Newsletter December 2021

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 15, 2021

Dear Friends,

What a wild trip it’s been, these past six months! While the Covid pandemic has not yet come to an end, the restrictions have begun to loosen around here. At long last, we are resuming doing some of the old routine that we once did. And let me tell you, it feels good!

Sunday School began for the children a little over a month ago, and it has been a success. The children love it.  I have started an adult Bible Study that takes place at the same time. At my wife’s suggestion, we are doing a study called “Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table”, by Louis Giglio. We are in high hopes for the future of our Sunday morning Bible study, and I have already had requests to start a Wednesday evening Bible study as well.

Meanwhile, Christmas is near, and we have taken great delight in making the church pretty in celebration of our Lord’s birth. It will be a Merry Christmas indeed!

Giveaways!

Throughout the year, generous souls like you donate hats, scarves, gloves, coats, shoes, shirts, pants, toys, books, and miscellaneous items of every kind to help the less fortunate here in this community. And I collect them here at the church until I have enough to host a giveaway here at the church.  Anyone from the community who is in need can come and take freely from whatever we have to offer.  And since the last newsletter, thanks to your generous donations, we have been able to host two such giveaways here at the church.  Hundreds of items have been given away, and the people were grateful.  For some, these giveaways will help them have a merrier Christmas.  For others, they will be better able to keep warm during the cold winter nights.  But however it is felt, a lot of people are better off because of your generosity.  You have my thanks, and theirs!

Taking Vacation Bible School to the Reservation at Large

After two years, we have once again had the privilege of welcoming Sevier Heights Baptist Church of Tennessee to the Cheyenne River Reservation.  Bringing with them a team of energetic and servant-hearted young people, they went to the outlying settlement of Red Scaffold, on the reservations’ western border. There, they reconnected with old friends in the community, hosted a Vacation Bible School, and went with the kids on daily hikes in the hills surrounding the town.  It was a good week; one that we had anticipated for a long time.  And the friendships they have built with the children of Red Scaffold are sure to last for a long time to come.

VBS in Eagle Butte

This Summer, we had the honor of hosting Shiloh Baptist Church of Kiln, Mississippi.  Devoted as they were organized, they set up a wonderful VBS for the children of Eagle Butte. It had stations for Bible learning, crafts, music, and games.  I especially enjoyed the music, as every one the catchy tunes they had chosen was meant to be sung with lyrics lifted straight from the Old Testament. The children were memorizing Bible verses, and they didn’t even know it!

I remember a special time during the games when a young boy hurt his ankle, and I had to carry him off the field.  Not wanting to leave him by himself, I talked with him and tried to keep his mind on pleasant things.  But it was not long before he started asking me about spiritual things, and I was able to have a far deeper and more meaningful conversation with him than I would have expected!

Overall, every moment with this group was a joy, and I couldn’t be more thankful for what they did here!

Sports Camp!

We hosted a sports camp at our church, with the tremendous help of Calvary Bible Church of Centre Hall, Pennsylvania! The group included the family of our own Johnny Maholic, and I was very glad to meet them for the first time.

Each day, for four days, they centered their activities around a particular sport.  One day, it was soccer. The next, it was basketball. The next, it was volleyball. The next, it was field hockey.  Every day was new, and different, and exciting in its own way.  The children had a lot of fun.  

But it was more than just sports.  Each day included a dramatic skit, as well as a Christian song period (led by our own Amy Brown). The kids were happy and excited to participate, even though the sun was very hot and we needed to frequently rehydrate.

Not satisfied with this grand project, some of the more ambitious group members took on a repair that we have been needing for some time.  Our steeple was in need of repainting.  Early in the morning, some of them climbed onto the roof and gave it the best paint job it’s had in years.  Doesn’t it look beautiful?

It was a great joy to see all these new friends.  Their work was wholehearted and well-received, and I am very grateful for the benefit they brought to the community.

A Wedding!

I am happy to announce the holy union of two good members of our community: Reggie Kills a Hundred and his now-wife Gwendolyn.  The two of them were married by me, in the first wedding our church has witnessed in over ten years. I was so proud to be a part of this event, and so glad to see how deep and meaningful this was in the eyes of the happy couple. May God bless this union many times over, and may they be a great example for other couples to follow!

Thanksgiving Feast!

For many years, First Baptist Church has hosted a large Thanksgiving meal for the greater community. Hamilton Baptist Church of Virginia has been our partner in this, and their generous donations and expertise have fed hundreds of people, every year. Unfortunately, with the coming of Covid-19, we were forced to skip last year-our first skip since we began.

But here in 2021, the tradition has begun anew! Hamilton Baptist Church has returned, and they brought back the feast, better than it was before! More than three hundred people were served (more than 10% of our population)! And there was plenty left over to donate to the homeless shelter afterwards.

I cannot thank Hamilton Baptist Church enough, both for their generosity and for all their hard work.

Mission Trip!

This August, Hurricane Ida ripped through Louisiana, leaving a vast trail of destruction in its wake. Many people’s lives were upended, and there was many millions of dollars’ worth of property damage. In sympathy with their plight, our church resolved to do a mission trip (the second in our history) to help with the rebuilding effort. I took with me two friends of mine-Reggie Kills a Hundred and Shane Brugier. We used our church van to drive down there, sleeping in two generous-hearted churches along the way. The Southern Baptist convention directed our efforts, and told us where to go.

Houma, Louisiana is a coastal city, about an hour outside of New Orleans. Hurricane Ida caused the city to take heavy damage, and many suffered as a result. In that city was Christ Baptist Church, whose Sunday School building had been completely soaked by the hurricane. For three months, the building had remained soaked, and as a result had become eaten up with mold. They needed to have all the sheetrock and molding ripped out and thrown away, so the framing could be treated with fungicide and the rebuilding could begin. The pastor of the church, who was 82 years old, had been trying to do this work all by himself.  He had worked himself to exhaustion, and desperately needed help.  So the work of demolition fell to us.

For 4 ½ days, we swung our hammers, pried off molding, pulled out nails, and hauled wheelbarrows full of garbage. We had to do all of it while wearing masks to keep the mold out of our lungs.  But I was grateful for receiving the task that we did. I’m not a skilled construction person, but even I can swing a hammer!

 

By the end, we had finished both floors, and the pastor told us we had greatly exceeded his expectations. He then gave us a tour of the bayou, and treated us to some delicious jambalaya!

We were all grateful for the opportunity to help in this way, and thank the Lord for our safe return.

 

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,

Rev. Ben Farrar

Pastor

First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte

First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte

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

(605) 964-3617 (Office) / (502) 216-3782 (Pastor’s Cell)

July 9, 2020

Dear Friends,

It has been a long time since I last corresponded with you.  The pandemic has put this reservation through the ringer, much like every other place on earth.  And because of the shutdowns, life has run more slowly than usual.  But in our fallen world, there are only two certainties: everything changes; everything ends. And for us, the pandemic is ending.  We are returning to normal, at last.

A terrible drought has hit the prairie, and many crops and cattle have died as a result. But a remarkable respite came last week, when our church devoted concerted effort to praying for rain. No rain was forecast in the immediate future, but the following day it rained twice!  God is there, dear brothers and sisters, and He is listening!

Christmas on the Web

This Christmas, I tried something new. For the first time, I released a video series on the internet.  Using my computer’s camera, I filmed myself talking about Christmas.  Each day, I talked about a different aspect of the Incarnation, or traced some Christmas tradition back to its origins. There were 25 videos, in total.  Every day, I made a new one and posted it on Facebook.  It made for a fine lead-up to Christmas Day.

Anti-Graffiti

In the past months, I have also had the opportunity to indulge one of my favorite hobbies.  I call it “anti-graffiti”. Whenever a gang sign or inappropriate message gets spray-painted onto the wall of a building in the neighborhood of our church, or of my house, I buy some spray paint and cover it up.  I have had 4 occasions to do this recently.  In the pictures you see above, I probably shouldn’t have used green paint.  But still, it is an improvement.

The Giveaway to End All Giveaways

Here at First Baptist Church, we have the regular ministry of hosting giveaways for the community.  Clothing, dishes, and any number of other items are set out in our church, prepared for anyone in need to pick them up and carry them away.  Kind benefactors like you are the one who donate our giveaway items, and through your generosity we host 3-4 giveaways per year.

But as you all know, this past year put a stop to all giveaways on the reservation. Opening up the church for dozens of people to walk through, touching lots of different things along the way, could create a superspreader event. And yet, the donations continued to come in.  So we carefully preserved all the various donated items.  And we waited.  

Finally, after an entire year of waiting, we were able to open the church once again.  And because of the vast number of donated things we had accumulated, we were able to host the GREATEST. GIVEAWAY. OF. ALL. TIME! It lasted for two weeks, and involved thousands of donated necessary items.  The people of Eagle Butte, for their part, had not been able to go to a giveaway in a long time, so the demand was high.  Your donations made for something really special, and I thank you so much!

Tremendous Help, Given by Old Friends

For several years, First Baptist Church has enjoyed a beautiful friendship with Burkemont Baptist Church of Morganton, NC.  Burkemont was my original home church, when I used used to live in Morganton.  They have hosted a VBS at our church in the past, and it was wonderful, but their greatest help to our ministry has been in the form of construction.  Some of their work has been so skillfully and quickly done that it might as well be magic.

                                                                                                                    

Early this summer, the team from Burkemont came with what may have been their most ambitious project yet. They intended to install new laminate flooring in our sanctuary, main hallway, and kitchen.

These men were so motivated that I didn’t even get a chance to show them around the church.  They took one step in the front door and immediately started planning how to get the flooring installed. They finished every floor, fixed the roof in two places, re-set a door that had been off, and installed a retractable screen in the sanctuary-SIGNIFICANTLY more work than they had originally set out to do. And they accomplished all of this an entire day earlier than they had planned.  Now, thanks to them, the church is in the best physical shape of its life.  Thank you, Burkemont!

Windswept Academy Weathers the Storm

Our Christian School, Windswept Academy, has undergone a crisis recently.  Just before the pandemic, nearly half of its staff went through major transitions in their lives and moved to other states (for a variety of different reasons). Then, while the pandemic raged across America, it became nearly impossible to hire anyone new.  This made the prospect of finishing the school year very bleak for them.

I was already serving as the school’s Chaplain and part-time Lakota teacher.  But those who ran the school asked me to help fill the holes in the staff for a short time.  And I filled them. Not very well, but I filled them.  Sometimes, I ran the kitchen.  Sometimes, I was a P.E. instructor. Sometimes, I supervised the high schoolers. Rarely was anything the same, from day to day.

Through a concerted effort by the entire staff, we managed to finish the school year. God was kind to us and the children, allowing them to finish their programs of study.  For the second year in a row, Windswept has hosted its very own high school graduation, and at least one of the students is planning to attend college in the Fall.  

Already, it looks like the staffing situation will be better next year. But if you or someone you know is looking to go onto the mission field, give me a call.  Windswept is a great place to do just that!  

The Lord Grants Me Healing

Midway through the pandemic, when my wife and I had spent months (mostly) inside our home, I noticed a small black scab on my nose.  No matter how long I left it alone, it would not go away. Finally, I became concerned that it might be more than a scab.  After visiting a very qualified dermatologist in the area, I was told that I had a rather large cancer beneath the surface of my skin. We immediately scheduled an appointment to have it removed.  

The doctor was very kind. She numbed me up so completely that I couldn’t feel the scalpel at all. When she was finished, a tumor the size of a dime had been removed from my face, and I had a whole bunch of stitches. But I’m happy to report that i have now made a complete recovery. Even my scars are now mostly gone. Praise the Lord!

Baptisms, Glorious Baptisms!

Our church rejoiced a month ago, as two of our regular attenders (Reggie Kills a Hundred and Gerald High Elk) came forward to request the ordinance of Baptism. Each of these men had already placed their faith in Jesus, and had been baptized as infants.  But they wanted to be baptized as believers, to show the world that their faith was in Christ, and Him alone. It was a beautiful service, and they could not have been more pleased.  May God be praised for motivating these two believers, as they mature in their faith, and journey towards His Kingdom.

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, also, for our volunteers, that their strength will be renewed, and that they will not be overwhelmed by the many tasks that are involved in ministry.

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