First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte
P.O.
Box 170, Eagle Butte, SD 57625
(605)
964-3617 (Office) / (605) 891-1704 (Pastor’s Cell)
July 12, 2013
Dear
Friends,
After
many months of waiting, Spring has arrived and transformed gloriously into
Summer! Though the winters here can be
harsh, the winds can be forceful and the weather conditions extreme, there are
few things that can match the beauty of a lush, green prairie in the heart of
summertime. Our sunsets now resemble
giant rainbows that have laid down on the horizon for a rest, sunflowers grow
wild in every ditch, and all the countryside seems to throb with the heartbeat
of God’s glorious creation! 
One
night, without warning, my house was struck by an intense hailstorm. I was showering at the time, and the sound
made me think the cats were running down the hall. Then the sound intensified, and I thought
that someone had broken into the house.
Then it got heavier still, and I thought we were under attack by
Hottentots! When I finally grasped what
was happening, I went outside and picked up a handful of the freshly-fallen
hailstones. Considering their size, I
was lucky to have only one broken window!
Working
Shoulder-to-Shoulder with Friends from Far Away
This
month, our church played host to a group of fellow-believers from Hamilton
Baptist Church in Virginia, as well as some of their partner churches. Through the concerted efforts of the nearly
30 group members, they partnered with our church to do some pretty fantastic
work in the greater community.
The work they did began on a Sunday afternoon, when they hosted
a block party in the church’s side yard.
There was face painting, snow cones, and even a couple of bouncy
houses. They registered many children to
come to VBS, and learned where they needed to be picked up.
On
Monday morning, Vacation Bible School started off at full pace, with Bible
classes for five different age groups, crafts, music, games, and more. Unlike previous years, VBS ran for five days
in a row, instead of the usual four. The
children loved it! And in addition to
the regular Bible study lessons of each day, I had the opportunity to go to
each class and share the Gospel with them all.
Two young girls, named Daisy and Sunny, even placed their faith in
Jesus! Boy, do I love my job!
But
the ministry opportunities did not end there.
Children’s VBS ended at midday, but after lunch there was a whole other
Vacation Bible School, designed for teenagers.
This was headed up by our own Clint and Amy Holley, and included a
lesson from the scriptures for each day, with a showing of the Jesus film on
the final day.
When
the older kids were not learning about the scriptures, they were participating
in games and sports that were too advanced for the younger children. These included such classics as “build an
inverted pyramid out of paper cups”, “run while holding a water balloon between
you and your partner’s forehead”, and “let’s pick up litter all around the city”.
Of
course, the adults were not left out, either.
Each evening, Pastor Glen McGlaughlin would host an adult Bible study in
the sanctuary, where he did in-depth study of the scriptures with the community’s
more mature residents. It was an
exciting and fun week for people of all ages.
But
the Hamilton group was not satisfied to merely help us with these things. They brought with them a team of basketball
players who hosted not one, but two basketball camps-one in Cherry Creek and
the other in Eagle Butte-complete with drills, full-court games, and of course,
devotionals.
They
also brought with them a team of men who were great with their hands, and they
fixed many things at the church-things that I did not even realize were
broken! They replaced two windows,
replaced a fence post, repaired two gates, installed three thermostats,
renovated our janitor’s closet, reinforced our screen door, and did several
other things that I am probably forgetting.
One of the more notable things they did was to cut our back fence down
to half its previous height, thus increasing our church’s security
tenfold. You see, prior to this summer,
our back fence was so high that anyone could go behind our church without being
seen. This might be one reason why we
were targeted for a break-in earlier this year.
With the back fence now at its new, lower height, the police chief says
he can see everything in our back yard, and the church is in a more secure
place.
Our
church’s warmest thanks go out to Hamilton Baptist Church and to all those who
assisted in making this June an unforgettable experience. May God bless you all!
Emily
Some
of you may remember a few months ago, when I said that we had an intern on her
way up here, who was anxious to learn the ins and outs of ministering to Native
Americans. Well, that intern has
arrived, and her name is Emily. She has
demonstrated great willingness to learn and develop her skills, and we look
forward to working with her in the coming months. She has already learned a good deal about the
community and its people, assisted the Hamilton group, run numerous errands for
me around town, and constructed a church library. Pray for her, though, as she has developed a
violent allergy to Sage-a plant that is as common in this part of the country
as dirt. This causes terrible sneezing
and coughing, as well as a feeling of weakness that resembles the flu. Pray that her body will adjust to it, and
that the medication she is currently taking will keep the allergy under
control.
Native
American Christian Art
Some
time ago, I mentioned that while the Lakotas tend to be very gifted artists,
and that there is no shortage of art in this area, there is precious little
Native American Christian art.
For this reason, our church commissioned one of our own members, Bryson
Dupris, to paint a series of paintings illustrating the unfolding of salvation
history. He worked at this job for some
months, and has just finished. Now, in
our church hallway, we have a series of paintings that show the Creation, the
Fall, The Ten Commandments, The Depravity of Man, The Nativity, The Sermon on
The Mount, The Crucifixion, The Resurrection, The Second Coming, and The Last
Judgment. Now anyone, whether they can
read or not, can see the history of God’s relationship with His people
unfolding visually every time they walk down the hallway!
A
New Church Library
This
Spring, I set up a church event called “The Day of Stuff”, in which we sorted
through all the cabinets and drawers in the church and organized whatever stuff
we found there. Everyone needs a day
like that every now and then. But when
the Day of Stuff arrived, we were amazed at the number of books that we had
stashed away! A book is useless unless
it can be put to some use, so I gave Emily the task of constructing some
bookshelves in the back room of the church and using these to make a church
library. In the photo above, you can see
the result. I am very happy that we can
find all our books now, and that we can put these to good use for the Kingdom
of our Lord.
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. 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:
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
