Evelyn & Obed – The City of Refuge
Obed and Evelyn raised 2 sons and 1 daughter. Obed had a career as an architect and he was headed towards retirement.
One day in their neighborhood, Obed noticed 3 children that he had seen previously in the area. He asked them if they were hungry, which they said yes, and he made them breakfast. After talking with them, Obed discovered they were homeless. They had no comprehension of what “home” meant. These children were 4 to 9 years old, the 9 year old was taking care of the younger ones. They would eat what they could and try to find shelter throughout the days and nights. Once discovering this, Obed decided he needed to do what he could to help them. Obed and Evelyn applied for guardianship of them and essentially adopted them as their own children. They became family.
As time passed, Obed discovered other children in the streets of Tijuana. He had decided to help as many as they could and today, they have 16 children. Selflessly, they used up their retirement to help these children be raised in a loving home. Again, all of these children are family, they call Obed and Evelyn mama and papa and they refer to their siblings as brothers and sisters. Obed and Evelyn do not refer to themselves as an orphanage but rather as a large family. One of their children was given to them as a newborn and was born into addiction. Evelyn and Obed spent the next 6 months of sleepless nights looking after the child during addiction withdrawals, many nights were spent trying to stop the child from literally pulling its own hair out. As you can imagine, many of the children have been subject to abuse before being welcomed into Obed and Evelyn’s home.
Over the years, they have relied on charitable donations to provide for their children. Due to the size of their family, Obed and Evelyn work full time taking care of their children ranging in ages 2 through 16. All the children go to school and have great aspirations. One wants to be a lawyer, and another a doctor…. They all have dreams and goals. If you were to meet these children you would find that they are very kind, generous and respectful. You would say that Obed and Evelyn are raising them right.
Every Saturday, they take their children to a park in Tijuana and help feed homeless adults and children. They bring their own food to give to them, even when they have little to give. They always find a way to give to others less fortunate, even when their own situation is often unfavorable.
But there is a particular need at this time that requires more than we at GHA Racing can accomplish on our own. Recently Obed and Evelyn were given an eviction notice. They have always lived up to their obligations at the home they are in, along with making improvements to the home along the way. However, the owner of the property decided to sell the home, 3 years into a 6 year lease.
This has put Obed and Evelyn in a precarious situation having to find a new place to live in a short amount of time. Fortunately, they have found a place and it will be their home to own so they will not have to deal with being evicted in the future. However, the home needs a lot of work. It is basically a brick building, with no interior walls, kitchen, bathrooms, even the roof is missing!
But with faith, major improvements are already being made with the help not only from the GHA Racing team but others as well. Gonzales Construction donated a full kitchen and bathrooms, Rudy’s Tile donated tile for the bathrooms, Nelson and Pete donated their time to bring all these items to Tijuana on behalf of our partners. It’s a group effort.
A lot of work still needs to be done and this is the reason we are reaching out to our off road racing community, families, friends, and soon to be friends.
Working through the non-profit Genesis Dream Foundation, an agreement has been reached for the Miracles per Mile Fundraiser. 100% of every donation will go to Obed, Evelyn, and their home, The City of Refuge.
Keep in mind that every day, week, and month, this large family relies only on charitable donations which not only they use to survive, but they donate to others in need as well. Unlike the US, the Mexican Government does not assist foster care families nor have any government assistance programs to help financially. Some of the children in this family were given to Obed and Evelyn through the foster care program, and at a certain time Obed and Evelyn are able to adopt them.
As witnessed by everyone on the GHA Race Team, Obed and Evelyn are doing a great job raising these children and providing for them with very limited resources.
Rest assured, 100% of all donations will go directly to helping the children of this family.
