An adopted woman has revealed that she instantly loved her birth mother ‘so much’ after meeting her for the first time in rural Guatemala for an emotional face-to-face.
Kayela Sorenson, 23, from Utah, was given up for adoption at just six months old because her birth mother couldn’t afford to pay her own medical bills and also look after a newborn.
Footage captured the touching moment Kayela met her biological parent Maria Morales on a remote farm in the Central American country in September this year.
In the clip, Kayela can be seen nervously walking through the fields before finally seeing Maria – who quickly offers a heartbreaking explanation on why she had to give up her daughter.
Kayela Sorenson, from Utah, meets her biological parent Maria Morales for the first time, on a remote farm in rural Guatemala
Kayela (pictured with her parent following their first meeting) was given up for adoption at just six months old because her birth mother couldn’t afford to pay her own medical bills and also look after a newborn
With Kayela’s friend Karla Pensamiento translating, her mother recalls the decision, revealing that at 21-years-old, without a partner to support her, and with being ill, she was unable to provide for her newborn baby as well as cover medical costs.
As her mother begins to cry, Kayela cuts off Maria’s reasoning and rushes to give her a hug – with the pair both becoming extremely tearful as they cradle each other.
‘I love you. I love you so much,’ Kayela admits as she holds her birth mother for the first time, surrounded by other family members.
Footage captured the touching moment the 23-year-old met her biological parent Maria on September 6, this year
As her mother begins to cry, Kayela rushes to give her a hug – with the pair both becoming extremely tearful as they cradle each other
Kayela meets the rest of her family. Facing the most difficult choice of her life, Maria gave Kayela to a foster family in Guatemala, where she was adopted by a single mother from Utah three months later
Facing the most difficult choice of her life, Maria gave Kayela to a foster family in Guatemala, where she was adopted by a single mother from Utah three months later.
Maria, who didn’t reveal details of her previous illness, explained: ‘You’re going to have to forgive me, because when I was young, I was very ignorant.
‘I was sick, I was by myself, and I needed help from somebody that would support me. I was faced with a lot of obstacles in my life.’
Kayela began searching for her mother in 2016, after a ‘life-changing’ visit to her birth country in October of that year.
Kayela (pictured with her siblings and birth mother) began searching for her mother in 2016, after a ‘life-changing’ visit to her birth country in October of that year
The 23-year-old (pictured walking around the farm with her birth family) opted against hiring a private investigator, instead worked with friend Karla’s family on the island to narrow down her mother’s location to San Marcos
Kayela’s Utah mother passed away when she was 17 and she feels that finding Maria (pictured left) was a sign from her adopted parent. Pictured right: Kayela with her birth family
She said she quickly fell in love with the country and realized she’d come to regret in later life not searching for her mother.
The 23-year-old opted against hiring a private investigator, instead worked with friend Karla’s family on the island to narrow down her mother’s location to San Marcos.
By her third trip to Guatemala, this September, Kayela had managed to take her search to the county’s clerk’s office tied to a small town around Malacatán, San Marcos.
It was there that a representative named Jhoni Hernandez helped Kayela find her mother.
Kayela pictured with her siblings during her visit in September. It was the third time that the 23-year-old had traveled to the country
Since the meeting, Kayela has returned to America and stayed in contact with her birth family (pictured) through her half-brother in Guatemala, Yesner, 18, who has a cell phone
Since the meeting, Kayela has returned to America and stayed in contact with her birth family through her half-brother in Guatemala, Yesner, 18, who has a cell phone.
Kayela’s Utah mother passed away when she was 17 and she feels that finding Maria was a sign from her adopted parent.
She said: ‘I made sure to not go with any expectations throughout the whole journey because if the moment were to ever happen, I wanted my current and raw emotions, thoughts and actions to release whatever my heart was speaking at that time.
‘And all I remember from the moment is as I got out of the car nothing else in the world mattered. The moment I’ve been dreaming about for two-and-a-half years had finally come.
‘Once I came into eye contact with my mother, it was as if the world around me stopped and become blank. The space around me was blank, and the only two people in the world was my mother and I.’