Reunited at Last!

Linda: When I was 12, my mother revealed that I had a younger sister who had been given up for adoption. I wondered if she had been born deaf like me. But I grew up not knowing who she was.

Sally: I never knew that I was adopted. My “mother” cruelly beat me and treated me like a servant, so I grew up sad and lonely​—an added burden for one born deaf. Then I met Jehovah’s Witnesses and began studying the Bible. When my “mother” found out, she whipped me with a belt and changed the locks on the door, imprisoning me in the house. At age 20, I ran away from home, and the Witnesses took me in. In early 2012, I was baptized.

Linda: When I was 20, I started studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Later, I began attending district conventions in Jakarta, where the program was interpreted for the deaf. There I met many other deaf people, including Sally, a Witness girl who lived in North Sumatra. I felt a certain familiarity with her but thought nothing of it.

Sally: Linda and I became good friends. I thought that we looked alike, but I dismissed the notion as a passing thought.

Linda: In August 2012, the day before I was baptized, I felt a deep longing to find my lost younger sister. “Please let me find my sister,” I begged Jehovah, “because I want to tell her about you.” Soon afterward, my mother unexpectedly received a text message from a person who knew about my lost sister. This set in motion a chain of events that led to my contacting Sally.

Sally: When Linda explained that I was her long-lost sister, I quickly flew to Jakarta to meet her. Exiting airport security, I saw Linda​—along with my father, my mother, and my other older sister—​waiting to greet me. I was shaking with emotion. We all hugged and kissed​—my mother held me the longest. Everyone was crying. When my father and mother tearfully apologized for having given me up for adoption, we cried and hugged some more.

Linda: Because of our different upbringings, we have had to learn to accommodate our different personalities and habits. But we love each other very much.

Sally: Now Linda and I live together and attend the same sign-language congregation in Jakarta.

Linda: Sally and I were separated for more than 20 years. We thank Jehovah that we are reunited at last!