WHO KNEW????

I know that you all are at various stages of knowing what Fred and I have been living with lately, so I thought I would write and fill in some of the blanks…and thank you for continuing to support me while I supported Fred and tried to carry on my duties at the ministry.




It has been just about two months now since Fred and I had a life-changing experience: his 6 artery by-pass surgery! We had no idea that this was what awaited us when we went to the hospital on February 24th for what we thought was an angiogram and then procedure for a stent, possibly two. His so-called one artery blockage, possibly two that the doctors suspected might have to be dealt with turned out to be severely blocked arteries (all of them) that could not be handled with stents. And we had plans in the evening! We were told it was out-patient! The doctors were as surprised as we were with what they found.



Well, guess what? It was not only NOT out-patient, Fred ended up having open heart surgery and staying one week in the hospital. And now the long recovery is almost over. Getting physically strong again is Fred’s major job (along with resuming his ministry role at SBC): mine is to ready myself and my team for a trip to Turkey. We are very much looking forward to him driving again starting this coming weekend! I have been full time nurse and chauffeur and am happy to shortly be able to give Fred his car keys. We are indeed very grateful for God’s intervention in prompting me to prompt Fred to get checked out before he tried to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro again. Every time I think about the “what-ifs” I am stunned anew and reminded how our Sovereign God leads, protects and guides. How we can thank God for having His hand on all of our lives!

We at Global Training Institute for Women (formerly Greater Reach Ministries; we are going through a name change but nothing has been officially announced yet) are about to launch our first training institute in Turkey on May 3rd- May 14th and I couldn’t be more excited. This means I and Stephanie Myers and 6 other God-picked women will be leaving to meet with the 20 women who eagerly applied and are coming from all over the Middle East and North Africa to begin a three year journey of growth together. I can’t wait to tell you more about these ladies. Many are Muslim background believers, who came to Christ at great personal sacrifice, and are eager to grow in their faith. I would so appreciate your prayers for us as we embark on this God-ordained ministry adventure.



Many volunteers (including many of you) have come alongside during this challenging time to help move this ministry forward in my absence. That is only one of the many things I am grateful for. Many of you also contribute financially to sustain me and GTIW. It warms my heart when I think of you and your gifts of love and prayers.



We are praying for more to come alongside and scholarship these precious Arab sisters. $200/month provides for one woman to attend the twice yearly training. In the meantime, thank you for your friendship, prayers and support!

If you would like to scholarship a woman please click on this link for more information https://globaltraininginstitute.missionsconnex.com/gtiw