Transition update and California here we come!

Dear friends,
(My Mother's Day Flowers from my kids!)
Job Update
     Greg went to Houston today to meet with one of the ministries he is very interested in. He needs to see them face to face to figure out if this is a match or not. We have been asked by another ministry if we would be willing to move to Seattle. And there is another one we heard from as well today. I think by next week we might have more of an answer regarding what the next step will be. We are grateful for these options that are exciting and strategic. Moving isn't that appealing, but we could if we had to. These opportunities cover a gammet of fully supported to paid to mixed. Please join us in praying for discernment as we make this huge decision. We are officially done at Partners June 30th.
California Trip Thursday- Tomorrow
      Tomorrow Jenni and I go meet Allison at the end of work at 4:30 and head for Monterey to see Jesse for the weekend. He has 4 days off and we are all excited to get to have time with him. On Monday morning we will take Allison to the airport to fly back to Seattle, and Jenni and I will leave on Tuesday morning for Los Angeles. Jenni will visit the friends she lived and churched with last summer during her internship, and I will visit supporters. Then we plan to drive back to Spokane the following Monday (June 6th) for 2 days. We would appreciate prayers for safety in travel and to be able to make connections with family and friends along the way. The oil in our Toyota Yaris is changed and new windshield wipers are in place. We are looking forward to this adventure.

Health Update
     I have lots of news here... My sore left knee is hurting because of a bone spur on my knee cap. I will get injections at the end of June-beginning of July in both knees. Not steroids, but a material that pads the joint. That helped for 6 months last year and should relieve the problem at least until after China. My oncologist urged me to do what I need to to keep myself moving and not let bad knees stop me from exercizing. My knee is popping, but not all the time.
     I saw my surgical oncologist last week. She went over my PET scan, followed up with an ultrasound and everything is clear! I had my annual appointment with my oncologist this Monday and she explained that the right side of my chest is getting smaller because the chest wall is pulling tighter due to the radiation there. The actual TRAM flaps which are primarily fat tissue from my stomach, are basically immune to the radiation. There is nothing to do about the assymetry. So she prescribed a small form I can put into one side of my bra which makes me even. My clothes fit much better now, and I am very grateful! What great doctors!
     My neuro stimulator for my bladder is working fantastically. No problems at all. Another praise. I am so grateful to the Lord for providing relief for this problem. I really don't even notice it working much at all. I tried turning it up and turned it back down after I was feeling it too much. All went well at the airport. I went in the scanner where your hands are over your head. That is the safe one for devices like pacemakers.
A Travel 'God Moment'
    Greg and I traveled to Jenni's graduation. As we were getting on the plane in Spokane, I heard someone say, "Nancy!" I turned around to find Karol Evans, one of our supporters and a dear friend, getting onto the same plane traveling back home from Spokane where she was visiting family. After the plane took off, she and Greg switched seats and we talked a mile a minute the whole way to our layover in Denver. We were thanking the Lord for this divine appointment. To be on the same airline, same plane and at the same time. What are the odds outside of God doing it? Amazing!
Jenni Graduated!

    
    Jenni is now an official mecanical engineer! It was an outdoor ceremony and rained. Indoors would have been very hot in the gym and Laura Bush spoke, so the crowd was huge. Here is Laura Bush.

 Anyway, it was a special time. We helped Jenni move out of her dorm and had a picnic under a pavilion with Jenni's France friends and their families. (France girls below) Greg and I had a nice visit with Dr. Linda Christie, who is a Grove City prof of Laura's who has become a dear friend of ours over the years.

     Jenni passed her certification test, and graduated caum laude. She is waiting for her security clearance to get done so she can work at Bettis Atomic Laboratories in Pittsburgh, PA. She hopes to start at the end of June.     
      Greg thought it would be smart to check out the housing market and see if she could invest in a house rather than renting. The short story is that she is in the process of buying a small house in Forest Hills! It is skinny and tall and includes a separate apartment which she will be able to rent easily since she is close to 2 universities. She will also get a roommate to share the rest of the house with her. The Lord seems to be opening this door for her. We are shaking our heads amazed at the amazing deal and how all has gone smoothly so far. We hope it all works out with inspections, etc. She is excited to set up her own home.
     Laura is doing well. She put on a conference in England for Musahala recently. It went well and 150 people attended from all over the world. She is back in Israel now.We are still trying to figure out where Allison should get married since we don't know where we will be next April.
     So there is the update. Email me if you have any questions that I didn't answer with this. I am going to sleep and finish packing. We had our first humming bird yesterday! God bless you. Nancy Fritz 509-990-8465 nancyfritz@aol.com

Transition continues...

Greetings-
I left you with a cliffhanger the last time so I will fill you in....

Neuro inplant went great!
Greg and I arrived at the hospital at 10:00 as we were told to a week ago on 4/22. Well, I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since midnight, so as time kept passing, I felt more and more wilted. I think I finally went in at noon or so to get prepped. Surgery had gone slower than planned that morning, so that was the tie up. Anyway, once the IV went in I felt better and everyone was wonderful. We had been hoping and praying for an anesthesiologist who would understand Dr. R's need for me to be somewhat awake so she would have the added assurance that the "lead" or wire was placed correctly by getting my input about what I was feeling. The doc. doing the annesthesia was fantastic. She understood completely and all went perfectly. I had no pain and remember flicking in and out to give them the answers they needed. So all went very smoothly.

As I expected, I was very sore for a few days and moved slowly. The bladder "pacemaker" is about 1 1/2" to 2" below the surface in my right hip. I can feel the constant background hum of it working but don't notice it without thinking about it. I was taught how to use the remote, which has a few different programs on it. I go in to have it checked over on Thursday this week. I think it needs to be turned up more, so we will do that then. As far as healing, it is still a little tender on the spot where the device was put, but not much. So thank you for praying for this. I have an official card that I am to carry all the time, and have to stay away from the screening machines at the airpirt from now on. I will test how that goes next week when Greg and I fly to Jenni's graduation at Grove City. I think I may need to have a med alert bracelet made.

Since we won't be at Partners much longer, that means health insurance will falll completely on us to pay for. That will be a huge expense. I have a few more doctors to see before that happens to make sure all bases are covered. I see my oncologist and breast surgeon later this month. I don't know why but the right side of my chest is getting smaller or the left bigger so that now it is about a 1 to 2 ratio. That is new and if nothing else, it is getting harder and harder to get clothes to fit. I also have a sore left knee after falling on it a few times this winter- on the ice.

Transitions 

This weekend, Allison came home to visit. It is her birthday today and yesterday was her fiance's (Tyler). She did a work project with Greg on Saturday morning and we had a nice birthday dinner Sat. night. Yesterday Greg and Allison ran in the famous Bloomsday race in Spokane. I helped at the Running Water booth at the race helping to raise awareness and donations for some clean water projects for Africa and Indonesia.

So here is the situation... We don't know where we will be living in a year when she will be getting married. If we are here, we have lots figured out. But if we need to move, things get really complicated. She has ordered her dress online and it should be here at the end of the month. It is beautiful and we can recommend some inexpensive websites if you are in the market! Jenni will be here then before she goes back to Pittsburgh for her engineering job in late June.( Jenni asked for prayer that her security clearance will go through smoothly. If it doesn't, it could cost her her job.) Anyway, one transition is to figure out where we will be living, and where to plan the wedding.

But before that happens, we need to figure out what the Lord is calling us to do next. A Christian leader and friend visited us last Monday and gave us some very good input on questions to ask ourselves to help us in our search and decision making. PLEASE PRAY for us as we do this. We are very touched that a friend and co-worker at Partners told us he is doing a 40 day fast to ask God to guide us to the next thing. He is also praying for Partners. We received word on Saturday that a $585,000 gift has come in which will help the ministry out of the truely critical financial situation we were in. We are so grateful to the Lord for showing His desire to have PI survive.

Greg is working very hard these days, listening to the Lord and talking to people. Pray for him to be discerning and for me to be quiet when I need to be. We don't have the luxury of time to figure things out. Our support base is at approximately 50% of what it was, and we will be dependant on that to pay the bills including our insurance premiums. God is big and has always taken care of us, so I know I can trust Him. But I am feeling vulnerable. It takes time to raise support. We do have the best team in all of history though!

If you know me, you know that I really have peace deep down inside, and sometimes just have to feel how I feel. And I process things out loud. I don't hold much in. So know that, and don't worry about me- just pray for me to rest in the Lord. I feel sorry for the weeds I just pulled out of the yard before I wrote this! The Lord and I were communicating as I wrestled with them. It was healthy.

Well, I need to get the guestroom ready for Pastor Noah from Timbuktu who Jesse worked with 2 years ago in Mali. We get to have him overnight. Our friend who is fasting told me that he thinks one of the most significant things the Lord did during our 4 years here is the relationships He has established with our international partners and with the staff. I agree with him. When asking the Lord if we should come here, He told me He was offering me a gift- that it would be like receiving a platter of my favorite desserts. Well, those desserts clearly represent the amazing brothers and sisters He introduced me to during this time. Noah is one of those. I am so very rich for the these experiences and relationships.

I will let you go for now. Thank you for praying and caring. God bless you!  Nancy Fritz nancyfritz@aol.com

Transitions...and surgery today

It is the 20th of April and Easter is coming on Sunday. Our church does a great job helping us prepare our hearts and think about all that Easter- the first one- means to us. Wow! Did God do a cool thing coming to earth as a human after already being a resident of heaven. He gave all that up for us. And then He lived a human life witnessing pain, hunger, disease, unfairness, injustice. He also experienced relationships, love, joy, laughter, sharing meals with friends and generosity. All of it- all of life.

And then He experienced the accusations of crimes of which He was innocent. He paid the price for all of those felonies, lies, and wrongs- all ever committed by mankind born before and after Himself. Wow. That is love. At Bible study yesterday we talked about compassion and how we can learn to express it to those in our lives. Jesus was the amazing example. I do hope He gives me chances to express His love to others.

Transitions...
Greg's job at Partners International is coming to an end at the end of June. We need to figure out what the Lord has for us next. Last week as we had our annual meetings with our international regional directors, other leaders and staff gather for meetings, it was bittersweet for me. I already knew that Greg had been told that we are on our way out of PI. He was asked not to say anything about that during the week, so as I listened to reports and caught up with friends and made plans for a few Kidzana training trips, I was sad to know that I will soon be saying good-bye to this ministry.

At the time when our departure was announced, Greg spoke some and I can just tell you that I am married to an amazing man. He is full of integrity and humility and is an example to me. There were many tears and some sobbing as we hugged and processed this news with friends afterward. I was spent. I am grateful for the amazing brothers and sisters we have had the honor to know during these 4 years. When we moved to Spokane, the Lord gave me a promise that this time would be like a gift for me, and He has fulfilled that promise.

Surgery today
At 11:30 I am scheduled to have the neurostimulator installed to aid my bladder in working properly. I wrote about this in an entry a few times ago. The temporary one worked perfectly, so we scheduled this procedure to put in the permanent one. My doctor needs the aid of a special x-ray machine to get the lead placed exactly where she wants it. I may be sort of awake during the surgery so I can tell her what I am feeling, but it depends on the anesthesiologist assigned to her OR. If they don't understand what she is trying to communicate, they will probably just put me to sleep. She said it takes a special skill to keep me awake and pain free too. The device will be implanted a few inches deep in one of my hips. Then there will be a remote that will operate it which Greg and I will be taught about after the surgery. I have a feeling I will be sore for a few days.

My carpal tunnel surgery several weeks ago went great. I am still sore, but gradually it is doing better. I have been having low back pain and one of my doctors sent me for a PET scan. I haven't seen the doctor about it yet, but I got the report and it was clear. Arthritis showed up in my back. I will take that instead of cancer any day! It really is a relief to have a clean scan. It is like getting a "cancer-free for a year or so at least" card!

Well I have an early meeting about our regional missions conference in November. I am in charge of workshops and tracks and I have a lot to do still. If any of you have ideas of what Greg and I might do next in our lives, we are open to suggestions.

God bless you!  Nancy Fritz     509-990-8465    nancyfritz@aol.com

The Holland Tunnel and Carpal Tunnel

Greetings!

We are back from our east coast trip and are grateful for how well everything went. Our time at Grace Church was wonderful. A little girl in Sunday school asked where I grew up, and after a quick moment of thought I told her, "Right here!" That was pretty neat. Greg preached and I shared about China and Ghana with the kids in Sunday school. The group is deciding on dates and who will go. What a treat to be with so many who have known me/us for so long and who have been so faithful in their support of our ministry.

We had a nice time with Greg's family in PA and got caught up with them before heading to Lancaster and Mt. Joy for Calvary Bible Church's mission conference there. We really enjoyed meeting the folks there. What a neat church! I think they were able to grasp the concept of partnering with indiginous ministries very well. Greg did a great job with his presentations and they asked great questions. They are obviously a church that has a heart for outreach and missions. We were blessed! On our way back to Laguardia Airport, we went through the Holland Tunnel. : )

In the morning Greg is taking me for my second carpal tunnel surgery. The other one was done last year and has worked wonderfully. It doesn't take long to do. So I will be taking it easy after that. Late in the afternoon we have a couple from Delhi, India coming to stay with us for the weekend. They have a lot of ministry going on with both Hindus and Muslims. We will get to learn more about what they are doing this weekend. There is a luncheon for mission committee leaders on Saturday hosted by Partners at our office. Others are doing the set up and Greg will lead the meeting.

Well, off to bed. Thanks to all of you who prayed for our trip. I really was a great trip.
God bless!  Nancy     509-990-8465

Flying east and God is good!

Dear friends,

      I am packing my suitcase yet again for our trip to NJ and PA from the 11th-21st. We will be meeting with a team from my home church who are planning a short term trip to Ghana this summer. When a group travels with Partners International, they serve and help the receiving ministry in ways our indiginous leaders have identified. Like the team from our church here in Spokane that went to Ghana and helped open the issue of the women accused of witchcraft for the leaders there to deal with head on. I am looking forward to hearing about the plans that are coming together for the team from Grace Church in Ridgewood. They got to meet the ministry leader from Ghana last month when he was in the States for other things.

After our time at Grace Church, we will head to PA. We will have some time with family and then we will see some supporters before heading to the Lancaster area to participate in a missions conference at that church on behalf of Partners International. We will make our way back to NYC to fly out on the 21st. We would appreciate your prayers for safety in travel and that we would be used be the Lord to be a blessing and also good listeners.

I had the neuro-stimulation test done last week on my bladder and IT WORKED!!! It was amazing! My bladder performed perfectly for the 3 days the wire stimulated the nerve going to my bladder. The next step is to go to the hospital to have the permanent one put in which includes a wire with tines to keep it placed, and also a small unit to control it placed under the skin in my low back. The slight electrical pulse I felt was almost unnoticable and was so very worth the relief of a predictable bladder. This will probably be done in April.

On March 25th I am planning to have my left wrist fixed for carpal tunnel. The symptoms are back after the 2nd shot and it only lasted 2 months this time. The shots cannot be done this frequently and my doctor feels that for me the best way to avoid permanent nerve damage is to do the surgery. I had it done on my right wrist and it worked fantastically. And the proceedure only took about 10 minutes. So that is the plan.

The Kidzana Institute last week was wonderful. 13 people participated and all were blessed and encouraged. Many attended less than the whole time, but all felt that the training was practical and were very glad they had come. And Greg and I got to have a few days with Sylvia, the director of Kidzana and her friend staying with us. Sylvia is an amazing person and she and Greg can talk the big global missions picture for hours.She has become a dear friend. Another benefit of the training was developing deeper relationships with other Spokane childrens workers. 

Well, I need to finish filling my suitcase.  If any of you are in the Ridgewood area, Greg will be preaching this Sunday morning.  God bless you!   Nancy Fritz  nancyfritz@aol.com






    

Off to AZ in the morning, and on from there!

Dear friends,
COMINGS AND GOINGS
     These have been busy days. Allison has moved to Seattle- 2 weeks ago- and I helped to get her ready to go. She is in an apartment in the University district near Green Lake. I need to visit her and see what it all looks like. She got a nanny job today with a family she really is excited about. They have a 15 month old son and another due next month. Her boyfriend, Tyler, is living south of the city until he leaves for Spain in March to do mission work in Madrid.
     Last week Allison's 3 friends from FL and Alabama flew in for 5 days of vacation with her. Tyler was here too and also a friend of theirs who is here in Spokane attending Moody Bible Institute. So it was pretty exciting at our house!
     After they all left on Sunday, I remade the bed for Vasantaraj and Mano from India. They work with an amazing ministry in Carola (sp?) on the east coast in Tamilnadu. Mano shared stories this morning in chapel at the office and will be traveling tomorrow to Arizona...and so will Greg and I.
     Tomorrow morning many staff members are heading to Scottsdale to get ready for the President's Forum. Our guests will arrive on Thursday when the program will begin. Ken Medema will be our musical guest, Ted Dekker will be speaking and the highlight is hearing from several of our amazing partners. Emmanual is here from Ghana, our house guests from India, and Afeef is coming from North Africa. Their stories of changed lives and communities are amazing. For instance 44 churches were planted in muslim/animistic northern Ghana in 2010! 44! This is hard rocky soil and yet the Gospel is spreading by the grace of God. I will tell you more of their stories after we get back.
     We will be returning to Spokane on Sunday. Then next Friday I head to Denver until Tuesday to do a program on China for the 175+ kids in the Bible Blast class that supports us at Cherry Hills Community Church. Then, March 3-5 I am bringing a Kidzana Institute to Spokane. I am recruiting currently, and our goal is to have 20 people take the training. This is the training I did in east Asia in Oct., and it is simply amazing. Having seen it so spot on effective in Oct., I am hoping many will take advantage of doing it here next month.
     A little later in March, Greg and I will head to NJ and PA for training and meetings with churches that are connected to Partners. Greg has a new job at Partners International called Church Resources, and is in the midst of figuring out what all that will entail. That trip will last almost 2 weeks. I think I get to be home for a while until we go to Jenni's graduation from Grove City in early May.

Exhale...
HEALTH UPDATE
     A few have asked about my health. My bladder is still acting up and muscular control is sluggish at best. We have tried every idea my doctor has (and she is amazing), and we have decided to try one more idea that works well for some people. There is a procedure where a wire which is connected to a device is inserted close to the nerve that goes to the bladder. Like a pacemaker, the device sends impulses to the bladder nerve urging it to contract. First we do a trail, and if that works, a permanent wire is inserted that has tines on it and a small version of the device is placed under the skin. The test run will be on February 28th, and if it works, the permanent one will be put in by the end of March. My insurance has approved trying this- but their permission is only until the end of March.
     I am doing a health coach program through my doctor's office to help me learn how to eat more healthy and heal my intestines. A test that we did last year showed that I have a leaky gut, my food doesn't digest well at all, and there is a great deal of inflammation. Now with a glycemic (sp?)index diet, I am eating healthy food every 2- 3 hours during the day and am taking extra protein that absorbs right into my system also. I am accountable for what I am eating and for exercise. Anyway, I go see her every 2 weeks and she gives me feedback on how I am doing and answers my questions. The goal is to change habits forever. With my cancer history, this is going to give me much more of a fighting chance.
     My right knee got pulled when I was working out at the gym, but I am sure that will be feeling better soon. I finished my physical therapy with Barb who was helping me get rid of the scar tissue I had from radiation on my left side. I learned how to do massage myself too. I also got another shot in my left wrist which was having lots of carpal tunnel problems again. There is a small chance the shot this time will work longer than the 2 1/2 months the last shot worked. If it comes back, I will probably get it fixed. That worked well on my right wrist. A ten minute surgery and great results.
     So, I hope that is enough of an update to give you an idea. I am approaching my 12th and 5th anniversaries of my breast cancers, and continue to be grateful for every day the Lord gives me! I talked to our friend in East Asia and they want us to come back this fall and do phase 2 of the Kidzana training. (Greg thinks he should come with me!) I need to check out this possibility after I get back from AZ.
     Well, I am going to sign off and go eat a salad!
God bless you-  Nancy

Thanks for praying

Hello there!
    Yesterday I went to the doctor and learned that the pain in my left lung area was bruised muscles between my ribs from all the coughing. My lungs are clear and what I have is viral. I also got a cough medicine for night time which enabled great sleep last night after many nights of coughing. This is going around and I will be fine. The fever is gone and I am feeling a little better today. Thank you for praying.
God Bless,
Nancy