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
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