Last year, Melissa and John Cummings lost their oldest son, Ryan, in Iraq.
This year, they found new appreciation for life in Waleed Nasir, a Muslim exchange student from Pakistan.
Waleed moved in with the Crystal Lake family in August, a little more than two months after Ryan was killed.
“We were in such a state of shock and mourning,” said Melissa Cummings, Waleed’s host parent. “I just didn’t think we were the best place for him.”
But the family’s worries subsided when she and her husband saw 16-year-old Waleed’s smiling face at the airport.
He was so excited about everything, Melissa Cummings said, that it made them all value how lucky they were.
“Especially after what happened last year to our son Ryan, it has been a blessing,” she said.
Waleed has become best friends with his host brother Jason, 14
http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/03/11/news/local/doc45f392315af56884525374.txt
