a cool kid

I met one of the coolest kids ever this week. I've been "the missionary" at a camp I used to work at last week, which means I have a little class with the kids in the morning and then can fat around at the pool all afternoon. Kind of a nice break, actually!

Anyway, some of the kids get to know you really quickly, and some kind of hang around the fringes. That's why it wasn't until Thursday night that I had a conversation with Cody. Cody is 17 or 18, with a long blonde ponytail and lean frame that doesn't quite mesh with his thick southern accent. He's painfully shy, and it takes him a while to look you in the eye, even longer to start talking. But some stories are worth waiting for.

Cody has started a skateboard ministry in the small town of Hazard, KY. He and a few friends started skating before church, more than anything because there's nothing to do in a small town. Before long new people started showing up, and after a few months there are 15-20 skaters. Three people made commitments to follow Jesus and have become actively involved in the church. Many of the skaters leave before church, but Cody, with a shy smile, says, "We don't want to make them come to church or anything. They can come skate, and we figure God can use that."

The youth ministry at Cody's church is starting to grow and come alive, and they're starting to have an impact in the town. City officials told Cody that they have no problem with his group skating on the grounds of the new courthouse, right in the center of town.

Cody tells me all this matter-of-factly, and as if he were listing off what he had for breakfast. Of course he skates. He's always skated. You can love God and skate at the same time, right? The cool thing about him is that he doesn't get caught up in strategy or anything. He hasn't set out to plant a ministry or have a huge community impact. He ust figures people need something to do.

At some point the conversation shifted to Cody's background. His parents split up when he was young, and so began the long cycle of bouncing from state to state, from one relative to another, never really knowing where to call home. Always the kid who was bullied in school, he dropped out halfway through his sophomore year at age 15. After studying carpentry for a while, Cody got his GED (high school equivalency) this year, and has started mending the relationship with his estranged father. He's thinking about college soon, but right now he wants to stay home and skate.

Cody's history was told as matter of factly as his skating stories. He says "It's kinda good--I mean, now I can relate to people who've had a hard time." Simple as that. With quiet assurance, God is using Cody in ways more powerful than I think he realizes.

I wish Cody had been the missionary speaker for the week. I think I could have learned a lot.