I am eight years old. I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma with my mama. My sister Arleshia(6), my brother Ozben(4) and I are in our apartment home alone. In Oklahoma, you’re not supposed to be at home alone if you are younger than 16. Today the manager is coming by. We're cleaning the house so that when the manager checks it, we won't have to move. My mama always said she'll see us when she got home. I didn't know today would be different.

We are very poor. We have to wait for food stamps before we can go to the grocery store to get food. My mama works so hard to support us but most of the time all we have to eat is Ramen noodles, Kool-Aid, canned foods, and old Halloween candy. We don't have a car and I don't know where my daddy is. All we have is each other to love. There ’s a knock at the door. My mama told us not to open the door to anyone when she ’s gone. My siblings and I get scared and curl up on the couch. The door opens and in steps the manager. Her face in disgust, she walks toward the kitchen taking pictures of the stained floors, crumbs everywhere, roaches crawling across the walls and then she spots us ...

She takes pictures of how skinny we are and the rugged clothes on our backs. She pulls out her phone and calls the police. The policeman takes us to something called The Department of Human Services. We call it the shelter. This is the place where parents who don't want their children, parents who can't afford their children, and parents who can't take care of their children go to. I didn't get to see my mama today. They split me from my brother and sister and put us into different foster homes. A foster home is where people take you into their home for a while because you're cute. My foster parents are so mean. They accuse me of things ’d never do, yell at me and hit me. They make me do all of their chores while they watch TV. I am eight years old.

My heart hardened towards my foster parents and I took out my anger on their house. I’ve been in and out of 4 or 5 foster homes now. I lost everything. I am nine years old and I haven't seen my mama yet.

Today my teacher announces that she has a friend for us to meet. She introduces Sharon and says that Sharon will be teaching with her for a while. I go to Sharon's house sometimes after school because I need help on my homework. When we finish, her husband Dave and I play the N64, wrestle, or we play basketball. We are always laughing. He's very ticklish! We have so much fun together. They are taking me into foster care now. They don't treat me like the other people do. ’m happy all the time now.

Dave just got a new job in Dallas, Texas. I can't go with them. They took me from Sharon and Dave. They put me in a different foster home. I get sick because I don't want to be with these foster parents. I haven't seen my mama yet. I cry every night. I am ten years old. One day in the shelter, they call me to the front desk because I have a visitor. Its Sharon! She came back for me! Sharon fought for me and managed to adopt me. I never had a future until I moved in with Sharon. I accepted Jesus into my heart later that year.

I am 18 years old. Ive been going to a classical Christian college preparatory school for three years and I’m applying to college. College! No one in my family has ever been to a school where you had to pay. I even get to see my mama. God has taken me from everything I held on to and turned me into a bright young man who is going to college! You can't find happiness like this just anywhere. It felt as if God were punishing me. I realized that God wasn't punishing me but that he had a plan for my life. He has a purpose. It is said that you have to drop certain things to focus your attention on God; things like, girlfriends, jobs, and in my case, family. I lost everything; So I thought. I lost a lot but I gained so much more. I found Jesus through this. God unpacked my life. He literally took the bag I thought I was going camping with, dumped the contents on the floor, jumped in and said, "now carry me around for a while". They took my brother and sister away but God said, No, I have a plan for this one. He has given me a chance to live. He broke my heart. He broke my life and said "let me show you where your heart should be". Because God took me from what I thought was the best thing I had and placed me in this home, I have a future. My character has changed from one who hates life with all his soul to someone who is most outgoing, fun, and talkative and my heart is ready for the next life changing obstacle God has for my life: College. My mama would be proud. I love you mama. Thank you God.