March 31, 2000

Dear friends and supporters,

Galatians 6:9 says "Let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

The past month has been a time of reaping fruit from seeds we planted over two years ago. At the time, we had become aware of the need for sidewalk counselors outside the Palmdale abortion chamber. In spite of the distance, we sensed God leading us to go to Palmdale. Last Saturday we traveled again to Palmdale as a family to celebrate the grand opening of a new pro-life center in the building which was once a killing center (be sure to read the article about this in the LifeSavers Weekly Ministry Focus enclosed).

When we were traveling to Palmdale, we passed through Tehachapi. We sensed God leading our family to a particular house there. As the months (and years) went by, our financial problems seemed insurmountable, making our hopes appear foolish at times. Various buyers became interested in the Tehachapi house, and it was in escrow several times, but we never lost hope.

Throughout our past years of trouble, we felt at times like the children of Israel wandering in the desert, seeking the Promised Land. Some saw our troubles as an indication that we were not really following God's Spirit, but we also received many wonderful words of encouragement from you and our other supporters. My parents were determined to help us to do whatever we possibly could to make life better for our family; they were the ones God used to help us finally buy the house (through a long-term, low-rate loan).

But when the children of Israel finally entered the Promised Land, it wasn't the end of their struggles, but just the beginning of a new set of struggles. In the same way, as we are moving into our new home, we are facing various new struggles. For example, the heater didn't work, and when we called a heater repairman, he told us that if we had run the heater it could have killed us, because it doesn't have any outside ducts for combustion air. (Thank God that it didn't work!) So we are having new ducts put in, and hopefully within the next few weeks we will actually begin living there.

We have also had various other problems in recent days. Just when my computer work seemed to be on the way up, my hard drive crashed (thankfully, I think I had extra copies of everything important). This week, our video camera was stolen when Terri was sidewalk counseling (this was the second camera stolen in the last 12 months). And, last month when we called the police because a woman had assaulted Terri outside the abortion chamber (and we had recorded the incident on videotape), they told us that instead of arresting the woman, they would report us to CPS because Terri had 8-month old Christian with her (but so far CPS hasn't contacted us).

We will still receive mail at our Bakersfield address for a few weeks, but you can also feel free to begin using our new address. In the meantime, feel free to visit our new website (http://palmquists.glorifyJesus.com). We have also enclosed an updated copy of our family brochure. If you have a chance to share it with a friend, we will appreciate it.

Enclosed you will find a summary of our family's finances for 1999. Please take a few moments to look this over so that you will know how your donations are helping us as we seek to balance ministry and family responsibilities. After reviewing our finances, please consider making a monthly support pledge for the coming year. If you have any questions, feel free to call.

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

Tim Palmquist