By Gillian Sheridan gsheridan@cbs19.tv

Max is a typical teenager.

“I like to listen to music, ride my bike, play video games, watch TV and movies,” he said.

But sports is his favorite activity, especially basketball.

“I’ve never been on a team, but I’m hoping to next year in the eighth grade. I’d probably be a point guard,” he said, shooting baskets at Fire Mountain Amusement Park in Tyler.

And this 13-year-old always tries to do his best.

“I want to be the kind of person that God wants me to be,” he said.

Max says his wait for a forever family seems endless and he can’t even remember exactly when he came into foster care.

“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s like a really, really long time, but I still think I can find someone.”

Ashley Gipson, his CPS caseworker said Max entered foster care in 2006.

“He’s had a long journey in foster care,” she said.

He’s been moved to 20 different placements and is ready for a permanent home.

“I guess it would be good because I really don’t like moving around because I have to lose the friends I’ve actually gotten close to,” Max said.

And he’s had to change schools often.

“It would also be good because I could stay in one school and actually learn,” he said. “It’s like you could be learning something in one class and then move to another and then you don’t get to finish learning that.”

Max needs a positive family that can guide him as he continues dealing with his past.

“He needs patience and someone who’s going to be committed to him and be with him for his good and his bad,” Gipson said.

And Max says faith is important.

“I also want a family that goes to church because when you go to church you have the opportunity to sing and learn new things about God,” he said.

Max went on to recite his favorite Bible verse.

“It’s John 3:16 — For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Max has a young heart full of love, and a prayer to share it with a family of his own.

To learn more about Max, join Gillian Sheridan for her “Children are a Gift” report, Tuesday night on CBS 19 Ten @ 10. You can also find information on www.CBS19.tv and www.tylerpaper.com. To inquire about an East Texas child waiting to be adopted, call 903-533-4109.