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 7th, 2019
Dear Friends,
Here in Eagle Butte, summertime has never been so sweet! Heavy rains have made the crops grow tall, and the countryside is bursting with life! During the winters, things get downright arctic here sometimes. But when I’m passing a herd of buffalo on the highway, or looking across an endless field of sunflowers, or watching one of the best sunsets on the planet…well, the winters just don’t seem so bad. Above, you can see a photo of me and my wife, Tiffany, enjoying an explosion during the fourth of July. It’s a good time to be alive.
This summer has been slower than usual for us, but there was still plenty to do, and plenty to enjoy. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
Sevier Heights Brightens the World
For over a decade, First Baptist Church has enjoyed the friendship and cooperation of Sevier Heights Baptist Church of Tennessee. Each year, they visit for a week and bring Vacation Bible School to some of the outlying settlements on the reservation. This year, using our church building as a base, they struck out each morning for the small towns of Swift Bird, White Horse and Red Scaffold. They did crafts with the children, played games with them, and shared the love of the Lord. Some of the students from this group have been coming for as long as eight years, and have formed long-term relationships with many of the children as a result. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve alongside of these good friends from far away, and the people of our communities were happy to have them!
Donated Clothes Help Lots of People
Often, people from all over America send me things that they do not need, but that others might be able to use. When that happens, it gives me great pleasure to host a giveaway at the church. Anyone from the community who has a need is free to come in and take whatever they can use. A few weeks ago, I was able to host one such giveaway, benefiting dozens of people. And I have you all to thank, because you were the ones who sent me the clothes, the shoes and the stuffed animals that were so useful. God bless you!
Windswept Academy Gets Some New Construction
Windswept Academy, our local Christian school and close ally of First Baptist Church, received a considerable blessing this summer in the form of some new construction. You see, as the school has grown to accommodate more grade levels, they have needed more teachers. And those teachers need a place to live. But there is very little housing to be found up here, and the missionary teachers hired by the school cannot afford rent. So the school keeps a few houses in town where their teachers can stay.
One of these houses was added on to this summer. An enormous hole was dug, a foundation was poured, and all the framework was built. None of it would have been possible without the volunteer service of Pathfinders ministries, Hilltop Baptist Church (of Indiana, Pennsylvania), and Camp Creek Baptist Church (of Mississippi). We are grateful to you all for pouring yourselves into this great work. In the future, when the construction is completed, at least one teacher will find a happy home in this new addition!
Summer Camp!
For several years, we have been sponsoring children from the community to attend Victory Center Bible Camp for one week. While at the camp, they play sports, go swimming and have all the experiences that a great summer camp offers. But they also attend daily chapel services and compete to see who can learn the most Bible verses. This summer, we sent eighteen kids to camp. Big thanks to all of you who sponsored a child for camp. And big thanks to all of you who donated to our church, allowing us to sponsor the others. God made the Body of Christ work together this summer to make children’s lives better!
A Day of Vacation Bible School
We’re on the radio!
This July, we were visited by a group of dedicated Christians from southern Illinois-believers from Prospect Baptist in Broughton, and First Baptist in El Dorado, to be specific. Their main purpose in being there was to build playground equipment for Windswept Academy, but they also worked with our church to host a one-day Vacation Bible School. There was a Bible study, some games and some crafts. We are very grateful that servant-hearted believers like these were willing to give of themselves so wholeheartedly. Without your help, none of this could have been possible!
After years of prayer, God has opened a door to us that we had long hoped for. First Baptist Church has been granted a chance to broadcast its services on KIPI radio, 93.5 FM-a station that covers the entire Cheyenne River Reservation. Each week, I record the service, edit it to one hour in length, and send it to the radio station. There, Robyn Chasing Hawk, the good producer who gave us this chance, improves the audio quality and (I am told) makes my voice sound deeper. Then he broadcasts our service the following Sunday morning!
This is very exciting for us. One of the greatest challenges to reaching the people of the reservation is geography. The reservation is spread over more than 4,000 square miles, and many people do not have a church near them. But through the help of this wonderful radio station, we are able to spread the Gospel to all corners of the reservation at once. We are very grateful for this chance!
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
