Magicians often wow their audiences with vanishing acts.

On Friday, the audience at Georgiana School’s annual talent show was treated to an appearing act.

Georgiana native and U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Tonya Gandy surprised her daughter Lexis McMeans by showing up at the talent show.

Gandy had been serving for the past six months in Afghanistan.

When McMeans saw Gandy for the first time she leaped into her mother’s arms.

It was the moment Gandy had been waiting for since she arrived back in the United States on Thursday from her seventh deployment.

“I didn’t get any sleep (after arriving in the U.S.) because I was ready to get here,” she said.

McMeans was left nearly speechless by the surprise, but she knows exactly what the first thing she wants to do with her mother is.

“Eat,” she said with a smile.

That suits Gandy just fine. She’s just happy to be on the same side of the globe as her daughter.

“I’m feeling blessed and highly favored,” Gandy said.