Cinderella

Meredith has her Cinderella play this weekend. She's really been working hard attending practice, learning her lines, and singing the parts she's responsible for. These pictures are from one of the Saturday practices they had. We're really excited that she's been given this fun opportunity and she's had a terrific time being a part of the production. The International Christian School of Budapest is putting the play on with the middle school students. Although Meredith is homeschooled, they were very gracious to allow her to audition for one of the parts. She plays the godmother in the play. We'll let you know how it goes!

brannons@scsonline.com

Dr. Hannah

Dr. John Hannah is in Budapest this week teaching at a Campus Crusade event. He also preached at our home church here, Danube International Church. Shay had the opportunity to sit under Dr. Hannah's teaching while she was at BSF Institute this summer. She found out during that time that Dr. Hannah would be in Budapest in November. So, we got an opportunity to meet him again and greet him on behalf on the BSFers here in Budapest.

Lunch With The Prime Minister??

The man facing the camera is the Prime Minister of Hungary. The lady to his right is April Foley, the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. She's new to Hungary and took the place of George Walker.

Curt and Shay tried to look professional in hopes that no one would realize we've never been at a luncheon with a Prime Minister and a U.S. Ambassador!

Curt and Shay got an incredible opportunity to attend a American/Hungary Chamber of Commerce Luncheon this past Friday. The guest of honor at the luncheon was the Prime Minister of Hungary, Ferenc Gyurcsany. Also in attendance was the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. It was a really big crowd because the Prime Minister was to speak and then to answer questions from the audience. Of course, we kept our mouths shut because we had nothing to contribute and we were obviously out of our element! Hopefully, we didn't embarass ourselves too much and didn't look like rednecks from the country! :) The lunch was delicious and it was a rare opportunity to be among people that will directly affect the future of Hungary.

brannons@scsonline.com

Budapest Demonstrations

Some of you may have seen pictures like this on the news this week. Thanks for checking on us to see what was going on during the October 23rd celebration of the Hungarian uprising against the Soviets. The uprising happened 50 years ago this week and this year's celebration was supposed to be a big one. The celebration was marred by demonstrations like this. Many of the demonstrations were peaceful but some protesters are still very angry about the political situation and the current Prime Minister. We stayed away from the area and we feel that there will be no more demonstrations like this in the near future. Please pray for the peace of Hungary--the peace that only comes through the Lord Jesus Christ.

brannons@scsonline.com

International Day of Prayer

Did you know that Sunday, November 12th, is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church? In many countries, our brothers and sisters in Christ can not worship God freely and proclaim openly their faith in Christ. They are persecuted physically, socially, or even financially. Many have their lives threatened. We must pray for them and be informed about their struggles! An organization that tracks these situations and informs the world about them is The Voice of the Martyrs. Their website is: www.persecution.com Mark your calendars for November 12th to pray and why not consider adding this issue to your ongoing prayer list? We feel the need to do that at our house!

brannons@scsonline.com

Men's Group

Lunch on Thursdays is men's small group time at the Brannons. Several men gather during their lunch hour for a quick bite to eat and then discussion on issues that face Christian men today. A nice size group comes each week and several of these men attended the group last Spring. There have been 5 or 6 new men that have joined this fall. After the group time is over, most of the guys have to quickly get back to their jobs. But there are a few men that are willing to stay a little longer to pray specifically for a potential men's BSF group. This prayer group has been a great encouragement to Curt and to his fellow BSF teammate, Bob. Please pray with us that God would allow men in Budapest to become interested in a BSF class and that men would be willing to participate as leaders in this future class.

brannons@scsonline.com

Sunday Preaching

Thanks for all the prayers for Curt as he prepared to preach at our Budapest home church. He preached last Sunday on some verses from Nehemiah. Ronnie Stevens, our pastor here, needed to be in the states for a couple of weeks so he asked Curt to preach for him. All the Brannon ladies think Dad/Curt did a great job!


brannons@scsonline.com

Studying Like a Junior

Is that Chemistry that Olivia's studying? Maybe it's Spanish? Whatever it is, it's stuff that a Junior needs to study! Please pray for Olivia as she has the ACT coming up on Saturday, October 28th.

School Continues

Meredith worked on a poster for a school assignment in history. She's studying about the New World of America. Seems a little strange to be studying about the United States since we do live in Europe! But we are still Americans and we do love our heritage and our culture!

Update on the Riots

Thank you so much for the many emails and calls we got from you last week to check on us during the riots. We woke up on Tuesday morning last week to the news that there had been violent riots the night before in the city of Budapest. It caught many people by suprise, including us! Class was on Tuesday morning so we hoped that what had happened the night before wouldn't hinder anyone from coming to class. Everyone got to class safely and we were thankful.

All last week the protests continued and we stayed away from that part of the city. Ironically, one of the main areas that the people were rioting in was just across from the American Embassy which is located in what's called Freedom Square. We think that's an appropriate place for the American Embassy to be! Unfortunately, during the riots, over 250 people have been injured, many of them policemen. Some 200 people have been detained for questioning. After 3 days of violent protests, there have been several days of peaceful protests with thousands of Hungarians taking part. Many Hungarians have vowed to keep protesting until the Prime Minister resigns. At this point, he has refused to do that.

We recognize that we are guests in this country that we have grown to love and care about. What the Hungarians are concerned about are things we want to be concerned about. So, we pray for governmental stability so our visas will be secure, we pray for freedom and democracy to prevail, and we pray for the nation of Hungary to recognize the sovereignty of God over all things.

Thank you for your prayers for our safety and for your interest in this part of the world.

brannons@scsonline.com

Hungarian Hero

Shay and the girls took a field trip to hear a Hungarian hero speak about his involvement during the Nazi and Soviet occupation of Hungary. Dr. Janos Horvath was a fascinating man to listen to. He has dedicated much of his life to the Hungarian people. During the Nazi rule and then the Soviet rule of Hungary, he was tortured, beaten and imprisoned for his involvement with the Freedom Fighters. He and his fellow countrymen wanted freedom and democracy for Hungary. They were willing to risk their lives to speak out boldly for this form of government. Dr. Horvath was part of the famous October 1956 Hungarian uprising that held off the Soviet military for 3 weeks. The "rebellion" was crushed by the Soviet army and after that the Hungarians begin years of suffering under communist rule.

After fleeing to the United States, Dr. Horvath lived there for many years and was an economics professor at a university. During his time in the states, he had many conversations with then governor, Ronald Reagan, about the Hungarian people and their desire for democracy. Dr. Horvath holds Reagan in high esteem for Reagan's part in bringing down communism.

In the early 1990s, after the wall of communism came down, Dr. Horvath repatriated to Hungary with his wife. He successfully ran for the Hungarian Parliament and has been elected for 3 terms. He was recently re-elected in January 2006. Although 85 years old, his energy and enthusiasm for making sure that Hungarians "know their history" is incredible. He's committed to making sure that young people know the important role that Hungary has played in world events.

Shay and the girls thoroughly enjoyed hearing Dr. Horvath speak and it gave us a renewed appreciation for the country we now live in. Please pray that the Hungarian people will be awakened to the truth of their history. More importantly, please pray that the Hungarian people will recognize God's hand in their history and how He has spared them through the years.

brannons@scsonline.com

Family Happenings

Just a general update on what has been going on with the 4 of us these last few days:

Curt: Finished up 6 1/2 weeks of serving Tim and his family while they were here in Budapest during Tim's accident. He got all the family members to the airport when it was time for each of them to fly out. Two of the family members flew out at different times. Also, the men's group that he helps lead has resumed successfully with a large group of men. They meet at the Brannon house each Thursday. Curt's usual trip to Serbia will be soon and plans are being made for that. Of course, can't leave out homeschool responsibilities each day. Curt will also be preaching at our Budapest church on October 8th. Please pray for that!

Shay: BSF and homeschool are the main things she's involved with. The study of Romans is proving to be as exciting as she had hoped! Each Monday is leaders meeting and each Tuesday the class meets. Homeschooling with the girls is such a joy. Both girls stay on course despite Mom and Dad's busy schedules.

Olivia: Her FEK leadership responsibilities consume most of her extra time. She meets on Tuesday nights for a leadership meeting and then Friday nights are the coffee house ministry for high-schoolers. She also meets every other week with her FEK mentor to do evangelistic surveys. She enjoys being a part of our church youth group and hosted that group at our home this past Sunday night.

Meredith: You might have read from Meredith's blog about her new drama part in the school play. She goes each Tuesday and Thursday for practice. The play is upcoming and she's really had a lot of fun with this new experience. Of course, she takes care of Tessa and the rest of the pets!

Check out all the blogs that family writes! You can click on the right side of this blog to go to their blog.

brannons@scsonline.com

Headed to the States

Good news about Tim! He and his father left early this morning from the trauma hospital for the airport. Leaving Budapest behind, they are flying to California where Tim will enter a excellent rehabilitation facility to continue his remarkable recovery. We are praising the Lord because Tim has experienced clear progress even in the last few days. Tim's sister arrived last Saturday. Tim's brother was supposed to have arrived this past Monday but it didn't make much sense for him to come to Budapest and then 2 days later Tim would leave the country! A good reason not to come--Tim has gotten better more quickly than we all thought! So Tim's brother plans to visit Tim in California in the near future.

Tim's sister will leave for the states on Saturday and Tim's mom will leave for the states on Tuesday. It was a challenge to get everyone's tickets changed with such short notice.

Thank you for your prayers throughout this amazing situation. We never thought when we saw Tim that first night in the hospital that he would recover and go home in less than six weeks. Only God could have allowed this to happen.

"For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate...." Luke 15:24

brannons@scsonline.com

What's Going On in the Front Yard??

Major construction is going on out our front door and down the street! We're told that for at least the next 2 months, we will contend with all this heavy equipment, new pipes, and workers. They're putting in drainage systems and filling in some of the ditches along our road. Our garage door has already been blocked a few times and both ends of our street have been blocked. Plus it has rained a lot and mud is everywhere. At least we don't have our windows open as much anymore and we don't hear all the noise! Never a dull moment!

"Advertisement" for BSF! :-)

Have you ever considered attending a BSF class? There probably is a class near you. We just have to encourage you to get involved in this awesome study of Romans! It's only the 3rd week and we're just finishing up the first chapter. But, as a family, we have already gotten so much out of the study. Curt and the girls are following along with Romans by using the Home Discussion Pages that BSF provides. Makes for terrific family discussion! If you're not sure where to find a class, go to the BSF website (www.bsfinternational.org) and you'll get all the info you need. What better way to spend your time than studying Romans each week for the next 32 weeks? If you do decide to go, let us know and we'll look forward to talking with you about how God is using Romans in your life.

brannons@scsonline.com

Medical Update on Tim

Just wanted to update you on the young man that fell from the balcony here in Budapest. It's hard to believe that it's been 4 weeks today since his accident happened. God has been so gracious and kind to allow Tim to survive and to make steady progress toward recovery! It just didn't look that way 4 weeks ago. When we saw him a few hours after the accident and just coming out of surgery, we were not sure that he would live through the night. One of our prayers for Tim was that he would live until his dad arrived from the states the next day. That prayer and so many more have been answered! He has come out of his coma, has had several successful surgeries, and he has begun interacting and responding to the people around him. A miracle! Tim's mom and dad have been here in Budapest with him and have spent many hours at his bedside. The plan is to move Tim, as soon as he is able, back to the states for therapy and rehabilitation. That could happen in the next 2-3 weeks. The doctors are amazed. We are amazed at our amazing God!

Thank you for your interest in what's going on here and for the prayers said on Tim's behalf. Please keep praying and we'll let you know when he's headed back to the states. Tim's brother and sister will be arriving in Budapest in a few days and that will be a real encouragement for their parents. Please pray for their travel safety.

The picture is of the Budapest Trauma Hospital where Tim is being well cared for.

Class Beginning

A good start to the new BSF class year! We started yesterday, which is a week ahead of the U.S. classes. Prayers were answered and new ladies DID come. We are thankful! Thank you for those that prayed and for those that sent encouraging emails.

It was a beautiful day, another answered prayer, and we even avoided a potential catastrophe. On Monday, the day before class, there was not any water in the church building. Not a good thing with women and no ladies' rooms! Nearby construction work on the public transportation system caused the temporary outage. We prayed for water on the inside of the building for class day but not water on the outside of the building in the form of rain! God provided the water where needed and we had another opportunity to thank Him!

Please keep praying for the Budapest Day Women class. We desire spiritual change and numerical growth. Check back for periodic updates on the class.

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever!" Romans 11:36

New Friends

God keeps bringing us new American friends to know and love in Budapest! Second from the left is Laura Beth who has come to teach English to Hungarian students. She's from Oklahoma. We're praying that God will work out her schedule so she will be able to be a children's leader in the ladies' BSF class. The two people on the far right are Paul and Jacque. They're our new friends from California who have come to Budapest to care for their son after his fall from a balcony 3 weeks ago. You may have read about that in a previous blog. This picture was taken after we enjoyed a morning of worship at church and then lunch together. It's always wonderful to talk with someone who speaks "American English"! :-)

The Weather?

We got an email from someone kidding us that we haven't done a blog recently on the weather in Budapest! What they're referring to is one of our blogs last Spring apologizing for always talking about the weather here. It did seem for a while there that we were regularly reporting on the status of the weather! But weather DOES seem to be an issue for us because the places we need to get to are usually by public transportation and we're out in the weather catching buses and trams.

Sooooo here goes the report: Until the last couple of days, it's been quite cool here. This past Thursday it was so windy and blustery that we had to wear more than a mid-weight jacket. That was August 31st! Something we're not used to in the south. But yesterday and today warmed up some and was just beautiful. It's going down into the 50s and high 40s in the evenings. We know that cold and snow are not too very far off so we're thanking the Lord for these pretty days we have.

Tuesday's weather for the first day of BSF is supposed to be pretty and sunny. That's good! Bad weather tends to give too many of us an excuse not to come to Bible study!

This will be our third winter here in Budapest and we actually seem to be getting the hang of this "snow thing". It does get a little old after about the 4th or 5th snow--unless, of couse, it snows on Christmas! But then that's a few months off...

BSF Starts Soon!

Shay has returned from Amsterdam where she attended the BSF Area Workshop over the weekend. Yesterday was the Class Workshop and this coming Tuesday will be the first day of class. From September 5th through May 29th, we will study the book of Romans. Should be a year of change and transformation for all involved! A few prayer requests for the class beginning:

*New ladies and children to come and register for the study of Romans

*New leaders are needed for slots that we have open

*That God will honor His Word and allow His Word to radically change each member of the class

Thank you for your prayers and your concern for us! Hopefully, we'll have some pictures to post soon concerning the new year of BSF....

brannons@scsonline.com

St. Stephens Day 2006

Lots of vendors to shop from!


Checking out the beautiful view from Castle Hill over the Danube


We stopped by to eat at one of our favorite places


St. Stephens Day Holiday is today. But this year's holiday has been celebrated for the last 3 or 4 days. Reminds us of July 4th in the states. Hungarians celebrate the anniversary of the crowning of St. Stephens by the pope in 1000 A.D. We joined in the fun and had a great time!

An Eventful Week

When a phone rings, one just doesn't know what the person may say that will change a person's immediate plans. Have you ever had that experience? Probably so!

Without going into too many details, we have had the opportunity this week to minister to an American family going through a severe crisis. The phone rang last Saturday afternoon, Budapest time, and it was my sister calling to tell us of a young man living in Budapest that had fallen from a balcony. He is a brother-in-law of some BSF friends of ours in Alabama. We had never met this young man but we knew of him. He was in critical condition with head injuries and was fighting for his life, we were told. We were able to find the hospital he was in and went there to pray and to be available until the young man's dad could get to Budapest, from the states, on Sunday afternoon. Many have prayed for this situation throughout the last few days and it has been humbling to watch God graciously intervene and allow this young man to get a little bit better each day. He is still in critical condition but there is real hope that there is not severe brain damage and that he will survive this terrible accident. The young man's father is staying with us and is able to visit his son on a daily basis. If you're interested in more details or just want specifics to pray about, please email us. We thought we were coming to Budapest to serve Hungarians! But God has given us the privilege of serving those from our own nation in this foreign culture! God is in heaven and does as He pleases....

brannons@scsonline.com

P.S. This blog site that we use (blogger.com) has been having some maintenance issues for the last few days. We're not sure what's going on so our blogs might look a little different. Please bear with us!

Back In School!

School started for the girls on August 4th. We're all trying to get adjusted to a more structured schedule after a pretty crazy schedule in the states. Olivia is in the 11th grade and Meredith is an 8th grader.

General Information That Might Interest Some

We thought we would give some information to questions we got while we're in the states: Questions like how to contact us, do we have a prayer letter mailing list, where is there information about our sending organization, etc. So we thought we would try to give it to you in an organized manner. Please feel free to contact us any time with questions you may have!

Address in Hungary:
Tavasz Utca 4
Budaors 2040
Hungary
(It costs 84 cents to mail a letter to us)

Our American Contact Address
We use this address as a return address and for family business purposes. We also use this address while we're in the states and we can receive mail there during our visit. Family members check this PO Box regularly for us. Sometimes if the mail is very important and it needs our attention, they send it on to us in Budapest via a US Mail Global package that gets here in about 5 days or less. So, that's why you see this address sometimes as the return address for some of the letters we send to you from Budapest. If the letter to you ended up getting returned, it wouldn't come back all the way across the ocean but would go to our U.S. mailbox!

PO Box 1943
Madison AL 35758

Email Addresses to Contact Us
We've mentioned this before but we think it's important to keep mentioning it. We always answer our emails! If you take time out of your busy schedule and send us an email, the least we can do is answer you! So, if for some reason, you don't get a reply, please know that it is some kind of internet glitch. Our email is not always reliable and we have no idea sometimes of the information we might be losing or not responding to. So, if you don't get a reply from us, please resend your email again. We would love to hear from you!

brannons@scsonline.com (This is our family account and will go to the four of us.)
shaybrannon@hotmail.com (A good backup account that usually is pretty reliable.)

Prayer letter/Newsletter
We send out a BSF Newsletter on a quarterly basis. The letter is online at the Bible Study Fellowship website. If you're interested in reading those and have access to the web, we would appreciate you checking that out. If you would rather get a hard copy of the newsletter, please let us know and we'll add you to the mailing list.

www.bsfinternational.org (click on FRA Newsletters)

Turning Our Thoughts Back to Budapest

It will soon be a week since we've been back in Budapest. In that week since our return, we've been getting readjusted to life here, catching up on sleep, unpacking, and beginning our homeschool year. It's been a busy and productive week! Life almost seems to be back to "normal" in the sense that normal can be in another culture. But we know that these few days are the calm before the storm. After this week, a quiet schedule ends! We will then begin a schedule of travel, study, ministry, schooling, and planning that will keep us dependent on the Lord's grace to fulfill our commitments. But our greatest desire is that we won't allow our responsibilities here in Budapest to get in the way of a growing relationship with Christ. The work is never more important than our hearts before Him! We are sometimes amazed at how quickly we forget His faithfulness and how quickly we try to accomplish life in our own strength. Maybe you can relate?

And so with those thoughts in our heart, we humbly ask you for your prayers for the following requests. We are mindful that apart from Him, our work here counts for nothing! Thank you for your concern for us and for the people in this part of the world.

Please pray for:

*Safety in travel and productive ministry for Curt as he goes to the Czech Republic next week and for Shay as she goes to Amsterdam in about 3 weeks.

*Protected time for home-school requirements. (All 4 of us are involved in school as a teacher or a learner!)

*Preparation in planning and study as the new BSF year starts on September 5th. (We're studying Romans this year.)

*God's clear direction for what ministry the Brannons should be involved in over and above our BSF ministry.

brannons@scsonline.com

Brannon Family Reunion

Sid, Curt, and Meredith

Will, Wayne, and Curt (A Dad and 2 brothers)

The Vann Brannon Family

Nana and great-grandson, John

Olivia and Mary Owens (That's D-dad in the background!)

July 8th was a big celebration of the Brannon family. Julian and Grace Brannon (Curt's grandparents), or Nana and D-dad as we call them, were honored on this day. Family from all around came to Headland, Alabama, to celebrate the lives of Nana and D-dad and to spend time with lots of Brannon family members. We were so glad that we were going to be home in the states during this time and would be able to attend. Olivia had to get her wisdom teeth out a mere 2 days before the event so her attendance was a little bit in jeopardy! But her surgery went well and she was able to take part in the festivities. Our family stayed at the new Headland House Bed and Breakfast and found our time in Headland to be fun and relaxing. What a neat blessing to be a part of such a big family!

brannons@scsonline.com

Reflections On Our Visit

July 4th in the states! We love this holiday!

We arrived back in Budapest yesterday afternoon and we have spent these last hours sleeping, unpacking, and going to the grocery store. There are some things we've forgotten how to do! Six weeks is a long time to be gone.

But it was a WONDERFUL 6 weeks and we are counting our blessings for the many people we got to see and the things we got to do. We really haven't had much time to think and reflect on how much we needed and enjoyed our stateside visit. But we do know that it was like a breath of fresh air and a real encouragement to all of us. Thank you to those that went out of your way to make sure we were taken care of and that our time spent in the states was very meaningful.

Olivia was diligent to take a lot of pictures so you'll probably need to check her blog for U.S. pictures! We'll have some more thoughts about our trip in a future blog or two. So check back if you're interested.

Blessings and thanks to you all!

brannons@scsonline.com

Updating from the States

Just a quick update to let you know that the Brannons haven't forgotten that we have a blogsite! But we're still in the states and it's been a little hectic to try to get to a computer somewhere. Olivia has done the best job of posting pictures and giving insight to what's going on here! We're sorry for the delays in answering your emails sent to us but we hope to catch up on those in the next few days.

We've had a wonderful visit and it's amazing how fast the time has gone. Our prayers have been answered as we have had opportunities for special moments with family and friends. So many people have been an encouragement and blessing to us while we've been here. Many of you have assured us of your continued prayer support for us as we return to Budapest. Thank you!

We return to Budapest on August 1st and have a couple of weeks before things begin heating up for our fall schedule. We're sure you can relate! If God brings us to your mind, we would appreciate your prayers for a smooth beginning to the BSF class, school, small group ministries, and church responsibilities.

Thank you to those that made our visit to the states a memorable one!

No Need for Air Conditioning!

We are amazed at the weather we've been experiencing over the last week or so. Cold and raining! Some of us have had to dig our jackets and sweatshirts out again in order to walk places and for just around the house. Well, not Curt! He's loving the weather! :-) Shay and the girls think it's pretty cold. On some nights, the temperature has dipped into the mid-40s. According to our "Southern Calendar", that's not June weather! But we are thankful, though, for the cool weather because in due time, it will be very hot and we don't have air conditioning. We're planning to leave for the states in about a week. And we're sure that when we get there, we'll experience Alabama weather. Hot and humid! Yeah! See you soon!

Serbia Pictures

A view of the church that the guys spent the week building in Erdevik, Serbia.


Some of the church people that the guys had the privilege of interacting with during the week.

A Couple of Updates

*Curt and the FBC team are still in Serbia and will return tomorrow. We haven't had a lot of communication from them because of where they're located. But what communication we have gotten is that they are doing well. We are thankful for that! No one has been injured on the work site and apparently no one has gotten sick. They have a full day today and and a full morning on Friday. Then they head back to Budapest in the afternoon. They will be exhausted! Hopefully, the FBC guys will feel up to a little sightseeing and shopping in Budapest on Saturday. They leave very early on Sunday to return to the states. Thank you for your prayers for them! Please keep praying....

*The Ladies Bible Study Fellowship class has ended for the year. We had our last class day this past Tuesday and we are rejoicing in God's faithfulness. The book of Genesis proved to be a life-changing study for the leaders and for the class members. In the last couple of days, we have heard from many of you telling us that you had prayed for the Budapest class all year. How grateful we are for your prayers! You will be amazed to hear how God has answered those prayers. Hopefully, we'll get a chance this summer to tell you of His goodness to the Budapest class.

brannons@scsonline.com

Mission Team

Our 3 guy mission team arrived safely in Budapest. Tomorrow, the three of them and Curt will leave for Serbia to help build a church in Erdevik. We were glad to see the guys arrive! They brought greetings and love from First Bible Church. They are: Barry Keith, Phil Olinger, and Scottie Hubbard. Please continue to pray for the men as they serve!

Birthday Cake

We're always looking for ways to celebrate around our house! So the girls decided to surprise Shay with a "BSF Birthday" cake today. Today was the last class for Genesis and next week is a wrap-up session with praise and sharing with class members and leaders. So, Olivia and Meredith thought that we needed to celebrate the official one year birthday of BSF in Budapest! God has been so faithful to us in BSF this year!

Mission Trip

Three men from our home church (First Bible Church) in Decatur will be arriving in Budapest this coming Saturday. These men have committed time and money to come to this part of the world to help build a church in Serbia. They arrive on Saturday and then will leave with Curt on Sunday to travel to Serbia. They'll be gone a week. We'll post pictures here of their adventures on the trip! Your prayers for these guys and their work would be greatly appreciated. Please pray for:

*Safety in travel
*Safety on the work site
*Good rapport with the church members that they will be working with
*That the First Bible team would be spiritually encouraged and blessed because of their sacrifice
*Protection for Shay, Olivia, and Meredith while Curt is gone

Thank you!

brannons@scsonline.com

A New Decatur Friend

Through some mutual friends in Decatur, we met a new Decatur friend, right here in Budapest! Her name is Carrie Beth (that's her on the far left) and she's from Decatur, like we are. Her parents also live there and live not too far from where we used to live. Carrie Beth is teaching English to college and secondary level students in a city that is close to Budapest. She has been here for a few months and will return to Decatur in July.

After a few emails connecting with her, we hooked up for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Budapest. She was a delight! We had a lot to talk about and it was so much fun to talk to someone with a Southern accent that knew exactly where Pointe Mallard was! We have just a few more weeks to enjoy her before we leave for the states. She'll be gone before we get back from there. But then we can see her in Decatur in the future!

Some Of Our Favorite Links

We thought we would use one of our blog postings to give you an opportunity, if you like, to hit a few of our favorite web links. We'll give the weblink and a brief description.

MINISTRY LINKS

www.fbc.org First Bible Church
www.danubechurch.org Danube International Church
www.bsfinternational.org Bible Study Fellowship International
www.the-cokers.blogspot.com A blog for some fellow missionaries in Guatemala

BUDAPEST

www.budapestsun.com Local English paper/website that we hit often for updates
www.usembassy.hu American Embassy in Budapest
www.bpgospel.hu Budapest Gospel site. We have Rebecca St. James coming soon!
www.hungary.com Hungary Tourism

A Ministry To and For Students

Curt and Shay had the opportunity of attending a year-end bar-b-que for the leadership of Olivia's FEK ministry here in Hungary. As most of you know, this is a terrific ministry that unites American and Hungarian youth for evangelism opportunities and leadership training. We are so impressed with this very effective Campus Crusade for Christ ministry. Dan and Kelly Butts are the main coordinators for FEK.

Last night, Dan and Kelly hosted a family banquet for the student leadership team and their parents. We were encouraged to see American and Hungarian parents coming together to see and hear about the past year of accomplishments. These high school leaders (of which Olivia is a part) are just amazing! They are committed to interacting with the Hungarian youth of this culture and meeting them wherever they are in their spiritual walk with the Lord. And while they are doing this, they are being mentored and trained by college-age leaders in how to deepen their faith in the Lord and how to be a true, Christ-like leader among their peers. Curt and Shay just wish that something like this had been available when they were in high school!

We believe, as Olivia's parents, that this FEK ministry has encouraged Olivia in developing a more Biblical world view of the nations. She has grown in her spiritual relationship with God and she has become bolder in sharing her faith. We are proud of her!

Olivia will be back in the states with us this summer and plans to share with others about the wonderful opportunities for ministry here in Hungary. If you're interested in hearing her or maybe just have some questions about her work here, then email our family address and we'll forward the questions on to her.

brannons@scsonline.com

Prayer Needs

We received another email today asking for updated prayer requests. Please forgive us for not getting these out on a timely basis! In the future, we'll try to do a better job of letting you know some prayer needs that we have. Of course, we don't mind emails from you asking about those needs! :-) It's good to hear from you anytime.

These prayer requests should take us through the end of May and on into the first part of our furlough in the states this summer. We will be in the states for 6 weeks this time. That will be the longest visit yet for any of us. We arrive on June 15 and leave on July 31. Hope to see many of you while we're there!

Please pray for:

*A strong registration for our fall BSF Romans class. Ladies will be registering over the next 3 weeks and making a commitment to return in the fall to begin the study of Romans. Please pray for moms to register their children, too, for the children's program.
*A fully completed homeschool year by the end of May.
*Wise planning and decision making for our trip home this summer.

*A fruitful and safe mission trip to Serbia for the 3 men that are coming from First Bible Church to join Curt. They will help build a church in Erdevik, Serbia, during the week of May 22-26. This is an exciting opportunity for all of us to see God's faithfulness throughout this trip. We'll give you more information about the work the closer we get to the men's arrival on May 20.



Thank you!
brannons@scsonline.com

More Birthday Pictures

Going to see Holiday on Ice at a local sports arena
Birthday dinner at......of course, TGIF!!!
So many birthday presents. Tessa has to help Olivia open them!

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

Olivia is 16 today! Happy Birthday to our sweet girl! Here she is opening some birthday gifts. We'll post some more pictures later from her other birthday festivities. Thank you to so many of you that sent cards, gifts, and emails to wish her a happy day. We appreciate you remembering her.

brannons@scsonline.com

Alabama Friends

Meredith, Olivia, Irene Nobles, and Carol Grimes. All the way from the great state of Alabama!

We've enjoyed spending time with our Alabama friends, Irene and Carol. They've been in Vienna and now have spent a few days in Budapest. We're trying to talk them into moving here but guess their husbands, Bud and Russ, probably wouldn't go for that! Hopefully, they'll get an idea of what life in Budapest is like. Maybe it's not so different from Alabama! We appreciate them taking time out of their vacation to spend time with us.

A Great Visit!

Easter Celebration at The Elder's house. This is Shirlee, Rachel, Gana, and Mark digging into some great food! Such a good time with family.
Kim and Shay got to go to St. Augustine for a few days of fun and relaxation.
Barrett, Sarah, Kaitlin, and Julia. Cousins everywhere!


Things were a whirlwind here in Budapest before Shay left for the states for a 2 week visit. So we didn't have time to post to this blog to let you know she would be there. Some of you were really surprised to see her at church on Easter at First Bible Church! The visit was an early birthday gift from Curt. It was a perfect visit! Time with family and friends, a fun sister trip to St. Augustine, and plenty of time to shop!

Thank you to those that did know about the trip for your prayers for her safety and protection. She arrived safely back to Budapest yesterday.

We'll update you soon with current prayer requests. There is so much going on with the ending of the BSF year in the next few weeks, a FBC mission team coming at the end of May, and lots more!!

brannons@scsonline.com

Aren't you afraid about bird flu?

That's a question that has been asked of us lately from people in the states. We can understand the question since there has been a lot in the news about bird flu showing up in Europe and specifically showing up in Hungary. What little news we get from the media here and the government, it seems that Hungary is doing what it can to take precautionary measures. Supposedly, there have been isolated incidences of bird flu showing up in some swans that were found in south Hungary. And the government has cautioned everyone to not be worried.

But, we know, as you probably do, that there could be a real danger in the future concerning this situation. And not just in Europe. In the states, too. So it makes sense to be aware and informed and to certainly be careful in what we eat and where we go.

We could stockpile some Tamiflu here or maybe refuse to eat chicken for a couple of years. But we have found in the 2 years we've been here that God has graciously protected us. And we probably will be amazed when we get to heaven and God shows just how well He protected us! We get the feeling that there have been dangerous happenings around us and God has put His protective shield around us. Probably you could say the same thing!

So, the answer to the question is that we're not afraid of the bird flu but we're staying aware. And we're also just trusting God to watch out for us. Thank you for your prayers for our safety and protection!

brannons@scsonline.com

Happy Spring!

It's really funny to look back on our previous posts and see how many of them refer to weather! Why are we so preoccupied by the weather?? Sometimes, it seems, that the success of the day depends on whether the weather is good. How's that for a tongue twister??

But some of you have told us that your computer's homepage is the weather.com page and that you have it set to Budapest. So you wonder about our weather, too! You'll be happy to know that today and the two previous days have been gorgeous. Abundant sunshine and just a little bit chilly. But nothing uncomfortable. Could Spring be here to stay? We certainly hope so.

Also, in this part of the world, Daylight Savings Time comes a week earlier than the states. We push our clocks forward THIS Saturday evening instead of next week like most of you do. So that means that we are EIGHT hours ahead of you instead of the usual seven. It will be encouraging to us to see it stay lighter and lighter a little longer each day.

Happy Spring!

BSF Friends

L-R: Shari Volk (BSF Team Member), Bette Willet, Shay, and Debbie Gibson (Class Administrator) This was a group picture taken at BSF Class today.

Since last Thursday, we've been enjoying a visit with our good friends, Gary and Bette Willett. They are fellow BSFers. Until last June, they used to live here in Budapest and had been in Budapest for 4 years. We got to know them because of their love for BSF and their desire to have BSF begin in Budapest. Both Gary and Bette had benefitted from BSF in the states and both of them had come to know the Lord through BSF back in the 80's. While in Budapest, they served as missionaries with Campus Crusade for Christ. In late 2004, they felt the Lord calling them back to the states and we hated to see them leave permanently to return home to Kansas.

Even before we arrived in Budapest in March 2004, Gary and Bette helped us in so many ways. Curt met them on his survey trip to Budapest in Fall 2003 and they were a wealth of information. Gary played a major role in securing for us an "inviting organization" so that we could come in and work in Hungary. Gary even met us at the airport when we first arrived and helped us with our 11 suitcases! Those first few weeks and months, we felt attached at the hip to the Willetts as we tried to feel our way through the culture adjustment. They were so patient with us and all our questions! Then, when the Ladies' BSF class began last Spring (2005), Bette was willing to play any role she could to help get the class off the ground. We owe them both a debt of gratitude!

So, when we heard that they needed to come back to Budapest for a week to do some work with Campus Crusade, we jumped at the chance to have them stay with us. We've had so much fun catching up on each other's lives. Although we've only known them for about 2 1/2 years, it seems like we've known them for years. It's just a connection that people have in the body of Christ. When they leave this Thursday for the states, we don't know when we might see them again. But we'll keep up through email and letters. Who knows? Maybe we'll get an opportunity to see them as we pass through Kansas!

brannons@scsonline.com

Doing Well!

Thank you to those that have sent emails to check on us while Curt and Meredith are in the states! We are doing well and seem to be keeping up with our duties and ALL the stuff that Curt and Meredith do when they're here. Whew! It takes all 4 of us to keep things running as smoothly as possible. Everyone seems to have their areas of "expertise" and that helps us all. So when two of those "experts" are gone, we feel it!

If it were not for Curt, it's doubtful that the bills would be paid, the car taken care of, the yard maintained, the math or science taught, or the computers kept running. Not to mention all the ministry he does on top of that! If it were not for Meredith, there would be half the chores done, the pets would starve, and we would never get biscuits from scratch or her homemade spaghetti sauce! So we are appreciative of those two family members and are anxious to have them back.

Thank you for your prayers for us here in Budapest and prayers for Curt and Meredith while they are in the states.

Love,
Shay and Olivia

brannons@scsonline.com

Time in the States

Curt and Meredith are heading out of Budapest tomorrow morning. Their destination: Decatur, Alabama, and other areas around that great city! Curt has business responsibilities and Meredith has a couple of important doctor visits that she needs to take care of. They'll be there for about 10 days before returning to Budapest. Hopefully, they'll get to see a lot of family and friends during their stay. They'll be at First Bible Church on March 12th.

That leaves Shay, Olivia, and the 3 pets to hold down the fort while they're gone. Olivia and Shay are beginning to wonder if Meredith will actually miss them or her dog, Tessa, the most! Hopefully, Tessa won't have puppy withdrawal from Meredith and will behave herself. The other 2 pets should be pretty easy to take care of.

Olivia has a full week ahead with her Hungarian ministry responsibilities (FEK). Plus, she has her school to keep her busy. Shay has BSF responsibilities plus getting ready for some good friends from the states that are coming to stay a week. So maybe the time that Curt and Meredith are gone will seem to go quickly with so much going on here in Budapest.

If you think of the 4 of us, please pray for our safety as we scatter to different places. Also, please pray for a productive time for all of us during the next couple of weeks.

Through Curt and Meredith, Olivia and Shay send hugs and thanks for all you do for us!

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.

Visa Date Set

This is LAST YEAR'S picture of when we got our official renewal of our visa. As you can tell, we were happy!! We had gone through a lot, spent a lot of time and money to get the opportunity to stay another year in Hungary. We got our renewal in mid-March 2005.

Even though it's just January 25, now is the time to get all our paperwork in and set our appointment to go in and submit the paper work at the immigration office. Then it usually takes about a month to hear back to see if we are renewed. We found out today that our immigration office appointment has been set for Tuesday afternoon, February 7th. There's a chance that that appointment will be changed to Thursday, February 9th. Since BSF is on Tuesdays, it really would be easier to do it on a Thursday. But we're not complaining! Whatever it takes to get in there and get things going.

If you think about us in the next few days, please pray for this appointment to go well and for all our paperwork to be in order. Because of some different things we did this time, we hopefully won't have to wait a month to hear back and hopefully we'll get a 2 year renewal instead of a 1 year renewal.

We'll keep you posted on the progress and maybe we'll do another picture of the 4 of us holding our passports that are stamped with a brand NEW visa!

Praise Team

We attend Danube International Church here in Budapest. (www.danubechurch.org) Our pastor is Ronnie Stevens. He originally pastored a church in Memphis but has been on the mission field for several years. We are blessed to have him pastor this church. Up until recently, Ronnie was the only paid staff we had. In the last couple of months, we have benefited from an Executive Pastor who feels called to make Danube Church his missionary service. Translate: he doesn't get paid by the church! This is a totally different situation for us since we come from a church that has several paid staff positions and each staffer is trained for his/her particular position.

Here at Danube Church, we have no worship leader. The worship team changes from week to week. We have several gifted volunteers in our church who agree to head up one week a month and be in charge for worship that day. Makes for interesting worship! Olivia and Meredith, for the last 2 Sundays, were asked to be a part of the praise team for that week. They seemed to really enjoy that! Coming home from church today, they mentioned what a blessing it was to look out and see people really worshipping the Lord through the music. It's a different perspective looking out to the audience instead of being IN the audience. Maybe they'll have some more opportunities in the future to be a part of the praise team.

Some Prayer Requests and General Info

1)We now have a newsletter that Bible Study Fellowship sends out for us. The newsletter is also posted on their website: www.bsfinternational.org The newsletter comes out about once a quarter. If you would like to be a prayer partner with us, you can access that newsletter on the website or you can email us and we can put you on the mailing list.

2)Did you know that the girls also have a personal blogsite? Here are the addresses for their site:

www.oliviabrannon.blogspot.com
www.meredithbrannon.blogspot.com

3)You can email us at either of these two addresses:

brannons@scsonline.com
shaybrannon@hotmail.com

4) Here are some current prayer requests:
*Smooth process for our visa renewal. We are due to be renewed in March and have already started the process to get our visa renewed. Please pray that we will get at least 2 years of renewal.
*Pray for new leadership in the ladies' BSF class. We have a great need for a children's leader.
*Safety for Curt and our two guests from the states as they go to Serbia next week. Two men from First Bible Church will arrive next week to go with him to explore mission opportunities.

Happy 50th Anniversary

Today is the 50th wedding anniversary of Shay's parents. That's them standing next to Curt. David and Carolyn Beach were married on January 15th, 1956, in Trussville, Alabama. They have 4 children. Although the Brannons couldn't be there, a family luncheon was held today in Birmingham in their honor. Family from Arizona and Chicago joined in the celebration. Being married 50 years is quite an accomplishment in this day and age! We congratulate them and send our love. Wish we could be there to help you celebrate!

Turkey and Dressing

Yep! That's the title of this blog. Shay actually cooked a Thanksgiving/Christmas meal last night for dinner. We had turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, orange fluff, and rolls. Not the most nutritional meal in the world but it was good! What's so unique about this meal is it's just now happening. It's been almost 2 months since Thanksgiving and 3 weeks since Christmas. That's usually when you have the traditional turkey meal. But with so much going on and such hectic schedules, this is the first chance we've had to have turkey and dressing! The "bird" has been in the freezer. So we thawed "him" out for a couple of days. Then, we made cornbread for the cornbread dressing. The dressing is what takes so long. The meal seemed to be a success and we've got turkey for leftovers. We'll just have to pull out those recipes that you usually see around Thanksgiving that shows you how to use up your leftovers. Oh well, better late than never! Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy 2006!

Is it really 2006 already? It's hard to believe that it's a new year and we've started back into our regular schedule. Homeschooling for the girls started back yesterday. Also, BSF began again with our first leader's meeting of the new year. We had our first class of 2006 today. There's just something about a new year to make you think of new beginnings and fresh starts. A clean slate with a new year stretched out before us. What will we write on that slate? More importantly, what will God write on that clean slate? Maybe all of us need a clean slate in order to re-order our thinking and to examine our hearts.

We would love to hear from you in 2006. It's so very interesting to us to hear what's going on in your life and the life of your family! It reminds us that life is still going on back in the USA despite the fact that we're on the other side of the ocean. At times, we tend to think of everyone as being in the same spot that they were when we saw them a few months ago. Obviously, that's not the case! So, when you write and tell us the everyday things of your life, we feel that maybe we're not missing out on so much after all.

This will be our official blogsite now and a place, if you desire, for you to check out what's going on with us and what our latest prayer requests are. Also, our sending organization, Bible Study Fellowship, now has our current newsletter posted on their website. That website is:
www.bsfinternational.org You can go to that site and click on Foreign Resident Ambassadors. Then click on our name under EUROPE.

Blessings to all of you and may 2006 be a year filled with spiritual triumphs!