Elder
Curtis Pugh
Missionary
to Romania
sent
by the
Berea
Baptist Church
P.O.
Box 39
Mantachie,
Mississippi 38855
(601)
282-7794
PRAYER LETTER FOR
JULY, 2002
September
12, 2002
Dear
Pastors and Churches:
"Great
peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them,"
(Psalms 119:165).
In the midst of trouble and change, God gives inner peace to those who
love His Word - and He even gives that love for His Word to His people!
All is of grace! Praise the Lord for His grace!
The office and print shop have been moved to the mission house and some
of our furniture and 'stuff" as well. So we are living in two places. I
am glad for the peace of God especially when looking for something that
is not where I am, but several kilometers away! The bars have been installed
on the print shop window and door. This we have done because the print
shop is the rearmost room of the 'anexa" - the single-file rooms which
run toward the back of the lot. Not everything is in place, but the office
is functional. The Institute library is shelved, but not properly organized
yet. We lack shelves for the print shop so everything is temporarily stacked
on the worktables. Here kitchen cabinets are considered furniture, so we
have moved ours to the house in Bocsa. Everything from those cabinets is
on the kitchen table or the floor here in Berzovia. We have ordered a cabinet
for the kitchen sink. That should be ready in a few days. The cabinets
can then be hung on the wall. We have limped along with the cook stove
bought when we first came. You may remember that it has an irreparable
defect. For more than a year the oven has been unsafe. Two weeks ago I
purchased a stove made in Slovenia. It is still smaller than an American
"apartment size" stove as is usual here, but it has three gas burners as
well as one electric one. The oven is also electric and a few inches wider
than the old one. As everything here is 220-240 volts, special wiring is
not necessary. So 'ere long, I hope to have hot biscuits and maybe even
cornbread! We have purchased all the radiators, pipe and fittings needed
for the heating system and hot water supply. Most all this has been installed.
Soon we hope to purchase the central heating unit and well pump. We keep
being told we can move in after "two or three weeks," but I think the time
really is near.
We continue with regular meetings of the Bocsa mission, temporarily meeting
in Berzovia. As soon as we have toilet facilities at the mission house
in Bocsa we can meet there. We look forward to being in Bocsa where others
can come to the meetings. Raul and continue to share the preaching.
This past Lord's Day he preached his first sermon in English. This past
week we received 2 requests for the Bible study program and other CDs that
we freely distribute. Praise God for the interest in this sovereign-grace,
landmark, missionary Baptist material! We have now distributed well over
100 sets of 3 COs each.
My strength continues to increase, although it is in what seems to me to
be tiny increments. In 5 days it will have been two months since my surgery,
and I expected to be able to work all day long by now, but I cannot. Perhaps
I am expecting too much too soon, but I sure would like to be back to normal.
As soon as we are moved, Janet is to go to Budapest, Hungary for an MRI
to see if her tumor is growing or not.
We still have the $500 on hand in the Benevolent Fund - designated by certain
Brethren primarily for construction of church buildings here. I believe
I will be physically strong enough to make the ten-hour trip to Oltenia
and back to disburse these funds within the next few weeks. I know they
are needed there.
I spoke recently with Brother Mircea (MEER chah) in Arad. He wants me to
return to the mission he pastors to complete the sermon I began there before
my surgery. He has purchased the car he badly needed with the funds some
of you gave for his work. He expressed, again, his appreciation and thanks
and asked me to forward to you word of his gratitude. He lives by working
at a small religious printing / publishing business, which is lacking customers
right now. Please pray about this matter, as he needs work.
We are slowly making progress on getting our visas. The leftover communist
mentality here is frustrating at times. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is
"customer-oriented." The customer is never right seems to be the motto
whether dealing with sales people or government "servants." But God has
worked in His sovereignty to make things easer for us! Formerly Americans
without visas had to leave the country every 30 days. Then they could return
and legally stay in Romania another 30 days. Now that has changed. Americans
can now stay 90 days in country without leaving! This means less travel
with its costs and fewer interruptions in our work schedule.
The Romanian Bible now in popular use is a translation made by an Orthodox
priest before his conversion. It has several weaknesses. The Trinitarian
Bible Society of London has informed me that their new Romanian translation
will be out next month! This particular Bible society publishes only Bible
translations based on the Traditional Texts on which the King James Bible
is based. They will not use the corrupt texts popularized by Westcott and
Hort and other Bible Societies. We believe this new translation will be
a good one and a help to the truth among Romanian people everywhere. We
hope to be able to distribute many of these Bibles if the work comes up
to our expectations and up to the past standards of the Society.
It seems I am always out of space before I am out of things to write. We
do want to express to each of you who help us by finances and by prayer
a special THANK YOU! Keep praying for the Pughs, please!
In the cause of God and truth,
Curtis and Janet Pugh
Pray for the Pughs.
curtis@xnet.ro
CURTIS PUGH
str. Izvor nr. 3
Bossca 1, jud. Caras-Severin
1725 Romania
Preaching Baptist
Baptism, the Blood, the Book, and the Blessed Hope
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