Imagine what it would be like for a 12-year-old boy to leave his country and move thousands of miles to America with no one to care for him. That's the story of Deng, an exchange student from the Sudan who hoped his basketball skills would help him find a future after he arrived in the U.S.. After feeling lost for years, a chance meeting changed his life. "The first day I met Sam, we were playing pickup games," Deng, now 17, recalls.

They quickly bonded and Sam decided to be Deng's mentor, but after sharing countless stories about the 7-foot-tall teen with his family, Sam's wife had an idea. "It just struck me, knowing that [Deng] had come here at 12 years old, and during that span of time not really having stability," Mary explains. "I just felt that maybe he needed us and maybe we needed him."

They invited Deng to live with their family and he soon found a home of his own. "It's pretty wonderful for me to have them like my mom and dad," Deng says. "The Johnson's have been amazing. They're there for me for everything, I really love them. " And, his dreams of a future in basketball are closer to a reality. Deng is currently being wooed by college recruiters across the country, and what ever he does in the future, he has already succeeded in making a huge impact on his new family. "Deng has taught us a lot about being grateful and appreciative," Sam says. "All the little things that we were looking over, it just brought it all into focus."

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