2 year Residence Permit!!!

We are praising the Lord that we received our residence permit renewal for 2 more years! Yesterday we went to the Immigration Office to find out what we would receive. We were praying and we know so many of you were praying with us that we would get renewed for another 2 years. And we did! We don't have to think about going through this process again for about another 20 or 21 months. Then all the paperwork gathering begins again. Curt is glad about that! He did a terrific job making sure all the needed information was submitted correctly. We don't know what the next 2 years will hold but we pray that God would be willing to use us in some small way in His purposes and plans for this part of the world. Thank you for standing with us!

brannons@scsonline.com

God is STILL Good and Faithful

Our last post was one of celebration! It was a day that all of us were reminded of the undeserved blessings that we receive from God. How expectant we were to see what God had planned for our week.

No one in our family would have guessed that Monday would be a challenging day. We were robbed. Our car was broken into and much was taken from it. Somehow they were able to get in without breaking a window. Curt and Shay had just finished up at BSF Leader's Meeting on Monday morning in Budapest. We dropped off a team member on the way back from the meeting. Then we did an unusual thing. We decided to grab a quick sandwich at McDonald's before heading home. It was unusual because we never do that on Mondays. There are too many things to do on Monday afternoon to prepare for Tuesdays' class. But we decided to go to a McDonald's not far from our house for just a little while.

We parked, went in and ate, and then returned to our car. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and we left for home. Then when we got to the house and opened the back of our minivan, there was nothing there. We never leave things in our car because we know it's just not safe. But Curt had been working on some things during the meeting and had brought his laptop, digital video camera, and other electronic things. We knew we wouldn't be long in McDonald's so we left that in the car. But that wasn't a good idea because we lost all those things. We lost a laptop, digital video camera, Shay's cell phone, all the BSF materials for today's class and beyond. Shay lost a good leather tote with all her BSF work in it---plus her Bible.

We know all these things can be replaced but there were many sentimental things that can't be replaced. So we're sad about that. But we are thanking God for many things. At least they didn't take the car! At least it wasn't a home robbery. At least they didn't get any of our visa/residence permit paperwork that is needed for our renewal meeting this coming Monday. That would have been terribly difficult to have recreated. So, we are rejoicing despite this small trial! God is faithful and gracious to us in all things.

We did call the police. That's another whole story! Maybe that story will come later.

We would humbly ask for your prayers that we can be creative and wise in our efforts to remember all the things in the bags we lost and to somehow get by until we can replace them. Also, pray for those that stole our things. Obviously, they are in a desperate place of disobedience towards God. They need Him. And then, lastly, please pray for our protection here in this place. We know that God has answered so many prayers in the past 2 years for our safety and protection. Please keep praying...

brannons@scsonline.com

A February 19th Celebration!

What is a February 19th celebration?? We don't know. We're making it up as we go along! :-) But, we're celebrating today for several reasons. So we thought we would go to one of our favorite restaurants here in Budapest. It's called Iguana's and it's Mexican. Yeah, for Mexican food! As far as we know, that's the only Mexican restaurant in town. It's located just a few yards away from the American Embassy. We can walk to the door of Iguana's and look over and see the American flag! What a wonderful sight.

What are we celebrating? Here are a few things:

*It's the Lord's Day. We love Sundays! We only get to go to church one morning a week.
*The sun is shining beautifully and it's 51 degrees. There's hope for Spring!
*Youth group is at our house tonight and we love the thought of our house being used for ministry. (Plus Olivia makes delicious Chocolate Chip cookies for the group and shares them with us! We only use Chocolate Chips on special occasions.)
*We get to watch the Olympics on TV this year. We have better TV now!
*We have a new week stretched out before us and we know God will be faithful once again.

How can we not celebrate when we have all those things to be thankful for?? We're thankful for all of you, too, and appreciate your partnership in the Gospel with us.

Have a blessed February 19th!

brannons@scsonline.com

Update on Visa

Some of you have asked about the status on our visa process. Thanks so much for keeping up with us and checking to see how that's going!

We had a little bit of a "glitch" when we went in on the 9th to submit our paperwork. Everything was in order but the law had changed just that very week. A birth certificate, the original, was needed to prove that Olivia and Meredith belonged to us. Of course, some would say that both girls look so much like their two parents that we couldn't deny them! But, obviously, not official enough.

Prayer came through. We were able to quickly contact my sister, Kim, and she was graciously willing to go to our safe deposit box in Decatur to retrieve these documents. Within a mere 2 hours after finding out we needed these documents, Kim had gone to Decatur, gotten the birth certificates, and sent them off by DHL! We received them this past Monday. Currently, the documents are being translated into Hungarian and we will submit them this week.

Our date to return to the immigration office is February 27. Hopefully, we will receive a renewal on our visa and we will be able to stay in Hungary for another year. We're praying for a 2 year renewal! Why not ask Him is our philosophy?!

Thank you for your prayers. We'll update you soon.

A Field White For Harvest

Here is a picture taken from the roof of the facility that Bible Study Fellowship meets in. It's KEGy church (Evangelical Free) and it's a facility that the leadership of the church hopes that God uses for many ministries. So much is going on in this former theater built during the Soviet era! It's exciting to see how God is opening up the area around this facility to His Word and the good news of the gospel.

From this picture, you can see the lakoteleps that house hundreds of people. These buildings were built during the communist era. There are so many of these buildings surrounding the KEGy facility. People in these buildings need to know Christ and KEGy is doing a terrific job in seeking the Lord's direction on how to reach them. We're thankful that BSF is allowed to meet in this facility and to be a part of the outreach of this church.

Please pray for the leaders of KEGy and for opportunities to reach out to the people in these buildings. Please pray for BSF and that those that know English or desire to know English will come and be a part of studying God's Word.

Friends From Home

We have some visitors staying with us this week that are from our home church in Decatur, Alabama (First Bible Church). Scott Dubach, pictured on the left, and Pete Bromirski, on the right, have come to encourage us, to discuss potential mission opportunities in Hungary, and to visit Serbia with Curt this week to explore other mission avenues.

As part of their encouragement of us, they brought us "stuff" from home! Thank you to those that sent fun goodies to us via Scott and Pete's luggage! Your cards and notes meant so much, too. Your assurance of your prayers for us is a real boost to our spirits.

They'll be with us until this coming Sunday morning and then they have an early flight out. They will have packed a lot of things into a short one week period. We are thankful for First Bible Church's interest in this part of the world and how they want to partner with people in the Hungary/Serbia region to further the cause of Christ.