First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte

P.O. Box 170, Eagle Butte, SD 57625

(605) 891-1704

Dear Friends,

The past few months have been both busy and exciting, and I can’t wait to share them with you. It has not been a particularly snowy winter, but we have had some VERY cold weeks. More than once, the temperature dipped below -40 degrees fahrenheit. That’s even colder than Siberia! On one occasion, school was called off-simply because it was too cold.

Fortunately, there was time to step outside and have a little bit of fun. Our church members combined their efforts to decorate the church for Christmas. The community also came together to make a very impressive Christmas parade. 

Our church has been deeply pleased to welcome seven new members in the last few months. They are recently immigrated from the Philippines, and have shown themselves eager to get involved with the church. We are delighted by their presence here.

Wednesday Night Youth Activities!

Several members of my congregation work at Windswept Academy, our local Christian school. God has placed it on their hearts to create an afterschool program on Wednesday nights. Here the children can enrich their knowledge of the Bible, while having a little fun. So far, it has been a fantastic success, with a good many children expressing their excitement for it. I, for one, am very happy to see so many of my congregation taking the initiative to further the Kingdom of Heaven. I look forward to seeing where it all leads!

Clothing Giveaway

Sometimes, generous churches from across the country send clothes, shoes, toys, books and other useful items to our church. I store these items here until there is enough to hold a big giveaway for the people of our community. At this giveaway, we were able to fill nine tables with all the donations, and the people of the community were deeply grateful. We gave nearly everything away, and the small portion that was left was donated to the local thrift store. It was a happy day for dozens of people, and we have generous donors like you to thank for making it all possible!

A Visit from Our Missionary!

In October, we were honored to receive a visit from Amanda Benson. She works at Faith Academy, a Christian school in the Philippines, and is a missionary that our church makes a point of supporting. Over the years, she has worked very hard and will soon become Vice Principal of the school. 

As she shared the details about her life and ministry in the Philippines, it was a particularly special time for us because of who was listening. Several of our newest members migrated from the Philippines, and they had great enthusiasm as they heard Amanda speak. Afterward, we surrounded her in prayer, and I had our filipino members lead the prayer. May God continue to bless Amanda’s work, and use her to do great things for His Kingdom!

A Wedding!

It is not often that I have the privilege of marrying someone. But this November, I got my chance. Steven and Megan approached me, requesting to be married. And after a few sessions of premarital counseling, I was only too happy to do so! Not a single thing went awry during the ceremony or the reception, and the bride and groom happily went off to a pleasant honeymoon. May the rest of their lives together be blessed.

The Annual Thanksgiving Feast

For the past fourteen years, at least, First Baptist Church has been fortunate enough to play host to our allies from Virginia: Hamilton Baptist Church. We work together to put on a community meal in November, where the entire city is invited. Often, we wind up serving 300 people; a full tenth of our population. This year was one of those years.

More than 300 people feasted on turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie and more. They loved the supper, and we all gave thanks to the Lord together. I thank my good friends from Virginia  for all the hard work they did, and I look forward to a long friendship in the future!

My Wife, the Librarian!

My wife, Tiffany, and I have been married for fifteen years. Ever since she was nine years old, Tiffany has looked forward to the day when she could become a librarian. Reading, and the teaching of reading, has always been her passion. And while she enjoyed being a teacher for more than twenty years, she recently arrived at a place where she was ready to step out and try something new. This year, she has been honored to take up the position of school librarian at our Upper Elementary school. Since then, she has been actively working to improve its learning space in any way she can. In this picture, you see her posing with an enormous display for the annual Book Fair. It was very successful, and made a lot of kids happy.

An Upcoming Mission Trip

Last October, a great catastrophe befell Western North Carolina, where I grew up. It began with a long, soaking rain, which swelled the streams and waterlogged the soil. Then, in a bizarre turn, a hurricane came through the Gulf, jumped into the air, and landed on Western North Carolina! Millions of gallons of water were dumped on the mountains. Some towns were completely flooded; others were swept away entirely. Hundreds of people were killed. Many more were left homeless. As I listened to the news reports, my heart broke. These were my friends, with whom I grew up. And many of them had already sacrificed much so they could help my church in its time of need. I had to do something.

For months, First Baptist Church has been planning and coordinating with our partners in North Carolina, and with the Southern Baptist Convention. With the help of our Christian brethren, and with the blessing of God, we are hoping to make a trip to North Carolina next month. I do not know what sort of work we will be doing yet. Maybe we will clear away debris, or maybe we will assist in the rebuilding effort. Whatever we do, we will do it happily, and welcome the opportunity to make life a little better in the Smoky Mountains.

So perhaps you are wondering how you can become a partner with us in our ministry here in Eagle Butte? If so, we welcome your help, since we treasure any assistance from the body of Christ. Here is what we need the most:

Prayer. It may be true that our church is getting along well at the moment, and that God is doing great things here. But it is precisely when a church is being used by God that Satan does all in his power to destroy it. So please pray, my brothers and sisters. Pray that our leadership will keep their hearts pure and humble, and that we will live at peace with each other. Pray that we will be protected from the power of the enemy, and that God’s Holy Spirit will shine through in our lives. Pray that the Lakotas in the community will come to know the Lord, and that the commitment they make will be real and lasting. 

E-mail addresses. For those of you who have e-mail addresses, please send them to me. That way, these newsletters can be forwarded to everyone in your church who wants one! Just send your name and email address to me at benfarrar777@hotmail.com, and I’ll make sure you receive this newsletter as often as it comes out.

Financial Assistance. Our church is fortunate to have members who are generous in their giving. But some of our most generous members still have very little that they can give. We have long been blessed with assistance from outside churches and individuals, and we work hard to use those gifts wisely and well.

If any one of you wishes to bless the church with a financial gift, you may send it to:

First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte

P.O. Box 170

Eagle Butte, SD 57625

If you wish to give a donation in memory of another person, or in that person’s honor, we will recognize the person you designate in our newsletter. 

May God bless you all, and draw you closer to Himself each and every day.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Ben Farrar

Pastor 

First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte

 First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte

P.O. Box 170, Eagle Butte, SD 57625

(605) 891-1704

Dear Friends,

       

                                                   

                   

     

I am so happy to be writing to you all. Our community has experienced many exciting things over the past few months. This past Labor Day Weekend, we enjoyed a fantastic Pow wow and Rodeo, together with an exciting carnival. On the Fourth of July, the entire sky exploded in a thousand fireworks. And all over the prairie, crops grew strong and tall. It has been a gorgeous summer.

It hasn’t all been good news, though. One night in mid-July, we were hit by the worst storm I have experienced since arriving here. Thunder, lightning and rain were the least of it. The wind was blowing at 80mph, with gusts of up to 100! The following morning, the entire city was covered in hundreds of fallen tree branches. An enormous one fell on my house, in fact. Thankfully, the Lord was kind. My roof was undamaged. And to my knowledge, no one was injured in the storm.

Reggie’s 5k Run

My good friend Reggie Kills a Hundred, who regularly attends 

First Baptist Church, has lived a thousand lives. He served in 

the U.S. Marine Corps; he has traveled to places all over the world; 

he has served side-by-side with me on multiple ministry endeavors. 

And last year, despite being in his seventies, he decided to 

participate in a 5k run around the city. He trained for weeks, 

and put in a great showing. And he even had a special T-shirt 

made, so he could represent First Baptist Church as he ran. 

This year, Reggie participated in the 5k run again, and this t

ime he trained even harder. He pushed wheelbarrows uphill, to 

build up his strength and endurance. And it paid great dividends. 

He ran the race with an even better time than before, and once again 

sported his special t-shirt, to proudly represent his church. I am so 

happy to have this man as my brother in Christ.

A Float for Windswept Academy

During the annual Labor Day Parade, I had the honor 

of helping with a float for Windswept Academy, our 

local Christian school. The teachers and students all 

collaborated to make it special. The top of a trailer was 

set up to look like a classroom, and it was decorated by 

banners inscribed with Bible verses. As we made our way 

down the parade route, our teachers and students scattered 

handfuls of candy to all the children of the town. The 

parade-goers seemed to enjoy the float, although (I confess) 

not as much as I enjoyed riding on it!

Vacation Bible School Taken to Red Scaffold

This July, we were delighted to receive a mission team from one 

of our oldest sister-churches: Sevier Heights Baptist Church of 

Sevierville, Tennessee. For thirteen years, a mission team of youth 

from Sevier Heights has made an annual trip to our reservation, 

where they have stayed at our church. This year, we received a group 

of about twenty young people. Using First Baptist Church as a base, 

they struck out each morning for the community of Red Scaffold. 

There, they brought Bible stories to the children. But they also played 

games, did crafts, made friends and had fun. They broke down barriers 

to the Gospel that would otherwise exist. They brought joy to people’s 

hearts. And one heart that was made joyous from their coming was 

definitely mine.

Bible School, and Far-Reaching Repairs

I was born in Morganton, North Carolina. That is where I grew up, and I 

feel a piece of me still lives there. This year, our church had the 

great privilege of receiving a mission team from Mount Home Baptist Church, 

from my own home town! They came from all age groups, backgrounds and 

skill sets, and each person was determined to make full use of his abilities 

for the Kingdom of God.

They set up a beautiful Vacation Bible School, and advertised it, 

and kicked it off with a large block party. Everyone who came loved 

it. The children learned about Jesus, played games, did crafts and had a 

lot of fun.For some of the children, I learned it was the best time they

had had in ages.

A great number of people who came with this group wanted to focus their 

attention on fixing things that were broken. I can usually come up with a few

projects to keep mission teams busy, but this team was AMBITIOUS. They 

were intent on accomplishing as much as possible in the time they had available. 

They replaced rotten wood on my house, then they painted the entire building! 

They removed an old rotten cross we had on the front of our building, and 

replaced it with one that lights up at night. They replaced all the rubber stoppers 

(hundreds of them) on the bottom of all our metal chairs. They unloaded 400 

bags of rubber mulch from a horse trailer, then spread that mulch all over 

Windswept’s playground. They replaced a dilapidated basketball goal in our 

front yard with one that is better than new. They replaced five light fixtures. 

They surveyed the church, and gave us recommendations for how to use 

energy more efficiently.

They did about a thousand other things. I cannot think back on that week without being 

filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Each day, I was surrounded by friendly 

faces, actively seeking ways to help. Each day, I was greeted by the laughter of little 

children enjoying our Bible school. And when everything was over and the group had 

to go home at last, I was left greatly encouraged. I pray God’s blessing on each and every 

one of these kind souls!

Sports Camp!

Johnny and Amy Maholic have been faithful members of our church for years. 

And for years, Johnny’s family has led a mission team here, to great effect. And 

so it was that this year, we welcomed Calvary Bible Church of Centre Hall, 

Pennsylvania. They focused their efforts on bringing a sports camp to the children 

of the community, including basketball, soccer and more. But they also included 

elements of a traditional Vacation Bible School, such as music and Bible lessons. 

Good times were had by all.

One day, I was helping conduct traffic in the hallway when a little girl pointed to 

a picture of Jesus on the cross, and asked me what that was about. I told her about 

the salvation Jesus offered to those who trusted in Him, and she said that she wanted 

to trust Jesus. I told her to go back to her group, promising that if she returned to me 

later I would tell her all about Jesus. (In doing this, I was checking to make sure that 

she was really interested.) She did return later, and she brought a friend! I told them 

both all about the story of the scriptures, from creation to the Fall, from the Law to 

the coming of Christ, from the crucifixion to the last judgment. When I had told them 

everything, they both prayed to receive Christ! These are the things that a Pastor lives 

for.

   

But Calvary Bible Church was not satisfied with only having a sports camp. 

They also took on multiple work projects at Windswept Academy. 

They painted several rooms in the school, and (hopefully) fixed a 

problem with their sewage line. Up until this point, one of Windswept’s

sewer lines would freeze every winter. To help this situation, the men of Calvary 

Bible Church dug down to the sewer line and covered it in a thick insulation material. 

Then they re-covered it with dirt. If all goes well, Windswept will have twice 

as many usable bathrooms this January! Our heartfelt thanks go out to Calvary 

Bible Church for all their sacrificial generosity!

So perhaps you are wondering how you can become a partner with us in 

our ministry here in Eagle Butte? If so, we welcome your help, since we 

treasure any assistance from the body of Christ. Here is what we need the

most:

Prayer. It may be true that our church is getting along well at the moment, 

and that God is doing great things here. But it is precisely when a church is 

being used by God that Satan does all in his power to destroy it. So please 

pray, my brothers and sisters. Pray that our leadership will keep their hearts 

pure and humble, and that we will live at peace with each other. Pray that we 

will be protected from the power of the enemy, and that God’s Holy Spirit 

will shine through in our lives. Pray that the Lakotas in the community will 

come to know the Lord, and that the commitment they make will be real and 

lasting. 

E-mail addresses. For those of you who have e-mail addresses, please send 

them to me. That way, these newsletters can be forwarded to everyone in your 

church who wants one! Just send your name and email address to me at 

benfarrar777@hotmail.com, and I’ll make sure you receive this newsletter as 

often as it comes out.

Financial Assistance. Our church is fortunate to have members who are 

generous in their giving. But some of our most generous members still have 

very little that they can give. We have long been blessed with assistance from 

outside churches and individuals, and we work hard to use those gifts wisely 

and well.

If any one of you wishes to bless the church with a financial gift, 

you may send it to:

First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte

P.O. Box 170

Eagle Butte, SD 57625

If you wish to give a donation in memory of another person, 

or in that person’s honor, we will recognize the person you designate in our newsletter. 

May God bless you all, and draw you closer to Himself each and every day.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Ben Farrar

Pastor 

First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte