A photo posted by Julia Montes (@montesjulia08) on Dec 27, 2016 at 3:17am PST

After several years of searching, actress Julia Montes has finally found her biological father.

Two days after Christmas Day, the "Doble Kara" star took to Instagram to share a photo of her with her birth father, German national Martin Schnittka.

"Hindi ko aakalain na darating ang araw na ito na makikita at makakasama ko siya," she wrote as the caption. "Unang una ay gusto ko magpasalamat sa Panginoon dahil ipinagkaloob niya ang pagkakataon na ito.

Montes, born Mara Schnittka, then admitted that there were times when she almost gave up in her search. However, thanks to some of her fans, friends, and one of her cousins, her dedication finally paid off.

"Malinaw pa sa isip ko nung mga panahon na ipagdasal ko na mangyari ang araw na ito hanggang sa sumuko na ko at nawalan ng pagasa. Maraming ways talaga ang Panginoon para sa atin."

"Iba hinihingi natin sobra sobra pa ang binibiyaya sa atin. Sa mga naging tatay-tatayan ko salamat din sa inyo dahil lalo kong na-appreciate ang Papa ko dahil sa inyo. At sa CocoJul din na isa sa naging daan para magkausap kami and to my cousin Michelle, who did everything and every way to make this day possible. Thank you!"

Montes had previously said that her life would be "complete" if she could only meet her biological dad, who left her family when she was still a baby, leaving her deaf Filipina mother to take care of her.