If you’re ever introduced to Chayim (shy-eem), the chances are you’ll be greeted by his signature sweet smile and infectious laugh. This joyful second grader bursts with energy and a healthy dose of good-natured goofiness, but this side of him didn’t fully emerge until his rocky start to life began to smooth out.

As a second-grade student at Arbor Christian Academy, an English immersion school in San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic, teachers and staff have watched Chayim’s transformation since he arrived as a kindergartner. They can’t help but respond to his ready smile and celebrate how God has provided stability and a supportive home for this special boy. 

Chayim is of Haitian decent, but was born in America and brought up speaking English. For his first handful of years he bounced back and forth from New York to the Dominican Republic, staying much of the time with different relatives. This unstable start to life began taking a toll on Chayim and behavior issues came into play…