January 12, 2000

Dear friends and supporters,

We hope that you had a blessed Christmas, and that this new year is providing new opportunities for you to serve the Lord. Our children were especially blessed this Christmas: a good friend gave us a special donation, asking us to get some nice presents for the children. It was wonderful to be able to think of what they need without wondering how we could pay for it.

A few weeks ago, Terri met a Hmong (Southeast Asian) couple at the Fresno abortion chamber. The husband's health problems made the thought of another baby unbearable. Terri pleaded with the wife, saying that she would be happy to adopt the baby. The wife looked at Terri with tears in her eyes and said "you mean you would take care of my baby?" That was enough for her to change her mind, and they left. (But a few days ago, Terri called her, and was devastated to hear that she went back another day when no sidewalk counselors were there, aborting this precious child we would have cherished.)

Terri had another very unsettling experience at the Bakersfield abortion chamber with a mentally-ill man who told her "I want to come to your house tonight and kill you." This was not the first death threat she has experienced, but the look in his eyes showed that he was serious. Terri called the police, but they didn't respond (of course, if Terri had said similar words to the abortionist, the police response would have been strong and immediate). Meanwhile, Terri continues to face the threat of arrest for praying in the alley behind the abortion chamber.

After days like this, it would be nice to retire to the privacy and seclusion of our home in Tehachapi (too many people know where we live in Bakersfield right now). Lord willing, we'll soon be able to do so. Our "dream house" is in escrow, thanks to the assistance of my parents (who still had some funds available from the sale of the radio station a few years ago). There are still some major obstacles to overcome, but God has brought us through so many obstacles already; we can almost see the "top of the hill," but it's been quite a climb! We really see this as a miracle, and we expect this to result in many positive changes in our family in the coming year, which will hopefully result in many positive changes for the ministry as well.

We have purchased the internet domain name glorifyJesus.com, which will host websites for LifeSavers Ministries, Voice For Life, and for our family, along with other ministries. (Don't bother trying to look at the websites just yet, because they are "under construction.") Our 14-year old son Andrew will play a key role in maintaining the websites (which can be a bit tedious on his slow 486 computer). We're hoping that LSM will have funds soon to pay for a computer at the LifeHouse, which will help to facilitate these efforts.

The internet plays a key role in our "Ministry Plan 2000," which is explained in our first "LifeSavers Ministries Weekly Action Report". We expect this to set a new direction for us in the coming year, which could ultimately have a nationwide impact. If you wish to receive this report every week, we would be happy to send it to you. However, many people do not wish to deal with this additional volume of mail, so we will only be sending this report to individuals who specifically subscribe to it. (As one of our supporters, you are welcome to subscribe without any additional donation.)

We are personally covering the expenses of establishing and maintaining the internet ministry and the Weekly Action Report (and devoting much of our own time to these efforts), so receiving continued personal support from friends like you will help to maximize the effectiveness of these new efforts.

After a few months of being able to catch up on our bills, we're back to where we must "tighten our belts" a bit. This is partially due to the fact that we were expecting some donations which didn't come through, and also because one of my computer clients is late in paying for a recent project.

In the next few days, we will be working on constructing hundreds of white crosses, which will be placed outside the LifeHouse and our church January 16-23 to remind people of how many babies are killed by abortion. Please pray that God will use these crosses to touch the hearts of many Christians, convicting them to personally get involved in saving lives.

In Christ's Service for those who cannot speak for themselves,

Tim Palmquist