By Rev. Dean Weber, Chaplain

"Would you Adopt Me?" Michael asked. The question came out of nowhere, and during a moment surrounded by his teenage peers.

"What do you mean?" I queried.

Micheal has a bookish demeanor. His tousled blond hair and wire rimmed glasses makes him look more at home in a city library than in a group home for kids. "Just what I said," he answered. "Would you be willing to adopt me?"

"But you don't even know me," I responded.

"Doesn't matter– I figure you can't be any worse that what I've come from. So I might as well hope for something better."

I stood there flabbergasted amongst a group of rather rowdy boys, who were now at a standstill. I told Michael that I'd be glad to talk to him one on one, in a little while.

Later that day I had a chance to meet with Michael, without his peers overhearing our discussion. He said, "I know I took you off guard, and I'm sorry about that, but I was completely serious about wanting to know if you would adopt me." He leaned toward me with a sullen look and told me his story.

"My mom was raped when she was a teenager, and I was the result. Then she got married five years later to my step-dad. They had three kids of their own, but I've never been part of the family. There's not a day goes by that I'm not called the "unwanted kid". They simply don't want me around. I'm tired of being blamed for everything that goes wrong. I'm tired of being beaten up by my step-dad. I'm just tired of what my life has been so far. I figure that no matter who adopts me, it won't be any worse than what I've come from so I won't loose no matter what. I want to be an engineer when I grow up and design buildings. But there's no chance of that where I'm coming from now."

Here was a bright young man. He was articulate and even had a future plan. Yet he was so desperate that he would take any family situation available rather than return home.

"What would your mother think if she knew you wanted a new family?" I asked.

Michael raised one eyebrow and satirically replied, "She's already told me twice this year that she wished I would just disappear. My step-dad offered me $500 to run away and never come back."

I told Michael we would do everything possible to help him. I prayed with him and promised to meet with him regularly. He seemed at least satisfied with that for the moment.