East Asia Trip Report- Land of Hard Sleepers and Soft Hearts: Part 1

Dear friends,

Finally a chance to give you a more complete report about my trip! I was in East Asia for 20 days. My first week had an absolutely amazing opportunity to do "discipleship tourism." Wade, Greg's cousin, his son, Josh, (pictured here with me on the "B" section of the Great Wall) and I made up the tour group, and got to see sights in and around Beijing and hear their history from a Christian perspective. It was fantastic to hear what had happened at these places. I was grateful that there was a bathroom at the top of this climb at Tower #5! I was praying for a miracle and there it was! This really was as steep as it looks. My broken toes seemed to handle it OK.

Me and Josh at the "G" section of the Wall.

A welcome sight (at least the bottom part). The English wording on signs is often interesting.

Notice the bricks the wall is made of. We learned that families living in the villages near the construction of the Great Wall were required to make a quotient of bricks out of clay, ash for the Wall.  When their bricks were brought, the overseer shot an arrow at them from a certain distance away. If the arrow penetrated the brick more than an acceptable amount, the entire family was killed. I had heard that many had lost their lives making the Wall, but I didn't know this was how! Can you imagine? Also, our guide told us that the Wall was never actually used for defence. None of it, ever! One time there as a battle at the foot of it, but it had no part in defense.

Here is a close up of some of those bricks.

Here is one of about 30 such meals I had while in China. I hardly ever saw the same food twice. Sometimes we had 4 entrees, and one time 14! I seriously could live on Chinese food! It is amazing as long as it isn't spicy. I don't do spicy well!

We went to see the Celestial Temple. This is a place emperors were required to go to say prayers to "The God of Heaven," the "Imperial God," and to give sacrifices in order for the harvest to be blessed. Read the sign below...

This walkway through the grounds of the Celestial Temple grounds was divided by these white lines to mark where everyone should walk. Only the Eternal God himself was allowed in the middle. The emperor walked on one side and the officials walked on the other side. This was to help remind the emperor that even he was subservient to a greater power.

Flower displays like this are placed all over the city.

We stayed in a chain hotel that whole week and 1/2. The beds are pretty hard and we finally figured out that they were just box springs! If you want a soft bed, you have to stay at a 4 or 5 star hotel. I remembered this from last year and brought a down throw that rolled us very small and brought it with me. I used the covers for padding and then used my blanket on top. At least it was a little softer! It was hot outside and I only wore my sweater a few times in Beijing, and wished for more summer clothes.

Our friends made sure we got to see the Olympic Park. Last year I was 1 mile away from the Bird's Nest and couldn't even see it because of the smog. It was clear when we went this time and it was impressive inside and out!

We got to go in and "feel" the inside of the place. It was really an experience imagining the Olympics in there. I had seen the opening exercises and to see it filled me with awe.

We got to go in and "feel" the inside of the place. It was really an experience imagining the Olympics in there. I had seen the opening exercises and to see it filled me with awe.

There was a video playing that showed the opening exercises of the Olympics with the sounds of applause, etc. 100,000 people can sit in there at a time. And all the seats are good seats!

Josh and I are in front of the water cube where the Olympic pools are. Behind you see an interestingly shaped building. It is built to look like the fire on the Olympic torch. 

Right next to the Bird's Nest is the Olympic Torch. 

As we walked along the Olympic Park, there are beautiful displays of flowers and pieces of art that have been donated by various countries. Along the way are fun signs to enjoy like these. Below see the art that was donated by the USA.

The subway station at the end of the Olympic Park looks like the theme of the Bird's Nest. Very cool!

This is all for now. I will enter another post later with details about a few other touring things and then the training! I hope you enjoyed the report so far!  God Bless You!   Nancy Fritz    nancyfritz@aol.com         509-990-8465

Back from the Far East!

Dear friends,

Wade, Josh and I after we had climbed to the top tower you see behind us.

I am officially part of the Great Wall!

The Bird's Nest was really amazing to see!

I arrived home from my trip this morning and it was absolutely fantastic! All of our prayers were answered and I will have lots to share very soon. We had all 3 trainings, although the 2nd one ended up to be more of a consultation for 3 days. We had no security problems and our health was good the whole time. We were given delicious food to eat, and got to try lots of variety. I didn't loose any weight while I was gone!

We had 62 students and all greatly appreciated the training. We were asked to come back next year. Our style is very interactive and practical and Kimberle and I do very well together. We compliment each other and enjoy each other. Our students were precious. We connected very well with them and some we knew from last year. Several of them came back bringing others, and one invited us to her network for the 3rd training. They want us back next year also.

I still can hardly express how rewarding it is to do this training which is so much what I enjoy and have talent for, and also is a blessing the Kingdom- ultimately helping teachers to lead children to Christ. I am so blessed! Thank you for all who went with me in your prayers and through your giving. I will give a more complete report with pictures in the next few days.

Blessings-
Nancy

Dear friends, September 20, 2011
In less than a week I should be in East Asia for a 3 week trip. My schedule will be packed and exciting. I am finishing up my preparation for approximately 50 1 hour lessons (some repeats and some team-taught) I will be teaching to full-time pastors, youth leaders, children's workers, and many parents who want to learn how to disciple their children. We expect to have 85-100 students all together during three, 3 day trainings. The first training has people coming from 9-10 different locations all over the country.

So... I have been working through our situation of not having enough support to live on (see my last blog entry). Not a whole lot has changed logistically. We have a few new supporters and I was given two sacrificial cash gifts to take with me in case I need anything on the trip. Someone offered to buy me the suitcase I need, when I asked to borrow hers. The ladies at my church are going to be praying for my trip. You are invited to join my prayer team as well if you are so inclined!

My co-teacher, Kimberle- mom of 6!

An interview using a ladle microphone? Typical when you use local resources! That is the way we teach them to do it. They leave encouraged and empowered!

A city map explaining the lives of children there drawn at our last training by those

reaching them. It includes a polluted river, Internet cafe, playground, a fellowship, etc. After doing this, they planned ways to reach the children with their fresh perspective. Here is another one...

Please Pray for Nancy Fritz’s Trip to East Asia

Sunday Monday Tues. Wed. Thurs. Friday Saturday

25 Leave Spokane 2 p.m. thru Seattle	26 Arrive in BJ at 10 p.m. (22 hrs)	27 Disciple- ship tourism co-hosting	28 Touring BJ & hearing Christian history	29 First time this is ever being done.	30 Pray I would be a blessing to those I encounter.	1 Pray for those experiencing this trip to be impacted.
2 Teach SS at a house church in BJ –Ballet Kimberle arrives	3 Prepare & meet w/ hosts to plan	4 Train 30 BJ church youth and adult children’s workers	5 These 3 days we are training 9-5	6 Pray for those attending to successfully “get” & be able to apply all they learn	7 Day off to rest, go shopping and get ready for next training	8 Vision and skills training for 15 full-time Christian workers from several churches
9 Pray for training for youth leaders	10 Pray for unity while writing vision & mission statements	11 Day to travel to another province for last training & set-up	12 30 from 3 churches in rural area.	13 These are receiving their first training	14 Pray we would be able to finish strong	15 Leave for home at 9 a.m. Arrive home at 10:00 a.m. the same day!

Oct. 4-6 We will do a 2^nd training with some of the teachers we taught last year- 25-40. They want to learn more on the topics of classroom skills, discipleship, and teaching families how to be involved in the discipleship of their children. We will also review “1 for 50” for them. The host of this training just told me over skype that her son is in the hospital for a severe asthma attack. Please pray for him.

Oct. 8-10 We will be meeting with 15 pastors and youth leaders for 3 days. We will be sharing 1 for 50 vision for one day, helping them to develop a church vision statement for each of their churches and giving them tools for youth ministry.

Oct. 12-14 We will do a first level of training with a more rural group of 30 outside of the city. This will include a typical first level 1 for 50 training. All three of these trainings will be through translation. Pray for those doing the written translation.

Please pray for our stamina. Pray that we will stay healthy. Pray for us to work well together as a team. Pray that we will give our best to teach well. Pray that we will be able to rest well at night in hotels. Pray for security & protection from the Lord. Trainings have been shut down before.

Making Lemonade...
You know the old saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Laura is here for this season. We aren't sure how long, but do know that both from her side and ours, it is totally the Lord who brought her home. She and Greg work very well together and are beginning this new ministry together. She helped us turn one of our rentals into a guest house. It is furnished and looking wonderful and we have had our first guest. The empty units (lemons) will hopefully bring in some income this way (lemonade!)

Yesterday I was able to go with a friend for her second mammogram due to something suspicious (lemon). Everything turned out well. No cancer! We were able to have a great time encouraging each other (lemonade).

We really don't have enough coming in to pay the bills with $10,000 in taxes and other occasional bills due soon (lemons), but so far the Lord is providing what is absolutely due each day (lemonade!). We continue to trust that our ministry team will grow so that we will be able to take advantage of the ministry opportunities coming up as well as being able to pay our bills. Greg and I are on Cobra health insurance until the end of the year and that alone is $1250 a month. So the situation is tight... lean...skinny...no frills (lemon), but we have the opportunity to depend on Almighty God (lemonade)! It is a great place to be even though I don't like being here. I am growing in faith and worrying less. We are commanded not to worry anyway, right? It does no good, and God isn't going to answer my prayers any differently if I am depressed and crying as He would if I am optimistically trusting Him. I can change in mood, but my Heavenly Father is consistent no matter what! He doesn't change. He is good, faithful, trustworthy, loving, and a hundred other amazing things. Laura and I watched Soul Surfer the other night and it was a great encouragement. We recommend it. By the way, if you would like to join our financial team, either for a one-time gift or as a monthly member of our team? We would love to talk to you about this. Or you can click here to donate online by check or credit card. If you'd prefer, you can send a check to:
Allegro Organizational Solutions
5535 Memorial Dr., Ste. F-811
Houston, TX 77007 USA
Either way, our account is: US-Frz.GNF

It is an amazing time to be alive. I have been invited to India and another SE Asian country from mid-February through the first week or 2 of March. I am also supposed to go to Thailand in May for an international children's ministry conference. It is one of my Kidzana consultant responsibilities. I don't have the money to go (lemon), but I will if it is the Lord's will (lemonade)!

May the Lord bring me to meet those English speakers He puts into my path during my trip. During the first week I will be around other tourists. I will try to send an update while I am gone, but in case I can't, I will send one when I get back! nancyfritz@aol.com 509-990-8465 God bless you! Nancy Fritz

No hazy, lazy summer days here!

Dear friends,

Tubing down the Little Spokane River by our neighborhood.

Tina, enjoying life...She tends to do that ALL the time!

You think this shadow is scary? You should have seen the real thing! "Black girl hair" is something we have learned a LOT about in the last two years! It is a LOT of work!

Greg and Adjua enjoying a respite during our hike around Brown's Lake in WA.

Into August already! I 've seen very little rain for weeks and the weather is perfect here in Spokane. We have taken Adjua and her two friends both tubing and camping and have had a lot of fun doing it. It was Tina's first "real" camping trip! And Greg gave swimming lessons to them when we were tubing. Tina is from Maloui and Miriam is from Kenya. We enjoyed hearing their stories, hiking, seeing a bear from the car, making som'ors and playing cards. In general- making great memories!

Laura is back in the States since her time in Israel came to a close. She is with Jenni right now and will be here at the end of next week. We haven't seen her since Christmas, so we are excited! She has lots of stories to tell and decisions to make.

Jenni is in her new home and has the house full- people-wise. Late last week her roommate was found. She is from Portland and just graduated from a Christian college. She is a perfect fit for Jenni and they are excited. It was miraculous how the Lord brought them together. Jenni has been fixing plumbing and getting settled while she waits for her job to start. She needs to start work soon as she has gone through almost all of her savings. She applied at Starbucks last week.

Jesse is learing scuba diving and is really enjoying it. He is almost done getting certified and remarked that it was nice to do something that he could pass the test on without so much difficulty! That's my boy! 

Allison is still working hard at her nanny job. The boys are very sweet and the 19 month old can work and iPhone and is recognizing words when she reads to him.

My Reunion

Last month I went to my 35th high school reunion. It was a neat time and my thanks to Mitch and all who took part in planning the whole thing. I enjoyed re-meeting many old (not old!) classmates and their spouses and seeing several friends from my growing up years. How fun! Here are Nancy and Joyce.

One unfortunate thing that happened is that I fell and broke some toes- 3 breaks. The good news is no concussion and no foot cast. Gradually my foot is healing, but I think I re-injured it several times while camping with Greg last week. One bend the wrong way on a root or rock and ouch! Here it is a few days after I hurt it. The swelling was way down by then. I need it to get better before I go to Asia in late Sept. because I will be doing lots of walking and standing! I broke my other little toe last year before my trip to Asia. I don't want to make this a habbit!

I also got to see my mom and brother in Bath, NY for several days. It was good to be there. We got a chance to catch up and visit and talk about the future... And go to the ER to get me checked out. My cousin just happened to be working that day, so it was nice to see her! Thanks Mom and Scott. And the S's for loaning me a great car!

Greg and Me in ID last week

Greg hadn't taken a break for months, so last week we took 4 days and headed for the mountains. It was a fun time to off road camp together. We enjoyed the quiet, nature and swimming in rivers. We also saw 2 moose in one day- in separate places! Here they are, a grown female and a baby. We also saw a mother and twin fawns in a stream. Ahhh.

Here is one of our camping spots, and right beyond it is this 6' deep swimming hole in the river, which we had all to ourselves. It was cold but refreshing! No rangers, fees or neighbors!

While hiking on this path, I heard a huge crashing sound behind us. When we went back the other way, we found this huge tree that had fallen across the trail seconds after we had walked by there. We really sensed the Lord's protection! Someone told us we should go buy a lottery ticket! (We didn't.)

What is happening with our ministry situation?

Well, we are still waiting for our provision miracle from God. We still believe He loves us and has a plan. No one said it would be easy in this life. So we are riding out the surf of this unexpected wave.

We only have a fraction of what we need to pay our bills, let alone, do ministry. Opportunities are coming our way and we are turning them down for the time-being. My Asia ticket is already purchased, so that will happen, by God's grace. But opportunities after that are on hold. We only have 35-40% of our support pledged between now and the end of the year. We got no paycheck in July and will only get 40% in August and the remaining months of the year unless others join our ministry team, or we have some other miracle. 

I feel like I am married to George Bailey- the best guy in town, but although everyone loves and respects him, they don't realize he(we) are in trouble. We still have 1/2 of our townhouses to fill up before school starts at Moody in 2 weeks. The leadership there believe we will filll them, but Wow! This time of trusting is really stretching us.

We have never defaulted on any payments, so this is a very strange place for us to be. Our fridge is broken so we are using a borrowed one out in the garage. I stopped taking vitamins and am only doing limited chiropratic and other medical things. We just did not anticipate being in this spot. (See last blog entry.) Prayers and creative ideas would be greatly appreciated. It is obvious that in this economy raising support is extremely difficult. Even after almost 3 decades of living within this model, we are struggling. We feel that we have a lot to contribute, but without our salary in place, we are like a sailboat with no wind. Pray that the wind of the Holy Spirit would fill our sails both spiritually and practically. We want to learn what the Lord has to teach us during this time.

Unlike George Bailey from It's a Wonderful Life, Greg's spirits are high. He is taking 2 hours a day to spend with the Lord and is optomistic and confident. I know in my head and need to trust with my heart. God is faithful. I am being very honest here. Bear with me as I pass through this time. I am looking forward to looking back and seeing what happened with all of this. I will testify! I already have much to testify about, so consider me a grateful daughter of the King.

We would love to be praying for you too. Let us know how you are!

P.S. When Greg and I were walking tonight, he reminded me that as we pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world, why would we think we deserve so much more as a standard than they do? Then we talked about living in a tent somewhere. There are worse things. If I would loose my joy in the Lord in this situation, shame on me! Putting it into perspective, makes it easier to be less stressed. Thanks for your prayers. It really is so small compared to what other friends are going through.

God bless- Nancy Fritz    nancyfritz@aol.com  Email me if you'd like to receive our newsletters.

Could things have turned out more different than we expected?

Dear friends,
     Thanks for taking time to keep up with our story. It is turning out to be an interesting story to follow! All went as planned and we had a wonderful time camping with our friends and family. Then we celebrated Father's Day with Greg before Allison, Jenni and I headed for Seattle. I wondered how many times we would be traveling that road in the process of moving to Seattle in the next few months.

Kidzana
The girls dropped me off where I met up with the others going to the Kidzana training on Whidbey Island for the week. We ferried across and stayed at the amazing and beautiful home of a lady who shares it with groups like Kidzana for retreats like ours. We worked hard all week. We "tested" 24 curriculum lessons by reviewing and teaching the lessons to each other. We were looking at content, transitions, how well we could imagine them working overseas, etc. We also had wonderful fellowship and enjoyed some walks on the beach of Useless Bay. When the tide is out it the bay empties.

I am very excited about the opportunity I have with Kidzana. What a great fit for me! One thing that came out during our planning times, is that Sylvia (the founder and president to Kidzana) feels that my gift of networking is something unique I can bring to the ministry. She asked me to pray about going to a conference in Singapore in September focused on the 4/14 Window.

4 and 14 are the ages between which children are the most open to accepting the Gospel. Reaching them during those years is an opportunity to take advantage of. There are ministries from all over the world gathering at this conference for training, strategy and sharing vision about reaching the children of the world for Christ. I would be going to meet and network there, since personal relationships are often ultimately what brings ministries together to cooperate and get the job done. My connections with Partners International's partner ministries in the 10/40 Window, opens doors for relationships, training opportunities and reaching and discipling children.  I am already planning to go to Asia in October for 2 weeks of training. Then in January-February for Greg and me to go 2 other countries in East Asia to do other training.

Wedding plans!
Allison and I spent the weekend working on wedding plans. We found a venue (the Rose Hill Community Center in Mulkeltio), bride's maids dresses, decorations and figured out invitations. We were busy! On Monday I went with Allison to her nanny job. She does an amazing job! The boys, 18 and 3 months, are adorable. I had fun helping out but understand why she is tired at night! Greg and I went from there to our time with visionSynergy.

A job...or maybe not
Greg and I met with the visionSynergy staff on the 28th as planned. We loved connecting with the staff, sharing ideas and exploring the possibility of Greg joining them. That evening Greg received an invitation to come on staff. We were all very excited. He stayed for 2 more days of meetings while I came home. We even found a house we were interested in. On Friday Greg was told that due to a reference that had come the day before, they wanted to rethink the job offer. He was told they would let him know in a week.

At the end of the week the decision was made to discontinue the idea of Greg working for them. They discovered that they are looking for someone with a different skill set from Greg's. We believe in vS's ministry and are very grateful that they discerned that Greg was not the person for the job BEFORE we uprooted and moved across the state. We are actually excited that if the Lord shut that door, He wll open another. How clear He was in communicating that He has a different plan for us. We need to move back to a total support based model immediately and we have set up a ministry account with Allegro Solutions in TX. The Lord is good and will take care of us. We are in a position of complete trust financially and as we discern just what our next steps are to be. We thought the job issue was all figured out. We were 100% sure! But it wasn't. Isn't this exciting??!! What a ride this life of faith is!

Stay tuned as we figure out next steps. We have 26 empty spots in the town houses we own for Moody Bible Institute students. 10 are filled. School starts in a month. Financial ruin lurks around the corner, but do you know what? GOD IS BIG AND HE LOVES US! He has never let us down before, and we have no choice but to trust Him. Let's see what He does.

Mom and High School
I leave in the morning for northern NJ and then upstate NY. First my 35th high school reunion. I have never been to one before. A real adventure. I was planning to go to my 30th, but had chemo instead. Then to see my mom for the week. Greg and Adjua will hold down the fort without me this week. Thank you to Adjua who let me use her computer since mine is in the repair shop for 14 days so far!

 I hope you can enjoy the ride with us! Nancy Fritz  nancyfritz@aol.com gregoryfritz116@gmail.com 509-990-8465.

P.S. Let us know if you'd like to join our ministy as a financial and/or prayer partner!

     
    

Thinking a lot about Seattle!

Dear friends,
     Jenni, Allison and I had a fantastic time with Jesse in Monterey over Memorial Day weekend. He took excellent care of us. We saw Cannery Row in Monterey, the downtown and beach at Carmel- the town that is the most dog friendly town in the USA and probably the world. Very interesting and pretty place. Here are my road trip buddies. They did most of the driving. Early in the morning we found ourselves in the middle of the redwood forest. Here are my "tree hugging" girls!

     We were excited to see Jesse at his house which he shares with several others. He is only 2 houses from the Taylor St. gate to the Presidio, and so is able to walk to work.

     We were joined on Saturday day by Heng Hua- our dear friend from Taiwan we met in Denver 6 years ago, and have maintained contact with. She lives in San Jose now and Jenni and I stayed with her on our way home.

      Jesse took us to Big Sur on Sunday after church at Shoreline. Big Sur was gorgeous! The only wildlife we saw on the beach was a skunk! Big Sur was so amazing there is no way to capture it in  a few pictures, but here are a couple to give you an idea.

      After our day at the beach, we headed back to Jesse's. Here is a statement our our times...All of us with our laptops- including me! Since I got home, Jenni, Greg and I all got i phones for $20! Now I am learning how to work mine. Fortunately Jenni, Greg and Adjua are all good at teaching me how to use it.

      Jesse had a huge Arabic exam after we were there and didn't do well on it. He couldn't be studying any harder- at school all day and evenings and most weekends as well. We have been asking the Lord to help him with his Arabic studies and keep him in the course if it is where He wants him. As long as Jesse is putting his all into it, he and we have confidence that the Lord is in this. He has been assigned a personal tutor for the next 3 months. If he does poorly again they will decide what it next- another language (French?), or something else. He said he will be there for a while longer- 6 months or so- regardless. We would love for you to pray for Jesse. He is already an interigator.

     After sending Allison back to Seattle on a flight, Jenni and I went to LA. When staying with Karen, we got to see a humming bird nest outside her window. Here is a picture. Notice the size of the pencil next to it! They have since hatched.

       Jenni visited with her friends where she worked in Huntington Beach last swummer, and I visited with friends/supporters in the LA area. I really enjoyed seeing so many friends. I also had lunch with Greg's potential new boss who offices out of Pasadena. The actual office is in Seattle.

      I realized that it has been too long since I have seen these special friends. We got to meet a new supporter on the way home in San Francisco and visited another family before Jenni and I drove all night to get home. We decided to make a memory and drove through a redwood tree!

Our Transition Update

      It seems at this point that the Lord is steering us toward visionSynergy in Seattle. This is almost a finished decision. We will be making a final decision in the next 2 weeks. The Lord closed the door on the TX ministry, and the decision was clear. Thanks for praying. We are excited about the fit for Greg at visionSynergy and are having an interview on the 28th at the office in Seattle. They want Greg in the office without commuting, so we will have to be creative in handling this move. While there for the meetings, we will look at houses. The office is in Edmonds. We have to sell our house in Spokane. So we would appreciate prayer as we work on all this. We also have to find a new family for Adjua to live with. Pray for packing, selling, finding a house we can afford which is also big enough for ministry & hospitality, good-bye's, hello's, etc. Transition is just HARD. But God is BIG! I will have to depend on Him completely. We also know now that we need to find a place for Allison's wedding in Seattle most likely!

Next Week at a Kidzana Training Conference on Whitby Island



      After camping this weekend with Jenni, Adjua, Allison and our friends at Priest Lake, Jenni, Allison and I will head to Seattle. They will drop me off to go to a training for the week. We are going to be trained on the updated curriculum. I will be training in Asia in Oct., Lord willing, and early next year in Indonesia and India. I hope I can absorb all that I need to learn. My training mentor for Oct. will also be there as well as friends from Denver. I will hang out with Allison until Greg comes to Seattle for the house hunting and meetings. So I am packing for 2 weeks currently.

Going to My 35th Reunion

      I am putting together flying miles, a visit to my mom and my 35th high school reunion. I am looking forward to my first HS reunion ever. I have started making connections with some I will be seeing. That will be July 14-22. And this in the middle of moving, etc. What am I thinking??!! But that is when this came together. 

      My right knee is the one that has the spur and is hurting. I will get the shots at the end of June. We will be going on Cobra for at least 3 months. That will enable me to continue on with my same plan for this transition time. We are still trying to fill 30 spaces in our MoodyBible Institute housing townhouses here in Spokane. Pray that we would get them full since we really need to have them full to make our finances work.

Well, I need to get to bed and then packing for these trips tomorrow. God bless!

Nancy Fritz nancyfritz@aol.com