A child, especially a foster child, wants to have their own family.

That’s why they sometimes endure the abuse they experience because it’s better than nothing. And then there are foster families who would do anything for their foster child. This includes the Gill family.

When Dominique and Kevin Gill opened up their home to be a foster family, they wanted to help out as many children as they can. Dominique grew up in the foster care system so she knows how tough it was. They had no intention of adopting though.

Things changed when they opened up their homes to 10-year-old Andrew.

Andrew had been in foster homes since he was six years old when his parents gave up their parental rights. It was major tough for Andrew because he was the only one of his siblings who weren’t adopted yet. All his other siblings were adopted right away.

When Andrew arrived at the Gill’s house, it was a tough adjustment for all of them.

“During his first week with us, he sat in his room with the door closed and looked at old pictures. He didn’t want to talk,” Dominique recalled.

And when he did talk, he screamed and pushed Dominique and Kevin away.

“He’d start shouting, ‘Just let me move out!’ But I refused to give up on him,” Dominique said. “I was like, ‘We are going to get you together.’”

Dominique and Kevin did not give up on Andrew.

They did everything they can to take care of his needs, all his needs. Eventually, Andrew learned to control his emotions and they didn’t have any outbursts for a year. But it was when their son, Joc, asked him to play video games with him that really cemented their relationship.

In fact, they didn’t just become video game buddies, they became best friends because of this bond.

“As the years went on, they got pretty close,” Kevin shared. “It’s good to see that bond they have grow over the years.”

Now, the family had already established that Andrew’s stay was temporary.

He was staying there until he got adopted. Technically, that was true but it wasn’t what the Gills or Andrew expected.

When Andrew’s second adoption failed, Dominique and Kevin took it as a sign that Andrew was brought to them for a reason.

“Our mindset was we’d help him until he found his forever home,” Dominique explained. “But after the second adoption didn’t work out, I realized God put Andrew in our lives for a reason. God made sure the adoption didn’t work out so he could come back to us.”

And so they asked Andrew’s case worker, Molly, to help with the surprise.

Molly took Andrew to the park where the Gill family and their friends were waiting to ask Andrew a question. ‘Will you be part of our family?’ Joc even wore a special shirt that said, ‘Will you be my brother?’

Andrew loved the Gills so it was an easy yes for him.

And it was an easy decision for the Gills to adopt him as well.

“From the beginning, Andrew has always said, ‘Thank you for accepting me,’ ‘Thank you you for not giving up on me,’” Dominique shared. “People would read his file and get scared away. But I knew he was a good child who had experienced a lot of trauma.”

Even after the adoption was final, they still experienced a couple of issues, particularly with their skin color.

“Because Andrew is white and we’re Black, people will stare at us,” Dominique said. “They’re confused.”

But it didn’t matter to Andrew.

He knew love will come from anywhere and love doesn’t choose your skin color. That’s why he chose to check the “No race preference” box for his foster parents.

And Dominique and Kevin agree. It doesn’t matter what Andrew’s race or skin color is, he is their son, just like Joc.

Watch Andrew’s reaction when he realizes he was walking into an adoption proposal in the video below.

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Source: YouTube – WBIR Channel 10, Positive Outlooks, TODAY Parents