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A Journey to Save a Life: Part Fifteen/ Gina is Reunited with her Biological Parents

By
Real Estate Agent with KW at the Parks 651506396

A Journey to Save a Life: Part Fifteen/ Gina is Reunited with her Biological Parents

For those of you who used the link in Friday’s blog to watch the 60 Minutes video, you had an opportunity to see Gina be reunited with her biological family. I am going to reinsert the link again in case anyone is reading this blog for the first time and is trying to figure out what is going on. Here is the link again….60 Minutes Interview

I find watching the program very difficult to sit through, even with the passage of all this time. It is sort of like our family is just frozen in time…and everything that has happened since does not exist. It is one of the many reasons why I decided to write this…to explain the transformation of my family. Well, enough of that, let’s get back into the story…

During the week, or so that Gina and our son, Michael, were in El Salvador they stayed with a young man named Raphael; who was helping Father Jon Cortina search for missing children. My son, Michael, said it was quite a step down from the hotel we stayed at a decade before, but that Raphael was a terrific individual, and was extremely dedicated to helping families reunite with their missing children.

Michael took along our video camera, so we have hours and hours of tape on their exploits throughout their time in El Salvador.  The trip was broken down into 3 distinct segments. First, there was the party in Gina’s parent’s village when Gina saw her parents for the first time. Next, was the trip out to where Gina was wounded, and where her was sister killed. Father Cortina held a funeral mass at the site, since Gina’s sister had never been given a proper burial. The last segment was what happened in the remaining few days, after the 60 Minutes people left and came back to the states. That period was the most fruitful, since it gave everyone an opportunity to really get acquainted without cameras trained on them.

We were extremely grateful that Gina’s parents realized that we were victims to what happened, in addition to themselves. We had given Michael and Gina gifts to give to them…and instinctively they had made gifts in advance for us. Gina’s parents said during the interview with Steve Kroft that they wished to thank us for helping Gina…and frankly, that was the only thing we remembered when the segment was over that Sunday, November night. It seemed like such an unselfish act on their part. They could have been so bitter over losing their daughter for over a decade, yet they were so gracious. Steph and I will be eternally grateful for how they handled everything!

When the cameras weren’t on, Gina was able to spend quite a bit of time with her parents, and they did their best to fill in the blanks. What was so touching to us was the father told our son, Michael, though an interpreter, that he would be treated like a son in their household; out of respect for what we had done for their daughter. Gina’s parents made a terrific impact on her that week. They explained that we were not kidnappers, and that she was lucky that we had adopted her so she could have medical treatment to repair her foot. It seemed like God had touched their hearts and given them such profound wisdom for this occasion; for their words, and motives were simply that pure.

Within a couple days of Gina having these talks with her biological parents, years and years of resentment seemed to be dissolving. She started calling us every day while she was in El Salvador, and telling us of the day’s events. Gina had picked the perfect travel partner in her brother Michael. Each evening, the two of them went over what had been said and done during the day. I think it helped her to have this other point of view…and to have a point of view without an agenda.

During one of those calls home, Gina expressed an interest in coming back home when she returned from El Salvador. Gina wanted to extend her trip, so Michael flew back without her and Gina went to live with her parents for another three weeks. While it was great that Gina had the opportunity to spend time with her family in El Salvador, she had been in the states such a long time; she was a fish out of water in El Salvador. She didn’t speak Spanish anymore, and living conditions were extremely crude.

Her parents lived in a one room, mud floor hut with no windows or doors. There was one electric light bulb hanging in the middle of the hut. Their entire family slept on old mattresses scattered around the hut with blankets draped over rope for privacy. The family cooked over an open fire, and the father tended to his crops with a horse and a machete as his only tools. According to what we were told by the people from 60 Minutes , he made around $3 a day selling his fruits and vegetables.

We all met Gina at the airport on her return home. She ran up to us and gave us hugs and kisses in the terminal. Magically, it seemed we had a new Gina standing in front of us. We drove home, and Gina moved back into her old bedroom again. God had made us a family once again.

About 3 weeks later, my wife returned home from an errand, and Gina’s suitcase was in the foyer. While Stephanie was out, the foster mother had called and wanted Gina to come back to her home. My wife had left the “new” Gina when she went out that day; and when my wife returned, the “old” Gina had returned. Within an hour, a broken down car was in our driveway…and Gina was out the door. My wife was crushed as she watched our daughter drive away.

From the perspective of more than a decade later, I can still see no justification for the foster mother calling Gina, and asking her come back to her home. I must confess that it has taken me a very long time to not have hatred in my heart for her…and on really bad days, I still do.

To be continued…

Comments (5)

Joanna Szwyd
StoneHouse Properties - Great Barrington, MA

Good morning, Tom. I could not wait any longer for this chapter of your story. I was hoping to read that everything turned out OK, however, you completely surprised me by saying that the foster mom was back in Gina's life. So selfishly! (actually, "evil" was the real word on my mind). I have plenty of other words, but I should probably keep them to myself.

Mar 18, 2012 10:49 PM
Sheila Anderson
Referral Group Incorporated - East Brunswick, NJ
The Real Estate Whisperer Who Listens 732-715-1133

Good morning Thomas. This segment is both wonderful and so discouraging. You are much stronger and kinder than can be imagined. Knowing things are good now helps soften the sting, but it must still break your heart. I look forward to tomorrow.

Mar 18, 2012 10:55 PM
Thomas Craig
KW at the Parks - Orlando, FL

Sheila and Joanna,

Thank you so much for your comments, but most of all, your concern. We are heading down the home stretch, and as you both know things do end well...but it was an extremely long and winding road.

Tom

Mar 18, 2012 11:37 PM
Mike Frazier
Carousel Realty of Dyer County - Dyersburg, TN
Northwest Tennessee Realtor

Thomas, I am starting to see where God is working here and cannot wait until the next post.

Mar 19, 2012 07:14 AM
Thomas Craig
KW at the Parks - Orlando, FL

Mike,

I am so honored that you read through all the posts you missed while you were on vacation. There is always so much to catch up on when you get back from being gone, and for you to spend time on my blog...I am very humbled!!!!

Tom

Mar 19, 2012 10:04 PM