Refuge Ranch, located in central Mexico, serves as the site for a new forever family for children in need of such love and care. Committed to providing the children with the love, support, structure and freedom found within the context of a Christian family, Julie Claassen, with the help of support staff, seeks to raise each child as her own.
Since the founding of Fishers of Men in 2003, 25 children have called Refuge Ranch their home. Everyday family life provides each child with the opportunity to come to know and experience the reality of the love of Christ that can transform hearts and habits, enabling them to fulfill the Lord’s good, pleasing and perfect will for each of them. Homeschooling aids this process through the use of Christian curriculum and by catering to each child’s unique educational needs. Currently, 10 children live at Refuge Ranch.
Scroll down this page to meet the family and some images of life on the ranch!
The Family of Refuge Ranch
The Story of Our Family
Josiah, the oldest biological son, was born in Indiana in April of 2001.
Two years later, in June of 2003, the family answered God’s call to move to Mexico.
Josiah currently is attending Anderson University in Indiana, his mother’s Alma Mater.
In March of 2004, Angie and her sister Diana, who were 9 and 10 years old, came from living in an abandoned storefront in Mexico City with their birth mother to become part of the family.
Angie and her husband, Juan live in Acapulco.
Diana and her husband Robbie, along with their son, Liam, and daughter Lúa, live in Monterrey.
Two weeks after Angie and Diana joined the family, the second biological son, Caleb, was born.
When Caleb was two months old, Martha, age 6, walked alone from her mountain village seeking treatment at an EMMC. She came home with the crusade team, leaving behind a life of abuse and malnutrition, increasing the family from one to five children in a span of two months.
Ruth, the third biological child, was born in November of 2005.
Ana has been part of the family since her birth in August of 2006. While pregnant, Ana’s birth mother, young, impoverished and struggling to raise five children, arranged to surrender Ana at birth.
In July of 2007, Fidel, at age 7, joined the family after an EMMC,
during which the crusade team learned that he had been abandoned by all of his relatives.
Fidel now lives independently in the Mexico City area.
When Martita was two years old her mother died during childbirth. After eleven years of abusive treatment from her alcoholic father, stepmother, and other family members, Martita sought safety at a Christian mission. The missionaries contacted Refuge Ranch and she was welcomed into the family in February of 2008 at age 13.
Martita and her husband Leonel pastor a church in the Mexico City area. They have a daughter, Layla, born in 2019.
In July of 2009, Daniel joined the family at the age of 21 months when his birth mother abandoned him.
Severe congenital heart disease required surgery at age five which led to his death on September 8, 2013.
Joseline joined the family at the age of 7 in August of 2009 upon the sudden death of her single mother.
Lolis is Martita’s biological sister. For almost two years after Martita joined the family, attempts were made to also bring Lolis into the family. Finally, in December of 2009, at the age of 12, Lolis joined her sister at Refuge Ranch.
Lolis and German, along with their daughter, Ximena, born in 2016, live in Toluca.
In February of 2011, five siblings were added to the family – Fatima, Leo, Miguel, Carolina, and David, who ranged in age from 10 to 2. Their mother had left them to the care of their elderly grandmother who was unable to adequately meet their needs.
Currently Fatima, Leo, Miguel, and David live independently and Carolina lives with her biological mother.
Alejandro joined the family in November of 2011 at the age of 11 after having spent those first 11 years
being jostled from one living situation to another, including relative’s homes, shelters and even the street.
At this time Alejandro lives on his own.
Harumi and Crhistopher became part of the family in 2018 when their single mother decided she no longer wanted them. Although their mother had granted Julie custody, their biological grandparents were able to attain legal authority
for Harumi and Crhistopher to live with them for now.
Mauricio, age 6, and Kimberly, age 5, joined the family in January of 2020 after their mother left them with their grandmother who was unable to properly care for them.
Nicolas, age 5, Alondra, age 7, and José, age 12, came from a situation of extreme domestic violence and became part of the family at Refuge Ranch in October of 2020.
Life at Refuge Ranch
