Sunday, August 08, 2004
Dear Pastors and Churches:
    I greet you from Denham Springs, Louisiana where I am making final preparations for the trip back to Romania.  God has blessed me here and Janet  in Romania in many ways – and I trust that our sovereign God is blessing each of you also.  That is our prayer for you!
    Bocsa Meeting:
        Word comes to me that things are going well in the gathering of the Baptists that meets in our living quarters in Bocsa.  Attendance has remained constant, I believe, and Brother Raul has been helped of God in bringing spiritual food for the people there.
    Oltenia Preaching Point:
        Pray, please for the Brethren in Oltenia!  Due to car problems, neither Brother Raul nor Brother Aurel have been able to travel to that place this Lord’s Day and will not be able to do so until I am back and in the country.  More on the car problems below.
    Literature Work:
        Translation work continues on several projects including our statement of faith, a booklet for boys and girls about creation, dinosaurs, etc., as well as some gospel tracts.  Some literature distribution has been hindered because of the car breakdown, but other literature is being mailed out as usual – as requests come in.
    Car Breakdowns:
        The last week of July the borrowed car I am using blew a hose and suffered a split radiator as well as an idler pulley bearing went bad.  The car had to be towed, but repairs were made and I was able to keep all my appointments!  Now the Nissan 4x4 in Romania is broken down.  Brothers Raul and Aurel were going to visit a young pastor and taking along a supply of literature which he was going to distribute for us in a “new” village.  About 17 miles from our house the transmission locked up and in process of restarting the engine some warning lights came on (water in oil, etc.).  However, a check indicated that no water is in the oil – just a computer mistake, I hope.  They were able to get the car towed back to our house where it presently sits.  I will have to attend to its repair after I arrive in Bocsa.  Pray about this as I had planned on having Brother Raul and Janet pick me up at the airport in Budapest, Hungary.  Now I must find an alternative means of getting to Timisoara and on home to Bocsa.  Surely God will provide!
    Churches Visited:
        Since my last writing, I have preached to the New Bethel Baptist Church (Elder Coy Cox), Somerset, KY: Brian Station Baptist Church (Elder Alfred Gormley),. Lexington, KY: Newby Baptist Church (Elder Scott Guiley), Richmond, KY: Bethel Baptist Church (Elder James Crace), Crescent Springs, KY: Pleasant View Baptist Church (Elder Charles Hunt), Bromley, KY: and the Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, (Elder Todd Bryant), Northport, AL.  All these Churches as well as the others I have visited have been most gracious to me and it seems that God helped in the preaching.  For this we praise the Lord.
    While I did not preach there, I spent some 4 days with the Berea Baptist Church in Mantachie, Mississippi.  Good times of fellowship were enjoyed there and the Church was most gracious to me.  I packed up more than 200 pounds of books (mainly from my personal library) and mailed them to Romania for use in our English Language Bible Institute.  Two Brothers in Christ, Pastor Jeff Short and Laramie Kiser, did most of the work in packing up our stored things in nearby Fulton, Mississippi.  These things are now safely stored here in Denham Springs.
    Homeward Bound:
        Lord willing I will fly out of St. Louis on Thursday afternoon, August 19.  I am to change planes in Chicago and again in Frankfurt, Germany.  I am scheduled to arrive late in the afternoon Budapest time, in Budapest, on Friday, so will be a considerable amount of time in travel.  Please pray as I must solve the problem of how to get from Budapest to Timisoara and on home to Bocsa.  Surely God will guide and provide a way.
    Thank you for your interest and prayers regarding my travels here in the U.S.  God has kept me safe and supplied every need – all to the praise of the glory of Christ Jesus!  All the Churches where I preached are interested in the work in Romania and for this we thank God.  I regret that I did not have time to preach in other supporting Churches, but it just was not possible.  When I arrive back home in Romania I will have been away for more than four months and while I am obviously not essential to the work of God there, I have many things which I feel I must do in that country.
    I have learned that postal prices are going up in Romania as they seek entrance in the European Union.  Domestic rates are going up 100% and foreign parcels (of literature) will cost us 350% more!  Perhaps we can find alternative means of shipping our literature – I don’t know, but we ask for your prayers concerning these things.
    Janet is well and safe at home and for this we praise the Lord!  God has been most gracious in supplying her with strength, courage and all that she has needed during these past months.  Slava Domnului!  (Praise the Lord!)
    Once again I am out of space!  Thank you for your interest, your financial giving for this work, and most important of all, your earnest prayers on behalf of our efforts in Romania.  Please continue to pray for us, for the work in Romania, for our new sponsoring Church and all that is involved in getting back in the work there!
In the cause of God and truth,
    Curtis and Janet Pugh
    curtis@xnet.ro
    CURTIS PUGH
    str. Izvor nr. 3
    Bocsa, Caras-Severin
    325300 Romania