![Santa Claus with a sack of gifts. [Image source/Laliberte Cinemas YouTube video]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/12/25/660x290/b_502x220x82/santa-claus-with-a-sack-of-gifts-image-sourcelaliberte-cinemas-youtube-video_2170335.jpg "Santa Claus with a sack of gifts. [Image source/Laliberte Cinemas YouTube video]")
This is the true story of an elderly man who made the dreams of an eight-year-old girl across the border come true. His name was Randy Heiss, and he was a 60-year-old living in Arizona. During a walk with his dog, he saw a shredded balloon near his ranch in Patagonia. It was an eyesore and, when he wanted to dump it in the garbage bin, he realized that it was not an ordinary balloon. There was a handwritten note attached to a string.
Daily Mail UK reports the handwritten note was a Christmas list written in Spanish, addressed to Saint Nicholas and signed by one Dayami.
Randy was not fluent in Spanish, so he took the help of his wife who deciphered the list. From the items listed, she concluded that a girl had written it and the two of them set out on a mission to play the role of Santa Claus.
Randy Heiss turns Santa Claus
Children grow up with the knowledge that Santa Claus comes with gifts during Christmas, and they write letters to him to let him know what they want. Randy Heiss understood that the balloon originated in Mexico, across the border and the nearest town was Nogales situated about 20 miles southwest from his home. He took to the social media and contacted some of his friends in Mexico to locate the girl, but it did not help.
At first he thought it was trash. But then he realized it was a balloon, and attached to the ribbon was a note. The note was written entirely in Spanish with the name “Dayami” on the back. He isn’t fluent in the language, but could tell she asked for... https://t.co/ZqrNDlUTvK
— KNBA (@KNBA) December 25, 2018
His next step was to reach out to a radio station in the city, and it helped to find the eight-year-old Dayami and her family.
It was a great moment for Randy and his wife. They bought gifts for the girl and her four-year-old sister and went across the Mexico-U.S. border to meet her and her family and hand over the gifts. They became real-life Santa Claus and selected the venue of the radio station's office.
A touching Christmas story
According to NBC News, this story of Christmas wish fulfillment went across international borders.
A man from Arizona fulfilled the wish list of an eight-year-old Mexican girl. She had penned a list for Santa Claus, tied to a balloon and it drifted across the US-Mexico boundary wall to land near the house of the American.
The man was 60-year-old Randy Heiss, the girl was eight-year-old Dayami and searching for her was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
That too across the US boundary. A local radio station in Nogales chipped in to help. It rose to the occasion and managed to locate the girl. Then Randy drove over, met them and handed over the gifts. He and his wife loved to see the happy faces of the Mexican girls. It was a touching moment because Randy had lost his son a few years back and there are no grandchildren.
