Other people would say ChaCha (Jiaxi L. from Bonn, Germany) came to us by accident, but I say it was a “God thing”. We had hosted three girls in the past and since we are older now, my husband was not sure about having another exchange student; however, he consented to us being a “welcome family.” My husband, our granddaughter Ashton and I drove to Shreveport, Louisiana to pick him up at the airport. We drove back to Nacogdoches and fed him his first Mexican food. Upon arriving home one of my daughters, Charlotte, came to our house to meet ChaCha. Knowing from his profile that he was an accomplished pianist, we asked him to play. He played 3 pieces and later went to his bedroom. My husband and I were sitting in the den and after a little while, he looked at me and said, “If it’s alright with you, call Jeannette (ChaCha´s great Local Coordinator) and tell her she doesn’t have to find him another home.” Even though we are 76 and 68 years old, ChaCha is very happy with us and our family. It was another “God thing” that our daughters all play the piano so we had a piano for him to play and practice on. Looking back, it would have been awful if he had gone to a family that did not have a piano.

He is thin but, oh, he can eat! We always eat out on Sunday after church and nearly always go to an “all you can eat” buffet called Barnhill’s. Our first Sunday there, he had to loosen his belt. The second Sunday there, he loosened his belt again. The third Sunday, he took his belt off before we went in to eat. On the way home that day, he said, “Let’s go somewhere else next Sunday. Barnhill’s is getting boring”. So, the next Sunday, we went to a restaurant where you have to order off the menu. On the way home that day, he said, “Let’s go back to Barnhill’s next Sunday. I didn’t get enough to eat”. Needless to say, he has had to buy new jeans that are bigger in the waist. American food is definitely agreeing with him.

His mother wanted him to continue piano lessons while in America, so I called the Music Preparatory Division of Stephen F. Austin University in our town. After talking to the director, she said, “This may be an answer to prayer. Let me call you back”. The University has a new Music Department Head this year and another “God thing” happened. The department head is in administration now but loves to teach, so he agreed to teach ChaCha once a week for 1 hour, at no charge, because he wanted to give back to the community. ChaCha has already played in one concert and one recital at the university, and also played at my daughter’s student’s Christmas recital. In addition, he played at a Missions Rally at our church and, of course, he HAS to play for all who come to our house. We don’t feel we have to listen to him practice, but that we get to listen to him practice.He is much disciplined with his time, school duties and his money. He gets himself up in the mornings and does not have to be told to do his homework. He is an exemplary student with an all “A” report card. He enjoys playing football with our grandsons and during the holidays, we have been playing several games and really having a good time with him. He is truly a delight and we are so glad he stayed with us.

Mildred and Eldon