Generous Gift: Local Family of Nine Receives Free Home
By Regina Elling

Attending the groundbreaking ceremony were, from left, John and Adrienne Oleson, Miles McPherson, Senior Pastor of The Rock Church in San Diego, and Greg Bradford, founder and CEO of Envision Homes.

Raising a family of seven kids can certainly keep a pair of parents busy in the best of times. But when such a family - the Olesons of Ramona - lost their home in the October Witch Creek fire, they pulled together and searched for the calm in the middle of their personal firestorm.

It was 4 a.m. when one of the boys woke up the family. The fire was visible on the nearest ridge. The power was out. The air was thick with smoke, and fierce winds were howling through their property off Highland Valley Road.

John Oleson and his wife, Adrienne, wasted no time. "We told the kids they each had 15 minutes to pack their favorite things in a bag," says John. "We then headed to my brother's house in Escondido."

The family ranges in age from 11 to 25 years. The older ones are living at home while attending college.

John Oleson, far left, listens to the words of Envision founder and CEO, Greg Bradford shown with his wife, Cindy.

For the first two days, they had no idea how their home, and the many animals they had to leave behind, had fared. The third day after the fire, some of the Oleson boys hiked - carefully - back to the homestead.

"It was so depressing," says John. "Not only did we lose our house, but we lost our house garage, tool garage and two small trailers full of supplies." The family cattle and dogs, however, were all okay.

Since John was in charge of the Oleson family archives, losing all the old family pictures was especially painful.

John has a steady job at Verizon and Adrienne stays busy home-schooling the younger children and staying active with their church, Calvary Chapel of Ramona. Losing their home was bad enough, but just when the family thought it couldn't get any worse, due to some unfortunate circumstances, they found themselves uninsured.

Most of the Oleson family was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony. From left, Caleb, Tori, Sarina, Adrienne (mom), John (dad), Rachel, Nathan and Amanda Oleson; Mari and her husband Pastor Rob Hubbard of Calvary Chapel; and Pastor Guy Willeford of Calvary Chapel. Photos by Darrel Kinney

But the wildfire was unable to take away the family's faith.

"I just kept going, knowing that the Lord had something else in mind for me, and he would take care of things," says John.

Unknown to the Olesons, Greg Bradford, founder and CEO of Envision Homes, was particularly touched by the plight of so many in the community suffering so much loss.

"I felt called upon to give back," says Bradford. "I wanted to give away a house to a deserving family."

To find such a family, Bradford contacted Miles McPherson, senior pastor of The Rock Church in San Diego.

"It would have been easy to build a fancy house in plain sight in a wealthy area of the county," says Bradford. "But we looked for a less-traveled, less visible area, and for a family with a real need."

The initial reaction was "disbelief that we were really going to do this," says Bradford, chuckling.

After reviewing dozens of applications, the Oleson family was chosen, based on their character, community service and need. More than 40 community leaders, company executives and family and friends attended the March 10 ground-breaking.

"We hope to have a ribbon cutting in 120 days," says Bradford.

The two-story, 2,100 square foot home will have four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a two-car garage and lots of fire safety features - many of which are now county requirements - such as fire sprinklers, tempered glass and stucco overhangs. More than $40,000 in additional work has been pledged by various venders and individuals who have stepped up to help the family.

"This fire - and this family - has changed my philosophy of doing business," says Bradford. "We hope to have the Olesons in the home by the Fourth of July."

In the meantime, the Olesons are living in a pair of FEMA trailers located on the property.

"It will be wonderful to have all the kids together again under one roof," says Adrienne. "And even though the trailers are wonderful and we are glad to have them, it will be nice to have a bit more room to spread out."

John looks forward to a lightened burden in life.

"I'm definitely going to collect less junk and work on less projects in the future," he says. "There are things that are more important."