It’s hard to imagine being in the shoes of 15-year-old Davion Only. The young Florida teen has been in foster care all of his life, and all he wants is a family to call his own. Davion decided to take matters into his own hands earlier this month and addressed a church congregation of more than 300 people, begging for someone to give him a chance.

“I’ll take anyone,” Davion said to the congregation. “Old or young, dad or mom, black, white, purple. I don’t care. And I would be really appreciative. The best I could be.”

As an adoptee, I am so proud of and inspired by young Davion Only! There are so many more kids like us out there. ADOPT and save a life!

— Ashley RhodesCourter (@RhodesCourter) October 18, 2013

The young man was born while his mother was incarcerated and has been an orphan his entire life. Davion clung to the hope that his birth mother would one day came for him and struggled with controlling the behavior. He had issues with poor grades and had a temper. However, after learning that his mother died, Davion knew he had to makes some changes if he wanted to have a chance to find a permanent family.

It’s difficult enough for most adults to truly change their behavior, but it looks like this teenager has. “He decided he wanted to control his behavior and show everyone who he could be,” Connie Going, Davion’s caseworker, said. Davion worked throughout the summer to make those changes and in addition to becoming healthier and earning all A’s in every subject except geometry, he made great strides, particularly in regards to his temper.

“He’s come a long way,” said Floyd Watkins, the program manager at the group home where Davion stays. “He’s starting to put himself out there, which is hard when you’ve been rejected so many times.”

After a lot of hard work, Davion decided to take matters into his own hands and find a family. “I know they’re out there,” Davion said, sure that if someone heard his story that they would give him a chance. To that end, Davion decided to address St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church and make his plea to be adopted.

“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,” Davion told the congregation just over two weeks ago.

Ever since word of Davion’s plea to be adopted made rounds, the church he spoke at has been flooded with calls. “It has been just an awesome outpour,” Cynthia Coney, a secretary at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church, said. “We’ve been getting calls from as far as Utah and forwarding them to his adoption agency.”

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