First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte

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

(605) 964-3617 (Office) / (502) 891-1704 (Pastor’s Cell)

September 21, 2017

Dear Friends,

There has been a LOT going on in the last few months!  So much so, in fact, that if I wrote it all down it would fill up…well, a newsletter. 

Despite the usual gorgeous scenery that South Dakota offers during the summertime, the entire region has been plagued by drought for months.  The ultimate culmination of this has been the wildfires in the Northwestern United States, which you have most likely heard about on the news.  These very fires have recently come so close to us that you could actually smell the smoke, and anyone with serious allergies had to stay indoors.

But despite these things, we have had a fantastic summer, which has been marked by multiple miracles.  Where shall I begin?

  

Windswept Academy Graduates!

How can an entire school graduate, you ask?  How about if it expands to include a high school?  This is the remarkable thing that happened this summer at Windswept Academy, our local Christian school.  Its’ students are growing older, and they needed a high school where they could continue their Christian education.  In an outstanding show of cooperation and teamwork, over a hundred Christians from across the nation pooled their efforts to make Windswept High School a reality.  The blessings of God are evident were evident at every step along the way.  City permits were approved just in time for construction to begin.  Whenever a stage of the construction needed to be done quickly, it was always finished just in time.  Volunteers from our church, as well as from partner churches all over the United States, poured their time and energy into this place, until it was raised from bare earth to completion.  The last necessary thing was done only two days before the new students arrived.  Truly, the Lord’s timing is perfect!

Eager Hands, Eager Hearts

We were very fortunate to be visited by our friends from First Baptist Church of Ramsey, Illinois.  From the time they arrived till the time they set out, they were hard at work on a dozen projects.  They assisted with Windswept’s building project.  They hosted a backyard Bible club in our church parking lot, and hosted a giveaway to promote it.  In their spare time, they even helped us cut denim into shoe patterns, as part of an African relief effort that our church is doing.  And when they weren’t doing any of those things, they went to a park and made friends with the local children.  We were grateful for their service and happy for the kindness they showed to us!

Old Friends Return

For the past seventeen years, our church has been pleased to enjoy a relationship with Hamilton Baptist Church of Virginia.  But at no point has our familiarity dulled our enthusiasm for working together to reach the community for the Gospel!  This year, Hamilton arrived with a coalition of other churches from the eastern United States.  Working together with volunteers from our church, they put together a Vacation Bible School, as well as a basketball camp.

The festivities began with a large block party in our church parking lot on Sunday afternoon.  There was food, face painting, bouncy houses and general merriment.  This gave the children of the community an opportunity to register for VBS.  Then, the very next day, Vacation Bible School started with gusto.  In addition to sitting under sound biblical teaching, the children played games, made crafts, and sang songs about God.  On Wednesday, I presented the Gospel to about ninety children.  It was beautiful.

While all of this was going on, a smaller team went to the nearby community of Cherry Creek and held a basketball camp there.  After earning the trust of the young men, they would give them their testimonies.  Then, after a hard day of playing, they would return to Eagle Butte and do it all over again!

The people of Hamilton have become so close to us over the years that we feel as one with them.  And in Christ, we really are!

Beyond Eagle Butte

Sevier Heights Baptist Church of Tennessee is another of our longstanding friendships.  But instead of focusing their efforts primarily on Eagle Butte (the largest city on the reservation), Sevier Heights has a different approach.  They use our church building as a base to house their team during their stay.  Then, each day, they would split their team into parts and visit four of the smaller settlements.  And when I say small, I mean consisting of a few hundred people at the most.  This year, they went to Red Scaffold, Bear Creek, White Horse and Swiftbird. At each of these towns, they brought Vacation Bible School to the children of the community, and built relationships with the people of the area.  But they did not stop there.

Because of Inependence Day celebrations, the team was unable to work in one community on July fourth.  But God had it all covered in His divine providence.  Matthew Dickerson, pastor of the Baptist church in Laplante, had a large room that was in need of a paint job.  And the young people of Sevier Heights were more than happy to lend a hand.  What a blessing to have these young people among us! 

Katie Shenk: The World’s Greatest Intern

A few years ago, a group of Mennonites from Ohio visited our church and partnered with us in ministry.  Among the youth of that group was Katie Shenk.  She heard that our church accepts summer interns, and became interested.  Earlier this year, she told me of her interest in coming to serve alongside us in ministry.  After a fairly rigorous application process, she arrived in Eagle Butte and began her internship-both with First Baptist Church and with Windswept Academy.

Katie exceeded expectations at every turn, listening carefully to instructions and following them closely.  Whenever she had not been given a specific task, she looked for additional work.  She assisted with all of the ministries of the church and school during the course of the entire summer-and that was no easy task.  She taught Sunday School lessons to children.  She designed a sign that could be placed in the windows of local houses, allowing them to be picked up for Sunday School more efficiently.  She was a gem.

On of the things that Katie had expressly wanted to learn on her internship was leadership.  While leadership is a difficult thing to teach, I was ready to try.  I gave her a book on leadership to read, and also gave her some periodic instruction on things I had learned on the subject.  But leadership is a thing that can never be learned until you do it.  So I assigned her the task of designing a project, all on her own, that would involve leading other people and benefit the community in some way.  The assignment was vague, but that was where her leadership was meant to come in. 

Katie responded effectively and well.  She designed a small fair, taking place at Windswept Academy, that was intended for students of the school.  It had games and prizes for the children, but it also served as a means for distributing hygiene products to children who did not otherwise have them.  On the appointed day, it turned out to be a big success!  The children came in great numbers, and really enjoyed themselves!  I call Katie’s internship a great success, and wish her well now, as she heads off to college.

Allies from Nebraska

This year, we received a visitation from Grace Bible Fellowship, who in recent years has taken a great interest in the nearby community of Cherry Creek.  Over time, they have taken the children of that community on fishing trips, and distributed bicycles to them.  This year, they used our church as a base and struck out for the community of Cherry Creek each day.  There, they would conduct a basketball camp, as well as a Vacation Bible School.  It turned out great!  The young people of Cherry Creek were enthusiastic, and quick to participate.  After only knowing the people of that community for a short time, the people of Grace Bible Fellowship are really beginning to form some friendships with the children.  So happy to have them as our allies!

Summer Camp!

For years now, First Baptist Church has held a tradition of sending children to Victory Center Bible Camp (located in nearby Fort Pierre).  There, they learn Bible verses, participate in daily chapel services, and play lots and lots of fun and exciting games.  Oftentimes, the children of our community cannot afford to go to camp, even though the prices are reasonable.  So our church has been pleased to sponsor children who cannot go.  But in recent years, that has changed, and changed for the better.  Because of generous donations from our brothers and sisters in Christ from all over America, we have been able to sponsor more children than ever before.  This year, we sent a whopping eighteen children., and two of them prayed to receive Christ!  We are so blessed to be a part of this wonderful ministry!

Our New Friends from Far Away

Trinity Lutheran Church of North Carolina made a trip here, with a plan to do a Vacation Bible School.  But I must admit that, when they arrived, I was a little skeptical.  They were friendly and polite, but the bulk of their group arrived only one hour before their VBS was scheduled to begin!  “Oh no!”, I said to myself.  “They’ll never get everything ready in time.  They can’t prep a VBS in an hour; no one can!”  Boy, oh, boy, was I ever wrong!  They sprang into action, with a level of precision that demonstrated their having done this many times before.  They decorated the entire church, set up all their prepared craft stations and games, and did a lot of cooking.  By the time the first children walked through the door, everything was ready.  Throughout the week, the children played games, sang songs, studied the Bible, and even learned some beginner-level martial arts!  It was a fun week for everybody!

First Baptist Church Gets a New Roof

Until recently, our roof had been constructed from asphalt tiles.  These had degraded over time, leading to a situation where our roof was in bad shape, and beginning to leak.  Something had to be done, quickly.  And that is when God blessed us immeasurably in the form of a team of skilled workers.

Youth for Christ Holiness Church, of North Carolina, volunteered to make the journey and install the roof for us.  We only needed to buy the materials. 

Twelve hours a day, for four days, they labored in the intense heat to install a new roof-made from metal.  The result was phenomenal.  It was beautiful and functional at the same time.  I’ve been told the First Baptist Church can expect to have no problems with its roof for the next twenty years.  What a blessing God has bestowed on us through our fellow servants!

                                             

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-and you can get it in color!  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,

Rev. Ben Farrar

Pastor

First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte