First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte
P.O. Box 170, Eagle Butte, SD
57625
(605) 964-3617 (Office) / (605)
891-1704 (Pastor’s Cell)
December
10, 2013
Dear
Friends,
It never fails. From October to April, every time I have a conversation with someone from out of state, they always ask me the same question: “How’s the weather up there?” Well, ladies and gentlemen, it’s cold.
How cold is it?
It’s so cold that hitchhikers are going around holding up pictures of thumbs.
It’s so cold that the cows are intentionally leaning against the electric fences.
It’s so cold that I chipped a tooth yesterday-on my soup!
That’s how cold it is. But if we are going to assign a number to the cold, let’s say that it’s been down to negative twenty-two degrees, with a wind chill factor of negative thirty-five.
One thing that has not been cold is our Wednesday night church attendance, which has risen significantly in recent weeks. I am unsure of the exact reason, but when God has given us a great gift, I’m not going to ask questions.
I
have taken a few weeks recently to do something special with the Wednesday
night crowd, and have been taking them on a virtual tour of Israel. It is amazing what a projector and some
digital pictures can do!
Our Reservation
Gets a New Store
The Cheyenne River reservation is approximately 4,200 square miles in area, has a population of nearly 12,000 people, and (up until recently) has been home to two grocery stores. This has placed a considerable strain on the population, as many people in the outlying settlements have had to drive many miles in order to buy groceries. In fact, to conserve gas money, many people have resorted to sending one person to buy groceries for a group of people. But now, thanks be to God, we have gained some relief. A new, modern grocery store has been opened in the town of Dupree, 30 minutes to the West of us. I was given the honor of offering the dedication prayer at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and then had the further honor of buying some orange juice.
A Race to
Save a Life
On
October 12, Eagle Butte unknowingly played host to a most unusual event: the
smallest half-marathon race ever. Our
own Amanda Benson, who leads our music, had signed up to run in the Crazy Horse
Half-Marathon in Rapid City. But when the race was canceled, due to a freak
snowstorm, Benson decided that she would not be deterred from running the
race. So a week later, she ran the full 13.5 miles around the city of Eagle
Butte. Her reason? Simply because she had promised her sponsor
that she would race, and was determined to do her part. By running the race, Benson collected over
$1,500 to pay for counseling for women who are considering abortion. Through her efforts, the lives of 1.25
children could be saved. Those who saw
her finish the race noted that it was the first time in history that a racer
ever finished first and last at the same time!
Eagle
Butte Mourns a Fallen Warrior
On
October 10, our church was saddened to learn that Ballard White had died of a
stroke. Ballard founded First Baptist
Church back in 1966, and became its first pastor. He poured his entire life into this church,
this community, and this reservation for nearly thirty years before finally
retiring in the early 1990’s. During his
time, First Baptist Church saw a time of tremendous growth and change. We reached out to the surrounding
communities, planting sister churches in LaPlante, Dupree, Cherry Creek and
Green Grass. If ever a pastor was missed
by his congregation, that pastor was Ballard White. A man of rugged spirit and power, God used
him to change the lives of many hundreds of people. I am honored to offer my service, such as it
is, in the position that he once held.
Our Church
is Helped by Many Friends
Not so long ago, our friend Josh Ellis
from Tennessee gave us the gift of a brand new door. The previous door had become so old that it
was letting in a lot of cold air and costing the church a good deal of money in
utilities. But the door was not
installed until we had another visit from our good friends at Hamilton Baptist
Church in Virginia. They helped in a
good variety of ways, one of which being to install the new door. Its seal is now so tight that it’s just like
another part of the wall! We look
forward to seeing our next heating bill.
Clothing Giveaway!
First Baptist Church is blessed with
generous and kind donors from all over the country, who God uses to make our
work possible. As good people like you
send clothing and other assorted items to the church, I let them accumulate
until we have enough to put on a Clothing Giveaway. I was able to put on just such a giveaway
last month, just in time for winter. It
was a great success. People came from
all over the community, picking up the clothing, blankets and accessories they
would need to get through the winter.
Some of them even took a little extra, to share with their friends who
were not able to come.Our special thanks to all of our generous donors, who
helped make this event into a reality!
Let Us Give Thanks
Each year, with the help of our friends
from Hamilton Baptist Church, we put on
a Thanksgiving supper for the people of this community. This year was no exception. We advertised it throughout the city,
recruited some of the young people to help serve, and decked out the fellowship
hall in its Thanksgiving best. But this
year, we changed certain features of the meal to make it a more overtly
religious gathering. Tracts from the
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, telling how to be saved, were arranged
at each place setting. The blessing was
saved until the middle of the meal, by which time a great many more guests were
around to hear it. And everyone
attending to invited to go to a series of revival meetings that were to begin
the following night. God rewarded our
efforts at making the gathering more overtly religious by making it highly
successful. The most conservative
estimates for the number of people we served was 150, shattering our record for
any previous year. Some people even
estimate that the number was closer to 200!
And all of us gathered together to give thanks with a grateful
heart. What an evening! I love my job!
Revival Meetings, Run by an Old Friend
Last month, we received a long-expected
visit from our former Pastor and long-time friend, Phil Lawrence. Pastor Phil was a great pastor to First
Baptist Church, and only left because he is that proverbial rolling stone who
cannot spend too much time in one place.
He is currently doing God’s work on another reservation. But last month, he came in and preached a
series of revival meetings that were very well-attended. We are very grateful to have had a visit from
one of our dedicated fellow-servants!
Sending Christmas Blessings to Children Across the World
Because First Baptist Church relies so
much on help from others who have more than us, we believe that it is only
right to also reach out to those less fortunate than ourselves. For this reason, we took on a new project
this year: Operation Christmas Child.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this charity, Operation
Christmas Child is an outreach project that sends gifts to children in
third-world nations. Those who donate to
this charity fill a shoebox with basic necessities like a toothbrush, a comb,
some socks, and so forth. They also
include some toys. Our church set a goal
of sending six such shoeboxes this year, but our membership proved generous
enough to exceed all expectations, such that 14 shoeboxes were sent! May God bless the children who receive
them!
So
perhaps you are wondering how you can become a partner with us in our ministry
here in Eagle Butte? If so, then we are happy to tell you, since we
welcome assistance from the body of Christ. Here is what we need the most:
Prayer.
It may be
true that our church is getting along very 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
not be a superficial group of words, but a real change in their Spirits that will
alter the course of their lives for eternity.
E-mail
addresses.
For those of you who have e-mail addresses, please send them to me. That
way, these monthly newsletters can be forwarded to everyone in your church who
wants one! Just send your name and e-mail 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 are, nevertheless, very poor. We have
long been blessed with assistance from outside churches and individuals, and we
try 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
May
God bless you all, and draw you closer to Himself each and every day.
Yours
in Christ,
Ben Farrar
Pastor
First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte
Pastor
First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte
