Tony & Hazel

I am the second oldest of 13 wonderful siblings. Born in Elwood, Indiana on Resurrection Sunday, I was raised in Indiana. My first six years were in Elwood, then I spent 6 more years “out on the farm”. From there we moved into Alexandria, across the street from Bill Gaither’s grandparents. At age 12, they took me to their Nazarene Church where I found Jesus as my Lord and Savior!

During high school I spent nearly four years in seminary school, desiring to be a priest. I am a proud veteran of the Army Medical Core. Other occupations over the years have included Funeral director, Carpenter, Dairyman, and Caregiver in a group home for the handicapped.

Early on while in the army, a young army gal caught my attention. She worked in the Tuberculosis Ward of Valley Forge General Hospital in Pennsylvania, where I also served in the Neuro-Psychiatric Ward. This gal became the first love of my life, and Eileen Mae and I were happily married for 52 wonderful years. We raised a fine son and four beautiful daughters before the Lord took her home to heaven in 2013.

In 2015, I became a Simeon intern at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew tremendously. One major thing I learned was that I could indeed fulfill the longing of my heart to be a priest- because I AM one. There in my internship, I realized my true identity in Christ. I Peter 2:9 tells me that as a believer in Jesus my Savior, I am part of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. This great yearning I had since I was young was actually fulfilled in Christ.

During this time, I found favor with the Lord once again. He gave me Hazel Arlene Shepherd to be my wife on 8-28-2016, and we now live as intercessors for the Kingdom of God. We have been welcomed into each other’s families with open arms, and have made our home in Colorado.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa to Joe and Hazel Ludwick, I was the youngest of four: Doris, Joe and Jim and me. At a very young age, we moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to a small township called Miami Heights. This is where I spent all my days growing up on Shady Lane Road. I still keep in touch with many friends from my growing up years. We went to Zion United Methodist Church and I learned as a small child that God is real and beautiful. The first verse I knew was “God is Love”, from I John 4:16. I went to Vacation Bible School, sang in the choir, and went to church camps. Growing up, our family loved to go camping, and visit our aunts, uncles and cousins in Tennessee. I remember loving animals, dolls, and Christmas!

In grade school I learned to play my guitar, and that has been a large part of my identity, even still. In high school I sang in the choirs and preformed in the High School Variety Shows. The one I remember most fondly was singing and playing guitar with Carolyn Engels, my dear lifelong sister friend. I graduated from Taylor High School in Cleves, Ohio in 1973. I married quite young and had my first two children, David and Shannon. After some time we divorced and I remarried and was blessed again with Bryan, Rebakah and Sarah, and two step sons Tom and Brad. Those years were not easy ones but I am so grateful for all my children and love every one. My second divorce left me quite on my own as a single mom, but God held on tight. A single parent life is not an easy one, but my God never, NEVER let go of me.

I am so grateful that even when times were hard as a young adult and I did not always make the best of decisions, God never let go of me and always brought me back home to Him. During that time I completed nursing school and spent many years as a Registered Nurse in hospitals, home health, and nursing homes. I got to home school for a time, taught at retreats and bible studies, and wrote many, many songs to the Lord. My three daughters and I even were able to make a trip together to China where Shannon had ministered for a lot of years as a missionary. Those were some special memories!

In fall of 2015, I joined an Internship at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri. After my time as a Simeon Intern, God took me totally by surprise by letting me find my life partner, Tony Fetz. He is a mighty prayer warrior and has taught me much about unconditional love. We lived as intercessory missionaries for 5 years at IHOPKC, and now have made our home in Colorado. Today I am an author, singer/ song writer, worshipper, guitar player, Prayerwalker, Gramma and Great Gramma, and I adore my kids and grandkids, my Tony, and my Lord and Savior Jesus!

We met initially at as fellow interns at the Internship at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri and became good friends there. After we figured out what God’s plan was for us, we joined forces and were married on Aug 28, 2016. I was able to complete a missions assignment to India in our early days together, then we settled in to our prayer life at IHOPKC. In 2019, God placed on our hearts the assignment to Prayerwalk America by going to all 50 state capitols and praying on site over our nation. During 2019, we were able, by His grace and provision, to do that. I have a separate page on this website that will tell more of what God did during that special time, and I have completed a four volume book set as a prayer tool for America to pray for America based on that 50 state prayer journey. That journey has marked us forever. See my books entitled, “Prayerwalk America: Four Corners”. At the end of Prayerwalk America, God led us to move to Colorado Springs.

We are embarking on a new assignment from the Lord at the time of this writing, “Prayerwalk Colorado” where we will go to each of the 64 counties of our state and pray over each one. We will be working with “Colorado Prays”, a ministry with an initiative to begin 24/7 prayer in every county in Colorado. You will be hearing more about this in our updates. We currently live in Colorado with my daughter and her family, and are waiting with anticipation on what the Lord will do next in our lives.