First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte
P.O.
Box 170, Eagle Butte, SD 57625
(605)
964-3617 (Office) / (605) 891-1704 (Pastor’s Cell)
May
18, 2013
Dear
Friends,
In
South Dakota, it is sometimes said that we have four seasons: Winter, Still
Winter, Almost Winter, and Summer. Well,
I am happy to report that Summer is here at last, and everyone is enjoying the
warm weather to the fullest! In the
picture above, you can see the students of Windswept Academy participating in
their annual field day. The tug-of-war
event was a Battle For The Ages, but it was eventually won by the proud
warriors on the left side of the picture.
Meanwhile,
at First Baptist Church, we recently celebrated Mother’s Day in a special
service last Sunday Morning. I preached
on the Fourth Commandment: to honor your Father and your Mother, and emphasized
that we must do this for our mothers even when we think they are wrong. After all, if our mothers always acted
rightly, why would it be necessary for God to command us to honor them? I also preached to mothers, telling them that
they had both the God-given right and the God-given duty to expect honor from
their children. Finally, I told them
that this commandment extended to aunts, grandmothers, cousins, or even older
sisters who took on the role of mother when they saw that there was a
need. The Mothers in the service seemed
pleased, and I hope that God was, too.
Each
Sunday morning, while the adults are in their own Bible Study, the children are
bused in from all over town for Children’s Sunday School. Rachel Cowan, one of the newer members of our
church, has taken up the practice of telling the children stories (out of her
own imagination) that illustrate biblical truth. Some of these stories are, in my opinion,
suitable to become children’s books in their own right, and they have the desirable
effect of taking the biblical passages that the children learn in Sunday School
and applying them to the children’s everyday lives. I am very happy about this new development
that God is bringing about here.
Hospital Outreach Project
Last year, First Baptist Church did an outreach project in which we provided a meal to the staff of our local hospital, as a means of thanking them for the good they do in our community. The project was so well-received that we decided to try it again. Many people of the church brought food to make the outreach event special. Amanda Benson brought her special loose-leaf teas and coffee cake. Amy Holley made some sausage balls. Darla Shupick made a breakfast casserole. My wife, Tiffany, brewed the coffee and made an apple spice dessert. I brought bagels. The hospital staff stayed longer this time, and talked with us for a long while. They left feeling valued and appreciated, and we had all had the privilege of sharing God’s love with our greater community. I love it when we all work together as a team to do things like this!
Sunday School Bowling!
All this year, we have allowed our Sunday School children to accumulate points by coming to Sunday School, bringing their Bibles, and learning Bible verses. For those who accumulated enough points, we rewarded them this month by taking them bowling in Pierre (the closest city that has a bowling alley, roughly an hour and a half away). About twenty children earned the trip, and we were able to get a group discount for them at the bowling alley. It turned out great! Everyone had a wonderful time, and there was some good bonding between the children and the Sunday School teachers. I helped chaperone the trip, and I’m happy to say that even though I’m a terrible bowler, I was still better than the fourth graders who were on my lane. “Wow, Pastor Ben!” they said. “You bowled an 87! You’re really good!” Yeah, boys, you keep right on thinking that.
Graduation!
The month of May, of course, marks the graduation ceremonies of both Windswept Academy and Noah’s Ark Preschool, two local Christian institutions at which I have the privilege of serving as chaplain. Windswept Academy boasted its largest class ever to finish an academic year-41 students! You can see these students in the first picture above Six of them were graduating kindergarteners, who made great strides this year in both reading and mathematics. You can see them in the second picture. But perhaps the most distinguishing feature of Windswept Academy’s graduation was a school play, put on by the third and fourth graders. It was a parody of the cinematic classic, “Back to the Future”, and it emphasized the importance of learning. At the school’s request, I played the character of “Doc Ben” in the play, while wearing a goofy wig. You can see a scene from that play in the third picture above. All the kids’ relatives were entertained, and very proud of their children’s academic accomplishments.
At the graduation for Noah’s Ark Preschool and Day Care, parents and assorted relatives from all over the community gathered together and celebrated the maturing of their young children. During their time at preschool they learned their numbers, and their colors, and their shapes, and their three bears, and how to get along with other people. But also, they learned their Ten Commandments and received instruction in some basic Bible teaching. It is my sincere hope that this will plant a seed in these children’s hearts which will one day cause them to grow into mighty servants of our Lord.
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.
Pray especially for the people of this community as we move into the summer months. It is when the weather is warmest that violence is at its highest around here. In the winter, the crime rate plummets, because it is too cold to do anything too violent. But now, fighting is on the increase, and I many fear for the people’s safety. Pray that God will send His Holy Spirit to bring peace to this city. Pray also that God will give the policemen sound minds and bodies to keep order here.
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. We have a particular need, due to a city sidewalk project that is coming past the church, for which they intend to charge us about $4700.
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,
Rev. Ben Farrar
Pastor
First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte
