Magyar Mullets December 2008 Newsletter

Dear Family and Friends,
“With favor You will surround him as with a shield.” Psalm 5:12b
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The Lord continues to spread His protection over us and we sing for joy! Several wonderful events led up to our celebration of Christmas here in Hungary:
· Our annual English Club Christmas party where every student was given a New Testament.
· A Christmas charity collection and sale for needy families in a nearby town with a follow-up Christmas party.
·
A Christmas outreach service at the Ministry Center.
· Our girls finally arrived in Budapest after a 72-hour journey. I picked them up on Sunday night and we drove straight to the home of some dear Hungarian friends where Kari and the boys were waiting to sing Christmas carols. We’ve loved having everyone together again: visiting, laughing, cooking, eating, sleeping—and even the incessant ringing of the phone! (Someone needs to explain what GMT-6 means to the girls’ friends back in the US.)
BIG NEWS in short: For the last year and half we’ve been involved in discussions with developers and contractors, and praying for wisdom concerning the future of our building at this location. For ministry purposes, there has been no better location, and no other situation has been offered to us other than what we have. It was determined that the essential renovations would include a new roof over the entire building, modernized heating and cooling systems, an upgraded electrical system, a new water block in the coffeehouse, and a new ground floor terrace facing the park and subway entrance. In other words, the auditorium half of the Ministry Center from the ground floor to the roof will begin a comprehensive interior renovation starting in March 2009, at an approximate cost of a half million dollars.
We have seen the amazing favor of the Lord in providing for these expenses in two unexpected ways:
· We sold the condominium on the ground floor—the one the heating company uses and occupies—to a company who will use it for construction offices during the period of development going on around us. We were also given the right to repurchase the heating company space again in ten years if we so desire.
· The second part of the construction cost came in as a generous donation to the Foundation from Futureal Development, the group that wanted to buy our building and relocate us.
We inquired of the Lord and He heard us!

During December Kari and I prayerfully decided that a six-month home assignment from June through December 2009 would be most advantageous in preparation for what may be another decade of ministry in Hungary; therefore, my immediate supervisor, John Westrum, will take over in January 2009 as the interim Budapest City Team Leader.
The first six months of 2009 will be packed with ministry activities including a weekly Alpha course, English clubs, the Hungary Summit in March in Missouri, supervision of the Ministry Center, the hosting of short-term mission teams, and the Ministry Center renovations. Peter will graduate from high school in June; Whitney will be married in July. Lord willing, all three of our older children will be at College of the Ozarks this fall. We plan to make Springfield, Missouri, our home base during our team-building and support-raising efforts while we are on home assignment.

We’re grateful for your partnership with us in the gospel. May His Light continue to shine on you and fill you with great joy!

Richly in Christ,

Brad, for the whole family