Titus Family ~ Missionaries in Croatia
Did you know that our church sponsors a missionary family?
Eric & Nancy Titus, along with their 3 children, Samuel, 16, Valerie, 13, and Penny, 11,
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.
Please click HERE
to read more about the Titus Family
at the Reformed Church in America website.
September, 2011
Dear Friends:
Attached is the September issue of our Croatia Update. It is basically a shortened version of the letter you received last week, informing you of our decision to end our missionary service and return to the United States. We thank you for the kind words of encouragement we have received from you and appreciate your support in this decision. We will continue to send you monthly updates as long as we are in the field, as we want you to be informed of the ministry that is ongoing on your behalf.
Blessings,
Nancy Titus
RCA Missionary in Croatia
******************************************************
Titus Family to end mission, return to U.S.
by Rev. Eric Titus
After more than five years in Croatia, Nancy and I are ending our missionary service and returning to the United States. We target the end of the year for our return and do not know yet what we will do. You may have heard this news already, but we wanted all our supporters to understand what went into this decision.
Among our back and forth conversations about Croatia over the past months, we said things like, "How is it possible for us to stay longer?" to "Maybe it's time for us to go home; maybe we have accomplished what we came to do" Eventually we decided the latter.
The foremost question on everyone's mind will of course be the reason that we decided to leave. While that question is easy to ask, it is not easy to answer. There is, in the end, no one reason that finally ruled, or final straw that broke the camel's back. Rather, a number of factors came together, some of course weighing more heavily than others, but none being the lynchpin of the decision. Still, while not getting into great detail, we do feel we want to share with you some of the elements going into our decision.
To begin with, there have been changes with our partners here in Croatia. A new bishop was elected in the Reformed Christian Church in Croatia, which brought to the fore the question of communication since the new bishop and I shared no language in which we could communicate. In addition, much of the work that I did with the former bishop was transferred to an indigenous person who is capable of the ecumenical tasks that I was often called on to perform. That an indigenous person was appointed is exactly what should happen, and we rejoice in this.
There have also been changes within the seminary. We are one of (if not the last) remaining missionaries on the faculty. More and more, the seminary is being funded, both intellectually and economically, by regional personnel and financing. More often than not students are paying tuition rather than being sponsored by western scholarship money. This is a good thing as well. These are very different realities from our arrival five years ago and show the ways the seminary is adjusting to its changing environment. While the seminary would like to see us stay for years to come, we have to ask if our missionary task is done. We believe that it is.
There are also issues within our family that we had to consider. As many of you know, the education of our children has been an ongoing struggle. We did our best to make the public schools in Croatia work for us, but in the end had to remove each of our children for different issues. Homeschooling has provided a stopgap solution for the last few years, but we are simply at the point where this will no longer work for all our children. Longer-term solutions were simply out of the question given budgetary constraints. We also have the consideration of our extended families, especially with aging parents.
We have been proud to represent the RCA as missionaries. We have received unimaginable support from you, our partner churches and individuals. There is no possible way for us to thank you enough, or to tell you how deeply your spiritual and financial support was and is appreciated. Your remembrance of us as we were so far away from you was simply overwhelming, moving us often past the point of tears. Those of you at the grassroots level of the RCA are simply marvelous. No less so was our supervisor Duncan Hanson who met us at every crisis, supported us through every need, and did all that he could to make sure that we realized our full potential. Truly, the RCA is a remarkable mission agency with which to work!
We have gained and been enriched by our time here and will always grateful to you for making this possible. We also thank you in advance for standing with us through all the details to come as we transition home.
June, 2011
Dear Friends:
Attached is our monthly edition of Croatia Update. In it, I describe what we have been up to the last couple of weeks -- conferences! Eric attended one in Romania, and both of us went to one for our seminary teaching staff. You will be glad to know that Eric's headaches are still under control with the medication he got through the neurologist in Budapest. We are thankful that he is able to get back to work as normal.
Tomorrow we will leave Osijek for Prague for Eric's graduation ceremony. We would appreciate your prayers for the details about this trip. One issue we would particularly request prayer for is our re-entry into Croatia. Our visas will expire while we are gone. We have completed all the paperwork, but Croatia will not give us new visas until the old ones have expired. They have given us a piece of paper that we can present to the border agents, but experience has taught us that you never know what they will choose to be particular about. Please pray that we have no problems with this or any other traveling issue. We are excited about the graduation and about seeing Eric's mother, who will fly into Prague and return with us to Croatia.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and financial support of our ministry.
Blessings,
Nancy Titus
RCA Missionary in Croatia
******************************************************
Conferences encourage discipleship, teaching
By Nancy Titus
Within the Great Commission, Jesus gives the mandate for the church to both make disciples and to teach those disciples to obey everything that He commanded. While this command applies to all Christians all the time, it is particularly the task of the seminary to promote discipleship and to teach those who will lead the church.
Reflecting on just how the church around the world answers this command was our theme for the first half of May as both Eric and I attended special meetings designed to help us do our work better.
First, Eric spent a week attending a regional meeting in Bucharest, Romania, organized by the former academic dean at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, where we work. This academic conference focused on the theme of discipleship, something particularly apropos for a seminary group that exists to train pastors.
During the conference, Eric presented a paper on discipleship in the ethics of Karl Barth.
"Barth starts from creation where the first command to the creature was to live," he said. The second command to live, found in Exodus, was to let the other live. Our ethic of discipleship has to be based upon the command to life, not just ours but the life of others.
"And Christian ethics moves even further, so that the life of the disciple is laid down for the life of the other."
We were thankful that God graciously answered your prayers and that Eric was able to attend this conference as scheduled. Because of the headache problem he had the two months before, there was some question as to whether or not he would be able to go. Thankfully, his headaches are under control through medication.
As soon as he returned from the Romanian conference, Eric joined the rest of the faculty at the Croatia seminary in a teachers' seminar designed to help us do our jobs better.
The workshop was presented through a gift of the Langham Institute, John Stott's organization that helps further theological education in Second and Third World countries. The presenter was Steve Hardy, an expert on theological education around the world.
He reminded us that the Great Commission's emphasis on teaching lets us know that teaching itself is very important to God. This is true at all levels, whether you are teaching children or adults, new believers or old, and it is certainly important when you are teaching those who will teach others in the church, as we do in seminary.
Hardy encouraged our teaching faculty with stories from around the world, bringing examples of things that have worked as well as things that have not.
One way he encouraged us was that we should not just look at the things that need to be fixed in our school but also to concentrate on the things that go well, the things that are bringing glory to the Lord.
Another way that God teaches people through us - whether in seminary or in the local church - is through who we are in the Lord. This takes the emphasis off merely conveying the content of the course being taught to the character of both the teacher and the student, which is the area that God most wants to develop.
In another area of our ministry, the Reformed Christian Church in Croatia has named a new leader, Bishop Lajos, who took over following the end of the term for Rev. Endre Langh. It is not clear at this time what our role with the church will be in the future since the new bishop does not speak English. His primary language, as well as 90 percent of the church, is Hungarian. Eric had served as a personal advisor to the previous bishop and had represented the denomination at international gatherings. We ask you please keep the church in all its transitions in prayer.
April, 2011
Dear Friends:
Attached is the April issue of our Croatia Update. In it, we give a bit of a review about Eric's medical issues related to a sudden onset of excruciating headaches as well as discuss an English teachers conference I will attend. We thank you for your prayers for Eric, as we will be going to Budapest this Wednesday for more tests. We will keep you posted on his progress.
Also, I mention in the article that our English department will be buying new coursebooks, which we will be reviewing at this upcoming conference. The RCA has promised to match the funds the seminary spends for this purpose. We anticipate that the entire project will cost about $8,000. We have some money set aside already for the RCA portion, but we need about $2,500 to complete our contribution. If any of your churches would like to give toward this amount, please let me know and mark your gifts "Titus -- English books" when you send them to the regular address.
Thank you again for your care and concern for us all the time. We are privileged to be your missionaries here in Croatia!
Blessings,
Nancy Titus
RCA Missionary in Croatia
******************************************************
Travel for testing, learning marks April plans
By Nancy Titus
As I write this issue, my mind is focused on two big trips. As most of you read this, Eric and I will be back in Budapest for additional medical tests seeking the cause of Eric's sudden onset of serious headaches. Then, Lord willing, I will join other English teachers from across Croatia for a conference designed to improve our classroom skills.
First, I want to thank all of our supporters for your prayers for Eric during this troubled season. He began having excruciating headaches on Feb. 25 and was only able to get relief with strong prescription painkillers. Unfortunately, the prescription he got from his general practitioner here in Osijek was not good for another serious condition he has and caused lots of nausea. We have been to see four specialists in Osijek and Budapest and have had all sorts of tests run to try to get to the root of the headaches. Unfortunately, we do not know the cause, but we think we have at least gotten better medication to manage the pain.
Along the way, we have learned even more about the Croatian health system, including finding two private clinics here in Osijek where we were able to see specialists quickly and got needed tests literally months before we would have through the public hospital. Even so, we decided we needed to take the additional step to go to a clinic in Budapest. This clinic has three really important features not available here in Croatia: it accepts our U.S. insurance, it has U.S. board-certified doctors, and everyone speaks English. All of those factors gave us extra confidence and made it well worth the four-hour drive to Budapest. In addition, we were able to stay with Dick and Carolyn Otterness, RCA missionaries and close friends who live in Budapest.
We ask that you continue to pray for Eric, for his doctors, and for our family as we deal with whatever issues we face in the coming days related to his medical condition. One thing that is so obvious to us is that God is watching out for us and bringing the right people into our lives at the right time. This, too, is a result of the prayers of so many. We also appreciate your words of encouragement that help us keep our heads up when things get tough.
Even as we deal with this medical situation, I am excited about the prospect of attending my first national conference of the Croatian Association of Teachers of English. I look forward to rubbing shoulders with Croatian colleagues who are also trying to give students access to the world through fluency in our global language. As a native speaker, I am something of a novelty in our local meetings though there is one other American member. It is great to get to know a whole other group of Croats who are working toward the same goal. Meeting people outside the church is also an opportunity for me to learn more about the culture in which we live.
I have been a member of this group for three years, and this year, I have been working to get my teaching staff involved as well. Traveling to the national conference along with me will be a Croatian woman who has taught English at our seminary for a year and a half as well as another colleague from our sister institution in the capital city of Zagreb.
In addition to the continuing education workshops that will help us with practical classroom issues, we expect to work together to coordinate our programs at both institutions. Also, our Osijek campus has been given authorization to buy much-needed course books for students, and the conference offers the only opportunity for us to look through the actual books rather than just at catalogs. This is a big expenditure, with matching funds promised by the RCA, so we want to make sure that we choose the right materials to give our students systematic progression in their English abilities and that will last the department a long time. I welcome your prayers as well for our selection of these materials.
February, 2011
Dear Friends:
Attached is our February edition of our column, Croatia Update. In it, I discuss a curious thing I have noticed with the packaging of products using the American flag, even when those products are made in Europe or China. This is just another way that, as missionaries, we learn to view ourselves through the eyes of others. I hope you find it interesting.
Our work is busy at this time of the year as the first semester nears an end and professors and students alike prepare for finals. Eric has had a particularly busy time of it, as he taught his undergraduate class for three hours on Friday, followed by three hours of an evening session for an intensive master's course, followed by six hours with the master's students on Saturday. Then he preached at a special ecumenical service Tuesday night. It was exhausting, but it is the prayers of supporters like you that get us through these extra duties when they come up.
Thank you for standing with us through your gifts of prayer and finances. We ask God's blessing on you and your work as well.
In His Name,
Nancy Titus
RCA Missionary in Croatia
******************************************************
American flag sells products here, but why?
By Nancy Titus
We are all accustomed to seeing American flag motifs on all sorts of products in the United States, but it is an odd twist to see it on German- or Chinese-made products sold on another continent. Meanwhile iconic American brands, such as Colgate, Tide, or Cheerios, leave their American connections invisible to the buyer.
In U.S. stores, the flag on a package usually indicates the product's origin, letting the American consumer know it was made in the good 'ole USA. Here it apparently is a way for Europeans to indicate it is somehow like what Americans use, whether or not any of the product actually comes from the United States.
Many brands of popcorn, for example, have some kind of stars and stripes pattern on the packaging though the brand itself is European as is the corn inside.
One of first such brands I came across when we were new to Croatia was Kelly's microwave popcorn, sold in individual bags with very prominent use of the American flag as part of the labeling. I found it interesting to learn that an American, trying to teach Austrians to eat this snack, started Kelly's in Austria in 1955. At least there is an American connection behind this explicitly European business success.
Another high-profile use of the American flag is on a store-brand microwave popcorn that comes to us from Denmark. The flag wraps around three sides of the box, which clearly states it contains "American style" popcorn. I cannot see that there is any other style available, however, and there are several brands and varieties on the shelves.
Peanuts are another product often emblazoned with the American flag though some of the nuts are actually grown the United States. In this case, again, I think the packaging merely shows that Europeans associate peanuts with America. Many peanut packages have a red, white, and blue color scheme and include various forms of the Stars and Stripes, some taking up almost the entire can or plastic packaging even when the peanuts come from China.
Not all brands of popcorn or peanuts use this "American" branding of their products, but it is frequent enough that I was quite surprised recently when I found an orange package of pistachios in the nut aisle with a complete American flag up in the top corner. This truly was an indication of the origin of these nuts.
Perhaps the most curious flag usage is on a particular brand of peanut butter, a product almost universally known to be American. Here in Croatia, it is difficult to find. When we first arrived, one store stocked a small quantity of Skippy - in the refrigerated section! I guess the word "butter" meant to someone that it needed to be kept cold. I haven't seen a national brand here in years (then again maybe I just don't know where to look), but there is a Macedonian brand I can sometimes find. This small jar features a red, white, and blue striped label with white stars and a blue shadow of the Statue of Liberty, but the only "American" thing about it is the idea of peanut butter.
Our first Fourth of July in Croatia, after we had been here only a month, we celebrated quietly with a dinner of hamburgers cooked on the stove. Our "centerpiece" was a metal tube of something marked "barbecue," featuring an American flag. I didn't even know what it was when I bought it. It turned out to fit right in with our meal, however, as it was mustard, of German origin.
In a similar vein but on a larger scale is New Yorker, a German-based clothing company with 837 stores across Europe, including here in Osijek. Again, it is an example of Europeans choosing an American symbol as a vehicle to sell their own goods.
Seeing others use our national symbols is an interesting part of living abroad and yet another way we learn about our world.
January, 2011
Dear Friends:
Attached is our January issue of the Croatia Update, in which we thank God for what He is doing. Chief among our thanks is you, our supporters! Also, if any of you did not hear, Eric did pass his dissertation defense and was awarded his doctorate on Nov. 30. We will still travel to Prague in May for graduation, but he has officially earned the designation doctor of theology! Thanks for your prayers and support along the way!
We also ask for prayer for our student, Boban Petrovic, a Serbian who awoke last Wednesday to the news that his father had died unexpectedly during the night. You can imagine his pain, compounded by the fact that he was planning to see his family the following week at the Christmas break. Thankfully, a few of his fellow students were able to travel to Serbia on a snowy day to support him during the funeral.
We also pray for you to have the joy and peace of our faithful Savior this Christmas! May all your celebrations be filled with His light!
In Him,
Nancy Titus
RCA Missionary in Croatia
******************************************************
Snowy days provide sheltered thanksgiving
By Nancy Titus
The blast of winter gives us all good reason to be thankful for basics like a cozy place to warm our feet after a cold walk. Though our seminary is only two blocks from our house, it can seem much longer when the wind blows and the sidewalks are slippery with snow or ice. Even so, it seems rather nice that we can make the trip by foot rather than having to get the car out on the messy streets.
As we begin this new year, we want to express our thanks for the many things the Lord has done for us. First on any such list is our gratitude to God for giving us such wonderful supporters who are faithful all year long to send financial support, to cover us in prayer, and to provide encouraging words along the way. We cannot begin to express how much all of these things mean to us. Some of you we had known for years before we became missionaries, and some are friends whom we have met because of our work in Croatia. What a joy to work along with you in what God is doing here in this land!
We also offer thanksgiving to God for the completion of Eric's doctoral degree. As most of you know by now, he successfully defended his dissertation on Nov. 30 and was awarded the degree of doctor of theology from the Protestant Faculty of Charles University in Prague. With your prayers and God's help, he was able to complete a six-year program in just four years, saving thousands on tuition and providing the seminary with much needed credentials. Having the weight of this study off Eric's shoulders is truly a relief! Now, all we have left as far as official visits to Prague is graduation in May.
We are also thankful to God for our students and the opportunity to invest in their lives. We cannot always see what is taking hold, but we plant seeds or water seeds others have planted, knowing that God is building his church here as everywhere.
Eric is grateful that he can help train students in systematic theology and that he gets to teach a special course this year on Karl Barth. Students have responded well to his courses, and for that he thanks God.
As for me, I thank God that my classes at the seminary are going better than ever. I am teaching beginning composition for the fourth time and am grateful for God's help in developing this course. Though I have many years experience as a professional writer, I never tried to teach anyone to write until I became a missionary. I have had to do this from scratch, learning by trial and error the many basics our students do not know about writing and designing ways to fill that gap. I believe the course is useful in bringing students with almost no formal writing instruction into position to begin the hard work of doing college-level composition. That leads us well into the second semester course, where we learn the basics of the essay.
We are thankful as well for God's provision for our children, educationally, emotionally, and socially.
Samuel, in particular, loves his on-line classes, especially classical literature. Before Christmas, he finished Plato's Republic and began reading Aristotle. He loves the discussion with his teacher and the other students, a couple of whom, like him are overseas. The course is as engaging for him as it is challenging.
The girls also enjoy their on-line classes and have developed their computer skills for work and play, navigating the internet and keeping tabs on friends in the United States as well.
In closing, we ask you to remember one of our students in prayer. Just before our Christmas break, Boban Petrovic was informed that his father died unexpectedly during the night. He left school a week early to attend the funeral and support his family. Pray for his hurting heart and for strength to complete his theological program as planned this spring.
December, 2010
Dear Friends:
Attached is the December issue of our Croatia Update. In it I describe something that happened this past week when a speaker in our chapel service presented erroneous teaching. This is the reason we are here -- to help the church train leaders who can recognize and address such ideas before they take hold in their people. Though the situation may seem to have been a negative, it really worked out as a great positive as it gave students and professors the opportunity to discuss not just the errors themselves but a variety of related things. Along the way, students were able to see how important truth is and how the various theological disciplines work together to ensure truth in teaching.
We ask God's blessing upon you as you prepare for Thanksgiving. We will be sharing this special day with 11 of our fellow Americans living here in Croatia. Then Eric and I will leave for Prague on Sunday for his dissertation defense, which is set for Tuesday, Nov. 30. Please pray for Eric as he prepares for this important last step in his doctoral program, and pray for him in particular on Nov. 30 -- or rather the day before as it will be 4 a.m. Eastern time when he goes into the defense meeting!
Thank you for your constant loving support of our family as we work here in Croatia. We could not even begin to attempt this without all you do to make it happen. We know ours are not the only sacrifices being made to allow us to be here in Croatia, and we ask God to bless you "good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over" because of what you have given to Him!
Blessings,
Nancy Titus
RCA Missionary in Croatia
******************************************************
Correcting bad theology all in day's work
By Nancy Titus
The speakers brought great enthusiasm and passion for Christ, which is something we love our seminary students to see firsthand. With their distinctive style, the two women spoke in chapel about their encounter with Jesus Christ and His impact on their native country. The service was going a long way to bring the world to students and allowing them to see authentic expressions of Christianity that are different from their own.
However, as the second speaker continued, something was not right. The more she talked, the more uncomfortable Eric and others became. She was speaking of theological ideas that had been condemned by the early church because they contradicted the heart of Christianity. There was Gnosticism, dualism, and fatalism, among many of the side issues they spawn.
Just as Eric was trying to formulate within himself how to respond to this onslaught of erroneous teaching in our seminary worship service, a colleague stood up and asked the lady to stop speaking. One point she had been championing was that "the real you is spirit, and the flesh is only a box" so that when you die, your spirit goes to be with the Lord, but your unimportant body turns to dust. The professor countered this error with words from the Apostle's Creed: "We believe in the resurrection of the body!"
Students were given an opportunity to talk with professors after chapel to answer any questions, and a decision was made to combine the systematic theology classes two days later to address in detail the errors raised and their implications for the church and individuals.
The pastor of a local Pentecostal church heard about what had happened at chapel and went to Eric to get more information since the women were speaking that night at his church. It was a beautiful example of the church and seminary working together for the good of both. The pastor even asked Eric to meet personally with the ladies the following day.
There was no intent to deceive on the part of our guest speakers, but the teaching they presented undercut the very core beliefs of the gospel. That was why they had to be addressed as immediately and thoroughly as they were.
The whole thing provided a textbook case of why the church needs theological training. Quite often, people with a story to tell are given a platform to share with the Body of Christ, especially if they have come a long way to do so, as in this case with these women. However, just because someone has a message to share doesn't mean that he or she is equipped to rightly divide the Word of God. The ideas presented in our chapel were taught to these precious believers, but they had not been trained to see them for what they were.
During Eric's systematics class, he was able to give more detail about why the things our sister shared were wrong and the ethical consequences of those teachings. Students told of similar situations when they knew something being preached from a pulpit was contrary to Scripture. There was even some discussion about our colleague's action to interrupt the service. Eric was able to guide students into the truth that a loving shepherd sometimes must use his staff to whack a wolf in order to protect his sheep - even if that wolf comes in the guise of the words of a fellow believer.
Our colleague wielded the staff when he interrupted the service. The pastor wielded the staff when he sought out Eric before his church service and sent the ladies to speak with Eric the following day. Eric wielded the staff as he walked students through the minefield of the deception presented to see where such ideas lead.
Thankfully, these actions were done in a spirit of love. Though there was discomfort at times, the overall result was to underscore the need for people who are theologically trained to serve the church here and everywhere.
Please click HERE
to access archive of previous updates
