Thursday afternoon I had an opportunity to visit with Ray Strange who operates the "Country Junction Mission", just west of Cunot in the former Ma Stroudıs grocery store building.
For the past two years, while battling serious illness and attempting to live on donations (while using his social security check to keep the mission open), Ray has become a friend and tremendous helper to a long list of needy families in the Cagles Mill Lake area.
Now, however, Ray finds donations to help the mission have dwindled to nearly nothing, and heıs facing the heart-breaking act of closing the mission on April 30 unless support is found.
Why do we need a mission in Owen County?
I posed that question to myself while driving to Cunot... However, after arriving at the mission, talking with Ray, and watching several families come in to accept his help... there is absolutely no doubt about the need.
Rayıs story is one that reaches deep into the heart of a man who knows what poverty and living on the edge is all about. For some 20 years he was a bartender in Greencastle, had problems with alcohol and drugs, and, in short, was on a life destroying path.
In his later years he found help through a mission outreach, and got his first real test of the "other side" while working in the Shelby Street Mission in Indianapolis. He later managed the Manna Mission in downtown Martinsville for about two years before moving to the Cunot area.
For a time he lived in a small mobile home in back of the small grocery store "in the curve" on State Road 42, but he had a dream of somehow putting together a local mission to help many residents in the community who desperately needed special attention. Young families, people out of work, senior citizens... all needing someone to lend an extra helping hand to improve their lives.
Ray got his first opportunity to think seriously about a mission when the owner of the store building offered to rent it for $700 a month. Ray said, "There was no way I could afford the rent, not with my $780 a month social security check. So I asked God for an answer. He kept the idea in my heart and I waited for things to change."
The first change came when the owner lowered the rent offer to $400... then to $200 and Ray decided it was time to tackle the job. Later a contract sale was offered... $500 per month plus a once-a-year $2,000 interest payment. Ray accepted the contract offer, paying the $500 from his social security check and counting on thrift store sales and donations to cover the rest. He said, "I was able to keep up the monthly payments but I couldnıt come up with the $2,000 interest payment last year or this year. Now Iım $4,000 in the hole and the owner is well within her rights to ask me to give up the building."
Much the same as he seems to accept everything that comes his way, Ray isnıt bitter... about the pending closure, or the fact that diabetes has already caused him to lose the toes on his right foot and seriously threatens the loss of his right leg. "I just have to leave it in Godıs hands and hope things will work out," he said Thursday.
Thanks to a very generous on-going donation of food products from Modern Vending Company in Indianapolis and other food donations, all food at the mission is provided free to those in need... while donated clothing, household items, toys, etc. have prices attached, but they usually "sell" for whatever the purchaser can afford.
Living in a small corner of the vacant store, Ray manages on a very meager existence, but he gets his joy out of seeing the smiles on the faces of those he helps. While I visited the mission... a total of about 30 minutes... at least eight or 10 people came to the site.
One lady asked about the price of some quilts tucked away under a counter. Ray said he had them marked $2 but $1 would be fine if she really needed them. Another child walked out with a very low cost rocking horse... While another lady had only $1 to purchase some cloth material, and that, according to Ray, was also the right price.
Ray explained, "The donations were really good for a while, but then they just kinda dried up. Iıve been feeding 40 to 50 people here on Saturdays, plus Iıd guess 20 or 30 families come in each day for some kind of assistance. I thought it was going to be a long term thing, but that doesnıt seem to be the case... I canıt tell you how much of a need we have right here in this community. One woman, who lives in a small house trailer with seven children, told me she made it through one winter thanks to the mission.ı"
Modern Vending donates milk, snacks, prepackaged sandwiches and other foods, while canned goods are also donated from several sources... Pointing to one of the freezers in the rather dark building, Ray explained, "We fill this freezer full of sandwiches every week and by the end of the week itıs always empty. The sandwiches serve a really good purpose..."
In addition to the $500 monthly contract payments, Ray also found himself facing the same problems faced by all Owen County residents this past winter... high energy bills. "I burned wood because I couldnıt afford gas... my electric bill is about $140 due to all the freezers. Neighbors have been a God-send, a wonderful help, but they can only do so much because of limited incomes."
Sorting through shelves filled with canned goods, Ray quietly admitted, "I guess Iım going to have to give whatıs left of the food to another mission somewhere if I canıt make it, but I sure hate to give up and stop helping these people."
When asked how he controls the distribution of free food, Ray said, "I usually let them take what they need to get by. Sometimes I might have to tell someone to make sure and leave some for others... and they always get the message."
He recalled that while he was with the Manna Mission in Martinsville that facility also ran on to hard times... facing a debt of about $90,000 in order to stay open. They held many fund-raisers, but they were still $38,000 short. Then a man came in who had also been helped by a mission years before. "He asked what they needed to clear the debt," said Ray. "They told him $38,000 and he said 'Iım going over to the bank and write a check for $38,000ı... and he did! He wanted to stay anonymous, but it is people like that make me keep trying."
"God brought me back from alcohol and drugs, and I guess the mission here was something that I could do to touch those in need... And let me assure you there are many, many people here with serious needs." He said the majority of those coming in for help are young, but he also sees a number of middle age and senior citizens who, in some cases, are not inclined to seek public help through welfare programs.
Ray admitted, "Iım not real sure how the owner of the building would respond if she knew I could get some financial help. She really wouldnıt have to change her mind because Iım $4,000 behind... I just donıt know, and I wouldnıt really have a reason to find out unless support is offered."
Some of his key help has come from his ex-wife, Peggy. She lives nearby and they have retained a good friendship, although no longer married. "She helped me keep the mission open when I had the surgery on my toes about a year ago, and she certainly shares my strong concerns for these people."
Another dedicated helper is Bernice Jones of Cloverdale. Her husband, the late Robert Jones, was a friend of Ray. She said Ray provided transportation to medical appointments for Robert during his time of serious illness prior to his death... at a time when Ray was continuing his 15/20 year fight against diabetes.
Let it be known that Ray is not begging for personal support to improve his own lifestyle... He is simply asking for support from individuals, churches, businesses, anyone willing to help keep the mission operating... "Otherwise Iıll just go under and these people will return to the same level of problems they faced before the mission opened," he said. His is a definite love relationship with those he helps. There was no sign of embarrassment by those visiting the mission Thursday. They knew they were welcome, and they were sure Ray would do whatever he could to help them.
Through the years Iıve had an opportunity to write many, many articles about special people in our county, but I think Ray Strange provides one of the best examples of a person willing to give everything he has to help those in need.
Visiting with Ray also brought out the fact that many people in our own Owen County... not some distance place we only read about... are in need of love and help for the basics of daily living.
Some are living in conditions that others throughout the county might not believe. Families without work, families who are trying... These are not necessarily adults who have just given up on life. They are people who are trying to get by, to raise their families, to move ahead until things get better... Sadly, many are not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and daily basic needs are a major concern.
Ray feels he is doing Godıs work, and he feels if others in the area are made aware of the need, maybe help will come. If not, the mission will close at the end of this month.
If support does come, Ray is more than willing to continue if he can work out a plan to keep the present building, find another site or whatever... despite his bad health.
If you or someone you know can help, Rayıs phone number is 1-765-795-3807...