By Daisy Vazquez

Calvin always knew he wanted to be a dad. And not just any kind of dad, but a great one who loves his kids more than anything else. In 2011, as he was beginning his journey towards fatherhood, Calvin was directed to Kidsave by his caseworker since Kidsave’s programs often help individuals and families in the LGBTQ+ community adopt. However, after just a short amount of time, he took a step back and realized he had to make some changes in his personal life before starting again.

In 2017, Calvin received a call from Kidsave, asking if he would like to meet some of our Summer Miracles kids who were soon arriving from Colombia. At this point, Calvin was in a place where he knew it was what he wanted and something he could do on his own. In the summer of 2018, Calvin decided to attend a Summer Miracles event and meet some of the kids who were here for the summer.

It was at one of those events that Calvin met his son, James.

“We were sitting across from each other playing UNO, my son James kept staring at me the entire time and asking me questions in Spanish that I couldn’t understand… but it was at that pizza-making event that I knew that he was going to be the one,” said Calvin.

James and Calvin made a connection that continued to grow over the summer. Despite the language barrier and need for translation, they both went with the flow and enjoyed the time they got to spend with one another.

“We have this thing called ClimbZone over here, which is basically indoor rock climbing. We did it for 3-4 hours; I didn’t speak Spanish, and he didn’t speak English, but we were able to get through it, and we had a blast,” Calvin explained, “It was a connection that we had. We knew what each other wanted and needed to do to get through the process”

In 2019, at age 12, James was adopted by Calvin.

However, that wasn’t the end of the story. In fact, their family was just getting started. Calvin always knew there was a possibility of adopting again, especially since he was a foster parent. Eventually, Calvin was in contact with Kidsave again, and that is how he met his second son, Santiago.

When Calvin told James about adopting a brother, he was excited and ready for a sibling. What Calvin never imagined was that the two boys already knew each other from camp back in Colombia.

Santiago’s first words when they got on the Skype call were, “Hey, do you still have the jeans you borrowed from me?”

Calvin had no idea the two boys had been close friends back when James was in the program. When the boys both traveled for Summer Miracles in 2017, they had been hosted in two different states. But with time, the two were able to reconnect, and little did they know they would become each other’s family.

“It was surreal to see the connection between the two that quick. I didn’t expect it. I thought we would have to give it time to create some attachment and bonding,” said Calvin.

Since the boys were already close, they were eager to move forward with the adoption, and in 2022, at age 15, Santiago was adopted by Calvin.

Although Calvin didn’t originally see international adoption as his path to fatherhood, that is exactly where life led him. He explained, “I didn’t think anything of it when they said the kids were going to be here… It never clicked that this was international adoption until I went to the event and realized all the kids were speaking Spanish” and “It just happened that my kids were from Colombia”

After having his own experience with his two sons, Calvin feels that one of the best ways to be successful in the process is to “Be patient, be yourself, and be open.” A connection can’t be forced, it comes naturally. “I tell Kidsave all the time. I’m blessed to have James, I’m blessed to have Santiago, and I’m blessed that it worked out the way it did,” Calvin stated.

About Summer Miracles

Our Summer Miracles program gives older orphans who are overseas a chance at a family. The Summer Miracles program provides older kids (ages 9-17) with no possibility of reunification – and little likelihood of adoption in their home country because of their age – the opportunity to stay in the U.S. for five weeks in the summer (three weeks in the winter). While here, the kids stay with host families, learn about American culture, create lifelong memories, and connect with potential forever families. Visit www.kidsave.org/book-summer/ to learn more.