The east coast, carpal tunnel and snow

Dear friends,
My Trip to the East Coast
I am back from my trip. I had a wonderful time on the east coast. I had a wonderful time sharing about the ministry of Partners International. I was able to share about many of our partners working throughout the 10/40 Window. A few times meetings lasted for over 3 hours! I shared in 3 churches, visited with 4 and got to visit friends and family, including many on our support team. It was wonderful to catch up with many friends. There is nothing that takes the place of personally connecting. Thanks to all of you who took the time for a visit with me!
Together with Greg's parents, I got to see a family of 5 bob cats right outside the back of their house. Two adults and 3 kits. Wow. I think that is pretty rare. This isn't the clearest picture, but I think you can tell that it is a bobcat.
I will say that the use of Partners' Garmin made the trip so much easier for me as I drove alone. That GPS is a true feat of engineering! It guided me through Baltimore, around central and eastern PA, upstate NY, northern NJ and then across NJ back to Baltimore. And God provided a significant discount toward my car rental fee through a brother in Christ. That was a direct answer to prayer. Thank you, friend!
Carpal Tunnel
It has been a week since I had my carpal tunnel release surgery. I am doing well. I thought you might like to hear how it went. I was preped like other surgeries, but obviously not with as much detail. My nurse is my now friend, Shirley. She has just finished her breast cancer treatment. We connected quickly as we shared stories. Our hearts connected deeply on issues we both understood about adjusting from being a patient to being a survivor. She also knew how to start an IV on my right hand without giving me lymphodema problems.
My friend Sue came back for a few minutes and then went to the waiting room. I met with the surgeon who explained what he was going to do in more detail and assured me it would take less than 10 minutes. He was going to make a small incision near the bottom of my palm, where the nerves to the hand pass through the carpal tunnel. My tunnel had become inflamed and was pinching the nerve. Eventually, this kind of nerve constriction would kill the nerve to the hand. He would insert a tool into that incision that would tunnel down a ways toward my wrist and "release" (cut apart) the tendon or ligament that crosses over the top of the tunnel. This makes the passageway for the nerve to the hand 40% bigger and releases the pressure. There are no adverse affects to doing this, and it solves a very big problem.
The anesthesiologist met with me also and explained that he was going to give me Versed while the nerve block was being put into my right wrist, then they would turn off the Versed and by the time I woke up, they would be done.
So, before I knew it, it was all done. I was able to leave in an hour. I was very awake and comfortable. My hand was wrapped and was numb until late afternoon. My hand was very sore that night and the next morning, but by evening the second day, it felt much better. The next day I took off the wrapping and took a shower and put a band aid on my little incision.
I have been doing gentle exercises of opening and closing my hand all week and get my stitches out on Monday. Even as soon as Saturday, I could tell that the carpal tunnel symptoms were gone. No tingling, numbness or that kind of pain up my arm or in my hand. I was able to knit some by Monday. If I had a desk job, I would have been able to resume work in a few days.
I know a lot of friends who have problems with carpal tunnel and who try and avoid the things that cause the problem to flair. This procedure was pretty simple to solve the problem without having all the discomfort and pain. They used to do this in a much more complicated way, but now it is fairly simple. So there you have my experience. I did make my hand hurt on Tuesday when putting a sheet on the bed, but it is doing well again. The procedure was called "Carpal Tunnel Release."
SNOW
Yesterday we got a very small amount of snow. Adjua, our international student from Ghana, who is living with us while she attends Whitworth, is marveling at the phenomenon. It took her weeks to get used to wearing sweaters and light jackets. The idea of wearing a bulky jacket does not compute, and so far, even at 38 degrees she won't wear one. She feels like it makes her look too fat. I never thought before how different it is to be somewhere cold when you have grown up at the equator. She has the coats, hats, scarves, boots and gloves to wear, but we will have to see how long it takes her to get used to the idea of wearing them.
FAMILY
Greg is back from the mountains without anything to fill the freezer, but so glad for his time by himself with the Lord. He cherishes these times every year. Partners is again this month seeing low numbers as he expressed in our recent Yahoo update. (If you want to be on that list, email him at gregf@partnersintl.org) Please pray for God's wisdom for him and the other leaders.
Laura was just offered a severance package by AT&T, and feels that since she was praying to get laid off, that she should go ahead and do it. Although college is paid off, she was hoping for some more time to build up her savings so she would be able to investigate other possibilities for ministry. That luxury is now not possible. She would love to go to URBANA, but can't because of the cost. It would cost close to $700 for her to go, and she just doesn't have the money.
Allison is with us at least until Christmas. After much prayer, she has settled on the decision to go back to school for a 15-16 month nursing degree. She gave teaching a fair chance and feels like her gifting would be better used in nursing. She might end up teaching nursing someday since she already has an education degree. She would also see her training in Elementary Ed. being very helpful in pediatric nursing. She is sending an application to John's Hopkins today and will also be applying other places. Currently she has a part time job at the mall to pay for college loans.
Jenni is still studying in France and is enjoying her experience very much. She has been able to do a lot of traveling on the weekends to places all over Europe. She comes home Dec. 21st.
Jesse is in community college currently, and this weekend is serving with his national guard unit doing training- in the snow. His old, old car has totally kicked the bucket. Allison was given that car by a ministry in Denver called God's Cars in '05, and it had over 200,000 miles then! It served her for student teaching in college and since, until it has become the vehicle he and Allison are using to get to work and school. You might realize that this means that the car I use, has become the Fritz family shuttle. We would love for you to join us in praying for God's provision for a vehicle for Allison. Whichever way she goes, she will have to have a car. God has been faithful in the past, and He is Jehova Jira. Jesse won't need a car after March 1st, since that is when he goes to bootcamp.
I (Nancy) am doing some projects for church for Angel Tree, driving our kids all over the city, including Adjua to college as well, I taught two college classes for Greg while he was gone. I taught on "Ministering to Children Cross-Culturally." I am meeting with those planning our regional missions conference that is scheduled for next fall. I will be helping to lead the children's track and miscellaneous other tasks. I am leading a group of women at church for a Beth Moore Bible study, and will be helping with a church kids Christmas program. I am serving on the missions commission at our church, and on Wednesday this week I honestly woke up at 5:04 p.m., and then slept all that night as well. So, in between my various projects, resting happens. I am doing felting of wool items and knitting as my hobby of choice in my spare time currently.
So, thank you for your interest and for any prayers you offer up for Partners and our family
Blessings, Nancy Fritz nancyfritz@aol.com 509-990-8465

Going east in a few hours!

Dear friends-
I leave at 8:20 a.m. for the office and then the airport. I actually just got home from the airport a few hours ago and have a total of 10 of them at home! I just came from Partners International's President's Forum in Laguna Beach and the meetings were fantastic. The people I met were also amazing.

I am going to Baltimore, Lascaster, Harrisburg, Benton, PA, Bath, NY, Ridgewood, NJ and back to Baltimore with some visits on the way to these various places. I would appreciate your prayers for good health and safety on the road. I fly home on Nov. 2nd and teach Greg's class the next day.

Thank you and blessings-
Nancy

Travels, Daughters, Wrists and Berries

Hello all!

It is officially fall now. Cooler and windy today. We are still picking raspberries from Greg's garden and I picked 6 quarts of blackberries on Friday afternoon up on Green Bluff. There were millions I didn't have time to pick, but the ones I did pick, I made into freezer jam, blackberry syrup and I froze the rest whole. Some were actually over 1" long- sooo good!

(Me, Greg, Jennifer and Jesse at Whitworth orientation.)

Someone gave us apples which I have been cutting up for pies. Greg invited his college class students over for dinner this Friday night and promised them apple pie. He has asked Jesse, Allison and Adjua to share about cross cultural communication with them while they are here.

ADJUSTING TO AMERICA

Jennifer (Adjua) our exchange daughter from near the equator in Ghana, told us tonight when we invited her to go walking with us, that if she went, her blood would freeze and she would become static! You have to love that! And it is only in the 50's! She keeps asking if it is going to keep getting colder. Snow will be new for her. It sleeted on Friday and she was excited about that.

Tonight she and Greg and I talked for quite a while about adjusting to a different culture. She has trouble getting people to understand her because of her accent, so she holds back in communicating sometimes. Things like asking a question in class or trying to buy food at the cafeteria at school make her nervous. Greg is going to have her share her experience with his class in cross-cultural ministry on Thursday.

She spent most of the weekend teaching herself how to do graphs on excell for her lab write-ups for school. A high learning curve, but will pay off later. Ironically, most of the American students made their graphs by hand last week after she had spent hours!

CARPAL TUNNEL
I had the test done by the neurologist on Wednesday and my right wrist has carpal tunnel. When he did two of the electric zaps toward my thumb, I yelped. That is where there is a swollen place on the right side of my wrist. The other zaps were just sensations that were not painful. The left one only has a little carpal tunnel. The hand orthopedic doctor should be calling this week to let me know the next step in solving the problem. I know that most things are making it hurt or numb these days- driving, cooking, sewing, typing, sweeping, sleeping...

I have a check up with my oncologist on the 14th- right before I leave town for a few weeks. This is routine. As usual, I have new aches and pains we will talk about. Scar tissue is a big factor for me these days. I will let you know what they think after my visit. I will also see my gyno in Nov. as I think there are problems with my cystocele repair from last year. Things are feeling sore and out of sorts with that part of my body. I am still walking with Greg most evenings.

FRIENDS AND CANCER

I have two friends going through cancer right now. One I met through our realtor. Leslie lives on the South Hill and her son goes to Grove City as is a sophomore. We got together before school started this fall so Jenni could meet Joel and a girl going to Grove City as a freshman.

Well, Leslie and I also have the recurring breast cancer thing in common. She is on her 2nd time and tomorrow is scheduled for a double mastectomy. We got together last week and I loaned her my scarves and hats for her time in the hospital and recovery. I shared my experience with her so she would know more of what to expect. She won't be having reconstruction for a while, but plans to have a TRAM flap like I did. Her hair is beginning to grow back.

We went together with her mother to the store where they sell items for ladies with our special cancer needs. While we were there a woman came in who had just found out she had cancer and needed to buy a wig. She was crying and we just felt for her. Leslie got the coolest cotton camisole with pockets for light weight breast forms and a place to put drains, etc. That is new since '99 when Deb and I were inventing "Beanie Boobies!" And it is covered by her insurance. It just keeps getting better and better for those experiencing breast cancer! We agreed that if you have to have cancer, to have it there is a blessing. It is on the outside and can be removed- unlike pancreatic or liver, etc.

Leslie brought up the idea of maybe it being time to start a Christian breast cancer support group in our city. To our knowledge there isn't one, and I really miss my Friends For Life support group in Denver. We might just start the Spokane branch! I have quite a network of contacts now. I think I need to find someone who still has an intact memory to help with the leading. My memory has been affected by 'chemo brain' and remembering names is difficult for me. Anyway, Leslie and I have a desire to do this and we would appreciate your prayer that we can work out the details in the next several months. I think it will be after the holidays at least.

My other friend with cancer is Mary. She is working remotely for Partners, coming from Seattle to our office every few weeks or so to work on accounting. She got horrible vertigo about two months ago and then began having weakness all over her body. One of her doctors researched for a whole weekend and had her scanned for a malignancy on the next Monday. It was one of the possible causes for her symptoms he came across in his research. It ended up being caused by ovarian cancer. She had surgery and is very slooooowly getting back the ability to speak and hopefully the rest of her abilities through physical therapy. It is going to take time but we are all so very thankful that the cause was discovered early. They don't believe it spread outside her ovary. The neurological symptoms allerted them to this often deadly cancer in its early stages. She has very strong faith is her loving Heavenly Father and is counting her blessings.

MY TRIP EAST

I have my plane ticket and am putting together my schedule for a trip east. I plan to visit my mother, visit 2 or 3 supporting churches and many supporters. I plan to rent a car in Baltimore where Laura lives and drive to New Jersey and Pennsylvania to visit supporters and churches and also go to see my mom in Bath, NY. I fly out of here on Oct. 20th and fly back on Nov. 2nd. If anyone has an idea about an inexpensive rental, let me know. Currently my options are coming out at about $400 for the 2 weeks. Ouch!

Allison gets home on Tuesday night from South Korea, via Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Florida. We haven't seen her since Christmas. (We haven't seen Laura since then either, but since it was so far it seems longer and I get to see Laura on the 20th.) Adjua is looking forward to meeting Allison. I think the two of them will be peas in a pod.

On the 14th of October, Greg and I will be in Laguna Beach for a Partners International event for 5 days. That will be an exciting time of sharing the ministry with people coming from around the US. Since I have seen the ministry up close overseas and have had partners stay in our home, I feel like I have stories to tell. I just want to be available and a help. The day after we get home I leave for the east coast, so basically, I will be gone for 2 1/2 weeks. While I am east, Greg will be doing some hunting in between working and teaching.

Well, my knees are throbbing, so I think I will hit the sack. Drop me and email if you get the chance at nancyfritz@aol.com or call: 509-990-8465.

Fall is here and Jesse is a soldier!

Dear friends,

The leaves are turning colors, and the air is gradually getting colder. I don't think I miss the snow Denver is experiencing. It is supposed to be in the 70's tomorrow here in Spokane, Washington. Genifer- our Ghanaian Whitworth student- actually wore closed toed shoes yesterday. She isn't looking forward to the colder weather!

I am beginning a study on the book of Esther by Beth Moore with our church's women's group. I ended up becoming a small group leader for that group. So far it is very good. I am looking forward to the discipline of doing a study with others. Discipline isn't my strong suit!

I saw the doctor yesterday about pain in my wrist and arm. He thinks that it is carpal tunnel rather than a cyst. The lump appears to be swelling from the constriction. He took x-rays and did some tests and is sending me for a neurological evaluation next Wed. to figure it out for sure. Then he'll call me to let me know. I have been experiencing so much pain and numbness, that I would like to figure out what is going on and find a solution. My research last night about carpal tunnel listed all my symptoms, so we'll see. My deductible is paid for my health insurance for '09, so at least I don't have to pay extra to get this checked. Any input from any of you about what worked for you in fixing this problem would be appreciated. (nancyfritz@aol.com).

I continue to have lots of problems with scar tissue from the radiation treatments I had at the end of '06. The dose that went to the nodes on the left side at the base of my neck, really is causing problems. The scar tissue pushes on the muscles in my neck causing my neck to get messed up pretty easily. I go to the chiropractor about once a week and he works on the scar tissue there and in my abdomen and the side of my chest wall. My knee is hurting as much as ever from whatever is wrong there. So I am sore and achy, but able to function OK. A few of my meds can cause muscle and joint aches, so that could explain how I feel.

I am planning a trip to the east coast for the second half of October. There are lots of details connected to that, and I am helping to lead chapel at Partners International this morning about Kidzana. I also need to prepare to teach 2 of Greg's Whitworth classes at the beginning of Nov. The class is Cross Cultural Ministry, and I will be talking about ministering to children cross-culturally. That should be fun.

So I am off to chapel... Have a wonderful day and God bless you! Nancy Fritz
Jenni is in France for her fall semester with Grove City College, Laura is days away from paying off her student loans as she continues to work for AT&T. Allison gets home in 2 weeks from her year in South Korea teaching English. And our international student, Genifer, or Adjua, is adjusting well to America. We took her to the fair and she wasn't sure about the rodeo and wondered why Americans enjoy bull riding and mutton bustin!'

And Jesse...He has enlisted in the National Guard. He is in community college this fall, going for one weekend a month and taking an ROTC class. He goes to boot camp March 1st for 9 or 10 weeks. Then he goes to Arizona for interrogation training, and then he goes to Monterrey, CA for a year of Arabic school. That could be worth two years of college. All together it takes 90 weeks. He gets to come home for Christmas next year.

After he's done he will probably be deployed for a tour. Then back for college and then more training and another deployment. Then he will be on the one weekend a month schedule. At that point he should be able to get a very good job. His National Guard counter intelligence job would not be front line, but questioning back from the front lines or interpreting tapes or documents. He got a bonus and a 'kicker,' will be paid while he does all this, school will be paid for and he should end up with money in the bank. I think the whole thing should take 8 years including the 2 years of college. So we are parents of a soldier!

I am helping to lead chapel today at Partners International about Kidzana, so I need to get moving! Have a wonderful day! Blessings- Nancy

Two girls came, one is gone & soldier's mother?

I can hardly believe that I haven't written for 2 1/2 weeks! So much has happened!

JENNI AND CAMPING
Jenni came home and we went camping in the Blue Mountains. They were beautiful in a different way than any we have seen anywhere else. We found a place for Greg and Jesse to hunt- lots of animals and places to set up camp.

We camped under tall pine trees on top of a mountain and all around us were smaller pine trees and multitudes of huckleberry bushes fully loaded! There was also warm fresh evidence of bears near the berries, but we didn't see any. I picked by myself for 6 hours and got 1 gallon. Right at the end of our time (and my sore back from bending over), I found another whole area where the berries were waist high and large and there were so many! I just couldn't pick anymore. And there were a lot of mosquitoes in there.

When we got home, I made huckleberry freezer jam and got 10 8 oz. jars. Counting the time, mosquito bites and scratches, those jars are worth a fortune to me! I am so very thankful for the jar a friend gave me last year!

JENN ARRIVED FROM GHANA

Here is another thing that defies reality...Jenn has only been here for 13 days! She arrived at midnight two weeks ago tomorrow. She is a total delight. She loves to laugh and she thinks I am funny. (Imagine that!) She had fun with Jenni and Jesse and instead of Jenni teaching her how to keep Jesse in line, they both taught her how to tease me! Actually, she laughs when I get teased and doesn't tease me herself. She is 5'8" and is beautiful. We got her some warm clothes to prepare her for the fall. When it is 85 degrees or higher, she tells me that the weather is very nice. I don't think there are too many very nice days left until next summer!

In Ghana, everyone has a "day" name based on the day of the week they were born. Jenn's day name is Adjua, so that is what we usually call her. It solved the two Jenni problem. That is what her parents call her, so it makes her feel at home. We got her the fixings for Jolof rice last night so she can do some cooking. She discovered the ice cream in the freezer tonight and told me if she had known it was there, it would be empty already! She is having international student orientation today and tomorrow and freshman orientation on Sat- Tuesday. School starts for her and Greg on Wednesday. He is teaching a class this fall at Whitworth on Tues. and Thursday mornings.

ME- A SOLDIER'S MOTHER???
Our son is planning to enlist tomorrow for Army ROTC National Guard with the counter intelligence unit specializing in Arabic. He registered for the fall at Spokane Falls Community College today, and would go to basic training/boot camp in Jan. After 9 weeks of that he would go to Southern CA for Arabic school for a total of 90-ish weeks. Then he would come back here for 1 1/2 years more of CC, and then 2 years at a state school- basically paid for and he would also have a nice amount in the bank. He could be deployed 1 time during his stint in CC, and after finishing college would serve for 4 years. We figure it will probably add up to 11 years. With the Arabic counter intelligence training, he wouldn't be on the front line but would have other jobs- he tells me. He would come out with training that would prepare him for employment afterwards and have no debt and be paid while he does it. All of these things are attractive to him.

If the contract doesn't include what we are expecting, he won't sign. Please pray for us to be sharp on details to make sure they are putting in writing what he expects them to. He goes at 5:45 a.m. and will call us when they are ready for our part. I am supposed to bring the camera and I just might also need tissues! Pray that if for any reason he shouldn't be doing this, the Lord will close the door. We don't have any huge red flags and he seems to have thought this through carefully. There are signing bonuses that he would get by doing this now rather than waiting and would go in with an E3 since he did 2 years of Jr. ROTC in high school and a few other factors. So anyway, please pray. We have heard more stories than we can count about people enlisting and ending up in situations very different than what they were expecting. I don't want that to happen to my boy who is really God's boy!

Jesse's African father and mother, Rene and Faustine Mbongo were here on Monday for lunch and Jesse talked to them in French a mile a minute. I guess he really did learn it while he was there! We are so grateful for the impact they had on his life!

MY KNEE
I saw the doctor about me left knee last Thursday. It has been very sore and a little swollen. The Baker's cyst hasn't gotten any smaller since it showed up last October. My surgeon who tried to fix it in the spring, is disappointed that it isn't doing any better. He said it is possible to take out the cyst, but since I had a blood clot in that leg last summer, and because there are so many nerves going through there, he doesn't think it is a good idea.

I got a brace for it that is black and very snug yesterday. Last night my knee didn't hurt at all during the night for the first time in weeks. I wore it today and it gave good support and I think it pushes on the Baker's cyst and that feels good too.

The joint in my left pinkie is swollen and very sore. He looked at that and another cyst thing on my right wrist that is sending pain through my right hand. He said that these things might all be related to RA and asked me to go to my internist to see. I have an appointment on Tuesday. My low back is sore too and my chiropractor thinks it is connected to scar tissue in my abdomen. So ice on my back and knee when I can. I am feeling OLD these days, but am still grateful to be alive and able to get around. I have a kids' curriculum on Ghana started and have lots of ideas of how to finish it now that I have been there.

GHANA FOLLOW-UP REPORT
I got a call from Jacob, by new friend and the missionary to the village we spent the most time in while we were in Ghana. He said that many of the accused witches have become Christians and that the church has grown to 100 people! Before we were there, it had 20. Aslan is on the move in Nabuli, Northern Ghana!

Blessings-
Nancy Fritz

Jenni is coming home and Jenn is coming too!

Dear friends,

What a crazy few weeks. I got back from Ghana and Greg and I have been grabbing the weekends to experience some of the beautiful northwest. We went to a bluegrass festival, camped in the national forest, camped with our church and worked on cleaning our townhouses. I have been cooking for my "boys" and getting ready for my girls!

Jenni gets home in a few hours. She spent the summer working at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab and lived with Laura near Baltimore. She spent several days in Denver visiting friends, and flies here today. We get her for a few weeks until she leaves for France for the fall semester with Grove City. They will study French and do engineering with their profs in PA online. She knows some French and Jesse is excited to get to use his African French with her.

So, since I knew Jesse would be lonely when she leaves, I got him another sister named Jennifer in Ghana who is going to come live with us while she goes to Whitworth. I met her while I was there. We are agreeing to pay for her food and housing. I have a bedroom ready for her and we are emailing so she will know what to bring. Since I was there, I know the cold will be a challenge for her. But we have girls so we will know how to take care of her. We will can her Jenn and she asked if she could start calling me Mum. I figure I am her Ameri-Mum. She will be studying pre-med. She arrives late on Friday night.

Now for my boy...Jesse has been thinking about his next steps since he got home from Africa. Lately he has been meeting with military recruiters and considering that route. He was thing very hard about signing a congract next Monday. He has decided to go to community college this fall and revisit this idea in January. I am happy for this decision because I felt like he was pursuing this because of boredom and restlessness. Africa was very exciting, and here life is just ordinary. By January he will be able to be more objective. He challenged my patriotism, but I really didn't have peace that he was deciding for the right reasons. If he decides to do this after thinking and praying longer, I will salute and cry and be very proud. So keep him in your prayers about his life plans if you would.

Jenni, Jesse, Greg and I are going to go camping in the SE part of the state to look for a new hunting spot. No elk have been seen during hunting season where they have been hunting the last two years, so it is time for a change. We hear the Blue Mountains are beautiful. Fun time together will be great.

My left knee is very sore. I bent it too far a few weeks ago and it is swollen a little. I have a check back with the knee surgeon on Thursday, so we will see what he thinks. I did well with my self-regulated therapy until Ghana, but haven't been very faithful since I got home. I am done with PT for the year, so that isn't an option. We'll see. Greg and I walk together almost every night, so I am at least doing that. Otherwise my health is OK. Sore and achy but just normal stuff. I don't see the oncologist until Oct.

Our Moody townhouses are filling up. We still need two more girls to be full. We have 34 out of 36. I think 9 have arrived. We would appreciate prayer that the last 2 spots get filled. The income is much needed to make this all work.

Well, I am off to the chiropractor and then to the airport! God bless you! Nancy Fritz 509-990-8465 nancyfritz@aol.com

The Witches' Camp, Northern Ghana

Dear friends,

I am home from Africa and have stories to tell. Here is my first installment. I will tell you about the Witches' Camp we visited at Nabuli Village in Northern Ghana. It was the highlight of our time in Ghana.

The first photo is of some of the accused witches with a poster saying they were going to remember us and pray for us. We told them we would remember them always. The second photo is of me with some of the Nabuli children. They love, love, love to have their picture taken! They try not to smile in pictures, but laugh and get excited when they see themselves on the digital camera screen afterwards. A girl from the village took this picture. In the 3rd picture is COF missionary Elisha on the left, and Jacob on the right. The third picture is of my teammate Robert, Elisha the missionary next to him in the white shirt, the guy in the hat is the fettish priest (witch doctor), the man in green is the chief's interpreter (linguist), the man in print fabric and hat is the immam of the village (leader of the mosque), the man in white pants and man to the right are assistants to the chief, and the last man on the right is the village chief. Last are our pesticide treated mosquito nets purchased from a nearby hospital for $2 each. The picture below is of some of the accused witches we met and hugged. This is a long story, but I had to tell it all.

4th of July Eve
On Friday evening, the 3rd of July, we had gotten settled into a small cement house owned my World Vision. It had a small fridge and sink in a kitchen, but otherwise that room was empty. The house had a bathing room, cement with a door, little drain on the floor, and not the cleanest place to think about getting clean in. That room had a bucket and dipper for bucket baths. The next little stall with a door was the toilet room. Their were a lot of bugs in there when we arrived, but our hosts got rid of them for us. There was a drying rack and 2 bedrooms with 2 beds each that had mattresses on them, and a sort of sheet (where the 4 of our team women slept). There was also a generic room on the front of the house with slatted windows all around and a torn screen door, and a solid door. We had ceiling fans and electricity.

We had our dinner of spaghetti noodles and tuna and sardines, mangos and a sauce to put over the noodles if we wanted. It tasted great. It was prepared by “fully pregnant” Ernestina, the wife of one of the two Ghanaian missionaries we spent those days with. She is due in a month and it was so hot! She worked very hard to cook for us with 2 village girls. She rode up on a motor bike, which was quite a sight!

As we talked about the next day at the village with Elisha, Ernestina’s husband and one of the missionaries, we flexed on our plans and prepared to act out the Good Samaritan as he suggested.

After dinner we saw clouds roll in. The wind blew so hard, the curtains in our living room were flying horizontally across the room. It reminded us of the tornado taking Dorothy’s house in the Wizard of Oz. Our electricity went off and we thought of the mud huts with thatch roofs in the village and wondered how they could hold up to this weather, and if the countless village children we had seen were scared.

Then the lightening and thunder began and intensified. We had been singing patriotic songs earlier to celebrate 4th of July Eve, and next came the fireworks! The sky lit up with beautiful, God-created lightening patterns that went from one end of the horizon to the other. I don’t think any of us will forget that night. We stopped a few times and prayed for safety and wondered about what was coming the next day as we visited the “witches’ camp” in a nearby village. We climbed into our mosquito netted beds, which for the guys were dirty mattresses on the living room floor.

Nabuli Village on the 4th of July
The next morning we had breakfast, including Ernestina's delicious rolls from her bakery. Elisha came with us in the van and we stopped 40 minutes and 4000 pot holes later to pick up Jacob, the missionary to Nabuli. We traveled another half hour or so and came to the village. Several people were standing around and we mingled with them and talked to them through interpreters. We learned some words and greetings. We realized later that we were chatting with the Muslim leader, the fettish priest (witch doctor), the teacher, and the chief -among others.

We walked a ways over to a large tree next to the school building where lots of people were gathered. I looked around an older sibling on the way to see the little brother or sister she was carrying on her back. The one year old screamed when seeing my white face, undoubtedly because I was the first white person he or she had ever seen! I scurried away fast!

After exchanging greetings with the entire village population with Elisha and Jacob translating, and singing and dancing some, we performed our Good Samaritan skit. Jacob translated the story for them afterwards, and then they talked about what they thought about the parable from the Bible. This village is mostly animistic and Muslim, with a few Christians. One Muslim man said that he had heard the story before, but seeing it acted out made it come alive for him. Someone else said a while later that it reminded them of how the accused witches in their village were treated- ignored and passed by, and that it was wrong. And with that began a discussion of this extensive problem which is prevalant at least in the rural parts of Ghana. It was known by the villagers that we were coming all the way from America to help them deal with this issue. We were surprised that they brought it up so quickly and openly.

Many took turns describing the problem for us…When something goes wrong, a sickness, or death, or accident, someONE must be blamed. They always attach what happened to a person. In their culture, a man only needs to say that he saw a certain woman in a dream, and she is then accused of being a witch and causing the incident. She is usually around 50, but not always- sometimes she is younger. The men admitted that some reasons for her accusation might be one man getting revenge on another who had previously accused his wife of the same thing. Or a husband might be a polygamist and wants one less wife to feed. He gets a friend to accuse his wife and he can go get a younger one who isn’t as wrinkled. That's what he said! We asked how many of the women gathered there were afraid that they might be accused of being a witch at some point in their lives. Every single woman raised her hand! Young and old.

We told them we would be back the next day to deal with the issue some more and drove the hour and a quarter or so, and dodged 6000 more pot holes, returning to our World Vision temporary home. Our host was Emmanual Dabson, the Director of Christian Outreach Fellowship (COF). COF is our Partners International connection in Ghana. When you give to Partners, this is one of the ministries that we we partner with. He is Elisha and Jacob’s mission director and has a special burden of his own about the witches’ camps because his mother was sent to one based on an accusation by her own brother. She later died at that camp.

We debriefed with these men who were very pleased at how the day had gone. We talked about the next day when we would be going back there, and then enjoyed our specially prepared 4th of July feast of goat soup with ‘meat balls’ in it. The problem was that the meat balls were things like bound and tied entrails, the goat’s tongue, a hoof with some hair on it…You get the idea. For them it is a delicacy and is very special, and a lot of work to prepare. We gave the 'meat balls' to our driver, Kwame, who really enjoyed them. Our hard working cooks figured out that Americans only like to eat the muscle part of the meat. Who knew?! The next time someone is fixing me goat soup, I will be sure to mention that!

Nabuli Village on Sunday July 5th
We drove again to Nabuli the next day, picked up Jacob again on the way, dodged and went into potholes again. We got to the village and met with everyone packed inside a room in the school since it began raining just as we pulled up. We split up into groups with the children, the women and the men separately. Our 16 year old team mate, Rob, took 150 kids in another room and kept them busy for almost an hour.

It stopped raining and the men went outside to meet. Wendi, Mardi and I were with the women, with Megan in the back videoing our discussion. We asked the 45 accused witches to describe their accusations and being “tested” to see if they were indeed witches by the fettish priests. Many told stories of being beaten until they confessed to being a witch. The alternative was to be beaten to death. One woman told us she was beaten by something, but Jacob didn’t know how to translate it. Soon they brought a bicycle to the door and pointed to the chain. She had obvious scarring and the bitterness and unforgiveness was evident on her face. Could you blame her?

Others described a ceremony they went through with the fettish priest of having to throw a dead chicken. Its throat was slit while the accused woman held it and then she had to throw it. If it landed stomach side down, she wasn’t a witch, and if it landed on its back with its feet in the air, she was a witch. From what we could figure out, 19 out of 20 times the chicken landed with its feet up. Some women were sent to the city to be cleansed of witch craft for several months by a fettish priest- sometimes sexually abused. Once found to be a witch, they were sent away from their village to a witches’ camp near another village several hours from their own village. There they were treated like outcasts, or like leapers, not to be touched by anyone, and expected to fend for themselves to provide for their own needs. If one became sick, she was sent back to her home village where she was stuck somewhere and ignored until she died. I have written this in the past tense, but what I am describing is still going on today.

They said that one of their greatest sadnesses is being taken away from their children and grandchildren right when they are finally at the age of enjoying them. They have worked HARD their whole lives, and just when they should be able to be taken care of and enjoy their family, they are accused of witchcraft and taken away. They also expressed thanks to the leaders of this particular village, because they built them huts when they came and let them do some farming to earn money. It wasn't much but they were grateful for it.

One of these women said that she felt the only solution to the problem was to become a Christian. And they wanted to know how to become Christians. Wendi and Mardi and I talked about forgiveness, bitterness and God’s unconditional love and that there was no guarantee that this practice would stop. But God would be with them in the midst of their circumstances and He promises forgiveness and eternal life if they confess their sins (which we ALL have no matter how big or small) and ask Him to be the Lord of their lives. We explained that it isn’t a magic process. I got the idea from the Holy Spirit to share the footprints in the sand story. I changed it to fit their setting. I told them that Christ came alongside a woman to walk on a journey. Then they came to a hard part and had to walk through a very difficult valley. When she got to the other side and looked back she only saw one set of footprints. She asked Jesus why He left her during that difficult part. Jesus told her that there was only one set of footprints because He had carried her. It seemed to hit home for some of them. I just knew I had to tell that story.

Then as we stood there, I asked Jacob if they would like to take some time to confess their sins and then we could lead them in a prayer of salvation. He said, “Oh no. We need to pray together right now. Out loud.” Mardi and Wendi told me to go ahead, so I prayed in English, he translated into their language, they repeated the prayer, and I said the next part of the prayer and so on. Again, it was a powerful time. The Lord was there. They all prayed. We told them Jacob was there to answer any of their questions after we were gone. Jacob told me later that he thinks some of them actually meant what they were praying, but regardless, he could follow up and build on what we talked about later. The three of us Obruni’s (white people) sang Amazing Grace for them in harmony before we left. It was a powerful time. The Holy Spirit was there. This was about 2-3 p.m. on the 4th of July there, 7 hours earlier Spokane time (8-9 a.m.).

When we went outside and I went up to one of the accused witches and hugged her good old American-style. She pulled back and told me she wouldn’t hurt me. I got Jacob who translated what she was saying and I told her that the thought she would hurt me had not even entered my thinking. She was amazed by that and I hugged her and some of the others. You could tell they weren’t used to being touched, but that it was very appreciated. I told them God had created each of them, He loved them and that they are beautiful in His sight. Mardi and Wendi talked to others. There were children everywhere as well.

The whole group gathered when the men were done, and the chief said that he thinks the only solution to this problem is that the whole village become Christians. He wanted to get the surrounding tribal chiefs together to talk about stopping this practice of accusing witches. Emmanuel, Jacob and Elisha were very excited to follow up on this in the near future and felt our visit had made a huge impact. Our team agreed to keep posted on how things are going and to pray for them. We also will try to see what we can do to help from our side of the ocean.

We waited for the accused witches to walk back to their witches’ camp while the men on our team went over to the chief’s compound to give him gifts and receive a guinea foul from him as a gift to our team. (We later gave it to Ernestina.) Several men (maybe a dozen?) had come to the village that day who were related to the accused witches in that camp. The word had gone out that we were coming and wanted to talk to them. They had talked to the men while we talked to the women. They also went over to the witches’ camp. Emmanuel spoke powerfully to them about how evil this practice is and how it must stop. He asked them to take their women back to their families and let them back into their lives. One man in particular agreed over and over. Emmanuel spoke with power.

Our team presented the witches’ camp with 2 large sacks of maze (corn meal). We learned that it could feed the 45 of them for about 2 weeks. As we left, Robert took pictures of each accused witch with her family member if one was there. I also started hugging them again. I got to hug 5 or so and they seemed to be lining up to do that. I will never forget feeling them in my arms, so skinny and pulling back humbly since they weren’t used to touch, but also wanting to be hugged. We thought we would have more time with them and really wanted to wash their feet, but we had to go. Maybe next time…

Well, that was the first intallment. There will be more coming in the days ahead. Blessings and thank you for all your prayers! Nancy Fritz nancyfritz@aol.com 509-990-8465