someone else, and make them feel connected to their faith, I'd rather give them away."

It's not as if he couldn't use the money.

And when he began crafting the crosses, pulling the old wood off a century-old wash house on his father's property, he intended to sell them at area craft shows and market days.

But the disabled Army veteran -- who has been struggling with long-term back injuries received while serving in the military, heart problems that now force him to have a pacemaker, and the financial strife of being unable to work -- lives on about $1,200 per month.

And he said he wouldn't accept money for the crosses even if someone insisted on paying him.

"I just get so much out of giving them away. It's not always about the money," he said. "You'd be surprised what can happen when you live by faith."

Like Vorphal, the crosses almost resemble the rough-around-the-edges Catholic he's become.

His tattoo sleeves, earring spacers, and tobacco-spitting traits fit neatly with the crosses' rustic features, embellished with subtle blue paint and Jesus fish made from barbed wire.

But even if he doesn't look like a traditional, evangelical Jesus advocate, he said his message of love and hope is that of a God-fearing man.

"That's what I want people to get away from. It's not about how you look, it's about about the spirit inside you," he said. "When you can't get past all the stuff on the outside, like someone's tattoos, you'll never see the person behind them."

He's admittedly come a long way since hurting his back nearly a decade ago and developing supraventricular tachycardia in addition to other heart problems.

He also gave up drinking three years ago, a battle he conquered with God's help, he said.

And while he spent many years angry at God and the Catholic church for its involvement years ago with his attempts to annul his first marriage, he said his heart is content now. He only wants to live his life serving God and giving out as many crosses as possible.

"When my heart condition got really bad a few years ago, I died three times in the hospital, and the doctors revived me. When you go through something like that, you realize what's important. All the unimportant stuff just goes away," he said.

Vorpahl's mother, Barbara Vorpahl, shares the caregiving responsibilities of his father.

She said she enjoys having her son at home, watching him use his talents to inspire hope for others, especially when he's experienced so much hardship.

"He's had a lot of tragedy in his few years on this Earth. For a long time now, he's been tired of being sick and tired," she said. "It's good what he's doing. He's just trying to do anything he can to improve himself."

Even though Vorpahl enjoyed his time in the military, and felt a purpose working for the government, he believes God still has a purpose for his life -- to inspire others to grow in their faith.

"I loved serving. It was a perfect fit for me. If I hadn't injured my back, I would have stayed in the military until retirement," he said. "But this is what I'm doing now, and it's so fulfilling. I hope that building over there where I get the wood is gone one day -- it will mean I've made so many crosses."

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