Saturday, June 12, 2004
Dear Pastors and Churches:
    Greetings to all of you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, who gave Himself for the sheep!
   Bocsa Meeting:
    From my correspondence and phone conversations with Janet and the Brothers who work with us, things are going well in the Bocsa meeting.  Brother Raul, I am told, is bringing good, biblical messages that feed the spiritual sheep.  Attendance has remained constant there and for this I am thankful.
    Oltenia Preaching Point:
    The Sunday evening meetings in Oltenia are going well with attendance holding constant also.  There has been a little electrical problem with the Nissan, but it seems to have been straightened out and Brother Aurel and Brother Raul are using it each Lord’s Day to travel the 8 or 9 hours round trip each week.  Some are ready to be baptized there and I look forward to that when I return to Romania.
    Literature Work:
    This aspect of the work continues in that requests for literature are being filled and mailed out and the reserve stock is being kept up to date.  Some initial translation work is going on also, but nothing new will be published until I am there to finalize the translation work.
    Bible Institute:
    I seldom mention this aspect of the work, but we do have an English-language Bible Institute with Brother Raul as our only student at this time.  In my absence he is working on term papers which are a part of his course requirements.
   Churches Visited:  Since my last report to you, I have preached in the following Churches: Central Avenue Baptist, Tampa, FL, (Elder Wayne Crow, pastor); Central Baptist Church, St. Petersburg, FL, (Elder Steve Shelton, pastor); Temple Baptist Church, Arcadia, FL, (Elder Doug King, pastor); Missionary Faith Baptist Church, Ft. Pierce, FL, (Elder Richard Gast, pastor); The Bible Baptist Church, Plant City, FL, (Elder Seth Bourn, pastor); Grace Baptist Church, Melbourne, FL, (Elder Eddie Bowen, pastor); Faith Baptist Church, Seffner, FL, (Elder J.W. Carr, pastor); Memorial Heights Baptist Church, Perry, GA, (Elder Randy Rosbrook, pastor); Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, Alma, AR, (Elder Daniel Pope, pastor); and the Lakeview Missionary Baptist Church, Mena, AR, (Elder Orval Heath, pastor).  All the Churches I have visited have been most gracious to me, the fellowship great, and the people really interested in the work among Romanian-speaking people.  I have been greatly encouraged by these warm receptions and interest!
   Special Thanks for Special Help:
    Elder Wayne Crow of Tampa, FL purchased two new tires, gasoline and paid for some necessary car repair for me while in Tampa.  The Central Baptist Church of St. Petersburg, FL purchased a new laptop computer and travel case for my use in the Romania work.  For both these special gifts we praise the Lord and express our appreciation for the love and interest in the work that these things express!
   Sponsoring Church:
    The Grace Bible Baptist Church of Denham Springs, Louisiana has voted unanimously (and I am told enthusiastically) to receive us as members and to sponsor the Romania work.  We praise the Lord that the Spirit of God has led them to share our concern for the work and to undertake sponsorship of it.  Our present Church, Berea Baptist Church of Mantachie, Mississippi and Grace Bible Baptist Church will be making the necessary exchange of correspondence and cooperating together in this transition.  If you want to know about Grace Bible Baptist Church and Elder Jerry Dodson, Sr. who will be our new pastor, you can read about the Church, including the doctrinal statement and information about her missionary, Brother Dan Sullivan, in Thailand on the Internet by going to their web page – www.geocities.com/Heartland/Grove/3718 - or you can e-mail the pastor, Bro. Jerry Dodson, at jerrydodsonsr@wmconnect.com .
   Future Plans:
    I believe it is wise for me to return to Romania sooner than I had first planned.  I have set as a target date sometime no later than the first half of August as the time I hope to fly back to Romania.  I recognize it is important to visit periodically among supporting Churches and as long as I am in the U.S. I will continue to do so.  However, Janet is under a great deal of stress.  She has her own household responsibilities and having had to assume some of mine in my absence, the added workload is causing her to have increased dizziness, etc.  God has been gracious to supply her with courage and strength to remain in Romania alone and for this we praise Him, but I think it best if I return and take up my part of the work sooner than I had first expected.  I hope the Lord’s Churches that are involved in this work with us will be understanding of the present situation even though I cannot visit all of them at this time.
 There are many things to be done before I can leave: a truck must be rented and our stored things moved to Louisiana (God has provided a free storage place for us through the generosity of some of the members of the Church in Denham Springs): I must also pack and ship more of my library to Romania for use in the Bible Institute there: and there are some changes that must be made regarding the bank account we use to transfer funds from the U.S. to Romania and I must personally attend to that also the next time I am in Louisiana.
    Please understand the burden I feel for those people to whom God has called me to minister and my concern for the furtherance of the work in Romania.  I thank you for your interest, financial support and prayers on our behalf!  Your help is the means God is using to enable us to spread the truth among Romanian-speaking people in Eastern Europe and other places.
    Thank You All!
    Pray for the Pughs!
    In the cause of God and truth, Curtis and Janet Pugh
   curtis@xnet.ro
    CURTIS PUGH
    str. Izvor nr. 3
    Bossca  1, jud. Caras-Severin
    1725 Romania