January 2025 From the Desk of Dave McLean

In the beginning of my Christian walk, I had a lot of frustration when it came to helping those in need. I was eager to help and, at the start, would be confident that I was doing God’s will. At the end, though, as I looked at the fruit of my labor, I wasn’t nearly as confident. In 2005, I was preparing a series of messages on Biblical Financial Freedom and, as you might expect, the Lord took me in an unexpected direction. He showed me how He helps the poor and those in need, and how He does it in a way that always ministers to the hearts of everyone involved. I was so blessed by what I discovered that, as I discovered God’s beauty in this area, I jumped in to start serving at A Ray of Hope. The frustrations that came with helping others began to melt away as I discovered the joy of God’s way of reaching out.

Helping those in need is coming along beside them, rubbing elbows, being a friend, confidant, believer and encourager to them. When someone is struggling, what they really need is a friend. When someone comes alongside, they can be that friend. Helping has far less to do with giving and far more to do with loving. That’s why Jesus is so good at it. He sees beyond our material needs and fills us with His Spirit, restoring our souls! There’s something about that Living Water- you can never get too much, and even a small drink satisfies you, leaving you longing for more.

Over the years, I’ve heard people talk and write about the First Century Church, as seen in the book of Acts and other New Testament writings. It was a very dynamic church in a variety of ways, for a variety of reasons, and yet when you read the New Testament, you can see they had their struggles, just as the church does today. Neglecting widows, immoral relationships, racial tensions, carnal conduct, among so many other issues. It is easier to get the Gentile into the church, than to get the world out of the Gentile. However, our goal is not to get the perfect looking church- that is image, and the Lord sees through that. Our goal is to learn to love our Lord and neighbor. And when we do this, we are doing well.

I tell people that A Ray of Hope reminds me of the First Century Church. We do life together, we do struggles together, we process failures and rejoice in successes together. We pursue Jesus together, through His Word, His love, and our relationships. We know that we’ll not achieve perfection in this life, but we love pursuing the perfect One in this life. Life at A Ray of Hope is centered around the Lord. While our guests may not know the Lord upon arrival, they sure do meet Him when they move in, because He’s central to our lives.

I would like to share a story that I think illustrates this point. During the construction of our Two Bay Service Garage and Two Bedroom Apartment (Joe’s Garage), Amanda Hutchison sought out A Ray of Hope looking for an opportunity to complete her Stars and Stripes Project, which is the highest honor an American Heritage Girl can receive. As soon as the idea was proposed to decorate the Family Apartment, her eyes lit up with delight. Her mother, Michelle, assisted her with the entire project and they were mentored by Bonnie Johnston. This was a giant blessing to our ministry as it took the load off of the managers and allowed Amanda full creative control.

Amanda was hands-on in every aspect of this project- she is an outstanding communicator and very detailed in her organizational skills. She compiled lists of needs and put out the word through the home school network to see who could assist and donate items. She eagerly climbed through three full storage units to dig out treasures for the apartment. Amanda, assisted by the American Heritage Girls, created, sketched and painted two beautiful murals with scriptures from the Psalms and made decorations to adorn the apartment. They sang like angels and prayed the entire time they painted, cleaned, and decorated. She organized and hosted an entire Bingo Fundraiser that brought in over $1500. Due to delays for final authorization of our Conditional Use Permit, her project was completed prior to the final decorating. Nevertheless, Amanda, determined to see through what she had started, led a team that returned to clean, decorate and pray over and throughout the apartment. Amanda put her heart and love into this project- it was important to her to create a loving and safe space for a family to reside. Through this, Amanda became part of our A Ray of Hope community.

In her own words, she sums up the heart of this project below:

I am pursuing this project because God has been opening my eyes to the suffering of the homeless in my community. He has laid upon my heart a desire to do something to help these people. Seeing their growing numbers in the Flathead Valley makes me more aware than ever that we need more organizations like A Ray of Hope, helping these people to get back to a healthy way of life. God has been leading me to this project through the whole process. From giving me a word of a building being built, to finding A Ray of Hope,- who happened to be building a building!—to giving me this love for art and interior design. I’m going to use my gifts and skills to make this house a home. This project has God’s fingerprints all over it, and I am very excited to use the gifts and passions that He has given me in this way!

Amanda truly immersed herself into the Family Apartment, developed new relationships and created a welcoming home environment, in the process. What made the First Century Church unique was not the success of their walk, more than other church ages, but the community of their walk. Life is a challenge, but we can face that challenge much easier when we are there for each other. Thank you, Amanda, you have blessed us, not just in your devotion to our project, but in becoming part of our community. As we pursue the Lord, He will lead us into the pursuit and community of others, this is where we find His heart, and this is where He changes ours. Amen? Amen! Dave