I received the most incredible and inspiring email a few days ago. Thanks to the SEC network’s commercial on GFB, an amazing family was able to connect with me and share their story. I was able to call the father and son, and really hear the details of their story firsthand. Below is the email I received:

“First I want to thank you very much for what you are doing with your charity. The reason I am sending this to you is that I have a son who my ex wife and I adopted from Kathmandu, Nepal. He was found abandoned in a field by a police officer with his umbilical cord still attached on Dec 2, 2003. It was “estimated” that his birth date was November 9, so that is what we celebrate. He is an OUTSTANDING teenager. If we made a list of everything that we would want in a child, he is that and so much more.

He is an excellent student, just awarded the Math Award for the 7th grade yesterday. He is an even better Soccer player. Last year he became the first 6th grader to not only make the A team 8th grade Soccer Squad, but he started every game and played the most minutes. He also plays for a select squad in another town, where tomorrow they play in the semis of the regional, 2 wins away from going on to Kansas City. Not bad for a small town in central Kentucky. During the peak of the season, he was practicing 4 nights a week with 2 games during the week and 2 on weekends, plus maintaining all A’s and B’s in the classroom. He received the Citizenship award all 6 years in the elementary school, never been in trouble if any kind.

The reason I’m writing you this is to let you know, as you do, there are kids in 3rd world countries that given the opportunities can thrive and succeed.

I could type for days about my son and what a great young man he is and I see him doing great things with either his brain or his athletic ability. Thank you for helping countries like Nepal because people don’t realize just how bad it is in that country.”

This story just touched my heart in the most incredible way. This young man was found at 3 weeks old in a field in Kathmandu, which is a known area for people dropping off children they can’t take care of or don’t want. A local Police officer patrolled the area often in order to save children who were left there, and thank the Lord he did! He was found with another young boy but it was determined that they weren’t related. The month he was adopted (at about 3 months old) by his new family, 22 orphans died of pneumonia in his orphanage. Since he was chosen for adoption, he was able to stay with a Nepalese lawyer to keep him healthy and safe. During this time, the Nepalese Civil War was tearing apart the country’s capital city of Kathmandu, causing it to be extremely dangerous for anyone in the city, much less Americans coming to adopt.

This young man said he wanted to tell his story to help other children have an outlet and to get out of their current circumstances (through soccer) like he was able to through his adoption. He now plays in his regions Olympic Development Program, and is practicing with his high school JV team while still in middle school. He said that he wants to go back to Nepal someday when he is able to help make a difference! What an incredible young man!