An emotional scene took place in Houston’s Bush Airport when a mother and her adopted daughter met for the first time.
Audrey Shook had known since high school that one day she wanted to adopt a special needs child from China.
It takes a special person to dedicate their life to helping those who need it most and Audrey is just such a person.
Audrey meets Lucy
Audrey and her husband Brent live in Texas and started dating in high school.
While Audrey knew then that she wanted to adopt, the couple put their plans on hold after she became pregnant.
Nine years later they saw a video of Lucy, who at the time was living in an orphanage on the other side of the world.
Lucy was just six years old and living with down syndrome.
Audrey and Brent fell in love with her right away and knew that Lucy would be a welcome part of their family.
“I’ve always loved kids with special needs, especially kids with down syndrome,” Audrey told KHOU.
Audrey and her partner prepare to adopt Lucy
The adoption was facilitated through Great Wall China Adoptions.
Sadly, children such as Lucy will often spend their entire childhoods in orphanages.
If it wasn’t for kind-hearted people such as Audrey, these children would never find a family who truly loves and cares for them.
“These are the kids that are unwanted, they are the kids nobody else wants, they’ve been sitting on lists for their entire life or sitting in an orphanage,” said Shannon Phillips, with Great Wall China Adoptions.
Finding families for children who need them
Great Wall China Adoptions is an organization founded in 1996 with the goal of aiding international adoptions of children from China.
Their head office is located in Austin, Texas with a sister office located in Beijing.
They have helped to find homes for over 9000 children, many of whom are living with special needs.
The organization recommends couples host a special needs child for four weeks before deciding to adopt but Audrey and Brent Shook knew right away they wanted to adopt Lucy.
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Audrey and Brent can’t wait to adopt Lucy
The Shook family did not want to wait four weeks to welcome Lucy to their family.
“She’s beautiful and sweet and we just can’t wait for her to be ours,” said Shook.
“We don’t see it as we are going to help her, we see it as she’s going to help us with our lives,” said Brent Shook, Lucy’s soon-to-be father.
Audrey and Brent would finally meet Lucy in person at the Houston Bush Airport.
An emotional first meeting
Audrey was waiting for Lucy at the airport and when she walked through the arrivals terminal, she recognized her new daughter right away.
She ran up to her and said, “Hi! Hi, I’m momma!”
Lucy seemed to recognize right away that this was her new family.
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The Shook family documents their adventures
Since that fateful day, a lot has happened in the Shook family’s lives.
They are a family of nine and Audrey’s Instagram page is filled with photos of Lucy and her siblings playing, having fun, getting dressed up for holidays, and generally just enjoying life.
People like the Shooks help create joy and love where perhaps there was none. They make this world a better place and deserve to be celebrated.
Witness the emotional meeting between Audrey and Lucy in the video below!
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