CURTIS PUGH
Missionary to Romania
Sponsored By The
GRACE
BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH
26080 Wax Road
Denham Springs, LA
70726
Elder Jerry Dodson,
Sr. - Pastor
jerrydodsonsr@wmconnect.com
PRAYER LETTER FOR
JUNE, 2006
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Dear Pastors and Churches:
“All that
are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be
with you all. Amen” (Titus 3:15).
Greetings
to all of you from Romania! In the midst of difficulties and opposition
the true children of God are lights in the world – you shine in your place
and we shine in ours! What a blessed privilege to be little lights
– the true Light shinning forth through us!
Bocsa Meeting: Things have been steady with pretty constant
attendance here in Bocsa except for a Sunday when some were away tending
gardens in two outlying villages – a necessity if poor people are to eat.
Brother Raul brought his first devotional message in the English language
recently when all present were English-speakers. He did very well
indeed – his message was a blessing! He is a good preacher in Romanian,
but as non-native speakers, we miss some of the color and picturesque aspects
understood by those whose first language is Romanian.
Filiasi Meeting: Except for one Sunday since our last report,
I have been able to travel to Filiasi in Oltenia regularly. Of course
the services there go on without me and for this I am thankful. The
Brothers there are faithful in their study of the Word together.
The new men and one new young woman have been regular in attendance except
for recent final university exams for the young woman. (School and
University finals are often given on Sundays in this former communist country.)
It is hot traveling, the highway often rough, and the little room we meet
in too warm and stuffy, but the Lord blesses His Word and the fellowship
is sweet and the Brothers are usually full of Bible questions.
Literature: We continue distributing literature as requests
come in, but have not published any new titles since our last writing.
We are concentrating on reprinting gospel tracts as these are most needed.
We hope to be able to purchase a large supply of paper in the weeks ahead
and to catch up on those titles that are low or out of stock right now.
The roof doesn’t leak! - well almost … That’s what I wrote
last month – and the month before, I believe! The roofers came and
placed the new metal “valley” since our last letter, but a heavy shower
this afternoon demonstrated bad leaks on the back porch and one wet spot
showed up in the office! Communism has left a terrible legacy here
and efficiency and pride in workmanship is non-existent among many laborers.
Under communism the object was to get paid what little you got and do as
little and as poorly as you could because there was no incentive to do
better. That mentality lingers among some and perhaps shall for another
generation or so.
Janet’s Realm: The best prices and the freshest produce are
to be found in the open air markets here – along with goat, sheep and cow
cheese – but with vastly different tastes than in the U.S.! Fresh
meat, cleaning stuff, eggs, bicycle tires and tubes, fishing gear, dog
chains, toys, all kinds of hardware “stuff,” pirated CDs and videos, and
“longosi” – fried dough after the Hungarian style – these and other things
are all displayed on tables and the pavement for the customer’s inspection.
Small business men – often with only a car or “jeep” and trailer haul produce
from areas where it is grown – whole loads of cabbages, tomatoes, potatoes,
peppers, etc. and sell these things in the markets. Everything is
sold by weight (kilograms) – nothing by tens or dozens of course, for the
people don’t know what a dozen is. So going to the market is a big
event on Saturday mornings!
Get Acquainted with Romania: Surely never a country changed
as fast as Romania is changing! Prices are soaring as Romania expects
to join the European Union January 1st, 2007 – just months away.
Corruption is still rampant though the E.U. crusades against it and demands
that the justice system here be improved. Wages in the larger cities
rise, but do not keep up with inflation and the high cost of imported goods
and foods. Peasants in the villages (who make up about ½ the
population) still struggle to survive on what they can grow and have very
little cash income. Pensions for older people are so small as to
be a joke if it were not sad that so many people have to live on them.
European Union funds for agriculture are gobbled up by politicians and
their cronies, yet in spite of graft and corruption, some highways are
being rebuilt according to E.U. standards so that travel is somewhat easier
than it was. Millions of Romanians live and work outside the country
and send millions of Euros back home to enable their families to survive.
Perhaps you heard that in Valencia, Spain some 41 people were recently
killed in an underground train wreck – and 10 Romanians there were missing
– Romanians are “everywhere” seeking work to feed their folks back home.
And yet superstitions and ignorance persist. Recently I learned that
many Romanians believe that after death some people come back as dangerous
ghosts. The remedy, at least in one nearby part of the country, is
this: 2 or 3 men and a woman must go to the grave at midnight, exhume the
body, heat a pitchfork red hot, and plunge it into the heart of the body
of the person thought to have come back as a ghost. Then the body
is reburied, of course. If this “ritual” does not work, it may have
to be repeated! In this way ghosts are made harmless.
Being almost out of space, I want to thank you for your interest in this
missionary effort of Grace Bible Baptist Church as evidenced by your e-mails,
letters and cards, your financial support and most important of all, your
earnest prayers on our behalf. Thank you never seems adequate.
“Multumim” and “merci” are used here and we would add them to our vocabulary
in an effort to express to you our appreciation for your standing with
us in so many ways. Pray for us all here!
In the cause of God and truth with you,
Curtis and Janet Pugh
curtis@xnet.ro
Preaching Baptist
Baptism, the Blood, the Book, and the Blessed Hope
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