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Martin Garza from KERI-AM 1180 served as Master of Ceremonies at the Labor of Love Banquet (in addition
to providing some impromptu translation for the Spanish-speaking attendees).
 Listen to an excerpt from Martin's welcome.
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"The work that you do should be shouted from the rooftops!"
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Stephanie Hanson, co-founder of LSM and the Bakersfield Crisis Pregnancy Center, explained how in 1984 God showed her in prayer that this
ministry would impact not only Bakersfield but the nation. (LSM co-founders
Meridee Wilson and Carlotta Fondren are seen at right.)
Listen to an excerpt of what Stephanie said.
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Sharon Johns, LSM co-founder, also shared briefly at the banquet.
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Orthella's son Daniel was one of the first fruits God produced through this
ministry. Daniel is now 19!
Listen to part of what Orthella said and praise God with her.
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Candy's voice broke as she thanked the Lord for LifeSavers Ministries:
"these people have done very beautiful things for many people...
my joy is my daughter."
Listen to some of what Candy shared about her appreciation for the life of her daughter.
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"This event was absolutely wonderful -- so moving. Thank you."
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Zhou was incarcerated for over five years by the INS because she wanted to
escape from forced abortion in China. Zhou's story (and the story of Zhou's
daughter Mary) was shared by video at the banquet.
 Watch our short video on Zhou and Mary.
Listen to some of Tim Palmquist's comments on what God
did in the Chinese refugee ministry.
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Gary Giumarra
talked candidly about the struggle he experienced when he first began
supporting LifeSavers Ministries. "This is such a worthwhile ministry.
I think all you have to do is take a
look in the face of one of these beautiful children who are here tonight."
Listen to an excerpt from Gary's talk.
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"Thank God for this special night to honor God and bless the mothers, fathers and children!"
Children who were saved from abortion joined with their
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Betty Casillas sang a song she wrote entitled
"Teach My Mother, Oh Lord." The song touched the hearts of the young
women attending the banquet whose children were saved from abortion.
Listen to an excerpt from Betty's song (in Spanish) and read the lyrics (in English).
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Jackie was shy at first, but she once she started bragging about her son
Jordan she didn't want to stop.
Listen to some of what Jackie had to say about Jordan.
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mothers in saying
"thank you" to those who helped to save their lives at the Labor of Love
Banquet on June 17, 2004. Within minutes after the banquet was over, we
began receiving requests for recordings of this event. This page shares
some photos, video excerpts, and audio recordings of the highlights of the
evening, along with comments from those who experienced it.
Regrettably, a complete recording of the evening may not
be possible, because
some portions were apparently not recorded (if you have any recordings or
photographs from the banquet, please share them with us).
The Labor of Love Banquet was planned to celebrate
the twentieth anniversary
of LifeSavers Ministries. About 250 people joined in the celebration,
including all of the founders of LifeSavers Ministries along with those
who lead the outreach today.
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"...a young man named David armed only with a sling-shot stood and faced
down a giant named Goliath and he said, 'Is there not a cause?' If ever
there was a cause, this is a cause."
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The founders of LSM spoke of the divine guidance and power
which was evident in the
formation of LSM. Parents whose children were saved from abortion spoke
again and again of the fact that these children
are now loved and cherished. The foolishness of the devil's
abortion scheme became self-evident: the problems which motivate women and
men to consider abortion have little or no long-term significance when compared to the life
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Brian and Janel thanked God for using LifeSavers
Ministries to save the life of their son Jaiel--and Jaiel himself even
had quite a bit to say.
Listen to part of what Janel and Brian (and Jaiel!) had to say.
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of a child. If only women who enter the abortion chamber every week could
have their eyes opened to this truth.
The devil threw many obstacles in the way of the women who wanted to share
their testimonies at the Labor of Love Banquet, ranging from school and work
schedule problems to the sudden death of a relative. Video excerpts were
shared at the banquet which briefly told the stories of some of those who
were unable to attend. (These video excerpts are a portion of a larger
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Tracy thanked LifeSavers supporters via video for the life of her
son R.J., exclaiming "I love him so much!" Last October, Terri Palmquist
had pleaded for over an hour with Tracy and her boyfriend not to abort
R.J. (In our initial ministry report on Tracy, we gave her the pseudoname
"Tisha" to hide her identity.)
Watch our 30-second video on Tracy and R.J.
Listen to Terri pleading last October to save R.J.'s life.
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project which will feature the testimonies of 20 women whose children were
saved from abortion. The project is expected to be completed later this
year. To stay informed on the progress of the video project, please subscribe
to our e-mail updates.)
LSM co-chairman Tim Palmquist encouraged the parents whose children were
saved, emphasizing God's plan for each one of these
children. "I want you to feel the
destiny that you're holding in your hands," he emphasized, reminding them of the fact
that in biblical history the devil furiously schemed to try to destroy the
children who had a special purpose in God's plan.
Tim then talked about how God has revealed His plan through his own
family. "Even though neither of us has ever been a part of an abortion
experience personally, we've felt it," he explained. "I think we've felt
what you ladies feel." But through a series of unplanned
pregnancies, God's plan became evident.
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Too many children? The Tim and Terri Palmquist family.
Listen to the music to Terri and Tim's song "Too Many Children?" (and read the lyrics, along with some additional comments about the song).
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Tim then shared a brand new song, written by Terri and himself over the
past couple of years, called "Too Many Children?" The song relates the
feelings of despair which an unplanned pregnancy can trigger, but then
considers how God's glory is magnified through each unplanned pregnancy
just as it is magnified through every flower. Throughout the song, Tim
and Terri's children presented Terri with flowers, until at the end of
the song she was holding a full bouquet.
Looking into the eyes of so many children who were saved from abortion
was a bittersweet experience for Tim. He compared his feelings to those of
Oskar Schindler at the end of the movie Schindler's List.
"I could have got more out," Schindler sobbed, "and I didn't." If only we
could see how our actions today stand from the perspective of eternity.
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Jordan Young, a child who was saved from abortion,
touched everyone's hearts, moving many to tears, when he sang "Thank you for giving to the Lord,
for I am a life that was saved. Thank you for giving to the Lord; I am so
glad you gave."
Listen to a portion of Jordan's rendition of the Ray Boltz song "Thank You" and read the special lyrics adapted by Tim and Terri Palmquist.
Watch our "Jackie and Jordan" video (not presented at the banquet).
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"It was wonderful! Jordan's song was the highlight!"
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But Itzhak Stern challenged Oskar Schindler to focus on the lives that were
saved, and to understand that "there will be generations because of what you
did." And so, we also thank and praise God for every child (and every
young adult) who was saved from abortion over the past two decades of
LifeSavers Ministries' efforts. We declare in faith that God has planned
for these children to become a key part of the battle to dismantle the
abortion industry in America, until we return to our founding fathers'
principles of recognizing the gift of the unalienable rights our Creator
so graciously endowed upon us.
To take a stand with us in this effort to rescue America's heritage,
click here. To find out how to get involved
financially in this ministry click here.
"This has... brought me closer to an issue I have
always felt very strongly about... now I feel I should invest in the
battle personally and not just with voting."
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On March 16, 2005, Leon F. Brown, an attorney with Clear Channel Television
(owners of KGET-TV 17), wrote a letter to LifeSavers Ministries. The
letter expressed concern about "content on your LifeSavers website
referencing one of our employees and one of our television stations."
"Please be advised that this is a formal demand for removal of all
information relating to
our television station from your website as we believe that information to
be defamatory. In addition we request a retraction of that defamatory
information currently posted on your website."
For the record, the information which previously appeared here was never
intended to defame KGET-TV 17 or any of their employees, but to honor
the courageous women who told their stories at this banquet, and to affirm
the fact that the stories of these women and children who stood for life in
the midst of our culture of death are newsworthy.
We thank God for Robin
Mangarin, Jackie Parks and Don Clark, and recognize the fact that God gave
these local Christian personalities positions of great influence in our
communities. We encourage you to pray that God would open more doors
for these and other Christian leaders in our community to proclaim the
truth about the Gospel of Life in our culture of death. (More to come)
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Fr. Chummar from Our Lady of Guadalupe opened the banquet with a prayer
about grace, love, glory and life.
Listen to an excerpt from Fr. Chummar's prayer.
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"Thank you so much for this beautiful experience...."
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Attorney Steve Hanson, co-founder of LifeSavers Ministries and the Bakersfield Pregnancy Center,
talked about the spiritual warfare experienced by the early LifeSavers, and
encouraged banquet attendees to read Tim Palmquist's book. "If I could
have written a book about the sidewalk ministry... this is the book I would
have written. This is the best I've ever seen."
Listen to a portion of Steve's comments.
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Lewis Ament received a special award at the banquet.
"Lewis Ament laid the foundation for this ministry through his prayers," Tim Palmquist explained.
Before LifeSavers began, Lewis began walking and praying
on the sidewalks outside the abortion chamber, and he has continued
to do so throughout the past two decades. As a token of appreciation, the
leaders and founders of LIfeSavers Ministries presented Lewis with a new
pair of shoes. "He's worn off a lot of shoe leather over the years,"
Tim joked. Lewis was literally speechless.
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Kim traveled all the way from Bishop to Bakersfield to express appreciation
to LifeSavers supporters for the life of her daughter Jocelyn.
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"You guys saved my life thankx!"
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Jessica talked about how God has saved and healed her children as Terri Palmquist held Matthew, Jessica's son who was saved from abortion.
Andrew, Jessica's youngest child, was still in the hospital on the day of
the banquet, but he is now home, a living testimony to the healing power of God.
Listen to some of what Jessica said about how God has used this experience in her life.
Read more about how God
has been displaying his glory in Andrew's life.
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Tim Palmquist, LSM co-chairman, challenges parents to
recognize God's plan for their children, saying "I want you to feel the destiny
that you're holding in your hands."
Listen to some excerpts from Tim's comments about
how unplanned pregnancy is used in God's plan for His glory.
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"Thank you Tim and Terri for tonight and for all your love and sacrifice over the years."
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The parents of children who were saved from abortion
joined their children in standing with Jordan Young at the close of his
song "Thank You," and they joined the banquet participants in giving Jordan
a standing ovation.
Listen to the comic relief Martin Garza provided after Jordan's song.
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Harold Bryan, pastor of In Jesus' Name, closed the banquet with scriptural
insights and prayer. "This is a God thing, and God's love is here tonight."
Listen to some excerpts from what Pastor Bryan shared before the closing prayer (our battery ran out before
the prayer, so we didn't get it recorded).
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Read more about how
God brought together the founders of LifeSavers Ministries
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