Ready for the road trip, but we are going to miss these two boys.

So we are almost ready to get on the road to St. Louis next week, but are we going to miss these two. That's Antonio, the 14 year old boy we mentor and that is our 14 year old cat Mambo. These are the two sweetest boys you will ever meet in the world. We are so blessed to have both of them in our lives. Below is the story of Mr. Antonio's life so far and how we met him.

Too bad, we can't take our sweet boys with us on the trip!

The Story of Antonio & his extra mamas. (Meg + Alisa)

Antonio was born on September 8, 1996 to Terri Lynch and Dwight Antonio Timpson. He has three siblings, two sisters and a brother, of which he is the eldest. His father, sadly, was shot and killed in Lee Walker Heights (a housing project in Asheville, NC) several years ago. In the past, Antonio lived in Lee Walker Heights with his grandmother, mother and siblings in a two- bedroom apartment. He now resides with his mother, brother and sisters in Hill Crest. (another housing project in Asheville, NC)

We met Antonio in the summer of 2007 while teaching art classes for three weeks at Lee Walker Heights Community Center summer camp. During that time, Meg showed her class a film about the poverty in Calcutta, and Antonio was so concerned about the children he saw in the film that he wanted to send them clothes, shoes, and food. We were amazed that this child, who lived in a two-bedroom apartment with 5 to 7 other people, and had so little, could show such genuine compassion for others. He made a huge impression on us, even in that short a period of time.

Since that we met Antonio, we have become progressively more involved with him and his life. We have watched him grow from a child that made poor to mediocre grades to a young man with an admirable attitude and work ethic, and a deep belief that he can and will have a successful life.

Antonio maintains a B-C average at Asheville Middle School, however, he earned A’s and B’s in the last session of 7th grade this year! His grades have been improving each year since 5th grade, when we began mentoring him.

He is a well-behaved young man, with beautiful manners and a consistently positive outlook on life. He has a passion for learning new things, and a seemingly insatiable curiosity. He is sweet natured, and cares deeply about others in our community who are less fortunate. He has HUGE heart.

Antonio wants to be the first in his family to attend college. As well, he would like to play sports both in college and beyond. His ambition is be a good man, be of service to the community (especially, the homeless, he worries about homeless people constantly) and most importantly to him, be a good father as an adult.

We are trying like crazy to get Antonio into Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School or something very similar. It's a boarding school, so he can live away from the temptations of his current living situation. If you would, please pray, cross your fingers, meditate, say a good word to buddha, anything you can think of for Mr. Antonio. We will take any good thoughts anyone wants to pass our way. Antonio says thank you & so do we.