Immigrant man fulfills childhood dream of sending father back to his homeland: 'I owe you a lot'

Once we start earning as adults, most of us dream of doing something meaningful for our parents. After all the years that they have strived to give us a better life, it's time for us to repay them. A Latino entrepreneur and digital creator Eli Fernandez from Sydney wanted to repay his father with a memorable gift for all that he had done. The son who goes by @_eli.fernandez on Instagram shared a video last year where he offered his immigrant father tickets to his home country El Salvador. The dad's priceless reaction spoke volumes and his video touched thousands of hearts online.

Fernandez mentioned in the caption that giving his dad this gift of a lifetime was his childhood dream. "He left (El Salvador) over 40 years ago fleeing war with his family and came to Australia at 25 years old," Fernandez added. Now that the 27-year-old son was able to afford the trip from Australia to El Salvador, he decided to surprise his father with the flight tickets to his homeland. In the video, the son handed over the tickets to his father and said, "I've worked very hard to give this. I hope you like it." As the father opened the envelope, the son added, "I owe you a lot. So this is a small repayment for our efforts."

On seeing the flight ticket from Sydney to San Salvador, the dad instantly broke into tears. He took his sweet time getting a hold of reality and was emotional by his son's unexpected gesture. As the entire family was watching this with tearful eyes, the dad rushed to hug his son. Fernandez, who was already in tears, reassured his dad saying, "You deserve it."

This wholesome moment was viewed over 29000 times and people showered their love for the dad-son duo in the comments. "I don’t know you. But I love you. You are truly what the world is missing. Shout out to Pops. Priceless!" @kaylenmosthated said. "Congratulations bro! I've been fortunate enough with work and have been able to send my parents back to the motherland and it feels so good," @s_cruz_26 lauded. "Our parents worked so hard and sacrificed so much so we can have the life we live now. We’ll never be able to pay them back but that won’t stop us from trying," @salvisunidosnyc added.

Fernandez updated his followers on how his dad's trip to his motherland turned out. The day before the flight, the dad couldn't sleep because of his overwhelming excitement. Sharing a few glimpses of their first couple of days in El Salvador, the son joked, "The sun feels like it’s slapping you with a belt every time you go outside." However, his dad seemed to have the best time of his life visiting his friends and family.

After over three decades, the man saw his sister and other family members and shared some emotional moments bonding with them. Also, being the pious man he was, Fernandez's dad visited the church of Guadalupe where he expressed his gratitude to God for bringing him back to his homeland. He then visited his old friends and shared a few hearty laughs.

You can follow Eli Fernandez (@_eli.fernandez) on Instagram for more family content.