Finally, I have a family.

When asked to tell his adoption story, Santiago Wemple says, “It began when they told me I could take a summer trip to the United States.”

Santiago was 13 years old and growing up as an orphan in Medellin, Colombia. In 2023, he traveled to the U.S. with the Summer/Winter Miracles program for three weeks. Despite everyone’s best efforts, a family was not found for him, and he had to return to the orphanage in Colombia, unsure if he would be able to participate in the program again.

Meanwhile, over 3,000 miles away in Montana, Katie and Michael Wemple were beginning the process to become Summer Miracles hosts. Parents to three children—the youngest of whom was adopted from Africa—Katie and Michael knew they were ready to adopt again.

Initially, Katie and Michael were matched with a young girl close in age to their two daughters. But just three weeks before the summer hosting period was set to begin, they got the news that the young girl was no longer travelling with the program.

“Kidsave called us and said, you know, this rarely ever happens, but she is being adopted by a family out of Italy,” said Michael. While the couple were happy for the child, they felt disappointed. “We were pretty broken up about it. But, on that same call, they said, ‘What do you think about Santiago?’”

Katie recalled Carolina, the Summer Miracles Program Manager, getting emotional talking about Santiago and what a great kid he is. While they had not planned to host a teenage boy, with Lauren and Carolina’s encouragement, they decided to go for it.

“He went from not even being able to be in the summer program to being a perfect fit,” said Michael. “We just knew it was a God thing and that all this was going to work out.”

Michael and Katie described the surreal experience of seeing Santiago walking through the “Arrivals” gate at LAX and locking eyes with him for the first time. Although there was a language barrier between them, they managed to communicate with the help of translators and gestures. Even without speaking the same language, Katie and Michael noticed how considerate and loving Santiago is.

“He’s just a very kind soul and you could see that very quickly,” said Michael.

Santiago also bonded with the Wemples’ three children as the family spent the summer in the great outdoors. From camping to hiking to jet skiing, Santiago had a real Montana summer full of first experiences. Michael said that Santi was tentative at first, but with each new adventure, he became more and more confident.

“He’s very cautious but also always wants to grow and experience new things,” said Michael. “That hasn’t stopped. He’s tougher now, but there’s still that same drive to always be better and do new things.”

When the hosting period came to an end, Santiago had to return to Colombia. In the Summer Miracles programs, families are given time after the hosting period to determine if they would like to move forward with adoption and to begin filing the paperwork. Then, back in Colombia, the kids are asked if they would also like to move forward with the adoption process. For Santiago, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind.

“I was super happy to have that experience, and I was sharing it with everyone,” said Santiago. “I wasn’t sure if the family wanted to adopt me or not so there was a little bit of uncertainty. But when I saw them, they told me that they did want to adopt me. And you can imagine it’s a beautiful process.”

Once the process was complete, the Wemple family traveled to Colombia to pick up Santiago and bring him home.

“My parents came to pick me up in Bogota and after that we came home,” said Santiago. “When we got here, I started living literally the life of my dreams.”

During the year between the Summer Miracles program and his adoption being final, Santiago studied hard, working diligently on his English.

“He was practically fluent by the time we picked him up,” said Katie. “His English is outstanding. He self-taught during that year, and he worked on it so hard that he could speak to us in almost full sentences. And then his first semester at an all-English-speaking school, he got straight A’s.”

In addition to studying hard and excelling at his schoolwork, Santiago has also joined his school’s soccer team. He’s made friends and started exploring other sports like American football and basketball. He continues to love the Montana outdoors and enjoys going hunting with his adoptive grandfather, whom they call Papa.

The only thing Santiago would change about his new life is the snow.

“He thought it was great for the first two or three months, but then by month four and five, he was like ‘When is it going to stop?’” laughed Katie.

Cold winters aside, Santiago is thriving in his forever family.

“We’ve shared a lot of moments that I never thought would come,” said Santiago. “I want to thank Kidsave and everyone who helped us, everyone who accompanied me and helped me throughout the process. I’m very, very grateful.”

Katie and Michael feel just as grateful for Santi as he does for them.

“We understand the statistics about how kids age out and when they hit a certain age, how their odds of getting adopted are very, very low,” said Michael. “The Summer Miracles program gives families an opportunity to integrate a child into their life and get to know them as a human, rather than a profile. That I think is the skeleton key that unlocks an older child's chances of getting adopted. I can't overstate the importance of it for older kids.”

Katie says the most important thing is to take the first step.

“What we tell people is, if you’re at all interested in it, just do it. Because there’s always reasons why not to, but if you feel like it might be for you, just do it.”

Watch Santiago’s Adoption Video Here

Summer Miracles

Each year, the Summer Miracles program helps kids like Eloise find their forever families. Book a call with our team to learn how you can become a host or adoptive family this summer. Don’t wait – the application deadline for Summer 2025 is April 15!