The Rocket Man

This past week I got a new nickname: the Rocket man. We were at the West End Fair with a booth, courtesy of Cornerstone Community Church, and I was Indo boarding. It was at that moment I hear a kid yell from across the walk way. I looked over and there was a boy with long hair down to his shoulders pointing at me yelling, "Hey! Do you remember me from last year? You were shooting rockets at my all day. I was looking for you all week and was wondering 'Where is the Rocket Man at?'" I had to think for a moment or two, but then suddenly I remembered.

This kids name was David. He and his group walked past our booth last year like 25 times (seriously - I'm surprised they didn't get dizzy walking in circles for so long) without ever stopping at our booth. So, to get their attention, I took a little foam rocket I had and shot it at them every time they walked by. At first they were like, "What in the world is going on?" but then as I continued shooting at them it turned into a game. Every time they walked by I would 'launch' my rocket and they would try to catch it - typically to no avail.

This year things were very much the same. I would be Indo boarding, and when I saw their 'posse' walking down the road I would grab my little rocket and shoot it up in the air. David would follow it with his eyes and try his best to catch it. Often times it would hit his hands like 5 times and then fall to the ground; it shoot in the totally opposite direction; or he'd run into somebody trying to catch it. The whole day he would try to catch it, and he never could. (One time I shoot it right past his head too and freaked him out).

Finally, at the end of the day, he was fed up. He said that he wouldn't leave until he caught the rocket. So there we stood in the middle of the walkway and I kept shooting it up in the air for him to catch. One time it hit a passerby; one time it hit him in the head and fell to the ground; one time he tripped and fell to the ground; one time he had to chase it into the graveyard (they were selling gravestones across the way). Then, when I thought he would never catch it, he caught it. The rocket went straight up in the air, he focused in on it, and like a crocodile closing his jaws in a clumsy fashion, he snatched it out of the air. We rejoiced. (If I had money I would have bought him a celebration hotdog at the local stand). When all was said and done, I gave him the rocket and said he cold keep it as a keep sake until next year when I'd have an even cooler rocket (I was thinking of getting a military one, but I'm sure they wouldn't like that).

As I think on this story I am just amazed at the kind of relationships we are able to build in such a short time at the West End Fair. It really is amazing. Did David or his crew ever come out to the Barn? No. Will they now? I don't know, but I am amazed that he remembered our booth out of all of the booths at the fair. He remembered the rocket along with the fun he had, but more importantly he remembered someone who took the time to notice him. There in those few hours a relationship was built. To me that is what the Barn is all about: building relationships that eventually lead students before Christ. These kids get tracks handed to them all the time at the fair, but we started by building a foundation with them; we started by building a relationship and inviting them out to the Barn. Who knows if they will come, but I know this: next year I will have a better rocket, and David and his crew will be back for more.