Hello friends,
It is a beautiful fall warm day today. This is one of Spokane's best ones! This morning Greg and I went to a meeting of leaders where we discussed having a city-wide missions conference. When we talked about what time of year to have it, and we all agreed that winter is the only good idea. It is dark here in the winter, so why not go to a conference? Now we are beginning to meet for prayer about this and to figure out how to ramp up (gear up) to do this in Spokane. Another thing that is being done in Oregon is a kids' missions camp. We got to hear about that program and it was so exciting that we are hoping we can also bring that idea into reality here in Spokane. I am getting a lesson ready for October 8th's Kids' Country Club featuring Ghana. I stopped at the library to get some books to use in my curriculum writing.
Our time in Montana last week was very good. The Prairie Bible Institute students seemed tired as they had just rafted for 5 days, but they still appreciated the testimonies and teaching we and others did for them. It was a good time to connect with the PBI leadership folks too.
We have had two of the five townhouses of Moody Bible Institute girls over for dinner this week. So we have gotten to know 11 of them better. And you can't get more satisfaction than cooking home cooked food for college students. They are so sweet! A few of them are planning to come and help out at our church Ghana night next week.
I was invited to a women's retreat this weekend and it was wonderful! The speaker gave us lots to think about amidst much humor. I got to know many from our church and several other churches better. Jesse and Greg survived fine without me, but don't want to make it a habit.
Tomorrow I am scheduled for a CAT scan of my kidneys and bladder since I have blood showing up in my urine. It is enough to cause him concern and has been happening for quite a while. My doctor said he has to figure out what is causing it, and it could be serious. I know that they will be using a contrast. It is scheduled for 4:15. I will let you know when I get results. I know something strange is going on in my abdomen. It feels strange intermittently. My INR was 3.7 yesterday, so still too high. And I have a swollen area behind my left knee where one of my clots was. The thinking is that it is a fluid cyst caused maybe by my compression stockings. I have to ice it twice a day. I can still go walking, but only a mile for now.
I am getting ready for a trip to Denver October 14-21. I will be teaching kids on Sunday when I am there. I am working on Dalit curriculum to take with me to give to the Dalit Freedom Network also. I am working out my schedule and figuring out where to stay and a car to drive while I am there, etc.
Allison was on skype with us last week. We were able to see each other and talk for over an hour. It was wonderful to see her. She is adjusting and enjoying her time there. Laura just moved since her roommate is getting married this weekend. Jenni calls to tell us about good grades. Jesse just wrote a proposal for his trip to Africa in the spring and turned it in to the short term missions guy at Partners International. He plans to go to Senegal and Mali in late January-May.
I am still working on a pictorial newsletter, so watch for that sometime soon. Blessings- Nancy
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Montana- Here we come!
Dear friends,
It is the end of Saturday afternoon and dinner is cooking. Today I did lots of cleaning and switched the porch decorations to fall colors. I held off as long as I could, but the weather is beginning to change, and I have to keep up with the neighbors, right?
Also today, I got things ready to take to Montana. Greg and I will be doing 4 hours of missions training with 15 Prairie Bible Institute students who are preparing for a mission trip. We are doing much of what we did this summer at a Christian camp near Spokane. We will share our stories, do a few skits and demonstrations, share media and our passion for the lost. Our time with the 13 students this summer was amazing. We received encouraging feedback from them and the camp leadership, so now we are taking the "show on the road." The hardest part of planning our 4 hour time, is trying to figure out which things to do, when we have 100+ hours of things we could do. I think this is what defines missions mobilizers. I can hardly put on paper the depth of passion I have for doing these kinds of trainings. And we live in a city full of college and university students...Hmmmm...
Tonight we are going to meet with the girls (Moody Bible Institute mostly freshmen) who live in our townhouses. We are making plans to have them over to our house for dinner in the next few weeks. Tonight we are deciding of the name of the townhouses. We would like to ask you to pray about unit #6. One of the former tenants has a lease through the end of October, and at this point we don't have a waiting list on that unit. We can't afford to have her move and flip it unless we have new renters lined up. We see God's hand in having her there with her 2 children. They have gotten to know the Moody students who have been genuinely loving them in a way that seems to be new to them. So what is the Author intending for this situation? Thanks for praying with us about this.
I went to the anticoagulation clinic yesterday and my INR was 3.9, which is high. It is supposed to be between 2 and 3 and a normal level is 1. So we made some adjustments and hopefully it will come down to where it should be. My legs have been sore, but I have still been able to walk in the evenings with Greg. Yesterday I got some new understanding from my chiropractor. My neck has been hurting a lot and I have had some days that I have to take migrane medicine due to headaches. Mike explained that at the left side of the base of my neck, where they did radiation 2 years ago, there is a lot of scar tissue developing. The scar tissue is grabbing onto my neck muscles and pulling on them. That makes my muscles sore and my neck go out of place more often. I have been going about one time a week. I think I am functioning at about 60% of what I was able to do before my cancers.
Jesse has healed very quickly. He was back to school in 5 days after his appendectomy and was participating in his tumbling class in 7 days! He had his post-op appointment and the doctor said he seems fine.
Well, it is time to go. Blessings to you! Nancy Fritz
It is the end of Saturday afternoon and dinner is cooking. Today I did lots of cleaning and switched the porch decorations to fall colors. I held off as long as I could, but the weather is beginning to change, and I have to keep up with the neighbors, right?
Also today, I got things ready to take to Montana. Greg and I will be doing 4 hours of missions training with 15 Prairie Bible Institute students who are preparing for a mission trip. We are doing much of what we did this summer at a Christian camp near Spokane. We will share our stories, do a few skits and demonstrations, share media and our passion for the lost. Our time with the 13 students this summer was amazing. We received encouraging feedback from them and the camp leadership, so now we are taking the "show on the road." The hardest part of planning our 4 hour time, is trying to figure out which things to do, when we have 100+ hours of things we could do. I think this is what defines missions mobilizers. I can hardly put on paper the depth of passion I have for doing these kinds of trainings. And we live in a city full of college and university students...Hmmmm...
Tonight we are going to meet with the girls (Moody Bible Institute mostly freshmen) who live in our townhouses. We are making plans to have them over to our house for dinner in the next few weeks. Tonight we are deciding of the name of the townhouses. We would like to ask you to pray about unit #6. One of the former tenants has a lease through the end of October, and at this point we don't have a waiting list on that unit. We can't afford to have her move and flip it unless we have new renters lined up. We see God's hand in having her there with her 2 children. They have gotten to know the Moody students who have been genuinely loving them in a way that seems to be new to them. So what is the Author intending for this situation? Thanks for praying with us about this.
I went to the anticoagulation clinic yesterday and my INR was 3.9, which is high. It is supposed to be between 2 and 3 and a normal level is 1. So we made some adjustments and hopefully it will come down to where it should be. My legs have been sore, but I have still been able to walk in the evenings with Greg. Yesterday I got some new understanding from my chiropractor. My neck has been hurting a lot and I have had some days that I have to take migrane medicine due to headaches. Mike explained that at the left side of the base of my neck, where they did radiation 2 years ago, there is a lot of scar tissue developing. The scar tissue is grabbing onto my neck muscles and pulling on them. That makes my muscles sore and my neck go out of place more often. I have been going about one time a week. I think I am functioning at about 60% of what I was able to do before my cancers.
Jesse has healed very quickly. He was back to school in 5 days after his appendectomy and was participating in his tumbling class in 7 days! He had his post-op appointment and the doctor said he seems fine.
Well, it is time to go. Blessings to you! Nancy Fritz
Thursday, September 04, 2008
My boy had his appendix removed tonght!
What a day! My friend Mary who is visiting, and I have been enjoying our time together so much! We have gone to the South Hill Botanical Manito Gardens for a picnic, went downtown for "Pig Out in the Park" on Monday night, we sat and talked with Greg last night, we have slept in and had coffee and tea together. Nice, relaxing...
Today I found out that Jesse had been naucious during the night. He had stomach pain that went from the middle and settled on his right side. And that kept getting worse. Mary looked online and we figured he was tracking with all of the appendicitis characteristics. So I took him to the urgent care center, and when the doctor walked in, it was his friend! Jesse works sometimes at a certain Starbucks store, and this nice man had come in last week and they had talked for 10 minutes or so about Jesse going to Africa and about their faith. Steve Johnson had also been to Africa, so they enjoyed their conversation. Jesse had no idea he was a doctor or where he worked. And Jesse could have been given one of 3 dotors today, and ended up with his"Starbucks Buddy!"
After getting examined there, from noon to 3:00, with 95% certaintly that it was indeed appendicitis, our insurance carrier made us go to another clinic for a CT scan of his appendix. We were there until almost 5:3o, until the radiologist had read the scan. Jesse was able to sleep for a while until we got the word that he did have appendicitis. In another 1/2 hour we were at the hospital and heading for his room on the 5th floor.
He still felt awful and it was sad to see him in so much pain. He met all the doctors and answered all the questions they had and finally at 8:00 they did the surgery. It took about 1 hour. Dr. Olson said that half of his appendix was inflamed and infected and that it was so great that we brought him in before things got worse. Jesse did well and was awake afterward when Mary and I headed back home. Greg had come too, and we got to be with Jesse while they got him ready to go in. All his doctors were excellent and kind and did a great job.
Tomorrow they expect that he will be able to come home. The procedure was laprascopic which makes it much quicker healing. His dreams of X-country this fall are gone, but he should be able to participate in his tumbling PE class in 2-3 weeks, and ease back into school and work as soon as he feels able.
We are so thankful that this happened now and not next spring when he hopes to be in Africa for several months. God is certainly looking out for Jesse and showed that in so many ways today! I think I will send Mary to Coure 'd Alene tomorrow for a restful day by the beautiful water.
I got to instant message with Allison a little tonight from South Korea. She has her own classroom and is getting into the swing of it. She is struggling with the very spicy food. She sais she is doing OK, but I know she is lonely and doesn't get the computer line into her appartment until September 20th. I know she would appreciate your prayers.
Well, I am tired, but really wanted to get this news into my blog so you could pray for my boy to heal quickly. Since Mary is a hospital Chaplain, we were pretty excited that we could take her with us to do all the praying and encouraging she is so great at in that setting. That was ironic to have here here when this happened to Jesse.
I wish you a good sleep the next time you are planning to do that. And thank you for your prayers and concern. God Bless you! Nancy Fritz 509-990-8465
Today I found out that Jesse had been naucious during the night. He had stomach pain that went from the middle and settled on his right side. And that kept getting worse. Mary looked online and we figured he was tracking with all of the appendicitis characteristics. So I took him to the urgent care center, and when the doctor walked in, it was his friend! Jesse works sometimes at a certain Starbucks store, and this nice man had come in last week and they had talked for 10 minutes or so about Jesse going to Africa and about their faith. Steve Johnson had also been to Africa, so they enjoyed their conversation. Jesse had no idea he was a doctor or where he worked. And Jesse could have been given one of 3 dotors today, and ended up with his"Starbucks Buddy!"
After getting examined there, from noon to 3:00, with 95% certaintly that it was indeed appendicitis, our insurance carrier made us go to another clinic for a CT scan of his appendix. We were there until almost 5:3o, until the radiologist had read the scan. Jesse was able to sleep for a while until we got the word that he did have appendicitis. In another 1/2 hour we were at the hospital and heading for his room on the 5th floor.
He still felt awful and it was sad to see him in so much pain. He met all the doctors and answered all the questions they had and finally at 8:00 they did the surgery. It took about 1 hour. Dr. Olson said that half of his appendix was inflamed and infected and that it was so great that we brought him in before things got worse. Jesse did well and was awake afterward when Mary and I headed back home. Greg had come too, and we got to be with Jesse while they got him ready to go in. All his doctors were excellent and kind and did a great job.
Tomorrow they expect that he will be able to come home. The procedure was laprascopic which makes it much quicker healing. His dreams of X-country this fall are gone, but he should be able to participate in his tumbling PE class in 2-3 weeks, and ease back into school and work as soon as he feels able.
We are so thankful that this happened now and not next spring when he hopes to be in Africa for several months. God is certainly looking out for Jesse and showed that in so many ways today! I think I will send Mary to Coure 'd Alene tomorrow for a restful day by the beautiful water.
I got to instant message with Allison a little tonight from South Korea. She has her own classroom and is getting into the swing of it. She is struggling with the very spicy food. She sais she is doing OK, but I know she is lonely and doesn't get the computer line into her appartment until September 20th. I know she would appreciate your prayers.
Well, I am tired, but really wanted to get this news into my blog so you could pray for my boy to heal quickly. Since Mary is a hospital Chaplain, we were pretty excited that we could take her with us to do all the praying and encouraging she is so great at in that setting. That was ironic to have here here when this happened to Jesse.
I wish you a good sleep the next time you are planning to do that. And thank you for your prayers and concern. God Bless you! Nancy Fritz 509-990-8465
Friday, August 29, 2008
3 came, 3 went and 30 others came!
Hello all!
Ahhh…Less pressure. The five townhouses we needed to get done, are now occupied by 30 Moody Bible Institute Spokane female students- mostly freshmen. Last week there were parents everywhere, arriving from all over the country and helping their daughters set up their apartments. I have been there- last year actually- with my own, so it was exciting to watch them in full swing. We received lots of thank you’s from the parents and girls. Greg was told by 3 parents, that if it weren’t for our housing option, they wouldn’t have let their daughter come to the school. Generally, students here just live in miscellaneous apartments around town. And the girls are sweet and kind and cute. But if you know me lately, with chemo brain, Crestor brain (short term memory issues), and age memory challenges on top of that, I was just like Dorrie in Finding Nemo! I am slowly learning their names. They are giving me hugs since I am missing my own girls. There is one unit that still has a woman and her 2 children in it. The kids are really bonding with some of the Moody girls, and the whole family came to the barbeque we gave there Sunday night. We dedicated the townhouses to the Lord and had a worship time. I am happy that Lena and her children get to be around these amazing Christian girls. I know they haven't ever experienced anything like it before. She plans to move at the end of October and we have a waiting list of Moody girls who want to move in. So that 'flip' will probably happen in early November. We would appreciate your prayers for Lena, Freddy and Taylor.
Our own kids came and we had 5 days together. We had fun as fast as we could. Tubing and swimming in the river, picking berries at a farm, the girls and I went for “tea” at Mad Hatties, Laura and I went to the gardens on the South Hill (new picture on my blog!). We took walks, went downtown and watched a movie at the IMAX Theater, the kids tubed some more, church, and we talked and laughed a lot! On Sunday evening we went with one of our Moody girls who is a photographer and had family pictures taken. You will be seeing those as time goes by. It was a wonderful time and I thank you for praying. There was some townhouse work in there too, but we were able to do all this besides.
Allison’s paperwork from Footprints, the international teacher recruiting company, came at 5:30 last Tuesday afternoon-10 days ago. On Wednesday morning, Jesse, Jenni and Allison drove to Seattle to the Korean embassy and at 3:30 that afternoon, they were handed her visa and drove back home. The lady at the embassy who processed her paperwork told her that her own daughter had left for Korea the day before to work for the same company! And she knew Allison was late for the training. She expedited things and even gave Allison her daughter’s name. Allison flew out early on Friday morning and after loosing a day in travel, got to Seoul on Saturday evening their time. She is in traing this week and goes to Olson, near Busan, soon to teach English in a public elementary school.
Jenni left for Grove City that night, and after spending the night at Denver airport for 6 hours, got to Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon where Uncle Fred met her and took her to college. Thank you Uncle Fred! She lost her phone on the way from Seattle to Denver, but the man who found it has contacted us and mailed it to her. I had to FedEx her new guitar to her. It was the first time they wouldn't let her take it on with her. She has a retreat this weekend that she is leading music for, so I hope it got there in time. She doesn't have her phone yet, so I can't call and ask!
Now, a note about Allison and Jenni’s Denver parents- Sean and Janet…I was told when they got here, that the entire time they were with them, there was a container of quartered strawberries in the fridge for them at all times, so Jenni taught me how to be like her other mother! They told many fun stories of their time with the Willcoxes. We enjoyed those stories immensely and laughed a lot! Thank you for the home away from home you provided for our daughters this summer! And Caleb is a ‘precious dew drop’ according to my girls! They love, love, love your grandson!
We are still working on my Coumadin levels. It was low yesterday- 1.8. It is supposed to be between 2 and 3 and the best would be 2.5. So I am wearing my compression knee socks and trusting God to take care of all that. My other blood work from my oncologist was all normal, and my recent cholesterol test showed that the Crestor 5mg I am taking has worked well. I have a little more to do on one of my levels, but the rest are coming down. 5mg is half the regular dose, but my naturopath doctor wanted to try the lower dose first and it worked.
I am feeling very achy and have had 3 headaches in the last month that have lead to nausea. I don’t get them that badly very often. All the meds for treating those interfere with the Coumadin, so we picked the least threatening one, so if I have to use it I can just call and let them know I am using it so we can adjust my Coumadin. I seem to be getting arthritis in my right had, so my naturopath also has me doing condroitin as that can help prevent the tissue from deteriorating more. We are trying some ideas for the aches and pains I have been having all over also. I am able to do things, but more slowly and with some growning.
Greg, Jesse and I are going camping this afternoon where they plan to go hunting later in the fall. I don’t think I have camped for 2 years! Last year we were moving and this year it was townhouses. We are going for 2 nights. Jesse starts school on Tuesday and will be going ½ days and working the other half at Starbucks. We met with our friends the other night about Jesse and their son going to Africa in January-May. The boys now have a plan for their preparation. Jesse graduates January 23rd, and plans to go ASAP after that.
And Sunday night Mary, my best friend from college, is coming for 4 ½ days. We are excited to be together and relaxation is the main goal. She has been working hard as a hospital chaplain and I get to pamper her! She hasn’t taken a trip like this for 5 years, so we are excited.
Well, I need to finish up the food preparation for camping, so I will let you go. Thank you for your love and prayers for me, and as always, your hard work reading all this! Blessings- Nancy Fritz
Ahhh…Less pressure. The five townhouses we needed to get done, are now occupied by 30 Moody Bible Institute Spokane female students- mostly freshmen. Last week there were parents everywhere, arriving from all over the country and helping their daughters set up their apartments. I have been there- last year actually- with my own, so it was exciting to watch them in full swing. We received lots of thank you’s from the parents and girls. Greg was told by 3 parents, that if it weren’t for our housing option, they wouldn’t have let their daughter come to the school. Generally, students here just live in miscellaneous apartments around town. And the girls are sweet and kind and cute. But if you know me lately, with chemo brain, Crestor brain (short term memory issues), and age memory challenges on top of that, I was just like Dorrie in Finding Nemo! I am slowly learning their names. They are giving me hugs since I am missing my own girls. There is one unit that still has a woman and her 2 children in it. The kids are really bonding with some of the Moody girls, and the whole family came to the barbeque we gave there Sunday night. We dedicated the townhouses to the Lord and had a worship time. I am happy that Lena and her children get to be around these amazing Christian girls. I know they haven't ever experienced anything like it before. She plans to move at the end of October and we have a waiting list of Moody girls who want to move in. So that 'flip' will probably happen in early November. We would appreciate your prayers for Lena, Freddy and Taylor.
Our own kids came and we had 5 days together. We had fun as fast as we could. Tubing and swimming in the river, picking berries at a farm, the girls and I went for “tea” at Mad Hatties, Laura and I went to the gardens on the South Hill (new picture on my blog!). We took walks, went downtown and watched a movie at the IMAX Theater, the kids tubed some more, church, and we talked and laughed a lot! On Sunday evening we went with one of our Moody girls who is a photographer and had family pictures taken. You will be seeing those as time goes by. It was a wonderful time and I thank you for praying. There was some townhouse work in there too, but we were able to do all this besides.
Allison’s paperwork from Footprints, the international teacher recruiting company, came at 5:30 last Tuesday afternoon-10 days ago. On Wednesday morning, Jesse, Jenni and Allison drove to Seattle to the Korean embassy and at 3:30 that afternoon, they were handed her visa and drove back home. The lady at the embassy who processed her paperwork told her that her own daughter had left for Korea the day before to work for the same company! And she knew Allison was late for the training. She expedited things and even gave Allison her daughter’s name. Allison flew out early on Friday morning and after loosing a day in travel, got to Seoul on Saturday evening their time. She is in traing this week and goes to Olson, near Busan, soon to teach English in a public elementary school.
Jenni left for Grove City that night, and after spending the night at Denver airport for 6 hours, got to Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon where Uncle Fred met her and took her to college. Thank you Uncle Fred! She lost her phone on the way from Seattle to Denver, but the man who found it has contacted us and mailed it to her. I had to FedEx her new guitar to her. It was the first time they wouldn't let her take it on with her. She has a retreat this weekend that she is leading music for, so I hope it got there in time. She doesn't have her phone yet, so I can't call and ask!
Now, a note about Allison and Jenni’s Denver parents- Sean and Janet…I was told when they got here, that the entire time they were with them, there was a container of quartered strawberries in the fridge for them at all times, so Jenni taught me how to be like her other mother! They told many fun stories of their time with the Willcoxes. We enjoyed those stories immensely and laughed a lot! Thank you for the home away from home you provided for our daughters this summer! And Caleb is a ‘precious dew drop’ according to my girls! They love, love, love your grandson!
We are still working on my Coumadin levels. It was low yesterday- 1.8. It is supposed to be between 2 and 3 and the best would be 2.5. So I am wearing my compression knee socks and trusting God to take care of all that. My other blood work from my oncologist was all normal, and my recent cholesterol test showed that the Crestor 5mg I am taking has worked well. I have a little more to do on one of my levels, but the rest are coming down. 5mg is half the regular dose, but my naturopath doctor wanted to try the lower dose first and it worked.
I am feeling very achy and have had 3 headaches in the last month that have lead to nausea. I don’t get them that badly very often. All the meds for treating those interfere with the Coumadin, so we picked the least threatening one, so if I have to use it I can just call and let them know I am using it so we can adjust my Coumadin. I seem to be getting arthritis in my right had, so my naturopath also has me doing condroitin as that can help prevent the tissue from deteriorating more. We are trying some ideas for the aches and pains I have been having all over also. I am able to do things, but more slowly and with some growning.
Greg, Jesse and I are going camping this afternoon where they plan to go hunting later in the fall. I don’t think I have camped for 2 years! Last year we were moving and this year it was townhouses. We are going for 2 nights. Jesse starts school on Tuesday and will be going ½ days and working the other half at Starbucks. We met with our friends the other night about Jesse and their son going to Africa in January-May. The boys now have a plan for their preparation. Jesse graduates January 23rd, and plans to go ASAP after that.
And Sunday night Mary, my best friend from college, is coming for 4 ½ days. We are excited to be together and relaxation is the main goal. She has been working hard as a hospital chaplain and I get to pamper her! She hasn’t taken a trip like this for 5 years, so we are excited.
Well, I need to finish up the food preparation for camping, so I will let you go. Thank you for your love and prayers for me, and as always, your hard work reading all this! Blessings- Nancy Fritz
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Extreme Townhouse Makeovers!
Well, it has surely been too long since I have written. My computer has been broken for 2 weeks and it is only tentatively working right now. I was told to back it up this week and then the IT guys are going to clean it and reset it after they get back next week. So here is a catch up on my life. On Tuesday I pictured myself being on a beach with a hurricane blowing, with me holding onto a palm tree with my body suspended straight out by the blowing wind. That is how stressed I felt. Why? you might ask...
Here were my pressure points:
We were cleaning one of the townhouses we had had trouble getting the last renter out of. It was so filthy, the painters said they had never seen anything like it. Animal and human filth and it was so bad I didn't even go in until the carpet guys put an enzyme treatment down to kill the smell before laying the carpet. Greg went in with a shovel and just shuddered when telling me about it. (He is doing this in the evenings while working at Partners all day.) Greg had to fix all the holes in the walls including the results of an apparent paint ball game and knife throwing contest. Almost every door had holes kicked into it and had to be replaced. The tenant walked out with our washer and dryer too. So we had to get new ones (referbished). BUT they got out and we had until this last Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. to get it ready for the first girl to arrive.
So on Tuesday I called a friend who agreed to come and help me on Wednesday to do the final cleaning before the girl showed up with her family at 6 p.m. on Wed. We worked hard and fast and finshed the last touches right before they got there. So that pressure was on. That day the next unit emptied out, which meant we had to start all over again, but fortunately it was much less dirty. And we only have 5 days to get that one ready!
So when Lauren, a Moody Bible Institute freshman, arrived from Kansas City with her mom and sisters, she came in and exclaimed that the townhouse was fantastic! She loved it! It made us feel like it was all worthwhile.
Now 4 out of 30 have arrived and we expect 3 or 4 in the next few days. That includes one moving into the 4th townhouse which is getting carpeted on Monday. I have college and high school kids recruited to help Monday evening and a friend on Tuesday. Basicially, we are wiping down and cleaning every surface in the place. So we think by God's grace, we will be able to get it done in time.
Meanwhile, Allison came home on Wed night and she has been getting things done so she will be ready to leave on the 19th or 20th for Busan, South Korea. Orientation begins on the 22nd. They are asking her to get there on the 21st, but she looses a day traveling. She should get her school posting on Monday and then has to send off her passport for her visa. So lots of details still to take care of, and the mom always has to help! Right?
Jesse flew to Denver on early Tuesday morning, so it was some work to help him get ready.
And I saw the chiropractor 2 times this week since my neck and back was hurting so much from all the bending and muscle work of cleaning the townhouses. My left arm has gotten a little more swollen from all the exercise also. So I wore my arm sleeve this week. So, another alert that I need to be careful to not over do it with my body. The pain in my right leg where the clot supposedly was from what the tests showed, finally stopped hurting a week ago. I get my INR number checked at the anticoagulation clinic on Monday morning. I will see how I have done in keeping my number in the mid 2's for the last 2 weeks. The number tells how much Coumadin is in my ststem. That is another pressure point, along with writing a newsletter for the women's ministry at church this week.
So, Jenni and Jesse drive back to Spokane on Monday and Tuesday, and Laura comes Wednesday afternoon. We had hoped to camp, but there is still so much to do on the last townhouse which will be empty on Tuesday. So we will see how the week goes. We would love to take some days for focusing on time together as a family. But the Moody students are arriving and we have to be ready for them when they come. Please pray for us as we make daily decisions about how to spend our time together this coming week. We have 5 days with Laura here.
I will sign off as I need to get to bed. I will tell you more next time. God bless you for you interest and prayers. Blessings- Nancy Fritz
Here were my pressure points:
We were cleaning one of the townhouses we had had trouble getting the last renter out of. It was so filthy, the painters said they had never seen anything like it. Animal and human filth and it was so bad I didn't even go in until the carpet guys put an enzyme treatment down to kill the smell before laying the carpet. Greg went in with a shovel and just shuddered when telling me about it. (He is doing this in the evenings while working at Partners all day.) Greg had to fix all the holes in the walls including the results of an apparent paint ball game and knife throwing contest. Almost every door had holes kicked into it and had to be replaced. The tenant walked out with our washer and dryer too. So we had to get new ones (referbished). BUT they got out and we had until this last Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. to get it ready for the first girl to arrive.
So on Tuesday I called a friend who agreed to come and help me on Wednesday to do the final cleaning before the girl showed up with her family at 6 p.m. on Wed. We worked hard and fast and finshed the last touches right before they got there. So that pressure was on. That day the next unit emptied out, which meant we had to start all over again, but fortunately it was much less dirty. And we only have 5 days to get that one ready!
So when Lauren, a Moody Bible Institute freshman, arrived from Kansas City with her mom and sisters, she came in and exclaimed that the townhouse was fantastic! She loved it! It made us feel like it was all worthwhile.
Now 4 out of 30 have arrived and we expect 3 or 4 in the next few days. That includes one moving into the 4th townhouse which is getting carpeted on Monday. I have college and high school kids recruited to help Monday evening and a friend on Tuesday. Basicially, we are wiping down and cleaning every surface in the place. So we think by God's grace, we will be able to get it done in time.
Meanwhile, Allison came home on Wed night and she has been getting things done so she will be ready to leave on the 19th or 20th for Busan, South Korea. Orientation begins on the 22nd. They are asking her to get there on the 21st, but she looses a day traveling. She should get her school posting on Monday and then has to send off her passport for her visa. So lots of details still to take care of, and the mom always has to help! Right?
Jesse flew to Denver on early Tuesday morning, so it was some work to help him get ready.
And I saw the chiropractor 2 times this week since my neck and back was hurting so much from all the bending and muscle work of cleaning the townhouses. My left arm has gotten a little more swollen from all the exercise also. So I wore my arm sleeve this week. So, another alert that I need to be careful to not over do it with my body. The pain in my right leg where the clot supposedly was from what the tests showed, finally stopped hurting a week ago. I get my INR number checked at the anticoagulation clinic on Monday morning. I will see how I have done in keeping my number in the mid 2's for the last 2 weeks. The number tells how much Coumadin is in my ststem. That is another pressure point, along with writing a newsletter for the women's ministry at church this week.
So, Jenni and Jesse drive back to Spokane on Monday and Tuesday, and Laura comes Wednesday afternoon. We had hoped to camp, but there is still so much to do on the last townhouse which will be empty on Tuesday. So we will see how the week goes. We would love to take some days for focusing on time together as a family. But the Moody students are arriving and we have to be ready for them when they come. Please pray for us as we make daily decisions about how to spend our time together this coming week. We have 5 days with Laura here.
I will sign off as I need to get to bed. I will tell you more next time. God bless you for you interest and prayers. Blessings- Nancy Fritz
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Medical update, and VBS ideas
Monday evening
We are having a quiet evening at home after spending a lot of time at the triplexes over the weekend. I wrote last time about the 6 townhomes Greg and I have bought as a retirement investment. I helped clean on Friday evening and painted on Saturday afternoon. I stayed home to rest yesterday, partly because of a stomach ache. Two of the older girls have moved in and are so excited. They plan to mentor the younger ones. We are emailing back and forth with parents and they are so grateful for this set up for their daughters just a few blocks from the Moody Bible Institute campus at 4th Memorial.
I was tired yesterday, but have been limiting myself when I feel tired. I see my oncologist tomorrow and will get the CAT scan results- more than "stable" and also the blood work results. Maybe he will be able to figure out why I got the blood clots. I am supposed to be in little danger of them traveling now that I have been on Coumadin for over a month. I am allowed to go on walks again, but we do go shorter distances, don’t go up or down hills, and we walk more slowly. My right leg is still having pains sometimes, so I put my leg up a lot and am resting it more. I am also wearing my compression stockings quite a bit. They are supposed to keep blood from pooling in my legs and forming more clots.
Wednesday medical update
I saw Dr. Sienko, my oncologist yesterday. It was a VERY encouraging appointment. He said all of my blood tests came back normal. I have no blood condition causing clots that they can test for. There a few other tests they can do after I get off Coumadin. He plans to have me on Coumadin for 6 months, so I get to stop in mid Dec. He explained that since my clots are just happening without any discernable cause, he wants me on it for a while, but not indefinitely. Some people just get clots for no discernable reason, and I am one of them. My CAT scan showed only little things that I have had for a long time and haven’t changed, and my MRI showed no cancer either.
We had a conversation about my last cancer being considered a metastasis as opposed to a recurrence. Recurrence would be when your cancer comes back in your beast tissue, and is much less threatening than a metastasis or growth of it in a different part of the body. He told me that we could think of mine as a recurrence. It was near my original cancer-in my left armpit, near my left breast cancer, and it was removable and treatable with radiation, chemo, and Femara- a type of hormone therapy. A metastasis would be something like brain, bone or liver cancer that wouldn’t be as removable and that is farther from the original tumor. A metastasis is automatically called stage 4 (out of 4) and can only be treated but never cured. So although he will see me again in 3 months, and we will remain vigilant and watchful, I am encouraged. My initial cancer was stage 2B or 3A, depending on how certain factors were considered. I had two types of cancer- both invasive (lobular and ductal), moderately aggressive and hormone receptive for estrogen and progesterone. My tumor (or the string of them) was 6 cm long, but it was also skinny- the largest one was about 2 cm’s. So that clarification on how to think of metastasis was very helpful. I just feel less “stage 4” than I did yesterday before talking to him. Thank you all for praying! God, as always, is the author of my days and for now I get more of them free from cancer!
About VBS-
I was asked for a description of what we did to promote missions during our VBS
this summer at Whitworth Pres. here in Spokane, Washington. We did a missions focus on Ghana, since we have adoped Partnership International's work there as a focus. We decided to aim for getting a plow, two bullocks (cows) and seeds for a church planter in Ghana through the Partners International’s Harvest of Hope catalog. A plow and cows would provide an ongoing income for a church planter's family. They could use it for their own plowing, but also rent it out to earn more income. The female cows also provide milk for the family. And seeds would get them started with food to eat and I assume, more seeds. This project of $1555 was pretty ambitious for the 275 kids in our VBS, but we thought they could do it. And why not try?!
I made a coloring sheet of the picture from the HOH catalog for the preschoolers to color. Greg spotted an old plow in a garden in our neighborhood and I asked the people if we could borrow it. With their permission, we brought it to church and put it on the lawn outside the door where the kids came into the building. It looked very much like the one we were trying to earn. We put it into the church shed every night to keep it safe.
I put up our camping screen room and we pinned signs on it like, "Ghana Hut," “Plow now brown cow!” and, “It’s no yoke, we’re earning a plow!” There were other decorations also- missions related. We put 2 card tables inside and on one had a 3-fold board with pictures of the project and a map of the world with Ghana on it and giving sheets from the Harvest of Hope Catalog. On the other table we had packets from Compassion International for families to choose a child to sponsor from Ghana.
I wrote a ½ page note to go home with the kids every day that tied our giving project into the VBS curriculum. We made bookmarks for the kids that had “B2baB” (Blessed to be a Blessing) on them, and Ghana ’08 on the back. We have 2 Whitworth students who also go to our church and asked if they could be around as much a possible at the beginning and end of VBS each day. At least one of them is the son of one of our Partners leaders in Africa. We made these two college guys the stars of the week. They played the drum when we did our skit and also out in the Ghana Hut, where they also autographed the kids’ bookmarks for them and let the kids play their drum. Kids were lined up at the door of the “Ghana Hut” to meet these guys! It was amazing. They each had a folding lawn chair to sit on, and I had one outside the door. As goofy Hannah from Ghana, I had our drum from Uganda there and let the kids play it while they waited on line. Kofi and Elam have been at our church all year, but now the kids have gotten to know them.
Julie and I were the “Ghana Sisters.” Julie was Gerti and I was “Hannah from Ghana” (pronouncing Ghana like you would pronounce Hannah) and they corrected me every time, telling me that I was “Haaaannna from Ghana” (pronounced like Ghana). The goal of this was to get them used to pronouncing and remembering the country name.
Also every day I wore clothes from different countries that I have collected over the years. India, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Japan (borrowed) and at last on Friday I got it right and had an outfit from Ghana (also borrowed). So every morning during the opening we would do a skit. I would model my amazing outfit for the kids and then tell Gerti where it was from. We had a map on the power point and pointed out the countries my clothes were from and Gerti would patiently correct me and show me how far away from Ghana I was. The idea here was to get them to know where Ghana is in the world. By Friday they really knew! They would correct me every time I said it wrong and encourage me to try and find clothes from Ghana.
I came out for our skit with a big bag with something in it every day. The first day I had little things I thought they could give a bunch of- toothbrushes or toothpicks, or little plastic tops, etc. Gerti insisted that they could give BIG. So I acted doubtful all week and told them I didn’t think they could do it. I also had in my bag a stuffed animal from the thrift store for each day. Monday was a large pink elephant, Tues. a squirrel, a kangaroo, a moose and finally on Friday a stuffed cow. So each day I would go stick it into the plow outside so they would see it when they went to their activities. They were concerned that its’ feet couldn’t reach the ground and enjoyed the goofiness of it- always telling me I needed to find a COW.
On Thursday a mom helping with music came and told me the Lord was prompting her to bring her cow on Friday. We have farms in our area and they have a Scottish Highlander white long haired cow with horns like the ones we were earning. The long hair was the only major difference. They set up a pen, got a friend with a trailer to help, and the kids were extremely excited on Friday to see a real cow! Of course, Hannah from Ghana took most of the credit!
Giving
We gave the kids the idea of doing a lemonade stand with a Ghana promo sign on it. Tuesday morning 2 girls came in with $75 from their lemonade stand! They went to neighbors around their house and told them about the stand. Most gave $5 or $10 and told them to keep the change for Ghana. They shared their story Tuesday morning and others did the same. It was a hot week. Someone told me she spotted a few more Ghana stands when she was driving around. By Friday we had over $2000 dollars, and on Sunday, with some extra giving from the congregation, we ended up with $650 over our goal- $2205! We were able to give enough for Partners ministries to start a small business in Ghana also. WOW! It was a memorable week. I do think the pastor who offered to get “slimed” if the kids raised the money didn’t hurt. He had 4 gallons of apple sauce from Costco dumped over his head on Friday when Hannah from Ghana made the announcement. Partners staff came over from our office and took pictures of all this to go onto our website and maybe into a publication to give other churches an idea of how to pick a project and make it part of VBS. I also wrote up a few ideas for a VBS focus on giving to one of our Dalit HOH projects for Partners. Check out the Partners website (www.partnersintl.org) to get a hold of that. Let me know if you have trouble finding it there.
Well, enough for one day. I figured you would either want to know all about VBS or nothing, so you could skip that part of you weren't interested. Allison's job is requiring her to be in South Korea by August 21st, so she is going to fly home on the 6th so we can get her ready. Jesse is in Los Angeles right now in the inner city doing his mission trip. Please be praying for them this week. His leaders told me they were going to rely heavily on him for music for VBS and other leadership things. Thanks as always for your interest and prayers. God bless you- Nancy
We are having a quiet evening at home after spending a lot of time at the triplexes over the weekend. I wrote last time about the 6 townhomes Greg and I have bought as a retirement investment. I helped clean on Friday evening and painted on Saturday afternoon. I stayed home to rest yesterday, partly because of a stomach ache. Two of the older girls have moved in and are so excited. They plan to mentor the younger ones. We are emailing back and forth with parents and they are so grateful for this set up for their daughters just a few blocks from the Moody Bible Institute campus at 4th Memorial.
I was tired yesterday, but have been limiting myself when I feel tired. I see my oncologist tomorrow and will get the CAT scan results- more than "stable" and also the blood work results. Maybe he will be able to figure out why I got the blood clots. I am supposed to be in little danger of them traveling now that I have been on Coumadin for over a month. I am allowed to go on walks again, but we do go shorter distances, don’t go up or down hills, and we walk more slowly. My right leg is still having pains sometimes, so I put my leg up a lot and am resting it more. I am also wearing my compression stockings quite a bit. They are supposed to keep blood from pooling in my legs and forming more clots.
Wednesday medical update
I saw Dr. Sienko, my oncologist yesterday. It was a VERY encouraging appointment. He said all of my blood tests came back normal. I have no blood condition causing clots that they can test for. There a few other tests they can do after I get off Coumadin. He plans to have me on Coumadin for 6 months, so I get to stop in mid Dec. He explained that since my clots are just happening without any discernable cause, he wants me on it for a while, but not indefinitely. Some people just get clots for no discernable reason, and I am one of them. My CAT scan showed only little things that I have had for a long time and haven’t changed, and my MRI showed no cancer either.
We had a conversation about my last cancer being considered a metastasis as opposed to a recurrence. Recurrence would be when your cancer comes back in your beast tissue, and is much less threatening than a metastasis or growth of it in a different part of the body. He told me that we could think of mine as a recurrence. It was near my original cancer-in my left armpit, near my left breast cancer, and it was removable and treatable with radiation, chemo, and Femara- a type of hormone therapy. A metastasis would be something like brain, bone or liver cancer that wouldn’t be as removable and that is farther from the original tumor. A metastasis is automatically called stage 4 (out of 4) and can only be treated but never cured. So although he will see me again in 3 months, and we will remain vigilant and watchful, I am encouraged. My initial cancer was stage 2B or 3A, depending on how certain factors were considered. I had two types of cancer- both invasive (lobular and ductal), moderately aggressive and hormone receptive for estrogen and progesterone. My tumor (or the string of them) was 6 cm long, but it was also skinny- the largest one was about 2 cm’s. So that clarification on how to think of metastasis was very helpful. I just feel less “stage 4” than I did yesterday before talking to him. Thank you all for praying! God, as always, is the author of my days and for now I get more of them free from cancer!
About VBS-
I was asked for a description of what we did to promote missions during our VBS
this summer at Whitworth Pres. here in Spokane, Washington. We did a missions focus on Ghana, since we have adoped Partnership International's work there as a focus. We decided to aim for getting a plow, two bullocks (cows) and seeds for a church planter in Ghana through the Partners International’s Harvest of Hope catalog. A plow and cows would provide an ongoing income for a church planter's family. They could use it for their own plowing, but also rent it out to earn more income. The female cows also provide milk for the family. And seeds would get them started with food to eat and I assume, more seeds. This project of $1555 was pretty ambitious for the 275 kids in our VBS, but we thought they could do it. And why not try?!
I made a coloring sheet of the picture from the HOH catalog for the preschoolers to color. Greg spotted an old plow in a garden in our neighborhood and I asked the people if we could borrow it. With their permission, we brought it to church and put it on the lawn outside the door where the kids came into the building. It looked very much like the one we were trying to earn. We put it into the church shed every night to keep it safe.
I put up our camping screen room and we pinned signs on it like, "Ghana Hut," “Plow now brown cow!” and, “It’s no yoke, we’re earning a plow!” There were other decorations also- missions related. We put 2 card tables inside and on one had a 3-fold board with pictures of the project and a map of the world with Ghana on it and giving sheets from the Harvest of Hope Catalog. On the other table we had packets from Compassion International for families to choose a child to sponsor from Ghana.
I wrote a ½ page note to go home with the kids every day that tied our giving project into the VBS curriculum. We made bookmarks for the kids that had “B2baB” (Blessed to be a Blessing) on them, and Ghana ’08 on the back. We have 2 Whitworth students who also go to our church and asked if they could be around as much a possible at the beginning and end of VBS each day. At least one of them is the son of one of our Partners leaders in Africa. We made these two college guys the stars of the week. They played the drum when we did our skit and also out in the Ghana Hut, where they also autographed the kids’ bookmarks for them and let the kids play their drum. Kids were lined up at the door of the “Ghana Hut” to meet these guys! It was amazing. They each had a folding lawn chair to sit on, and I had one outside the door. As goofy Hannah from Ghana, I had our drum from Uganda there and let the kids play it while they waited on line. Kofi and Elam have been at our church all year, but now the kids have gotten to know them.
Julie and I were the “Ghana Sisters.” Julie was Gerti and I was “Hannah from Ghana” (pronouncing Ghana like you would pronounce Hannah) and they corrected me every time, telling me that I was “Haaaannna from Ghana” (pronounced like Ghana). The goal of this was to get them used to pronouncing and remembering the country name.
Also every day I wore clothes from different countries that I have collected over the years. India, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Japan (borrowed) and at last on Friday I got it right and had an outfit from Ghana (also borrowed). So every morning during the opening we would do a skit. I would model my amazing outfit for the kids and then tell Gerti where it was from. We had a map on the power point and pointed out the countries my clothes were from and Gerti would patiently correct me and show me how far away from Ghana I was. The idea here was to get them to know where Ghana is in the world. By Friday they really knew! They would correct me every time I said it wrong and encourage me to try and find clothes from Ghana.
I came out for our skit with a big bag with something in it every day. The first day I had little things I thought they could give a bunch of- toothbrushes or toothpicks, or little plastic tops, etc. Gerti insisted that they could give BIG. So I acted doubtful all week and told them I didn’t think they could do it. I also had in my bag a stuffed animal from the thrift store for each day. Monday was a large pink elephant, Tues. a squirrel, a kangaroo, a moose and finally on Friday a stuffed cow. So each day I would go stick it into the plow outside so they would see it when they went to their activities. They were concerned that its’ feet couldn’t reach the ground and enjoyed the goofiness of it- always telling me I needed to find a COW.
On Thursday a mom helping with music came and told me the Lord was prompting her to bring her cow on Friday. We have farms in our area and they have a Scottish Highlander white long haired cow with horns like the ones we were earning. The long hair was the only major difference. They set up a pen, got a friend with a trailer to help, and the kids were extremely excited on Friday to see a real cow! Of course, Hannah from Ghana took most of the credit!
Giving
We gave the kids the idea of doing a lemonade stand with a Ghana promo sign on it. Tuesday morning 2 girls came in with $75 from their lemonade stand! They went to neighbors around their house and told them about the stand. Most gave $5 or $10 and told them to keep the change for Ghana. They shared their story Tuesday morning and others did the same. It was a hot week. Someone told me she spotted a few more Ghana stands when she was driving around. By Friday we had over $2000 dollars, and on Sunday, with some extra giving from the congregation, we ended up with $650 over our goal- $2205! We were able to give enough for Partners ministries to start a small business in Ghana also. WOW! It was a memorable week. I do think the pastor who offered to get “slimed” if the kids raised the money didn’t hurt. He had 4 gallons of apple sauce from Costco dumped over his head on Friday when Hannah from Ghana made the announcement. Partners staff came over from our office and took pictures of all this to go onto our website and maybe into a publication to give other churches an idea of how to pick a project and make it part of VBS. I also wrote up a few ideas for a VBS focus on giving to one of our Dalit HOH projects for Partners. Check out the Partners website (www.partnersintl.org) to get a hold of that. Let me know if you have trouble finding it there.
Well, enough for one day. I figured you would either want to know all about VBS or nothing, so you could skip that part of you weren't interested. Allison's job is requiring her to be in South Korea by August 21st, so she is going to fly home on the 6th so we can get her ready. Jesse is in Los Angeles right now in the inner city doing his mission trip. Please be praying for them this week. His leaders told me they were going to rely heavily on him for music for VBS and other leadership things. Thanks as always for your interest and prayers. God bless you- Nancy
Friday, July 18, 2008
Some test results are in- no cancer!
Dear friends,
I saw my breast surgeon about some new lumpiness on the left side of my chest. She agreed with me that it was new since I was there in Feb, and she ordered an MRI to help us know whether or not it is cancer or scar tissue. I am so happy to report that the MRI came back showing that the area of concern does not have a blood supply feeding it. She said that cancer always does, so we can continue to watch it, but no need for surgery. My left side is sticking out an inch further than my right, and this has just transpired in the last few months. That is why I went to see her. This wait and see method is different than I am used to, but I do trust her, so I am trying to let go and not worry about it.
Meantime, the DVT’s (deep vein thrombosis) showed up in my legs. Cancer is the one and only risk factor that I have for why I got them. The Femara I suspected at first is not a clot propogator like Tamoxifen is. Either current cancer happening or if a person has ever had cancer treatment can cause them. I hope I don’t have cancer now, which is why my oncologist ordered a bunch of blood tests and a CAT scan of my trunk. The short answer of the nurse to my inquiry about the results last week were, “stable,” and, “Have a great weekend.” I know there were very little things we have kept an eye on for years, and stable probably meant that none of those have changed, and there is nothing new to be concerned about. I will see my oncologist on Tuesday to find out what the blood tests showed, if anything. There are blood conditions that can cause clots that he was able to check for. I haven’t heard any results on those. The only one I heard mentioned specifically was lupis. I do know that they messed up a few of the tests and had to poke me again to redraw more blood. What 's another poke at this point. I have lost count!
I have been to the Anticoagulation Clinic a lot and went a week in between visits last week and get 9 days this time. I am doing 7 ½ mg 4 days a week and 10mg the other 3 days. It has been in the 2.1 to 2.3 range and they want it a little higher. I eagerly look forward to my 3 salads a week. . Vitamin K is the enemy of Coumadin, but a whole summer without K laden broccoli is torture. But seriously, God is giving me grace.
My right leg is still painful, which could mean there is still a clot, or another clot there. They said all clots will eventually dissolve themselves in 3 weeks or so, but the Coumadin thins the blood to prevent it from happening again. Apparently, once you have had a clot, a rough spot remains on the side of that vein at that location. Then future cells going by can hook onto that rough spot and form another clot later. There has still been no discovery yet regarding what has caused these clots all of a sudden in my calves. Hopefully Dr. Sienko will have some ideas when I see him Tuesday. I am very sore and achy in my back and neck and generally all over. I can still do things I want to do, but running or jumping is out. We walk every evening we are home, but don’t go as far as we did before. This has been going on for a long time. Probably since cancer treatment 2 years ago.
DAUGHTERS
Last time I wrote, Jenni had just gotten a job at Chipoltle in Highlands Ranch, CO near Thunder Ridge High School. She is doing well with that and is using her high school Spanish to communicate with her co-workers. She is also pricing guitars. She is doing serious worship leading at college this year and it is time for her to get more than a low end instrument. She starts school on August 25th at Grove City College, so we are looking for her plane ticket to get back. I know Sean and Janet Willcox are going to miss our girls when they leave. They have enjoyed their summer daughters as much as we have enjoyed Lindsay.
Now it is Allison who has gotten a job. And not just any job! Allison was recruited to become an English teacher in a public elementary school in South Korea! She will be the English teacher for the entire school and will have all the kids in the school learning from her. There are several others from her college who are also working for the same company there in varius schools, so she felt confident enough to pursue the interviews. She found out yesterday that it is done. She has been officially employed by the department of education there. Now she is filling in all the paperwork ASAP and has to report for work on August 21st. She has a 12 month contract. They pay for her travel there and back and provide housing free. She hopes to get some great experience under her belt and begin paying off her loans. She is very excited!
Laura is still with AT&T. She got her I-Phone last week- a fun perk. She and some friends have started an international student fellowship group which is going well. She is planning to come visit us from Aug. 13th to the 18th , before Allison leaves. So we are hoping to spend those days together as a family.
Believe it or not, we are sort of “adopting” 30 more daughters this fall. Greg and I have invested in getting a property of 2 triplexes here in Spokane. There are 3 rooms in each of the 6 townhouses. Our plan is for it to be an apartment for Moody Bible Institute women freshmen to live in. Moody here doesn’t own dorms, so the students just hunt for apartments. Our units are just a few blocks from the church that houses their campus, and they can have community with each other with a few older students living with them to mentor them. There will be 30 this fall, until the last of the units is free from the current renter, and hopefully 6 more girls for a total of 36 next year.
So we are cleaning, patching walls, changing out doors, sinks, furnaces, painting, carpeting, etc, etc. as the current renters move out. I have helped some with the cleaning and Greg has been there a lot. He has people doing the various jobs. We have used our retirement money to invest in this, and we believe it will be a blessing to the Moody student women as well. The administration is very excited although we don’t have an official agreement with them. Please pray for the other 3 tenants to move out as scheduled or before schedule, so we can get in to do the repairs before our 30 adopted daughters move in by mid August. These townhouses are near Gonzaga Univ. campus as well and are about 20 minutes from our house or 10 minutes from Partners. We sense the Lord's hand on this whole endeaver and would appreciate your prayers.
Lindsay, our honorary “Exchange Daughter” of summer ’08 has only one more day with us before she is gone for the summer. She has been a delight and has filled the gap we were feeling about missing our girls. She will begin her sr. year at Whitworth this fall, so we still look forward to seeing her during the year.
SON
Jesse is planning to leave for his youth group mission trip to inner city LA at 4:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. I know he would be grateful for your prayers for that week. He has n eight hour shift at Starbucks both Friday and Sat. before leaving. He will be leading worship for the group during the trip, and I have heard from the leaders that he will play a major role in the VBS they will be leading. He then plans to go to Denver August 5th and see friends there, and then drive back to Spokane in Allison’s car with Jenni. Allison is going to fly home sooner so we have time to get her ready to go to S. Korea.
So, health issues, children coming, children going, property cleaning and prepping, meeting 30 new girls, and doing our “regular” jobs. I still need to tell you about our camp teaching time, VBS missions at our church and the cow, the African children's choir, and so much more. More on those later. Such amazing things are happening at Partners International!
God Bless you! Sorry this is so long. I shouldn’t have waited so long to write an update. Blessings- Nancy Fritz
I saw my breast surgeon about some new lumpiness on the left side of my chest. She agreed with me that it was new since I was there in Feb, and she ordered an MRI to help us know whether or not it is cancer or scar tissue. I am so happy to report that the MRI came back showing that the area of concern does not have a blood supply feeding it. She said that cancer always does, so we can continue to watch it, but no need for surgery. My left side is sticking out an inch further than my right, and this has just transpired in the last few months. That is why I went to see her. This wait and see method is different than I am used to, but I do trust her, so I am trying to let go and not worry about it.
Meantime, the DVT’s (deep vein thrombosis) showed up in my legs. Cancer is the one and only risk factor that I have for why I got them. The Femara I suspected at first is not a clot propogator like Tamoxifen is. Either current cancer happening or if a person has ever had cancer treatment can cause them. I hope I don’t have cancer now, which is why my oncologist ordered a bunch of blood tests and a CAT scan of my trunk. The short answer of the nurse to my inquiry about the results last week were, “stable,” and, “Have a great weekend.” I know there were very little things we have kept an eye on for years, and stable probably meant that none of those have changed, and there is nothing new to be concerned about. I will see my oncologist on Tuesday to find out what the blood tests showed, if anything. There are blood conditions that can cause clots that he was able to check for. I haven’t heard any results on those. The only one I heard mentioned specifically was lupis. I do know that they messed up a few of the tests and had to poke me again to redraw more blood. What 's another poke at this point. I have lost count!
I have been to the Anticoagulation Clinic a lot and went a week in between visits last week and get 9 days this time. I am doing 7 ½ mg 4 days a week and 10mg the other 3 days. It has been in the 2.1 to 2.3 range and they want it a little higher. I eagerly look forward to my 3 salads a week. . Vitamin K is the enemy of Coumadin, but a whole summer without K laden broccoli is torture. But seriously, God is giving me grace.
My right leg is still painful, which could mean there is still a clot, or another clot there. They said all clots will eventually dissolve themselves in 3 weeks or so, but the Coumadin thins the blood to prevent it from happening again. Apparently, once you have had a clot, a rough spot remains on the side of that vein at that location. Then future cells going by can hook onto that rough spot and form another clot later. There has still been no discovery yet regarding what has caused these clots all of a sudden in my calves. Hopefully Dr. Sienko will have some ideas when I see him Tuesday. I am very sore and achy in my back and neck and generally all over. I can still do things I want to do, but running or jumping is out. We walk every evening we are home, but don’t go as far as we did before. This has been going on for a long time. Probably since cancer treatment 2 years ago.
DAUGHTERS
Last time I wrote, Jenni had just gotten a job at Chipoltle in Highlands Ranch, CO near Thunder Ridge High School. She is doing well with that and is using her high school Spanish to communicate with her co-workers. She is also pricing guitars. She is doing serious worship leading at college this year and it is time for her to get more than a low end instrument. She starts school on August 25th at Grove City College, so we are looking for her plane ticket to get back. I know Sean and Janet Willcox are going to miss our girls when they leave. They have enjoyed their summer daughters as much as we have enjoyed Lindsay.
Now it is Allison who has gotten a job. And not just any job! Allison was recruited to become an English teacher in a public elementary school in South Korea! She will be the English teacher for the entire school and will have all the kids in the school learning from her. There are several others from her college who are also working for the same company there in varius schools, so she felt confident enough to pursue the interviews. She found out yesterday that it is done. She has been officially employed by the department of education there. Now she is filling in all the paperwork ASAP and has to report for work on August 21st. She has a 12 month contract. They pay for her travel there and back and provide housing free. She hopes to get some great experience under her belt and begin paying off her loans. She is very excited!
Laura is still with AT&T. She got her I-Phone last week- a fun perk. She and some friends have started an international student fellowship group which is going well. She is planning to come visit us from Aug. 13th to the 18th , before Allison leaves. So we are hoping to spend those days together as a family.
Believe it or not, we are sort of “adopting” 30 more daughters this fall. Greg and I have invested in getting a property of 2 triplexes here in Spokane. There are 3 rooms in each of the 6 townhouses. Our plan is for it to be an apartment for Moody Bible Institute women freshmen to live in. Moody here doesn’t own dorms, so the students just hunt for apartments. Our units are just a few blocks from the church that houses their campus, and they can have community with each other with a few older students living with them to mentor them. There will be 30 this fall, until the last of the units is free from the current renter, and hopefully 6 more girls for a total of 36 next year.
So we are cleaning, patching walls, changing out doors, sinks, furnaces, painting, carpeting, etc, etc. as the current renters move out. I have helped some with the cleaning and Greg has been there a lot. He has people doing the various jobs. We have used our retirement money to invest in this, and we believe it will be a blessing to the Moody student women as well. The administration is very excited although we don’t have an official agreement with them. Please pray for the other 3 tenants to move out as scheduled or before schedule, so we can get in to do the repairs before our 30 adopted daughters move in by mid August. These townhouses are near Gonzaga Univ. campus as well and are about 20 minutes from our house or 10 minutes from Partners. We sense the Lord's hand on this whole endeaver and would appreciate your prayers.
Lindsay, our honorary “Exchange Daughter” of summer ’08 has only one more day with us before she is gone for the summer. She has been a delight and has filled the gap we were feeling about missing our girls. She will begin her sr. year at Whitworth this fall, so we still look forward to seeing her during the year.
SON
Jesse is planning to leave for his youth group mission trip to inner city LA at 4:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. I know he would be grateful for your prayers for that week. He has n eight hour shift at Starbucks both Friday and Sat. before leaving. He will be leading worship for the group during the trip, and I have heard from the leaders that he will play a major role in the VBS they will be leading. He then plans to go to Denver August 5th and see friends there, and then drive back to Spokane in Allison’s car with Jenni. Allison is going to fly home sooner so we have time to get her ready to go to S. Korea.
So, health issues, children coming, children going, property cleaning and prepping, meeting 30 new girls, and doing our “regular” jobs. I still need to tell you about our camp teaching time, VBS missions at our church and the cow, the African children's choir, and so much more. More on those later. Such amazing things are happening at Partners International!
God Bless you! Sorry this is so long. I shouldn’t have waited so long to write an update. Blessings- Nancy Fritz
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