Adopted Northwestern soccer player: 'My home is America'

"So I folded a map, closed my eyes and pointed to a spot," she said. "I opened my eyes, and my finger was on Rock Hill."

While living and working with the children at the Daniel Hoover Children's Village in Dixville, Liberia, Moore decided to adopt three of the residents: Dennis, Helena and Caleb.

Moore initially was touched by Dennis. His mother died when he was 3 and his father died seven years later as Dennis tried to rush him to a medical center in Liberia. She decided to adopt Dennis, then agreed to adopt his younger sister, Helena, and Caleb, who had become like a brother.

All three children had survived years of civil war in Liberia.

After picking Rock Hill, Dennis, Helena, Kristi and her mom, Kathleen Lemme, who was 71 at the time, loaded the family's belongings into a rental truck in 2006 for the 17-hour drive from Texas to Rock Hill.

Caleb remained in Liberia because of a problem with his visa. After the problem was resolved after five months, Kristi returned to Liberia and brought Caleb to Rock Hill. They lived in an apartment at first, then a townhouse, before buying a home last July.

Coming to America

Kristi was 34, a single mom and living in a state new to her. And she had a family, three bright and cheerful children that she had to introduce to the modern world.

On the trip to bring Dennis and Helena home, Kristi was amazed at how they reacted to new experiences.

During a three-hour layover in Brussels, Belgium, Helena was fascinated by the conveyor belt that took passengers to and from the concourse - moving without walking.

Dennis liked the escalator. Kristi said they rode it up and down at least 23 times.

And when they were in the terminal, "I went to the restroom and saw my first urinal," Dennis said. "I didn't know what it was.

"I stood there looking; thought it was a place to wash my hands. I waited until someone else came in. A man used it, and I'm glad I didn't stick my hands in it."

Caleb, who was 9, got his close-up view of "civilization" five months later. For him, it was a scary experience.

"I took him in a family restroom because I didn't want to let him go by himself," Kristi said. "When Caleb was finished, he got up and it was one of those self-flush units. Caleb took off. The only thing that stopped him was the restroom door."

Kristi prepared her children for their new experiences here by taking their transition slowly.

She wanted her children to start school in Rock Hill at the same educational level as the classmates their age.

In Liberia, Dennis was academically three years behind children his age in America, Kristi said. She worked with him in Liberia, and by the time he enrolled as a freshman at Trinity Christian School in Rock Hill, he had caught up.

She didn't want to send Dennis to a public school right away. "I wanted to make sure he was ready first," she said.

Dennis had played soccer at the Liberian children's village, most of the time using paper stuffed in socks or sap from rubber trees as soccer balls. In Rock Hill, he first joined a club team in the Discoveries Soccer program and later played on Trinity's team.

He moved to Northwestern High School his sophomore year but couldn't immediately join the soccer team. The South Carolina High School League requires most transfer students to sit out sports a year. Northwestern asked that Dennis be granted a hardship transfer, which would allow him to play his first year, but was denied.

But that didn't stop Dennis.

"Dennis came to me and asked to be the manager," said Dom Wren, the school's soccer coach. "He said, 'Coach, I'll do whatever I can to help the team.'

"That's the measure of the kind of young man he is. He's a little shy, he's polite, respectful, courteous and works hard. He's probably improved more each year than any player I've ever coached."