TELL YOUR STORY
My entire life has been without an identity
My grandparents adopted
me from their eldest
daughter when I was baby.
Therefore, my mom
became my sister; my
grandparents, my mom
and dad. As far as my
biological father went,
I never knew who he was
until I was eight years old.
Or so I thought.
“Hi, Michea, I am Mike, your dad!
You can call me Mike!” the voice on the
other side of the phone said.
The first half of my life was a
mixture of phone calls, letters and
gifts. Never once did we meet in
person. There was always a nagging
feeling in both of us: “Was I his
daughter?”
That question remained unanswered.
Mike died in November of 2017 – without
knowing if I was his daughter.
In 2018, a long-lost sister from my
mom’s side found me through online
DNA. My husband and I visited my
long-lost sister in Virginia that
summer. Her husband did genealogy as
a hobby. He had an extra DNA kit. After
some thought, I spat in the DNA tube
and my brother-in-law mailed it. He
shared with me, “You already know
your mom’s side. Through process of
elimination, you can find your dad.
I’ll help you!”
By the time I got back to San
Antonio, the results were in. The first
thing that hit me was my ethnicity.
I always grew up thinking I was Native
American. How wrong I was! There
was not a Native American bone in my
body. My results came back: I am 50
percent Greek. My dad’s DNA!
My brother-in-law directed me to
upload my DNA to MyHeritage.com.
This time, six family members on my
dad’s side came back as matches.
I reached out to one cousin. She
Dad and I enjoyed the Riverwalk at Christmastime.
thought it was a scam until I sent her
the DNA results and a selfie. She wrote
back immediately, “Sweetie, I know
who your dad is. Welcome to the
family!” I started crying.
I found out my dad’s side of the
family knew the Lord. My uncle was a
missionary to the Turkish Muslims. He
translated the entire New Testament
into the Turkish language before he
died in 2010. I also have a 93-year-old
praying Yaya (grandmother) who lives
in Greece. I have a brother and I am
the only daughter.
My dad and I met for the first time
on Saturday, December 9, 2018. At the
end of our weeklong visit, we gave
each other a hug and turned to go
our separate ways. Before he went
inside, he called, “Michea, come here,
we can do better than that!”
We gave each other a bigger hug.
“I will be back!” he reassured me before
he walked inside to catch his plane
home. I can't wait!
My dad also got to meet his son-and-law and
grandson.
S TOR Y MADE POS S I B L E B Y:
AM 630 The Word, KSLR is pleased to partner
with The Beacon in this monthly special
section called “Tell Your Story.” AM 630 The Word
KSLR is your source for equipping, teaching and
inspiring your walk with Christ. Please visit our
website at www.am630theword.com to view our
program guide for local and national Christian
teaching talk programs. We are here to help
listeners expand their relationship with Jesus
Christ. We partner with San Antonio churches
and ministries to bring quality teaching to
listeners in our huge listening area. We can work
with your church, ministry or business to expand
your reach to this important Christian market.
Please visit www.am630theword.com or contact
us to learn more.
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