He’s Got a Home for Christmas

“I was in disbelief. Like, I thought like it was a sign of something. Like, this is where I needed to be; I was actually home.”

It had been a long time since Mason Martinez had a Christmas worth remembering. Now he was spending it with Angelle’ Lewis and her family. Mason and Angelle’ met in November 2019 --- she was his driver’s ed instructor. Over the following months during their drives, Angelle’ learned more about the 16-year-old’s story.  Mason describes:

“In 2016, my mother passed away and that's when everything changed. 
There were times living with my dad that,

I would only get to eat like one time a day, because 
we couldn't afford to buy more food. For a while I 
didn't even celebrate Christmas with my dad. 
Christmas came around, we would eat, say 
Merry Christmas, but not a tree, nothing.”

By then, he had no home and was staying with a friend’s family temporarily. Mason says, it felt like even God didn’t want him. That was about to change. 
Angelle’ and her husband Ronnie had been foster parents for years, but had decided to take a break from the challenges of raising foster kids. After meeting Mason, she told Ronnie she felt God was telling they should rethink that idea. Angelle says, “I do remember going home after initially meeting him and telling my husband that this is the kind of kid I wish we could have fostered. So when I brought up the idea of Mason living with us, it wasn't hard to get him on board.”

Later, Angelle’ discovered she and Mason had something in common. “I've I lost my mom”, she said. “One thing I've just learned over time after losing a mom is it's a club that nobody wants to be in. And so instantly, when he told me about his mom, of course I had the maternal instinct kick in, but also, I resonated with that”, Angelle said.  Then came the Christmas holidays --- even though Mason was with his friend’s family, he still felt alone.  

While Mason was too old to take in as a foster child, Angelle’ told him if he ever needed anything or a place to stay, he could call her. A month later in January 2020, he took her up on that offer. “I can see as we were walking through the house, I could just kind of see him looking around. He asked me what my address was”, Angelle describes. Mason then had a revelation --- he says, “I was like, this is my old house.” They realized that Angelle and Ronnie’s home was the very home Mason grew up in as a child. Mason was just a child when his family moved out years before, when his mom was still alive. Angelle said, “it was very clear to all of us, that Mason was gonna come live with us, and he moved in that weekend.” 

That year Mason graduated high school and enlisted in the Army. After 10 weeks of boot camp, Mason came home just in time for Christmas.  Mason says through the Lewis’ love and generosity, a new family wasn’t the only gift he received. Mason says God was brought back into his life. As for Angelle’ and her family, she closes saying – “I tell people I have three boys and, and one of 'em is a bonus son, and sometimes they feel like maybe that's a stepson or something, but Mason is a bonus in a totally different way because God gave 'em to me and to our family.”