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 MONTHS OF NOVEMBER - DECEMBER, 2001
Friday, January 11,
2002
Dear Pastors and Churches:
“The lofty
looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed
down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:11.)
We
rejoice in the prospect of the day when the LORD alone shall be exalted.
Our prayer for you
is that He is alone
exalted in your lives and in your places even now in this present evil
world of unbelief. May it be so!
Due to a great amount of activity during the last of November and first
of December, I asked if we might combine two months’ report and as our
pastor was agreeable, we are doing so. I hope you will understand
that we aim for monthly reports and shall continue to make that our goal.
Thank you for your understanding!
The first part of November was pretty much usual. Language studies,
preaching, and literature preparation were the chief things which kept
us busy – along with the regular duties of just living – including staying
warm! As I write this Romania is having the worst stretch of cold
weather since 1944. We had to purchase another wood stove – a metal
one made in Hungary – in order to keep the living room / dining room /
office warm. Two stoves in this large room, one in the bedroom and
one in the kitchen (which is only fired up in the AM) mean the consumption
of a significant amount of firewood which must be brought into the house
and apportioned to the various rooms. As you may know, houses in
Eastern Europe are constructed almost totally of masonry without insulation
and so the cold comes through the walls continually. We are thankful
to have a warm and dry place to live when so many
have far less.
But it does add to our busy-ness.
We have also made necessary trips to the doctor in Budapest and have some
good news and some uncertain news. My blood work showed I am doing
well. I must continue to take folic acid to prevent folic-acid-anemia
but otherwise am OK. Janet's glasses have seemingly made her double
vision worse and the doctors in Hungary say nothing can be done for this
problem. We rejoice that she can see well up close and therefore
can and is continuing her computer transcription of tapes and other materials
toward the Village Institute, etc. She is taking medication for her
dizziness. This is helping some. She had an
MRI done and the report,
naturally, came back positive – that is, there is “something” at the base
of her brain. Whether it is another tumor or the remnant of the one
removed last year is not yet known. The films must be sent to the
surgeon in Tulsa for comparison with the original MRI to know this.
This uncertainty causes both Janet and myself to cast ourselves even more
upon the Lord and renew our commitment to work harder in whatever days
we may yet have upon this earth. This is not a time to quit or return
home, but to “occupy” till the LORD says it is enough.
We are very happy to report that God has raised the necessary funds for
the purchase of the Risograph and folding machine for the literature ministry.
The room we are renting from the church in Bocsa will be complete by the
last week in January and we expect to make use of it for Bible institute
studies as well as literature production. In these last several weeks
we have printed a Romanian translation of the tract “Born Again-ism.”
Some of the initial 5,000 tracts have been distributed. We are completely
out of THE TRAIL OF BLOOD and expect to begin reprinting this sometime
in January. (We have some clarifications and misprints to correct
– we continually try to improve and perfect all the literature we produce.)
We have pastors waiting and asking for these things for their members and
for distribution in their areas. You may remember that we received
a phone request from the government office of the Minister of Cults for
a copy of THE TRAIL OF BLOOD. We never understood why this request
was made, but shortly afterward, this official was interviewed on the radio
and made statements about “Anabaptists” being in Transylvania (a region
of Romania) in the past.
On the last day of November and the first two days of December, Raul and
I were in Oltenia for a mini conference and a preaching tour. God
certainly undertook for both of us even giving natural strength for the
task. Besides teaching for 3 hours on Friday night, 3 hours Saturday
morning and another 3 hours Saturday afternoon, there were additional time
periods allowed for questions. The request was that I teach on (1)
tongues, (2) prophecy, and (3) “assurance of salvation,” i.e. preservation
and perseverance. There are three Pentecostal churches and three
“evangelical” churches in the town of Filias (fee lee
AHSH). At least
one, if not all three, of the Pentecostal pastors had been preaching that
all Baptists are going to Hell because they do not have the Holy Spirit
(e.g. they have not spoken in tongues.) Of course they opposed the
conference, but several Pentecostal people were present. Their questions
were courteous and they were attentive. I believe God enabled us
to give Scriptural answers to their questions. We were asked to stay
over for Sunday and I preached in four different churches that day.
At the end of the day neither Raul nor I seemed any more tired that we
would have been had we only been in two or three services on Sunday back
home in the Berzovia area. Slava Domnului! (Praise God!) We
have more invitations to preach than we can possibly fulfill. We
have promised to try to preach in Arad in the west and in a village near
Cluj-Napoca near the center of the country as well as to return to Oltenia
in the south-central part of the country. Our literature has been
distributed in nearly all parts of Romania and also the Republic of Moldova
– and we have been asked to come to that country for a preaching tour.
Hope to do so in 2002. Out of space and so must close for now.
Please continue to pray for the Pughs – and accept our appreciation and
thanksgiving for your faithful financial support! Your “holding the
rope” enables us to remain here! May God bless each of you daily!
In the cause of God and truth,
Curtis and Janet Pugh
Pray For The Pughs
curtis@rdslink.ro
CURTIS PUGH
str. Tudor Vladimirescu nr. 376
1742 Berzovia, jud. Caras-Severin
Romania
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