Many years ago, John and Tammy Medler sat across from each other eating their anniversary dinner. They discussed how many children out there need loving homes and families. The couple already had four biological children and one they adopted from Russia. They decided to add one more. After an 18 month adoption process, they brought home a sweet four-year-old girl, Wendi Ester Aju Saguach, from Guatemala. Her name was changed to Wendi Medler, and she led an all American lifestyle.
In 2016, her adoptive parents used Facebook to find the family who had fostered Wendi for two years prior to the adoption. That led them to wonder if it would be possible to connect with her birth mother. With some outside help, Isabella Saguach was found in Patzun, 50 miles west of Guatemala City. The Medlers accompanied her to the village for a first meeting with the woman. What they had pictured as a quaint interaction, was anything but. They were greeted with surprise party. She was met by her mother, brother, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandfather.
Wendi was excited to have answers to questions she had growing up. She got to see where she was from and peek into what her life would have been like if she had stayed. She learned that her mother and father had split up when she was a baby. Her father had taken the brother and left the mom with nothing. She was selling tortillas on the street to get by, but it was not enough. Wendi developed a medical condition that could be serious if left untreated. The mother wanted the best care for her and was unable to provide it. Once Wendi was home, her brother was able to put her on a video call with her father. She was thankful for the closure and may decide to visit again one day. Wendi is set to attend the University of California to study psychology.
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