Growing up without parents is hard – especially for children in foster care.

Foster children patiently wait for someone to adopt them, hoping the right parents will come along and give them a new life.

Unfortunately, this is what happened with Andrew, a child that was in foster care since the age of six.

He was entirely alone. His biological parents had their legal rights terminated and his four siblings had already been adopted without him.

What’s even worse was that Andrew’s situation lasted for years.

During this period, sadness and despair started to grow inside of him.

However, it all started to change three years ago, when the Gill family decided to open their home in Nashville, Tennessee, and foster him until he could finally be adopted.

Even when they weren’t thinking about adopting Andrew, they wanted to show him not only that love exists in this world, but also that he could be loved and appreciated.

During an interview with WBIR Channel 10, Dominique and Kevin Gill said that the first weeks with Andrew were quite difficult since he was severely affected because of his situation. They explained he only sat in his room and looked at old pictures. He never wanted to talk and he always kept his door closed.

Andrew was reportedly behaving badly and would shout at anyone who tried to get close to him.

However, it all started to change thanks to Dominique’s son Joc, who started to play video games with Andrew.

They began to build a friendship.

Their bond made Andrew feel comfortable enough to start opening his heart to the Gill family who began to feel increasing love for him in return.

As time went on, Joc and Andrew became best friends.

This made the Gill family feel like they made the best decision by fostering Andrew and making him feel as loved and comfortable as possible until a new family decided to adopt him. However, things would take a surprising turn.

One morning, Andrew was surprised to see Youth Counselor Molly Parker.

She asked him to have a little walk.

Andrew was really confused about where they were going and what was happening – until he saw Dominique, Kevin, and Joc holding signs and balloons and wearing funny shirts, as if they were hosting some kind of welcoming party.

Once he got closer, Andrew noticed that it was indeed a welcoming party.

But the person who the Gill family was welcoming was him.

They asked him if he wanted to be a part of their family because they wanted to adopt him.

He immediately smiled and said ”Yeah!”

Right after he accepted their request, everyone started to cheer and celebrate the moment, not only because Andrew finally found his forever home but also because the Gill family had a new member too.

In July 2020, Andrew was officially adopted by the Gill family, ending a life of so much suffering and beginning the one he had always deserved.

“From the beginning, Andrew has always said, ‘Thank you for accepting me,’ ‘Thank you for not giving up on me.’ People would read his file and get scared away. But I knew he was a good child who had experienced a lot of trauma. Love doesn’t have a color. (Andrew) is our son just like Joc is our son. He’s a part of us,” Dominique said in the interview.

This beautiful story is not only the biggest evidence that love prevails but also the proof that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Watch Andrew’s story in the video below!

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Source: WBIR Channel 10, WPSD Local 6.