Did you know that our church sponsors a missionary family?
Eric & Nancy Titus, along with their 3 children, Samuel, 15, Valerie, 11, and Penny, 9,
have embarked upon a mission to serve God in Croatia.
They work at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia,
and with the Reformed Christian Church in Croatia.
Photo of the Titus Family taken during their
visit with us in October of 2004
to read more about the Titus Family
at the Reformed Church in America website .
March, 2010
Dear Friends:
Attached is our March column. In it, we describe to you one of our great friends in ministry here, a fellow American named Paul who has been such a help to us. What is not mentioned in the column is our on-going legal battle over the Osijek church property, which had a major setback earlier this month. (In a nutshell, a rogue pastor changed the deed on the property, which was purchased with PC USA funds. The courts just reversed a decision that stated it rightly belonged to the RCCC. Yet another appeal is pending.) Paul is on the front lines of that battle, and therefore is in need of special prayer. We have chosen not to describe the legal issue in the newsletter, but do ask for your prayers for it just the same. Also, we learned today that Paul's beloved dog, Weiner died.
Thank you for your ongoing support and prayer coverage for our ministry here in Croatia. We also thank you in advance for praying for Paul.
Blessings,
Nancy Titus, RCA Missionary in Croatia
Nancy's Attachment:
Fellow American missionary keeps us going
By Rev. Eric Titus
He has been our wheels, our voice, our cultural reference. Without him, we would have jumped in the deep end of missionary life in Croatia without a wall to swim over to and get our bearings, not to mention our breath. His name is Paul Dragowski, a fellow Michigander (from Kalamazoo to my Lansing), and a good friend who keeps us going.
Paul has been one of the answers to prayers in our work here in Osijek. In addition to being a missionary himself, he is a member of the Reformed Christian Church in Croatia and so is a direct partner with us as he reaches out to the youth of our city.
With a wealth of experience across Croatia and near-native command of the language, Paul helps us negotiate the many and assorted challenges that arise when living in another culture.
He began this ministry to us even before we arrived, helping us with visa documents, an official translator who charged reasonable rates, and insights into what we could expect. Early on, he helped us buy cell phones and took my wife shopping every week for nearly two years before we got a car. He also has driven us – quite happily I might add – to the airport numerous times. This is especially kind since Budapest is a four-hour trip each way. He drove us everywhere and translated for us as we shopped for a car and then walked with me through the two-day process of registering it the first time and the two-day processing of renewing it the next year.
Paul dropped everything to go with me to buy a refrigerator when ours died last summer and again in January when we bought a washing machine, which he installed for us. He has been my translator for sermons and has driven me to Prague when I needed to go for my doctoral work.
Paul came to Croatia in 1988 and worked in Rijeka, on the coast. He moved to war-torn Vukovar at the border with Serbia when it was still basically a city of rubble. He moved to Osijek to help the Reformed Church reach out to youth, and he lives in the Osijek church property where he conducts a drop-in ministry that sees dozens of youth per week.
His is a ministry of relationship, built one at a time with more than 200 young people in Osijek. It is no exaggeration to say that whenever we go anywhere in Osijek with Paul, someone will stop him just to chat.
One reason he is so successful is his Croatian ability. Natives are surprised to learn he is an American who didn’t start learning the language until his mid-thirties. He goes wherever the youth are, and his Croatian allows him to interact naturally as he strikes up conversations that invariably lead to questions of faith.
Another reason is his interest in the things that interest youth, which in turn he uses as tools of ministry, such as: weight-lifting, backpacking, swimming, and skateboarding, a new hobby he took up while we were in the States. With these, he builds friendships that naturally provide opportunities for ministry.
His heart of gold extends to the larger missionary community as well. Recently an American Pentecostal missionary who runs a different youth ministry in Osijek had problems with his car. He went to a repair shop and got an estimate for 18,000 kuna, about $3,600. Paul called his mechanic and found a garage in another town. The cost to our friend was 2,400 kuna, about $480. Without Paul’s intervention, this missionary could not have found a way around this obvious price-gouging of an American!
Paul does all this freely and joyfully and never begrudgingly. He lives out the passage that tells us never to be weary in well-doing. That in a nutshell is Paul’s ministry to us and others, Americans or Croatians. When you pray for us, please add Paul to your prayers, as he is a vital part of our ministry.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Dear Praying Friends:
We have a potentially devastating situation here in Osijek. We need your prayers. The missionary who lives at the Tvrdja property, the church site that has been embroiled in a seven-year-long crazy legal nightmare, has been getting taunts from the guy who lost the case. Yesterday that guy came around and said that the decision has been overturned by the supreme court and has posted similar statements on his website. Our lawyers have not received anything about this, and to Eric and me at least, even the fact that the supreme court was looking at the property dispute is a surprise. We thought it was all over with and that the property dispute went for our side, but the criminal charges of fraud were overturned on appeal (for the strange technicality that he didn't tell the land office he was committing a crime when he had them change the deed from the name of the Reformed Church in Croatia to his own ministry name).
We know from past experience that this guy has information from courts before our side does. So, we feel like we are waiting on a powder keg. If what he is saying is true, then even after all this time the church building may be given to him. We have had a deed clearly stating that the property is owned by the Reformed Church in Croatia, but I guess that will be nullified if the supreme court tells the land office to nullify it. Besides the financial blow of losing a key property in a key location, is the physical and emotional toll such a loss will have on the tiny and struggling Reformed Church here, on the aging bishop, and on the missionary who operates a important drop-in youth center out of the facility.
Whatever the situation, we need wisdom to navigate through these murky times with faith in God. Pray especially for Eric that the Holy Spirit would give him a special anointing for this situation, that he would stand strong for the Lord and speak the very words of God into this seemingly never-ending nightmare for the Reformed Church and that we all would find our true hope and refuge in our never-changing Lord.
Thank you for your prayers and concern for the people of Croatia. God's blessings be upon you!
Nancy Titus
RCA Missionary in Croatia
October, 2009
Osijek connections hold during home leave
By Nancy Titus
As the leaves begin to change and the weather cools, our hearts and minds are with our colleagues half a world away in Osijek as students begin arriving this week for the new school year at the Evangelical Theological Seminary.
While most U.S. students have already settled into a routine with a few weeks of class under their belts, our European counterparts are just gearing up for back-to-school, at least those at the college level.
We remain connected to the flurry of activity at our mission as we communicate with colleagues by email. They are busy attending to faculty meetings and last-minute details. This week, familiar faces will return early to take exams they did not complete last year, and new students will arrive. Many of the practical details will be decided, in typical Croatian fashion, as they arise.
While we are happy to be away from some of the pressure of these days, we are saddened too, to be missing out on welcoming students to a new academic year. There is always something so fresh and renewing about new beginnings and seeing old friends after several month’s absence.
We will continue to play a role in the work of the seminary, supervising our departments from afar, but our biggest work, as this semester begins, is the work that our partners also do every day: pray. Knowing the details from the other side informs our prayers as we dedicate this seminary year, the students and faculty to the Lord, asking Him for grace, for learning, for growth in mind and spirit, in short, for all the work to glorify Him. We pray for the greater church in Croatia and the region beyond, that students of today will become the Christian leaders of tomorrow, working to transform their cultures for the glory of God.
As for us here in New York, we are so grateful to the Lord for all the many blessings He has given us. Our family has settled in to our Stateside home in Pultneyville: the children are happy in their schools and our family routine has leveled into something normal and pleasant. In addition, we are taking care of important issues, like getting medical exams and other things that are best done in the U.S.
We are thankful for a big answer to prayer regarding Eric’s registration for his final year of his doctoral program at Charles University in Prague. He normally is required to be physically present for registration, but this year he was allowed to do it remotely, saving time and the expense of a trans-Atlantic flight. The normal September meetings he has with his doctoral mentor as well as his final comprehensive exam (in church history) were deferred until January. Not only does this save a lot of money during these tight financial times, but it also saves wear and tear on Eric, who already has a heavy travel schedule during this home assignment.
When he is not traveling, Eric is working on his dissertation. He has converted the dining room into Dissertation Central, where he can keep his research notes, books, and file cards in order as he spreads out and puts ideas together. (Don’t worry, we eat at the kitchen table.) He has been doing research at home and will soon add regular visits to theological libraries in our area. He expects to have the main body of research done and some of the writing ready for his mentor when he sees him in January.
We are also gearing up for a speaking schedule that will have us at a different church almost every Sunday until our return to Croatia in early January. We have already visited three churches as well as several individual supporters, and look forward to the opportunity of meeting many supporters we know only from internet communications.
We ask you to pray for our travel schedule, that God will keep us healthy and safe and strengthen the children as one or the other of us is gone on a weekly basis.
March, 2009
German language needs lead to faith talks
by Rev. Eric Titus
As most of you are aware, I am nearing the end of the fourth month I have spent in Germany learning the language as part of the requirements for my doctoral degree, which I must be engaged in for the position I hold at the seminary in Osijek. I wanted to share with you some wonderfully unexpected things that have happened while I have been at the Goethe Language Institute, both for my two months in Bonn in 2007 and these two months now in Munich.
The Institute is broadly international, and I have had the opportunity to meet people from all over the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. What has been wonderfully unexpected is that when I tell them that I teach Christian theology, I am immediately engaged in open friendly dialogue about what I believe, why I believe, what I teach, my understanding about other religions, etc. This happens not only in the classroom, but even more often when a few of the students get together for coffee or lunch.
I have spoken with Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and no small portion of people who feel they are somehow Christian, but don't know why. There are also those that have been hurt by the Church and have left for one reason or another.
These conversations are possible I think for a couple of reasons. I am to them an "official" representative of my faith, and we are on neutral ground at the Institute. It may be for many the first time that they have had this sort of contact, as it is not the habit of most to walk into a house of worship of a different faith and start to ask questions of the clergy person there!
For those who are culturally Christian, it is an opportunity, again in a neutral environment, to say "Pssst, Eric, what do I believe?" without the risk of embarrassment or anxiety that might come from asking the local clergy (although I shouldn't find cause for anxiety or embarrassment here -but sometimes they do). For those that have suffered at the hands of a church, it is a chance to maybe get some resolution.
I might also add that in these conversations, we are leveled by language. Most of these discussions happen in German (really poor German!) and must be basic. Yet, in spite of this basic-ness, the content is substantial. It has really been an unexpected joy, and an extension of the ministry for which you have sent us here. I have also gained a good deal of knowledge, understanding, and good-will toward those I have had the good fortune to meet here. Without exception they have enriched my life by generously sharing a part of their lives with me.
While the time away from my family is difficult, I feel very fortunate and blessed beyond measure to have been at the Goethe Institute. It is really one of the finest language schools in the world. The serendipity of people and ministry was more than I could have hoped for.
You our friends, supporters, and family, have bestowed upon my family and me a good many blessings. We hold those blessings as sacred and know as well that you have entrusted us with a great deal. Knowing this we work to be faithful to our call and to you the community that set us aside for such a great work. May God bless you richly and abundantly for all that you give and do on behalf of Christ's Church.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are planning our first home assignment later this year and would appreciate your prayers. We will be visiting some of your churches as well as working to raise needed additional support. While we would like to say that we will visit you all, it is just not physically possible given the number of contacts we must make.
We do ask you to pray for all the many details involved in this return to the U.S. The two greatest needs at this point are: a car to drive while we are Stateside and a volunteer to come and teach English here in Osijek for the fall 2009 semester while we are away. We trust God will supply all that we need to make this a reality. Again, thanks for your important part in it
February, 2009
"Threats of no heat lead to warm thoughts of you"
By Nancy Titus
As I write this Sunday afternoon, the subject of heat and cold is on my mind. I have been hearing of winter storms, with plenty of ice and heavy snowfall, from friends from New York to Montana. Here in Osijek, we had small bits of snow in December and this week ice. This morning I looked out the window to see a new layer of ice glistening on the trees, leaving a frigid decoration. We literally bought the last grains of salt for sale at the local supermarket a couple of days ago, as people have rushed to buy table salt to put on the sidewalks.
Amid this direct bombardment of cold winter, we have been wondering about whether or not we will have heat. This is because of a heated dispute between Russia and Ukraine over the flow of gas through the Ukrainian pipeline, which is giving a new twist on the idea of a cold war for vast sections of Europe.
What happened was that Russia turned off the gas on Jan. 7. I learned of this the following day, on my first day back to the seminary office after Christmas and the day after Eric left for his two months of German language study in Munich. A colleague told me that Croatia had declared an emergency and that it was possible that we might lose natural gas. My first thought was, Eric left, and the country I am living in declared an emergency. Just great! It did put me in high gear, so I scoured the house and found three small electric heaters and extra bedding in some storage items left by our Montana friends who had returned to the States just before Christmas. The kids and I discussed the implications. If we were to lose gas, we could still cook, but we would be without hot water. Our plan is to hold school in the dining room using the space heaters, and at night kids could bundle up where they are or move to the living room. We discussed how we would have to heat our water for baths. At any rate, if it happened, it would be a livable temporary situation. Others face much worse on a daily basis.
One of my students, who lives in Serbia, not far from Belgrade, said her family lost its heat on Orthodox Christmas Eve and didn’t get it back until three days later. So far as I know, no interruptions have occurred in Croatia.
As it stands, we think it is all resolved (a new agreement was reached today), but we also understand that gas shipments to Croatia aren’t exactly at the top of the list, if the heat between the two countries should rise again. From what I can tell, the dispute is obviously about price but probably ultimately more about control. Financially troubled Russia, with the world’s largest natural gas reserves, depends on the sale of gas to the Western European market, where it gets a much higher price than domestically or from former communist countries. Ukraine, with one of the world’s largest networks of gas pipelines, also needs the shipment of gas to fuel its troubled economy. Tensions between the neighbors have been high, as Ukraine has staked its political future on the West and away from Russia. Some analysts suggest that Russia may be eying a take-over of the pipeline, which Ukraine considers one of its greatest national treasures.
In between is most of Europe looking at a cold winter and wondering about the reliability of both as energy suppliers. The European Union has tried to broker a deal with the two parties, and at least their monitors got the gas flowing again. Legal action is being considered, and even that is telling as Serbia may sue the Ukrainian company, while Croatia is considering suing the Russian one. All this dizzying international posturing has left this mother cold, but it has forced me to do what I should anyway: be a little more thankful for the warmth that fills my home this winter. Some of it comes from gas-fueled heaters, but even more comes from caring partners who pray for us, pay for our gas, and generally just keep us going in the work here in Croatia. Thanks!
