Ten plus years. That’s how long it has been since my wife has seen her parents and our children have hugged their grandparents, actually the youngest one have never seen them in real life. A full decade apart, not by choice, but by circumstances beyond our control.

Our journey has been anything but easy. We had to leave the U.S. in 2023 when my green card was denied, forcing us to start over in Portugal. Since then, my wife has been struggling with the slow and complicated legal process to obtain her residency papers. And while we've built a life here, one thing has always been missing—family.

We’ve long dreamed of visiting my wife’s parents in Tyumen, Russia, but with the war and its effects, everything has become incredibly difficult. Flights from Portugal to Tyumen are now outrageously expensive, costing over €8,000 for the four of us. The route itself is complex—flying from Portugal to Istanbul, then to Moscow, and finally to Tyumen—but the emotional cost of not going is even greater.

Our children have grown up without knowing their grandparents beyond video calls. My wife has spent years longing to see her parents again, to embrace them, to share moments that no screen can ever replace. This isn’t just a trip; it’s a chance to reconnect, to heal, and to remind our family that despite distance and hardship, love endures.

We are reaching out for support to make this reunion possible. Every contribution, every share, every kind word brings us closer to finally closing this painful gap. If you can help, in any way, it would mean the world to us.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.