Nine-year-old Nateal “Nati” Peek may be the newest resident of Troy MO. Last week, he lived in an orphanage in Ethiopia. Today, he calls the small subdivision of Oak Grove home.

“We weren’t planning to have a fourth child,” said Hannah Peek, Nati’s mother. “But as soon as we met him, we knew this was God’s plan.”

The Peak family first met Nati three years ago on a trip to Ethiopia to pick up their first adopted child, Elisabeth. Adoption is not cheap, and it took almost three years for Rob and Hannah Peek to raise the money to bring Nati home.

Today, Nati’s life is full of firsts – riding a bicycle, eating pizza, having a family to call his own. In addition to their adoptive children, Hannah and Rob have two biological children, Logan and Carter. The transition to life in America has not been without it’s bumps. Nati speaks no english, and his family speaks no Amhric. They communicate through gesture, love and patience.

This story follows Nati as he discovers his new home.