Half done and Thanksgiving greetings

It is November 21st today- the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. This is my favorite holiday of the year.One key factor is that I get all my favorite foods right around my birthday which is on Sunday this year. Sometimes my birthday falls on Thanksgiving and that is very special! I have completed 15 of my 30 radiation treatments, so I am officially 1/2 way there. I have every lane change and pot hole between here and the hospital I go to downtown memorized now. It seems pretty automatic. I am definitely getting more tired by the day. I am sleeping in until 9 or 10 in the morning and going to bed by 10ish most nights. If I miss that sleep I take a long nap. If I do that, I am keeping up alright. Allison went with me to radiation yesterday and enjoyed Sister Marie (I think) while I did my treatment. I am getting redder where the radiation is hitting- especially under my arm. My new friend Kelly, who has done about 22 of her treatments, is swollen and bleeding under her arm. After getting permission from my radiation oncologist, I have begun using caster oil and think it is helping me to not itch as much, and maybe to slow down the damage to my skin. I am looking forward to having Thursday and Friday off for the holiday, but will have to make those days up at the end for a total of 30. Here is the written copy of the prayer letter I just mailed out yesterday. If you are on our mailing list, you should be getting it soon. I wish you a wonderful holiday and thank you as always for your interest, love and prayers. Nancy Dear friends, November 18, 2006
With this holiday focusing on thankfulness to God, our thoughts turn to the things we are blessed with in our lives. We think of our family, our ministry, our friends and God’s faithfulness to us every day of our lives. He has provided for our every need, and has chosen to do that through His Body.
We have had the unique privilege of experiencing that provision monthly for 26 years. You are partners in what God is doing through our ministry. You share in a very tangible way what the Lord is doing through Initiative360 (formerly Caleb Project). Your participation allows us to be involved in strategic ministry to those least reached with the Gospel. Thank you for being part of our team. We highly value you and your connection to us. So on Thanksgiving, when we go around the table to share what we are thankful for, you will be thought of and mentioned. Thank you!
Medical Update
Here is an update on my (Nancy’s) cancer treatment. I had surgery in May and June, had 5 chemotherapy treatments in July, August and September (3 weeks apart), and began radiation on November 1st. Radiation is much easier than chemo was. It doesn’t hurt. I am still dealing with some side effects of the chemo, but radiation’s main short term side effects are skin burning and fatigue. I have begun to experience some of those, but not too badly. Radiation takes only 1 minute on 3 locations, and 12 additional minutes to adjust the table for those doses. The main cost is time, as it takes me 1 ½ hours to drive each week day to and from the treatment. I have done 13 out of 30. As far as we know, all of the cancer was removed during surgery, and what we are doing now with chemo and radiation is to prevent further metastasis (traveling and growing elsewhere) of the disease. Once I am done with radiation, I will focus on rebuilding my immune system. Our network of friends and family here is awesome & we have been well cared for in every way. Thank you for giving extra for medical costs if you did. That was a huge help.
Ministry Update
Initiative360 is born. Caleb Project has merged with ACMC. Greg is the CEO of the new organization. We have been working very hard on merging the finances, ministry goals and staff of both ministries. We are in a financial shortfall as a ministry currently due to the merger, and ask you to join us in concerted prayer. The cost of the merger was high, and if $500,000 doesn’t come in to cover this in the next month, we will be faced with very difficult decisions. With careful planning and much prayer, we have stepped out in faith and obedience to do this merge, and trust the Lord to do His perfect will. We don’t believe this is the time for our ministry to end, so we are seeking God, working hard and waiting on Him. Pray for Greg as he leads the ministry. We serve a BIG and powerful God! He is able and we trust Him.
Family
Allison is home from college for the week. Laura left yesterday for Turkey on a 10 day ministry trip for her college, and will finish at Grove City in a few weeks with her entrepreneur business degree. Jenni just learned that she made it into All-State Choir and is finishing up college applications. Jesse is working at King Soopers grocery store and is planning to go on a ministry trip to Kenya next summer.
We will have 15 people here for Thanksgiving including Greg's sister and her family, two long time friends and 3 of our Taiwanese student friends from the University of Denver. Selina who recently went back to Taiwan, told me that her favorite memory of her time in America was playing football after our Thanksgiving meal last year. We go down to a field at the park and play touch every year. I took Selina and our original adopted international student, her roommate Heng Hua, to Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park to see the elk in Sept. and there is a picture of us with an elk in the background on the prayer letter we just sent out on Monday. We enjoy our international student friends tremendously.
Happy Thanksgiving from the Fritz family! Greg & Nancy Fritz, Initiative360 (formerly Caleb Project), 10 W. Dry Creek Circle, Littleton, CO 80120 gregfritz@takeitglobal.org nancyfritz@aol.com nancy's cell: 303.885.7545 Office: 303.459.5400 Home: 303.791.9306 www.takeitglobal.org