Blessings Dear Loved Ones & Prayer Partners!
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior from half way around the world. Isn’t it amazing, how vast this world of our is, yet how close we can all remain. Even more amazing is how present God is throughout this world. It is so wonderful to know that all of our family, all of our friends, all of our acquaintances are always watched over and protected by HIM!
This month we are so amazed at His power as we see it working through our son-in-love and his family. Those of you who know Bo, know what an exceptional young man he is. For those of you who don’t you have to just trust me, Bo would not want me to say something that would single him out. We have told you all about the cancer that is eating up his father. Unfortunately it is winning and God will soon be celebrating the arrival of a new child into his heavenly kingdom, as a few months ago Mr. Hefner asked Jesus to be Lord of his life. When Heather and Bo first new about his father’s illness, they longed to be closer where they could help out. Bo is in the Air Force so had limited options, but with God, thankfully nothing is IMPOSSIBLE!!!! They found out about a ‘recruiter’ position that would be opening up in Tupelo, Mississippi only 20 minutes from where his father is. Bo applied for the transfer, hoping the position was still open, he got accepted to the training school in San Antonio, passed at the TOP (YEAH BO) of his class and is now heading to TUPELO! God is SO GREAT! Now I wish that was the end of the story, but the part of me that always cries when I think of Bo, is the incredible love he has for his family. When we first met him (sorry Bo, I’m going to say a little) he was in high school and we didn’t think much of him. He had dropped out of school when he was 15….we could only think, YUCK what a low life. Then our daughter (OH NO!) fell in love with him. What should we do…we want so much for her, and she is in love with BO!!!! We didn’t know what an INCREDIBLE young man he is. We saw only what we saw, not the WHOLE STORY! I am sad to say that probably all of us have done the same. BO, we are SO SORRY for our original judgment. You see, we found out later that the reason he dropped out was to work to SUPPORT HIS FAMILY! At this time his mom and dad had undergone many troubles, and not working, this young man stepped up and sacrificed his life for his parents!!!!! It wasn’t long before he knew that without an education he couldn’t truly provide for all of his family’s needs, so he went back to school and continued working full time. Now for most people that would be enough, but he also enrolled in the high school Jr. ROTC program, with his eye on the future.
He has done so GREAT! He has gotten so many accommodations and awards. Constantly at the top of every class he is in and now soon to be a RECRUITER! Now throughout all of this, it would be normal for us as humans to have harbored some painful memories of dropping out of school, having to work so hard to provide for his mom and dad, especially since his dad was capable, but sadly wasn’t working. It would be easy to hate this person, to begrudge him for the opportunities that may have been lost, yet our wonderful son-in-love posted this in his facebook: Charles Hefner Keep my dad in your prayers, awhile back they gave him the 6 weeks to 6 months diagnoses, now he's headed to emergency room in Tupelo(fell messed up the leg that was ate up with cancer)...A strong man a year ago now to this....still my hero in his weakest moment!!
Can you believe it, a man who robbed him (my thinking) of his childhood, STILL HIS HERO!!!!!! BO, you are an INCREDIBLE witness of Jesus’ love to all of us! Thanks so much for all you do, not just for our daughter and grandsons, but all those you meet each day.
Of course we are so proud of him, and we are not sharing this wonderful story just so we can pump up our chests, but just the opposite. To share with you how unfortunate it is that we too often jump to our own conclusions about people. 8 years ago if we could have chosen, Bo wouldn’t be a family member, luckily for us…God was (and IS) in control and not us! We have never felt more blessed than to have such a remarkable young man as our son-in-love! THANKS BO!!!! We love you!
We had a wonderful end to May with over 50 people joining in for the March for Jesus. We spent about 2 hours walking and singing throughout our downtown area. That night we returned to church for our 5th Sunday sing and it was a glorious day. On June 23rd was the annual ladies luncheon, this year over 270 ladies attending. The talk was given by Mrs. Sakie Yokota whose daughter, Megumi, was abducted by North Korea over 30 years ago when she was 13 years old. She has never been returned and only has limited information about her. Throughout her ordeal, she felt a presence that was giving her peace. It was then that she discovered God’s amazing love. She became a Christian during the process and gave a wonderful testimony during her talk. Over half of the ladies in attendance are non-Christian, so please pray that His Spirit will talk to each of them.
It seems like our family, immediate and extended is suffering from a multitude of ailments. Please pray for all of them, especially Bo’s Dad and mine, Kim’s Aunt Ruth and Ben’s grandmother. We are always so grateful for all of your prayer support.
We have many dear friends that are suffering from different conditions and ask us to pray for them but not use their name. We respect their position, trusting God knows each one individually and specifically,so please pray for the souls and bodies in need here and there.
By His grace, God continues to equip us for each individual challenge and opportunity that He presents. Your prayers and support are necessary to our being here. We ask you to pray with and for us that we always strive to walk before God, wherever that may be, and be used 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.
We hold you each in our hearts and prayers with praise and thanksgiving.
In His love & walking before Him, the Baranski Bunch
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