The Elliotts are adopting again!

That's right! Almost seven years have passed since we brought Victor home from abroad, and now we've begun the process of getting Victor a sister! And just like before, we need your help to get it done!!!

The Details:
Last fall we began to feel strongly that we should begin the process of adopting a second child from our favourite country in eastern Europe. We'd never intended to have only one child, so we requested lists of children from the various adoption agencies that serve the region. When we saw the list, one sweet, adorable little Roma girl caught our eye so we requested her details. When we saw her photo (which we can't share here for legal reasons...sorry!!!) we knew she was the one. Her name is D (we can't share her name...again, sorry!!!) and she's eight years old. She has epilepsy, which is being treated adequately with medicine. She has learning delays, but that is mostly due to her being raised in an orphanage/foster care. She can see, walk, and talk like any other kid, and we even have videos of her doing crafts with her foster parents (videos which we - you guessed it - can't share for legal reasons...!).

The Timeline:
This adoption is going to go more quickly than Victor's. Because we have child selected, the whole ordeal of wading through lists upon lists of children has been blessedly avoided (you'll recall we HATED that part of the last adoption because it felt like child shopping!). We've been unofficially "matched", which means the adoption agencies both here and in country have set her aside for us. Once all the mountains of paperwork, home visits by social workers, court dates, medical visits, and everything else are done, we'll be set to go visit her. That may happen as early as August 2021. Then after that there will be court dates and more paperwork, and then we'll go pick her up! That could be as early as November or December of this year. So, the train is a-moving, and we want you onboard!

The Need:
As always, bringing our new daughter home will cost money. There are many steps to the process, each with its own fee. There's the $8,500 to submit our dossier, $5,000 in adoption agency fees, hundreds in visa fees, thousands in post-adoption report fees, sizeable medical exam fees, and of course traveling to eastern Europe twice (which costs on average $900 per ticket). All told, this will all add up to about $28,000.

So we're asking you for your help! Prayers are always welcome, and your love and companionship are needed! But if you can support us financially, we'd be so grateful! Victor needs a sister, and we'd love to have a daughter! And we'd love to do it with YOU as part of it.

How to Give:
Giving through GoFundMe is easy and quick, so you are welcome to donate here. However, GoFundMe does charge a fee out of what you give, so bear in mind that we will not get every cent of what you donate. If you'd like for us to get 100% (and get a tax deduction!), you can donate to our church which has graciously set up a budget line for our adoption. You would make the check out to Ashburn Foursquare Church and put "Benevolence: Adoption" in the memo line. The church mailing address is PO Box 1961, Ashburn, VA 20146. The funds would go to the adoption, and not to anything else, so no worries there. We are also on Venmo and PayPal, so if you'd like to donate that way, feel free to reach out to us personally to get our details.

Thank you for going on this journey with us to adopt a little sister for Victor! We love you and are grateful for you! God bless!