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
THE MONTH OF MARCH, 2001
Monday, April 30, 2001
Dear Pastors and Churches:
“Grace be
to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians
1:3).
Our
prayer is that this letter will find each of you doing well in all things
– walking in the fellowship of our Lord Jesus daily.
We have been back in Romania just two months now and much has happened.
As I write this letter, I
am recovering from
a difficult time physically. Somewhere I contracted dysentery – probably
in the
drinking water or
in eating in some Brother’s home. (Human excrement is used for garden
fertilizer here
and is often a source
of infection for Americans if salad materials and ground crops are not
thoroughly
washed.) After
high fever and chills my blood pressure dropped seriously. The “top
number” was at one
point down to 70.
I was badly dehydrated. The Romanian doctor, competent enough, wanted
to
hospitalize me, but
I refused. I do not want to be put in a Romanian hospital!
I have been in them to visit and know some of the things that go on there
and have seen the conditions! But I am much better now, although
still quite weak. Praise the Lord He has brought us through this
difficult time. Janet worked admirably, taking care of me while I
was sick. She still suffers from the dizziness, and of course the
loss of vision remains. She is, however, growing stronger and stays
busy with some household things and is working steadily on the ladies course.
Except for the past two weekends, being ill, I have preached two or three
times each weekend since
writing last time.
Work continues, albeit slowly, on the School of the Bible materials.
Raul has
completed translating,
I believe, more than three chapters of Brother Tom Ross’ ABANDONED TRUTH
course. There
are still a few things yet to be translated and checked prior to going
to press with THE
TRAIL OF BLOOD.
Things do not move as swiftly as we would like, but “asta e viat’a in Romania”
– “this is life in Romania” the people say here.
I had the privilege of visiting Raul’s grandfather in a village near Cluj-Napoca.
He is 70 years old and a
deacon in the church
there. (The building was constructed in 1905 – I do not know when
the church was
organized.)
He is a strong believer in free grace, though troubled at the teaching
of “once saved always
saved” (without perseverance)
based on a one-time decision some American missionaries have been
teaching. I
was able to give to him several books, including Cole’s BIBLE DOCTRINE
OF ELECTION. These were not only for himself but also for his pastor.
I have also been able to give some books to a pastor from Drobeta Turnu-Severin
– a sizeable city on the Danube River – and was invited to go there to
preach. So, perhaps we now have some open doors both to the north
and to the south of our location.
We now have the new Nissan! It is a great blessing and a great help.
It only took about a month – plus an all night ride sitting up on a train
to the capitol in order to get it. We can get around faster, stay
cleaner, and travel
without the frequent breakdowns we formerly had. THANK YOU for your
generous
giving which made
this tool a reality here.
We have begun advanced, intensive, twice-a-month language classes.
We have the same teacher and
go into Timis’oara
for these 3 hour sessions held on two successive days. We are moving
forward and
are grateful for the
grace of God in our lives in this matter. As I wrote before, the
usage of many
“expressions” and
the complicated grammar of Romanian make it difficult for the English speaker.
I can
now incorporate more
Romanian in my sermons and this is appreciated.
The man from Germany consulted his grown children there and they decided
not to sell the one-floor
house in which we
are interested. We may have found another place, but buying things
“on time” is still
relatively new here
and usually the people want all the money right away. This second
place of interest
to us is actually
two small houses together – one for office space and the other for living.
I have had a
knowledgeable Brother
look the place over and he is satisfied the buildings are strong.
The asking price
is the same as the
other place - $12,500.
I would write more, but being out of space, want to be sure and thank you,
again, for your faithful financial giving – and most important of all –
your prayers! We are dependent on the Lord for all things relative
to living and working in this country. So, we praise the Lord and
thank you for your part, realizing that it is the Lord who works in you.
Pray For The Pughs
Curtis and Janet Pugh
curtis@rdslink.ro
CURTIS PUGH
str. Tudor Vladimirescu nr. 376
1742 Berzovia, jud. Caras-Severin
Romania
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