July 8, 2000
Dear Pastors and Churches:
    We greet you in the Name of the LORD Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us! I
pray as I write that this will find each of you well, and more importantly, walking in the light as He is in
the light!
    During the first part of June, Brother Kelley Hinson, pastor of the Landmark Sovereign Grace
Baptist Church of Fort Worth, Texas was visitor in our home. He was a great blessing and
encouragement to us as well as to the people here. We thank God for his visit and look forward to more
pastors coming to visit this field.
    I continue to have difficulties, as diagnosed, with my gallbladder and expect to travel to the U.S.
for treatment. We were able to obtain really low airfares out of Budapest, Hungary ($414 round trip each
plus taxes and van fares from Timisoara to Budapest). It will be necessary to rent a car while in the
States and we will be driving to the Choctaw Nation hospital at Talihina, Oklahoma. We are looking
forward to being with our own Church, but do not know how many others I will be able to visit as our
priority is getting medical care. We do look forward to getting to be with our family while in the States!
    Our Romanian literature projects continue and will while we are away. The initial work on THE
TRAIL OF BLOOD was unsatisfactory and necessitated almost complete re-doing. It will be re-checked
both by a Romanian and by me while we are away and is to be ready for the printer upon our return.
Also, Brother Tom Ross' book, RESETTING AN OLD LANDMARK is to be ready for production then also.
    Other projects are also in the works and we hope to see them completed soon.
    We continue with language classes and will continue our studies while in the States as well as
the reading / checking of translation manuscripts. Praise the Lord that we are now able to read Romanian
well enough to do this important checking of literature for correctness in doctrine. It is time-consuming,
but we regard it as most important.
    I have said little over the past months regarding the financial situation here, but the Romanian lei continues it downward course. Two years ago, I believe, it took about 8,000 lei to buy one U.S. dollar. Now it takes about 22,000 lei to buy a dollar! This, coupled with the present summer's severe drought is producing another very difficult situation for many Romanians. The wheat crop has been mediocre in
our area and almost nil in other places and there will be no corn as the plants are stunted and dying in
the fields. Most Romanians are not able to purchase canned foods as they are imported and too costly.
Please pray for the Romanian people as they face what for many will be a hungry fall and winter.
    From the apparent interest and favorable vocal comments, two messages I preached this past
month were especially well received. I refer to my sermon on Scriptural Baptism and the one titled What
Did Not Happen On The Day Of Pentecost (this last one preached in 4 places). This has been encouraging and a cause of praise to the Lord as we find at least some Romanian Baptists believing the truth.
    Romanian Baptists suffered much under communism and stood. Now they face compromise and
confusion as it seems every "ism" and "para-church ministry" produced by America and the world is
being promoted here.
    We have told our Romanian Brethren that we expect to return to Romania as soon as possible,
perhaps a month or two or at the most three months. They love us and have told us "only one month"!
God has give us a love for His "sheep" here and we plan on returning to Romania as soon as possible.
Pray, please, that I can get "in the system" at the Indian hospital, undergo whatever procedure is best,
and get back to Romania quickly.
    At this writing, I believe there is $24,677.67 in the vehicle fund! I have been quoted a price of
$27,330.00 for a new Nissan 4x4 with diesel engine. This is a 7 person vehicle and is rated as very
strong here. I believe that while we are in the States, the remaining $2,652.33 needed will come in. If
there is any overage, we will use it in the production of literature in the Romanian language. Please join
with us in grateful praise to God for His good hand upon us in this and so many other ways. Slava
Domnului!
    THANK YOU, again, for your interest and giving - and most important of all - for your faithful
prayers on our behalf and on behalf of the people of Romania. Please continue to pray for us!
    In the cause of God and truth,
    Curtis and Janet Pugh
   curtis@rdslink.ro