Help overseas sister reunite with family in US

My name is Heather. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my page and consider donating to my cause. I'm raising money for my sister and her family to come to the US from the UK to visit family she hasn't been able to see in over four years. Here I will share a bit of my family's story to understand the need for my fundraising page.

My family has a sad story connected with a non-denominational Christian religious cult. The cult tore our family apart. My parents divorced when I was eleven years old because of this cult. We were led to believe horrible things about our mother, and in turn, talking to her was dangerous. My father was awarded custody, and I didn't see my mother again until I was 28. I left the cult at the end of 2001. I reconnected with our mother in 2011. My oldest sister left the cult a few years back and has reconnected with our mother. My middle sister reconnected with our mother last year.

I'm telling you all this because it is important to know why my sister truly NEEDS to come home to see her mother. We hope to stay at a beach house in the Outer Banks in North Carolina, as it is close to where our mother lives. It will be the first time our mother has had all three of her girls together in over 30 years. It truly is a dream come true for our mother that we are all reunited as a family again.

My mother lives in North Carolina. My mother and step-father are a part of a very nice Quaker church community. The church community has become familiar with our family history. They have been very kind to my mother and have taken on her prayer burden for my sisters and me. They know how long it has been for my mother to reunite with her girls. For me, the first to reconnect, was over twenty years. So you can imagine how excited my mother and her church community were when they found out that all three of us girls are now in communication with our mother. They all try to help whenever possible. A family that goes to the church found out that my mother was trying to find a beach house for us to stay for a week as a family. They own a beach house on the outer banks and offered the place to us! So nice of them! This would relieve some of the financial strain on everyone coming together for the reunion.

Due to covid, my sister's travel plans to come in the summer two years ago were canceled. Again, last year due to covid, it didn't work out. This year's travel restrictions seem to be looser than the previous two years. We are really hoping that this is the year it can happen. Now for the hard part, trying to cover travel costs! This is the other factor in our family's story. My niece has two chronic illnesses and doesn't feel well most of the time. My sister is her caregiver. That means she can't work due to how sick my niece gets throughout the year. She has to take her to appointments and treatments and stay home with her since she's too ill to be in person at school. They get some assistance from the government, but they live paycheck to paycheck through my brother-in-law's job. My sister tries to find all the grants she can to help pay for vacation costs, but it doesn't cover everything.

I'm asking for help to cover the cost of their plane tickets. We think this will cover their flights and airline fees. It would mean so much to my sister to come home and reunite with family, especially our mother. All of us have missed so many years with our mother. It's hard to build a relationship with someone through video chats. A hug is worth a lot. Help give my sister, and all of our family, a week at the beach to reconnect face to face. Thanks again for reading! I appreciate anything that you give to this cause!