and we just hugged each other. and it was just incredible. >> reporter: back in lynchburg kevin's dad, heiko, was delivering christmas turkeys to a hospital when somebody found him and gave him the news. >> i was so happy. your mind gets clear again. so you don't have to be worried. and i will have my family back. it just is a great feeling. it's a great feeling. >> reporter: on december 14th, 2011, six months after they were taken hostage, gerfa and kevin finally came home, returned to lynchburg to heiko and to gerfa's niece, sherry. >> it was awesome. the first thing we did was put up -- >> christmas decorations. >> christmas decorations. kevin and gerfa were so happy. i didn't know what to expect because of what they'd been through. but they were just so grateful