Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Dear Pastors and Churches:     Greetings to you from Bocsa, Romania. We hope this finds all of you well and doing well!
    Flooding in Romania:
        Huge parcels of farmland as well as towns and villages still lie under floodwaters to the west of our "county." Massive pumps from Hungary and Germany are laboring to pump the water out of these low lying areas Some funds have been received by our Church to help the believers who are suffering under these conditions. In the weeks ahead we expect to deliver these funds. We will let you know more about this then. Right now the people whose homes are flooded are scattered, living where they can, and travel to these areas is often impossible due to remaining flood waters. If you wish to give something to help these people, mark your checks '"FLOOD VICTIMS" and the money will all go for that purpose.
    Permit to stay:
        Romanian laws and procedures are constantly changing. We have been happy to learn that a visa for Americans staying in Romania is no longer required. It is possible to obtain a "permis de sedere" or "permit to stay" that is good from one to five years. We have just learned the requirements for this permit and they seem to be quite simple - especially for a former communist country! Special consideration has been given to those who labor In Romania in humanitarian or religious efforts. Pray for us as we go about getting the required documents for this status that will give us a legal address in Romania and simplify a lot of things for us here. This process is quite time consuming and we are jealous of our time as we feel the need to be busy about spiritual things, but these mundane things must be looked after as well.
    Bocsa Meeting:
        Brother Raul and I continue to preach each Lord's Day morning in the services of the "adunarea baptistilor" (gathering of the Baptists) here in Bocsa. Brother Aurel leads the singing and also brings a devotional each Sunday at the beginning of our services. We have had some visitors since I last reported to you and others have continued to be faithful in their attendance.
    Oltenia Preaching Point:
        I have been able to make two trips to Oltenia since our last report. These have been good services and we have had five visitors attend - in addition to the "regulars" whom we expect to be there. We are making preparations for a baptismal service there by teaching, preaching and answering questions especially relating to baptism. Pray especially for those who regularly attend: Aurel (different young man than the one who works with us), Virgil, Gheorghe, Nicu, and the wife of Nicu, Elena, as well as those who visit. There is much superstition to contend with in the region of Oltenia - superstitions promoted and endorsed by the Orthodox Church. The people often believe in witches and spells so that great fear is upon many of them in that area. The "evangelicals" in that area do not think well of us because we preach and teach salvation by grace alone. But we are content if the Lord thinks well of the doctrine we preach!
    Pioneer work:
        In many ways our work is a pioneer work. About 1/2 of 1% or less of the people in Romania are even called Baptists, and while the Gospel was once clearly preached In Romania, since the 1940's and 1950's the preaching of "another gospel" of decisional regeneratIon has been accepted as true almost everywhere. Among the Romanian Baptist union Baptists both Arminianism and universal church-ism constitute the doctrinal positions held by almost all these pastors and churches. As far as I am able to learn, our Church sponsors the only sovereign grace landmark missionary Baptists living and working in Romania. This causes us to feel a constant burden to be busy about the work of preaching and teaching the Word of God. We need your earnest prayers on our behalf as we stand for the Word of God.
    Romanian pastors:
        We continue to have contact personally and through our literature work with Romanian pastors in various parts of the country as well as in the Republic of Moldova. We seek to teach them both sovereign grace and church truth - ideas that are totally foreign to the Baptists in this part of Europe. Pray especially for the dozen or so pastors with whom we have a good regular contact and who have some understanding of free grace. I will not mention their names so as to keep this information from the enemies of the truth - enemies who would use all available means to hinder these men and our work with them. We have been laboring with some of them for several years as we have had opportunity. With others we have only recently begun to have regular contact. I can report to you that at least eight of these men have identified themselves as believers in sovereign grace and eight of them, at least, openly talk of these things.
    Literature:
        We have just received a shipment of paper and are busy reprinting items as needed. Some Brothers are presently waiting on these tracts and booklets to be reprinted. As soon as we can get them done, they will be delivered by us to them for distribution among interested people. We expect to publish three new titles shortly after the first of next month (when we have funds to purchase more paper). Translation work is ongoing on other new titles as we seek to make a good variety of sound, sovereign grace landmark Baptist literature available to Romanian speaking people. Pray, please, for this aspect of our work!
    Please accept our gratitude and appreciation for your financial support, and more importantly, for your prayer support of this work. Seed is being sown and lives are being changed as pastors and people come in contact with the truths of God's Word.
    Thank you!
    Please contInue to pray earnestly for us!
    In the cause of God and truth,
    Curtis and Janet Pugh
    curtis@xnet.ro