First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte
P.O. Box 170, Eagle Butte, SD 57625
(605) 964-3617 (Office) / (605) 891-1704 (Pastor’s Cell)
Dear Friends,
The last several months have been a regular roller coaster, with many highs and lows. This December, a blizzard hit which was so enormous that it shut down the entire state. In the nearby city of Timber Lake, temperatures plummeted as low as 61 degrees below zero! So much snow fell that much of it still remains, unmelted!
Tragedy befell us as my wife Tiffany’s father passed away from pneumonia. We drove to Kentucky for the sad occasion of his funeral. He was as good and loving a man as I ever knew, and he treated me like a son. I will miss him very much. Pictured here are Tiffany and me, standing next to her mother, Margueritte.
Our church surprised us in October with a small party, showing their gratitude to us in celebration of Pastor’s appreciation month. We love our church family so much!
Help Arrives from Our Neighbors to the North
Last Fall, Windswept Academy received a visit from Trinity Bible College in North Dakota. A mission team of students arrived and immediately set to work. They helped organize textbooks. They helped give individual attention to students. They conducted a “see you at the pole” activity on Windswept’s front lawn, in which the students joined them in prayer. They did a puppet show for all the younger students. And they shared their personal testimonies for all to hear. It is important for children and high schoolers to see a Christian example from those who are older, and I am grateful that these students provided that example.
The Annual Thanksgiving Feast
Each year, our church hosts a major dinner which is open to everyone in the community. For over a decade, we have partnered with Hamilton Baptist Church of Hamilton, Virginia to make this possible. This year, a dedicated team arrived from Hamilton and put together the dinner more efficiently than I’ve ever seen it done. And when the time for the dinner arrived, roughly two hundred and fifty people were fed! Everyone was so happy.
One of my favorite opportunities connected with this ministry is that the guests are given blank slips of paper, on which they can write prayer requests. It has been my pleasure to pray over these requests, just as the team from Hamilton also prayed over them. May God bless this team for their service!
Clothing Those in Need
Sometimes, servant-hearted believers from all over America send us items of clothing to give to those in need. Whenever I have a quantity of these, I host a clothing giveaway at the church. This December’s clothing giveaway was a great success, with dozens of people getting much-needed clothes for the harsh winter. Thank you so much, to all of you who sacrificed to get us these clothes!
Windswept Academy Celebrates Christmas
Our local Christian school, Windswept Academy, always puts in the work to make sure that the students have a good Christmas. This year was certainly no exception. They put on a complete pageant, telling the story of Christmas. They had Christmas parties in each of the rooms. And, making use of the donations from sponsors across the country, they gave Christmas presents to all the student body. As I walked through the room that day, I was surrounded by dozens and dozens of smiling faces, as they ate candy and tore into their gifts. It was a good day, and it was all made possible by Windswept Academy and their kind supporters.
Beginning a New Women’s Bible Study
This Spring, First Baptist Church will be starting a women’s Bible Study titled, “Encountering God”, by Kelly Minter. It will be led by wife, Tiffany. The study will be covering the spiritual disciplines, including prayer, worship, rest, and generosity. We anxiously look forward to the spiritual fruit that this investment will bring!
Preparing to Send Children and Youth to Bible Camp
Each year, our church has made a point of sending any interested children to Victory Center Bible Camp in Fort Pierre, SD. There, many of our children have encountered Jesus over the years as they have participated in worship services, memorized Bible verses, and learned about mission work. All the camp counselors are summer missionaries, themselves. Campers receive plenty of individual attention as they get away from the internet for a while, participate in sports, and above all experience Christianity in a positive context. We look forward to doing the same thing this summer, as soon as the applications have been collected!
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
If you wish to give a donation in memory of another person, or in that person’s honor, we will recognize the person you designate in our newsletter.
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
