First Baptist Church of Eagle Butte
P.O. Box 170, Eagle Butte, SD 57625
(605) 891-1704
Dear Friends,
It hasn’t all been good news, though. One night in mid-July, we were hit by the worst storm I have experienced since arriving here. Thunder, lightning and rain were the least of it. The wind was blowing at 80mph, with gusts of up to 100! The following morning, the entire city was covered in hundreds of fallen tree branches. An enormous one fell on my house, in fact. Thankfully, the Lord was kind. My roof was undamaged. And to my knowledge, no one was injured in the storm.
Reggie’s 5k Run
My good friend Reggie Kills a Hundred, who regularly attends
First Baptist Church, has lived a thousand lives. He served in
the U.S. Marine Corps; he has traveled to places all over the world;
he has served side-by-side with me on multiple ministry endeavors.
And last year, despite being in his seventies, he decided to
participate in a 5k run around the city. He trained for weeks,
and put in a great showing. And he even had a special T-shirt
made, so he could represent First Baptist Church as he ran.
This year, Reggie participated in the 5k run again, and this t
ime he trained even harder. He pushed wheelbarrows uphill, to
build up his strength and endurance. And it paid great dividends.
He ran the race with an even better time than before, and once again
sported his special t-shirt, to proudly represent his church. I am so
happy to have this man as my brother in Christ.
A Float for Windswept Academy
During the annual Labor Day Parade, I had the honor
of helping with a float for Windswept Academy, our
local Christian school. The teachers and students all
collaborated to make it special. The top of a trailer was
set up to look like a classroom, and it was decorated by
banners inscribed with Bible verses. As we made our way
down the parade route, our teachers and students scattered
handfuls of candy to all the children of the town. The
parade-goers seemed to enjoy the float, although (I confess)
not as much as I enjoyed riding on it!
Vacation Bible School Taken to Red Scaffold
This July, we were delighted to receive a mission team from one
of our oldest sister-churches: Sevier Heights Baptist Church of
Sevierville, Tennessee. For thirteen years, a mission team of youth
from Sevier Heights has made an annual trip to our reservation,
where they have stayed at our church. This year, we received a group
of about twenty young people. Using First Baptist Church as a base,
they struck out each morning for the community of Red Scaffold.
There, they brought Bible stories to the children. But they also played
games, did crafts, made friends and had fun. They broke down barriers
to the Gospel that would otherwise exist. They brought joy to people’s
hearts. And one heart that was made joyous from their coming was
definitely mine.
Bible School, and Far-Reaching Repairs
I was born in Morganton, North Carolina. That is where I grew up, and I
feel a piece of me still lives there. This year, our church had the
great privilege of receiving a mission team from Mount Home Baptist Church,
from my own home town! They came from all age groups, backgrounds and
skill sets, and each person was determined to make full use of his abilities
for the Kingdom of God.
They set up a beautiful Vacation Bible School, and advertised it,
and kicked it off with a large block party. Everyone who came loved
it. The children learned about Jesus, played games, did crafts and had a
lot of fun.For some of the children, I learned it was the best time they
had had in ages.
A great number of people who came with this group wanted to focus their
attention on fixing things that were broken. I can usually come up with a few
projects to keep mission teams busy, but this team was AMBITIOUS. They
were intent on accomplishing as much as possible in the time they had available.
They replaced rotten wood on my house, then they painted the entire building!
They removed an old rotten cross we had on the front of our building, and
replaced it with one that lights up at night. They replaced all the rubber stoppers
(hundreds of them) on the bottom of all our metal chairs. They unloaded 400
bags of rubber mulch from a horse trailer, then spread that mulch all over
Windswept’s playground. They replaced a dilapidated basketball goal in our
front yard with one that is better than new. They replaced five light fixtures.
They surveyed the church, and gave us recommendations for how to use
energy more efficiently.
They did about a thousand other things. I cannot think back on that week without being
filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Each day, I was surrounded by friendly
faces, actively seeking ways to help. Each day, I was greeted by the laughter of little
children enjoying our Bible school. And when everything was over and the group had
to go home at last, I was left greatly encouraged. I pray God’s blessing on each and every
one of these kind souls!
Sports Camp!
Johnny and Amy Maholic have been faithful members of our church for years.
And for years, Johnny’s family has led a mission team here, to great effect. And
so it was that this year, we welcomed Calvary Bible Church of Centre Hall,
Pennsylvania. They focused their efforts on bringing a sports camp to the children
of the community, including basketball, soccer and more. But they also included
elements of a traditional Vacation Bible School, such as music and Bible lessons.
Good times were had by all.
One day, I was helping conduct traffic in the hallway when a little girl pointed to
a picture of Jesus on the cross, and asked me what that was about. I told her about
the salvation Jesus offered to those who trusted in Him, and she said that she wanted
to trust Jesus. I told her to go back to her group, promising that if she returned to me
later I would tell her all about Jesus. (In doing this, I was checking to make sure that
she was really interested.) She did return later, and she brought a friend! I told them
both all about the story of the scriptures, from creation to the Fall, from the Law to
the coming of Christ, from the crucifixion to the last judgment. When I had told them
everything, they both prayed to receive Christ! These are the things that a Pastor lives
for.
But Calvary Bible Church was not satisfied with only having a sports camp.
They also took on multiple work projects at Windswept Academy.
They painted several rooms in the school, and (hopefully) fixed a
problem with their sewage line. Up until this point, one of Windswept’s
sewer lines would freeze every winter. To help this situation, the men of Calvary
Bible Church dug down to the sewer line and covered it in a thick insulation material.
Then they re-covered it with dirt. If all goes well, Windswept will have twice
as many usable bathrooms this January! Our heartfelt thanks go out to Calvary
Bible Church for all their sacrificial generosity!
So perhaps you are wondering how you can become a partner with us in
our ministry here in Eagle Butte? If so, we welcome your help, since we
treasure any assistance from the body of Christ. Here is what we need the
most:
Prayer. It may be true that our church is getting along 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 be real and
lasting.
E-mail addresses. For those of you who have e-mail addresses, please send
them to me. That way, these newsletters can be forwarded to everyone in your
church who wants one! Just send your name and email 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 still have
very little that they can give. We have long been blessed with assistance from
outside churches and individuals, and we work hard 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
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