It is Good and Right to Give Thanks

Greetings Friends!

We hope all of you are enjoying this beautiful holiday season! We are looking forward to Thanksgiving, as we are sure all of you are as well, and preparing ourselves for waaaay too much food. 

At the same time, we can't help but look ahead even further to Christmas! Part of that is because both of us have agreed that we start looking forward to every Christmas, every year in January, but another big reason is because Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in Austria, so all of the decorations throughout the city are for Christmas.

Not that we are complaining - they are stunning!

Still, before we get ahead of ourselves and start buying out the nearest grocery store of all its candy canes, we do want to take part in the greatest tradition of Thanksgiving: giving thanks. We are overwhelmed by all of the blessings God has showered us with recently. 

We are so thankful for this fantastic, warm, cozy apartment.

We are thankful for the Spirit's guidance in terms of which areas of ministry to get involved in. We are thankful for how he is using us to advance the kingdom.

We are thankful for Skype and the power it has to keep us connected to friends and family back home.

We are thankful for new friends at the school who encourage us.

We are thankful for Milka chocolate.

And, we are incredibly thankful for you, dear friends. We are thankful for those of you who are praying for us, for those who have sent us letters and cards. They are huge sources of encouragement. 

We are thankful to those of you who are supporting us financially - without you, we would not be here. God is using you mightily. In the past few months, we have been humbled so much and it's been a great feeling! Know that your gifts are carrying us in ministry here and they allow us to continue serving God through education; also, now as we begin serving in our home church here, New City Wien, we are only able to continue to serve in child-care and music through the gifts you give.

Again, thank you.

We hope that you all have a very happy Thanksgiving this week! 

Peace,
Caleb & Britney

Let's Cry

Crying can be a pretty terrible thing.

Yesterday was a half day because the school opened up for Parent / Teacher Conferences after noon. I didn't have that many conferences scheduled, so I planned to relax a bit, work in a conference or two, and then go home. I wasn't really sure what to expect, or how long any of the conferences would take. One of the conferences lasted quite a bit longer than estimated.

And I'm really thankful for that.

The student's mother and I had been in communication for a few days prior because her son has improved phenomenally in his English skills and we believe he may be ready to move up to the next level of the ELL program. Naturally, this was bound to be an encouraging meeting, but I didn't realize how much so.

We discussed his academic ability, what responsibilities would be expected of him when he moves up, how the level of homework would change. We talked about his commitment to learning, if he would be disappointed if class turned out to be harder than expected. Business as usual.

Then, we started talking about her son's refueled interest in Scripture and God. She shared about his melancholy and disinterest when he went to a different school for the past three years - not only in relation to spirituality, but in relation to academics as well. He had been told that he was lazy and incapable of learning (this kid is anything but that!!) and his friends were unhealthy to say the least. She smiled and said how happy she was.

And she started to cry.

Crying can be a pretty terrible thing . . . but it can also be something else: it can be God cleansing the fear for a child from a mother's heart.

It's a humbling experience and beautiful blessing to be a part of this school; our Father is changing lives here for the kingdom. Amen.

The Importance of Forgiveness

In an earlier post, Caleb told a story about his pet bird Zebra and the mystery that surrounds us all. When we lose a loved one, whether from a long-known illness or sudden accident, we often wonder what God's purpose is in taking that person from us. 

Tomorrow will mark two years since my mom died. As I think about how her death has affected me, I am deeply convicted. It is hard for me to think about good memories I have with my mom. I can think of several fights, both physical and verbal. I remember not wanting to go to her house on Christmas Eve. I remember yelling at her and treating her with no respect. However, when my mom was suddenly taken from me I had a deep desire to have her back. When my mom died I was still angry at her. I had not forgiven her. I had not truly loved her. Since her death, I have been able to forgive her. I love her more now than I ever have. 

Here's where the conviction comes in: 

Why did my mom have to die to receive my forgiveness? Yes, there are many things my mom did that she should not have. But I sin daily and hurt others often. Why is it that I expect others to forgive me so quickly if I couldn't offer the same forgiveness to my mom? Why is it that I expect GOD to forgive me so often? 

Through my mom's death, God has worked in my heart. I now see the importance of forgiveness in a whole new way. I want to make a conscious effort to forgive and love. God forgives me even though I never deserve it. He has given us the power to show that same forgiveness to those around us. So let's take advantage of that power, and pour love on others. 

Some good memories:

- Taking my mom shopping before my high school graduation. She wanted to look really nice, so she asked Maddy and me to take her to get a new outfit. I will never forget how excited she was. 

- After getting engaged my mom immediately told me that she didn't have the money to pay for the wedding. However, she did promise to buy my wedding dress. She died less than 2 weeks after our engagement, but my dress was still bought with money from my mom. 

- Her telling Caleb to call her mom, even though he was only my boyfriend. Because she knew he would be her son one day. 

I am so thankful for these memories, and the others I hold in my heart. Forgiveness is beautiful. 

"We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19

Angela "Angel" Benson 

1970-2011

When the Going Gets Stuck

Let's begin this one with Scripture:

Romans 13:1-7 "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established . . ."

Caleb was sitting on the bed in our room, having just spent the evening praying, searching the Internet for bus tickets, praying, staring, searching, praying again. Britney was in bed in a hostel in Eastern Europe, feeling conflicted and even a little guilty. Two evenings earlier, Britney got invited to go to Budapest, Hungary (see pictures below!) on the spur of the moment and we decided it would be a great opportunity for her. It was a cheap trip and a beautiful one - who could pass that combo up???

Then, the next morning Caleb got a call that we needed to leave the country due to Visa complications. So, here we were, already in two different countries, trying to communicate back and forth about how we were going to work this out. Hence the guilt, praying, searching, and staring mentioned earlier. 

Of course, it wasn't just that we were in different countries, with little money, and no idea how work the Blaguss website; we had also been planning on going on a church retreat this week (spoiler: see pictures below!!) so we were really disappointed. This was supposed to be a chance for us to grow in relationships with our church family here . . . a chance to relax.

Those were the thoughts, the worries, that were running through Caleb's head as he trudged into the bedroom and flopped on the bed. Please God, give me something.

And God answered. As he always is, God was listening - he was present. Caleb felt the Spirit nudge the word "Romans" past the worries in his troubled mind. He opened his Bible and his eyes fell on the verses provided earlier.

And the peace that passes all understanding enveloped the room. Something that we posted about earlier and have been thinking about as a family here in Vienna is the wonderful experience that is depending on God in spite of the mystery, the unknown. This moment was just another chance for us to do that: trust God. He says that we should obey the authorities; he says he takes care of us. Boom. Problem solved (okay, so there's still some nervousness, but we are choosing to have faith).

Caleb had Skyped with his parents who confirmed what he was hearing from Scripture. He called Britney and we decided to let things be. We decided to trust God and see what the morning would bring. So, Caleb didn't buy any tickets, Britney stayed in Budapest, and everybody went to sleep.

Caleb woke up to a text saying that we got our Visas and we could pick them up next week.

God is so good! He provides for his children miraculously - he offers comfort when things don't seem to be working out.

So, when things are hard, we call out to God and when he opens doors that we never could have budged, we shout praises.

We were able to go on the retreat - we just got back about three hours ago - and spend a revitalizing, refreshing few days in community with the family of God that we have been placed in. We were blessed with time to grow in friendships and worship God together. We got out of the city and witnessed the handiwork of God that is beyond comprehension. 

Here are some pictures of Britney's trip to Budapest and our church retreat to Bad Goisern, Austria. We joyfully ask that you would celebrate our Father's goodness with us as you look at these and we humbly ask that you would pray for us as we approach the next step in the Visa process: picking them up. Things aren't set in stone and we would love prayer, but we know that God is working all things to the good.

The baths that Britney went to in Budapest, Hungary

Budapest, Hungary

Hallstatt, Austria with our church family

The beautiful view of Bad Goisern, Austria (where we stayed on the church retreat)

Hallstatt, Austria

Everyone at the church retreat

Please also be praying that we would be responsible and intentional in support raising - we are so thankful for your prayers and your financial support. We praise God for you!

Peace,
Caleb & Britney