and it gets better!

OK ! For some reason unknown to me the pictures for this post below disappeared and since I don't know how to add them back in there I just redid the whole thing here - Sorry!

This is the Jan. '09 edition of a popular national basketball magazine here and it is featuring the 2008 Winter Cup

Unknown to us... or to Zack!!!...his name would show up a lot in this issue!

From ALL the teams that qualify to play in the Winter Cup, no matter their final standing, the top 5 players for the tournament are recognized.And YES!!!! Zack was one of those five!!!!!!!!

There were two seniors, two juniors and Zack - a sophomore, chosen.

They said he was the most improved player in the tournament among those that had played in the summer Inter High All Japan Tournament.

PLUS!

In the six categories of player rankings Zack was named in four!!

Top scorers in one game - #14 with 32 points in their opening game

-and the only 1st year player listed (high school here is 3 years)

among the Top 16 teams;

tied for 10th in steals; one of two 1st year players

# 7 in overall average scoring at an average of 24 points per game;

and again the only 1st year player

and last but not least...rebounds

#2 with an average of 16 per gameand again the only 1st year player listed

Yes indeed folks! Mom & Dad were beaming!!!!!

in case any of you are wondering...

Much to our shagrin Onyx is STILL a conehead!!!!!
At least part of the time.
Plus we had to add the muzzle...
His foot is no longer bandaged and the cone and muzzle are only at night and when we're gone.
There remains the tiniest little spot of unhealed area and if left "free" either Onyx, or his partner in crime, Ebony, cannot be trusted to not lick it to the point of....
any way...it's so ridiculous now that when he doesn't have them on and is in the room with John he goes and picks up the cone and brings it to him as if to say, ' are you sure I'm not supposed to have this on?!?'
As you can see, after 4 plus months, the cone is showing signs of great distress! And this is his second one!!

Any extra whispers to God on Onyx behalf can't hurt ;-}

another year older

This was the view...

this was the appetizer,

shared with some special friends for my birthday!

And THIS was the yummy cake my wonderfully sweet husband made for me!!!!

It was a wonderful birthday filled with much joy and many blessings!

Lest you forget...

Though it has been a much warmer than average winter here in Nagano....

(thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!)

we haven't been totally without the wintery wonderland look of the snow!

Adding to His kingdom

We had a very special Sunday afternoon English service on Feb. 1st

This very special young man, Hikaru, was baptised into the family of God!!!

Hikaru is one of God's special children and we are so blessed to know his family and are continually blessed by his joy.

John was privileged to offer the post baptism prayer. He and Hikaru have a special bond.

And it gets better!

This is the Jan. '09 edition of a popular national basketball magazine here and it is featuring the 2008 Winter Cup

Unknown to us... or to Zack!!!...his name would show up a lot in this issue!

From ALL the teams that qualify to play in the Winter Cup, no matter their final standing, the top 5 players for the tournament are recognized.

And YES!!!! Zack was one of those five!!!!!!!!

There were two seniors, two juniors and Zack - a sophomore, chosen.

They said he was the most improved player in the tournament among those that had played in the summer Inter High All Japan Tournament.

PLUS!

In the six categories of player rankings Zack was named in four!!

Top scorers in one game - #14 with 32 points in their opening game -

and the only 1st year player listed (high school here is 3 years)

among the Top 16 teams;

tied for 10th in steals; one of two 1st year players

# 7 in overall average scoring at an average of 24 points per game;

and again the only 1st year player

and last but not least...

rebounds

#2 with an average of 16 per game

and again the only 1st year player listed

Yes indeed folks! Mom & Dad were beaming!!!!!

...in the news!

Zack became a name the announcers liked in their opening game as Tokai triumphed over a team that was expected to win big!
The picture here shows one of the boys that Zack had trained for leading up to this game, and Zack did a great job against him!
(Of course there is no proud parent side to that remark...)

And then!!!!
Tokai goes goes on to win their second game on Christmas day and garner a spot in the Top 16 high school teams in all of Japan!!!!!

By game 3 the competition proved to be more than they were handling but they played hard and were so excited just to still be there!
Looking forward to next year!

YEA TOKAI THIRD!!!!!!

Winter Cup 2008 !!!

2 months later....
I'm going to attempt to get up some news about what most of you who know us have already heard about - probably a LOT!!
The above photo was taken during a practice at Tokai, Zack's high school, as they prepared to play in the all Japan high school basketball tournament over the Christmas holidays. As the tallest player on his team, Zack was being worked on how to play against their first game opposition who have 2 guys from Senegal 10 cm & 13 cm taller than he is!

It's a huge honor to make it to the Winter Cup, where the top team from each prefecture (state) in Japan vie for the honors of being the best. This was Tokai Third's second trip to this tournament. Last year (2007) they lost their first game - and were expected to do the same this year by stats.
It was a big deal for the school since it was the first time ever for the girls and boys basketball teams from the same school to qualify for both the summer all Japan tournament - Inter High - AND the Winter Cup!

Here we are with some of Zack's team mates parents!
This was taken on Christmas day following our unexpected BIG WIN in the first game!!

Proud parents!

Inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium - site of the 2008 Winter Cup

Random catch-ups

Yes! Yes! Long overdue!
I could start my list of excuses...
instead I'll just tell you about the pictures ;-}
These ladies and children are first & foremost our friends!
They are all John's students, some several times a week!
A couple are some of our new neighbors as well.
Takako, the lady between John & I, has moved and this was her farewell luncheon.
We miss her and her family!

This was our annual Christmas caroling at Nagano Station with members from Nagano area churches and friends. The cute Santa pair are mom & daughter neighborhood friends of ours, and also John's English students.

Though much milder than Nagano winters past we have had some snow. I'm so thankful to report that I've only found ice in the shower one morning thus far!! WooHoo!

No! It's not the latest super-hero in Japan! Well... maybe ;-}

Ian and his best friend, Ken, have taken up snow-boarding this winter and absolutely love it!!!

Ian has wanted to try this since we moved to Nagano and is making the most of it now that he has.

They hit the slopes at every opportunity and promise some 'in the snow' shots.

I'm waiting...

Japan in January '09

Greetings Dear Loved Ones & Prayer Partners!
“Oshougatsu Omedeto”! or Happy New Year! Even though we are at the beginning of a New Year it sure seems like the time is going so fast. Our first month of 2009 is almost over. I guess for the time to go by so fast we must be staying BUSY! We ended last year with a wonderful evening. On December 31st all four of us were able to sit down together for dinner. So we combined many dates and had a birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year turkey dinner. It was the first time since Zack went off to school in April that we were able to enjoy a family evening. It seems like we are all going in different directions and when a couple of us are free, the rest are busy. We do feel blessed that God is allowing us to do so much and still keep our family unit so tight. New Years Day saw all 4 of us going to church together, so it was a wonderful way to start out 2009. Every church in Japan has a service on New Years Day, mainly to keep with the annual tradition of the Japanese people to go to either (or both) their local temple or shrine to pray on New Year’s Day for a good year. Most Asian cultures place a huge emphasis on New Years. In this country it is not as strong as it was in the past, but is still very important. One of the traditions is eating special foods called ‘Osechi’, a combination of many different foods, of which most are usually pickled and can last 7 days without refrigeration or cooking. The tradition started long ago when all the stores and businesses would close for a long time (often 7 days) so people would prepare Osechi for their families the last day stores were open and then they could eat throughout the holiday. Each food has a special meaning to help the recipient enjoy a long and prosperous life. To read more about this tradition and see some wonderful pictures of different Osechi please go to this website: http://www.bento.com/fexp-osechi.html I think you’ll really enjoy it. These are foods that you won’t see in a restaurant or throughout the year in this combination, they are only offered at New Years! If you ask most people the foods are not favorites and maybe not even delicious, but are eaten every year at New Years. (Kind of like my feelings for black eyed peas)
We ended last year with a cooking class for some of our English students and their moms. Kim ended up catching the flu so all of the cooking was left up to me. There was a total of 28 people that attended, 17 children and 10 moms, plus me. The menu included, one bowl brownies, sausage balls and crispy tacos. Everyone had a great time and the most fun was making the sausage balls. The average age of the children was between 5 and 6 so it was really fun watching them dig in and enjoy mixing the ingredients and forming the balls. We are really making great friends with this group and are so thankful that our church is large enough that we could use it for the cooking class. All of the moms and most of the children are students, so it was a fun way to end the year.
For about 6 months or so we have been blessed with a single mom’s family that have been coming to our English service on Sunday afternoons. There are 4 children and the mom has her hands full. I think I asked for prayers a couple years ago for her 2nd son who wouldn’t go to school. They had lived in the states for several years and the children weren’t handling the transition back here. Through lots and lots of prayers he is now a freshman at a private Christian high school in Niigata and is doing GREAT! He came to service during his winter break and the change in him is UNBELIEVABLE! Thank you all that may have prayed for him or his family. The two youngest we include in everything we can (they both were members of the Christmas play) and both do a great job during Sunday service reading Bible verses. Sayuri always is the first to pick out a song to sing. Their oldest brother, Hikaru is so wonderful. He is 19 years old, and mentally handicapped. He is so filled with God’s love! He is always smiling and brings such joy to our hearts every Sunday. He is able to read English a little so is always included in our service. He’s quick to greet everyone and although he may not be as advanced as others that attend, his attitude is one that we all envy. We wish we could go through every one of life’s trials and tribulations and still be filled with His joy! Hikaru is such a wonderful example of shining His light no matter what happens and has truly affected our lives. I find myself crying as I write this to you. Well, we are going to celebrate his baptism on Feb. 1st. It is going to be so wonderful to see how he accepts God’s Spirit. Last Sunday we did our English service on baptism and the last verse we read was: Acts 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’ After this verse I made the mistake of saying, “Hikaru, let’s go!” To everyone surprise he JUMPED up out of his chair, (I mean really high) and shouted “YES”! GOD IS SO GREAT! Please pray for not just Hikaru, but all those that he will touch.
Some of you have been praying for the young Japanese man (a former pastor) that was dying from cancer. He was only 40 years old and left a wife and 5 children, the youngest being 6 months old. He passed away last week, but not before leaving his mark on many hearts. His entire family moved into the hospital room with him to spend the last week, and there were no tears only a room filled with joy! He was such a strong testimony to all of the care givers. Two of the doctors are friends of ours and their wives are Christian but they are not. They couldn’t believe the family’s attitudes as his days ended. Please pray that God will use his passing to open their hearts and minds to His love. He even went skiing with his family Jan. 4th and 5th to leave them with a special memory. Oh for God’s Spirit to be so alive in all of our lives!
The rest of January has been pretty much normal as we are busy getting back into the swing of our normal schedule. God has been so wonderful and we look forward to His direction, His guidance, His leading, His wonderful blessings and most of all sharing His wonderful love with all we can throughout this new year. I pray you will all do the same!
We trust God to equip us for each and every challenge and opportunity that comes our way. Your prayers and support are vital. Please pray with and for us that God will guide us in all we do and that He will lead us to follow His purpose, wherever that may be, and use us as instruments of His love in all we do. Should God ask any of you to partner with us in our outreach for Him, please send any love offerings to: Bethlehem United Methodist Church, for Baranski John Alan Mission Fund, c/o Becky Wack, 1003 Rowan Cove, New Albany, Ms. 38652.
In His love & walking before Him, the Baranski Bunch