“There’s still room in the minivan!”

Looking at Nixon Mower today, a strong 25-year-old veteran now in nursing school in New York, it’s hard to imagine him as a child forced to live in an all-boys orphanage in Colombia, separated from his sister. But that was his reality.

After escaping horrible abuse at the hands of their biological mother and stepfather, nine-year-old Nixon and his sister Angie were placed in an orphanage. At first, they were together and finally safe, but then Nixon was moved into an all-boys orphanage. Thanks to a few intervening caseworkers, Nixon and Angie were allowed to visit each other once a week, on Fridays. It was a dark time during the kids’ lives, but those visits were the bright spots.

Nixon had heard about Kidsave’s Summer Miracles program through other kids who traveled to the US, but as a child, the program’s power didn’t hit him until he participated himself.

“I knew that sometimes the orphanage selected some kids to go, but I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes,” said Nixon. “Then, I think when we got to Washington, DC, that’s when I realized, oh, this is kind of cool, like a cool experience. I was kind of in shock, like, ‘Oh, this is really happening for me and my sister’.”

In the summer of 2008, Nixon and Angie stayed in the U.S. for four weeks with a host family. “I remember it was nice,” said Nixon. “What we liked the most was that we weren’t sleeping in the same area with a bunch of other kids. We each had our own room, and we thought it was so cool.”

That summer, Nixon and Angie got to experience a lot of firsts in America, but their trip didn’t lead to an adoption. They did make a positive connection with a couple named Michael and Patricia Stocker, though. Two years later, in the summer of 2010, Nixon and Angie traveled to the U.S. a second time, and this time, the Stockers were their host family.

Nixon described the summer with the Stockers as a summer full of swimming in pools, going to cookouts, and playing with other kids from the neighborhood. But the time passed quickly, and by the end of the third week, there still wasn’t a family interested in adopting the siblings. Michael and Patricia knew they had to do something, so they paid for the kids to stay for an extra week, giving them more time to find a family. Then, Michael went to each church in their area, knocking on doors and asking church leaders to share Nixon and Angie’s story with their congregations. There were probably moments when it felt hopeless—like a one-in-a-million chance. But sometimes, one is all it takes.

Tara and Scott Mower had never even heard of Kidsave or the Summer Miracles program before they received an email from their pastor. They had considered adoption before, even international adoption from South America. A moving experience during Scott’s military service providing medical aid to orphans in Honduras had stuck with him. When asked if they were interested in meeting these two siblings from Colombia who desperately needed a family, Scott and Tara agreed.

“We had three biological kids of our own, but we still had two empty seats in the minivan,” said Scott, laughing.

That week, Scott, Tara, and their three children met Nixon, Angie, and the Stockers.

“We went to a local ice cream shop, Debbie’s Soft Serve,” said Nixon. “We came in, and then they came in, but we didn’t know yet that they had three kids, so that was even better. I remember eating ice cream and just having a good time. After that, they invited us to their house, and we played pool and cards. It was fun.”

Just as they were getting to know each other, it was time for the siblings to return to Colombia. But that year, Kidsave’s Washington DC community organized an additional hosting trip over the winter holidays. Angie and Nixon returned to the US, and this time, the Mowers were their host family. They spent four weeks from December into early January with Tara, Scott, and their kids, enjoying their very first Christmas in America.

“It was over that Christmas break that we knew we were really, really set at that point on pursuing international adoption,” said Tara.

“After they flew back to Colombia, we linked up with Catholic Charities Adoption and started to do all of the bureaucratic work and training we needed to do,” agreed Scott.

The adoption process took around a year to complete, and then it was time to bring Angie and Nixon home. In Colombia, the siblings were told that the Mowers wanted to move forward with adopting them and that the process was almost complete.

“I remember talking to my sister on the phone because we were separated in Colombia, and we were both crying because we couldn’t believe it had finally happened; a family wanted the two of us, not just one of us,” said Nixon. “That was a huge moment for us because we’d entered the system in 2006, so we’d been in the orphanage for a long time. It was like a sigh of relief that finally it was our turn to start a new life.”

And that summer, they did start a new life with two loving parents and three brand new siblings in Maryland. It wasn’t always easy; they had to overcome the language barrier at first, and the family had to move not long after the adoption because of Scott’s military service, which was another big change. Plus, there was extra chaos with suddenly having five kids under one roof.

“There were some adjustment challenges because they were older and then becoming teenagers,” said Tara. “It felt like almost overnight we were starting to learn how to drive, and all the girls were at that age where they were becoming boy crazy, so it was every normal teenage issue that popped up at one time, just times five kids.”

The Mowers made it through the teenage years, though, and Angie and Nixon have become successful adults. Both Angie and Nixon followed in their father’s footsteps and served in the U.S. military, with Angie still actively serving along with her husband. Nixon retired from service and is now pursuing a career in the medical field. Tara and Scott couldn’t be more proud of the two. For Nixon, it’s a life he could have never dreamed of.

“My sister and I had lost hope of getting adopted,” he said. “But then here I am, healthy with a big, beautiful family.”

Miracles do happen, but sometimes, they need a little help. Like from a determined man knocking on the door of every church in town until he finds a family for two amazing kids. Nixon, of course, hasn’t forgotten that selfless act.

“If it wasn’t for Kidsave and the Stockers, I don’t think my sister and I would have been adopted. They went from church to church, and eventually, they reached my parents’ church. I owe a huge thank you to Kidsave for all their work.”

Learn more about the Summer Miracles program that has helped thousands of kids like Nixon and Angie find their forever families.

Kidsave’s 25th Anniversary

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