Sometimes a person’s greatest gift is courage, even if they have nothing else to offer.
That’s exactly what it took for 15-year-old Davion Navar Henry Only to stand before St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, to ask if a family, anyone really, could adopt him.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Only got the idea after hearing something about God helping those who help themselves.
“I know they’re out there,” Only told his caseworker, Connie Going, about finding a family. “Maybe if someone hears my story…”
Now in the 10th grade and nearly a straight-A student, Only has been in foster care all his life. The aspiring football player was born in jail. And his mother’s death, just weeks before his courageous speech, spurred his search on further.
Once an angry child, Only changed his behavior and changed his temperament, to prove what a great person he could be.
The difference was noticeable according to Going. The young man’s group home director, Floyd Watkins, agreed that Only has changed. “He’s come a long way,” said Watkins. “He’s starting to put himself out there, which is hard when you’ve been rejected so many times.”
And at that day’s service, the church’s pastor spoke of orphans before Only approached the pulpit. With sweaty palms, he stood up before the congregation and said, “My name is Davion and I’ve been in foster care since I was born… I know God hasn’t given up on me. So I’m not giving up either.”
Despite Only’s bold approach to find a family, only two couples came forward to express interest and no one has come forward to give him a permanent home.