The Palmers' Pilgrimage

Dinosaur Train! Dinosaur Train!

2010-11-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

For our 4 year-old Lily, Dora the Explorer is SO 2009... She is now into other shows such as Dinosaur Train (from PBS Kids). Here she is singing the Dinosaur Train title song. That word near the end that sounds like "stitchies" is actually supposed to be "species."

Emily's par four

2010-11-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

We went to Forest Home for church camp last weekend, and they have a little miniature golf course. Here's a video of Emily (2 years, 3 months) getting the hang of it...

Lily miniature golfing

2010-11-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

Here's Lily (4 years, 4 months) on the miniature golf greens!

Emily's ouwie

2010-10-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

In late September, Emily jumped off a couch at a sitter’s house, lost her balance, careened headfirst into a coffee table, and opened a wound on her forehead. Seven stitches later, she was all smiles again! The first thing Emily said to us, when we got back to the sitter’s house 15 minutes or so after the accident, was “I want Jesus to heal it!” And he did. The stitches are out, the scar is less than we expected, and Emily has bounced right back from the whole episode… Kids are pretty resilient. She tells people that she had seven stitches, and that Jesus healed her ouwie. Way to testify, Emily! “Out of the mouth of infants and babies you have prepared praise” (Matt 21:16, Ps. 8:2 LXX).

Holding hands in carseats

2010-08-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

This was taken earlier this month...

Lily rocks

2010-07-14T12:07:00.000-07:00

Lily was really getting into this song...

The Palmers, June 2010

2010-06-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

We attended a wedding in mid-June and took these pictures...

The joy of eating out

2010-06-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

Emily looks happy to be eating out, in honor of Mini's father's birthday...

A book for a pillow

2010-06-04T16:27:00.000-07:00

Emily loves to look at books, turn the pages, and "read" them. She "read" this book on the couch for quite some time, until we came and noticed that she had fallen asleep on the page!

Beautiful smiles

2010-05-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

Lily is 2 weeks away from 4 years old in this picture, and Emily is 22 months... Beautiful smiles!

prayer letter - May 13, 2010

2010-05-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Dear friends,

I hope you are well and enjoying the Spring! Here’s an update from the Palmers…

Some reflections from Hebrews 11 and 12

This past weekend I was invited to teach a manuscript Bible study on Hebrews 11 – 12 for a church that is connected to our Servant Partners ministry here in Los Angeles. About 85 people participated in the study, which was an interactive discussion. The group consisted of both Spanish and English speakers, so in addition to leading the Bible study, I was also translating English comments into Spanish and vice versa. It was challenging, fulfilling, and inspiring all at once. I really enjoyed the study. We talked about the way the author of Hebrews defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (11.1). As we proceeded through chapters 11 and 12 we saw that that these “things not seen” specifically include God himself (11:27), and the heavenly Jerusalem, the eternal city of God that is the true homeland of people of faith (11:10, 13-16, 12:22). Faith gives us assurance and conviction that these things are real. But we also discussed how faith does not stop with merely being confident and sure of the reality of God and his eternal kingdom. People of faith also look forward to (11:10), seek after (11:14), and desire (11:16) these better, unseen things above all that this earth offers, making choices and living their lives in a way that reflects their ultimate desire and preference for God. The group was particularly challenged by the description, in 11.35-38, of people who endured great suffering by faith. We talked about how faith in God does not always issue in the conquering of obstacles and the kinds of triumphs and victories described in verses 33-35…

…who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

In sharp contrast to these, the author of Hebrews immediately proceeds to describe a whole other set of people – no less people of faith than the former – who, among other unpleasant things, rather than escaping the edge of the sword, were killed by it. For these people, their faith brought not deliverance from suffering in this life, but the capacity to endure suffering with unbreakable hope in God and his unseen, eternal reward, though in this life deliverance never came. This is a whole other, more profound level of “victory” and “triumph” by faith – the triumph of our ultimate hope in God over the discouraging nature of our life’s circumstances. The text says that the world is not worthy of such people of faith (11.38), and that God is not ashamed to be called their God (11.16). May such testimony be true of us all, no matter what suffering life may bring! We talked about how natural it is to want to be among the former group of “victorious” people of faith, rather than the latter, suffering group. It is human nature for our hearts to desire and even expect that because we have faith in God, God should prosper us, deliver us from pain and trouble, and answer our prayers just the way we want him to. But clearly, God does not always work that way. The author of Hebrews writes that “the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (12.6), and then goes on to describe all the good results that God’s discipline produces in us when we endure it by faith. We talked about how God is often more concerned with using suffering and hardship in our lives to train us in faith, obedience, and holiness, than he is with delivering us from the suffering that, when faithfully endured, benefits us in those ways. I got a lot of comments after the study that it was encouraging and helpful. One person shared with me that his life was full of problems, but that he was inspired not to let any of them derail him from faith and hope in God. I hope this brief summary of our study encourages and inspires you as well in your journey of faith!

A quote to ponder:

“Man, who is born of woman, is few of days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). It may be of great service to us, before we fall asleep, to remember this mournful fact, for it may lead us to hold lightly to earthly things. There is nothing very pleasant in the recollection that we are not above the arrows of adversity, but it may humble us and prevent us from boasting like the psalmist that our mountain stands firm, that we shall never be moved. It may prevent us from making our roots too deep in this soil from which we are so soon to be transplanted into the heavenly garden. Let us keep in mind the frail tenure upon which we hold our temporal mercies. If we remember that all the trees of earth are marked for the woodman's axe, we will not be so ready to build our nests in them. We should love, but we should love with the love that expects death, and that reckons upon separations. Our dear relations are simply loaned to us, and the hour when we must return them to the lender's hand may be sooner than we think. This is also true of our worldly goods. Do not riches take to themselves wings and fly away? Our health is equally precarious. Frail flowers of the field, we must not reckon upon blooming forever. There is a time appointed for weakness and sickness, when we will have to glorify God by suffering and not by earnest activity. There is no single point in which we can hope to escape from the sharp arrows of affliction; out of our few days there is not one secure from sorrow. Beloved reader, do not set your affections upon things of earth, but seek those things that are above, for here the moth devours, and the thief steals, but there all joys are perpetual and eternal. The path of trouble is the way home. Lord, make this thought a pillow for many a weary head! (Charles Spurgeon, from Morning and Evening, devotional reflections on Job 14.1)

Lily, by Lily

2010-05-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

Lily held the camera and took this picture of herself...

Lily's first pre-school photo

2010-04-15T14:25:00.001-07:00

Lily got her very first school photo taken last month, and we received the prints today. (Lily is in a half day pre-school program this year.) Here it is: (Lily is 3 years and 9 months in this picture.)

Prayer letter - April 5, 2010

2010-04-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

Monday, April 5, 2010

Dear friends,

I hope you were blessed this past weekend in the celebration of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday! I spent yesterday morning and evening reading and meditating on 1 Corinthians 15, which is all about the resurrection of the dead. It was very inspiring. I spent some time considering verse 19, in which Paul writes, “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” Now, I absolutely believe that life with Jesus this side of the grave is abundant and good, infused with indestructible joy, hope, and peace to which the unbelieving have no access. But verses such as this are a powerful reminder that as great as our experience of God and his love is in this life, it is so very little – such a faint glimmer or pale reflection – compared to what awaits us beyond the grave.

Therefore what awaits us is a powerful motivating principle in how we live our lives in this world. If the prospect of prosperity or gain in this world motivates us to work hard and invest time, energy, and resources, how much more so should the prospect of gain and reward in the resurrection! Paul writes, “I worked harder than any of them,” (v. 10) and “If the dead are not raised at all … why am I in danger every hour? What do I gain if … the dead are not raised?” (vs. 29-32). And he concludes the chapter by saying, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (v. 58). May Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15 inspire us all as we move forward from our celebrations of our Lord’s resurrection.

In addition to reading 1 Cor. 15 from my regular Bible, I also read “The Message” translation by Eugene Peterson, which puts the Bible into contemporary language and idioms. I enjoyed this version so much that I have typed out a long section of it at the end of this letter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did!

The Sermon on the Mount

We made it through the first half of the Sermon on the Mount in the weekly Bible study that meets in our home. We are shifting gears for the Spring and looking at the Gospel of Mark, but I hope to be able to finish the second half of the Sermon on the Mount with a group of others this Summer.

Have you ever had the experience of intending to read a book for years, but never getting to it, and then when you finally do, kind of kicking yourself for not having done so sooner, because the book is so AWESOME? That was precisely my experience as I have finally gotten around to reading D.M. Lloyd Jones’ Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. I have known about this book for 20 years, and wanted to read it all along, but never did before this past Winter. It is so fabulous, such a compelling portrait of discipleship and life in God’s kingdom, I only wish that it had enriched my life the way it has 20 years ago, instead of just now! I would be so much the better for it. Anyway, I highly encourage any of you to read it!

Family Update

Later this month Mini and I are celebrating our seventh anniversary! I am so grateful for my wife and daughters.

For the joy set before us,

Dave, Mini, Lily, and Emily

PS: The excerpt from “The Message” is below, if you’d like to read that...

From “The Message” Bible translation by Eugene Peterson, excerpts from 1 Corinthians 15:

…If Christ wasn’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever… If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries…

If God’s power stops at the cemetery gates, why do we keep doing things that suggest he’s going to clean the place out someday, pulling everyone up on their feet alive? And why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I’d do this if I wasn’t convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Messiah Jesus? Do you think I was just trying to act heroic when I fought the wild beasts at Ephesus, hoping it wouldn’t be the end of me? Not on your life! It’s resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live. If there’s no resurrection, “We eat, we drink, the next day we die,” and that’s all there is to it…

Some skeptic is sure to ask, “Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this ‘resurrection body’ look like?” If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. But we do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a “dead” seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between the seed and the plant. You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don’t look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different…

This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body – but only if you keep in mind that when we’re raised, we’re raised for good, alive forever! The corpse that’s planted is no beauty, but when it’s raised, it’s glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural – same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality!...

Let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die – but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes – it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true:

“Death swallowed up by triumphant Life!

Who got the last word, oh Death?

Oh Death, who’s afraid of you now?”…

With all this going on for us, my dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.

Prayer letter - Feb 19, 2010

2010-02-20T23:40:00.000-08:00

Friday, February 19, 2010

Dear friends,

I have just returned from nine days in Mexico City, training a group of new missionaries who are joining our team in that city. The team works in one of Mexico City’s largest slums, a community of about 750,000 people. I am always inspired by being among our missionaries who willingly and joyfully choose into hardship in order to live directly among the urban poor, and be the presence of Jesus and his kingdom in difficult places. It was a privilege to be among these new missionaries, and to participate in their training.

Among other topics of the training, we studied the Gospel of Luke together. As you probably know, the major theme of Luke’s gospel is Jesus’ welcoming love for the poor, the weak, the beggars, the lepers, the “little ones,” “those of humble estate,” the notorious sinners, the prostitutes, the tax-collectors, the “sick,” the “unclean,” the demonized, the Samaritans, the “other,” – those who were despised, disregarded, and cast aside by “respectable society.” These are the ones with whom Jesus primarily spent his time and shared his fellowship – people that Brennan Manning affectionately calls “ragamuffins.” Jesus earnestly desired that they know that to God they were not worthless, or inferior, but beloved and valuable; and that God’s kingdom (if not human society) was for such as them – those most tempted to believe that God had cursed, abandoned, or rejected them. Throughout Luke’s gospel Jesus calls the privileged, respected, “religious,” and everyone else, to prove to be a neighbor to such as these (10:29-37), not to care about them less than we care about our own children and animals (13:15-17, 14:1-6), to be generous and kind toward them in their need (12:33), to invite them into our homes, and to eat at our tables (5:29-31, 14:12-14, 15:1-2, 19:7), not merely to give to them, but to make friends with them (16:9), and in this way, to prefer greatness and reward in the kingdom of God, at the resurrection of the just, over maintaining our reputation or our exalted, honored status in society (6:22-23, 6:26, 9:46-48, 11:43, 14:7-14, 18:14, 18:17, 20:45-47, 22:24-27).

While, of course, these teachings are directed to us all, their application is a daily, inescapable reality for our missionaries who live in urban slums, and rub shoulders with “ragamuffins” day and night. Please pray for our missionaries in Mexico. Two families with children are joining the Mexico City team, and participated in the training -- Tim & Philippa, and their three sons, Hudson, Oscar, and William (from New Zealand), and Philip & Beauty, and their son Tadi and daughter Tino (from Zimbabwe). Please pray for them as these families transition into the slum community in Mexico City in the coming weeks. I enjoyed so much sharing these recent days with them in the training. Their commitment to Jesus and the gospel is admirable. I am sure the love and light of Jesus will shine from them among the poor of Mexico City.

The Sermon on the Mount

In January we began studying the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) in our small group Bible studies with our church here in Long Beach. We will be working through it until June. This is one of my favorite sections of Scripture, and I have greatly enjoyed preparing for the first several studies we have done so far in the small group that meets at our home. I have been putting together some notes on each section that we study each week. If you would like to read my notes, please let me know and I would be happy to send them to you.

Family Update

Emily is a year and a half, and is saying quite a lot of words now. Her favorite thing to say is, “Uh oh!” whenever she drops something or sees something fall to the floor. She also sits and “reads” her kids’ books, turning the pages and babbling eagerly with baby talk. Very cute!

Lily is 3 years and 7 months. On Monday, January 18 Lily wanted to know why the mail carrier didn’t come. I explained that it was a holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, and I explained who MLK was, and that he had taught some white-skinned people how silly it was to think they were superior to black-skinned people simply because of their white skin. Then, a week later, Lily and I were talking about her “Thomas the Train” video, Steamies vs. Diesels, in which both the steamies (steam engines) and diesels (diesel engines) think they are better than the other, and so they are mean to each other. As the story goes on, the steamies and diesels have to learn to appreciate their differences, value each other, and work together. Lily made the connection to what I had told her about MLK a week before, and said, “Yeah, that’s what Martin Luther King said! The steamies and diesels don’t know about Martin Luther King yet!” :^)

We are so grateful for you and are always happy to hear from you! We pray that God’s grace, peace, and joy will be with you.

For the joy set before us,

Dave, Mini, Lily, and Emily

A quote to ponder:

O that God should desire that my interpretation and that of all teachers should disappear, and each Christian should come straight to the Scripture alone and to the pure word of God! You see from this babbling of mine the immeasurable difference between the word of God and all human words, and how no man can adequately reach and explain a single word of God with all his words. It is an eternal word and must be understood and contemplated with a quiet mind. Go to the Bible itself, dear Christians, and let my expositions and those of all scholars be no more than a tool with which to build aright, so that we can understand, taste, and abide in the simple and pure word of God; for God dwells alone in Zion. (Martin Luther, 1522)

Prayer Letter -- January 15, 2010

2010-01-20T08:05:00.000-08:00

Here is our prayer letter for January 2010...

Friday, January 15, 2010

Dear friends,

We hope and pray that you enjoyed the holidays, and 2010 is off to a good start for you!

Urbana Update

Thank you so much for praying for me at Urbana in late December. I thoroughly enjoyed the manuscript study that I led each morning, as well as the entire convention. I was a little nervous about leading such a large Bible study (it turned out to be about 700 people), since prior to Urbana the largest group Bible study I had led was “only” about 100 people. :^) But the studies went just great, and it turned out being very encouraging and fun to lead in that context. All of the participants in the Bible study I led had signed up beforehand for the International Poverty Track, so these were all people with a particular interest in or calling to the world’s poor. I had some great conversations with some of them after each study. It was great to study the Scripture and look at the example of Jesus with so many hundreds of young people who desire to be a blessing to the poor. I have been told that about 200 of them made commitments at Urbana to serve among the urban poor longer term. Very exciting!

The convention as a whole was also fabulous. This was my sixth Urbana, and was certainly my favorite in terms of the teaching in the main sessions. The convention theme was “He lived among us,” from John 1:14. Many of the speakers unpacked the significance of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, and how it is a model for our own ministry and mission in this world. We heard testimonies from missionaries who have lived and ministered among the poor in some of the most difficult and desperate places on earth, and who face danger and even death so that others may come to know the heart and nature of God. We also heard from people who have “stayed home” and have earned a lot of money through their businesses / work over the years, yet have chosen to live a “missionary lifestyle” in the US, and give everything else that they earn to purposes advancing God’s Kingdom. It was inspiring and challenging to be called to live our lives with a singular purpose of seeking God’s Kingdom. I was happy that the convention as a whole had such an emphasis on incarnational mission among the poor. In a world in which more than half of the human population now lives on less than $3 per day, and globally, the gap between the “have’s” and “have-not’s” is greater than ever before, I think it was a very appropriate and timely emphasis!

Teaching in Mexico City

I will be traveling again in just over three weeks. Servant Partners is hosting a Global Urban Training School in Mexico City for new staff preparing to begin their ministries on the field. I am scheduled to teach at this training school from February 9 – 17. It has been 21 years since I spent a year in Mexico City as a 20-year-old, and I am excited about going back! :^) Please pray for my teaching in February, and also for Mini, Lily, and Emily at home while I am away.

May God bless you with every spiritual blessing in Jesus Christ throughout this year! We love you and are always happy to hear from you.

For the joy set before us,

Dave, Mini, Lily, and Emily

A quote to ponder:

The essential thing in heaven and on earth is that there should be a long obedience in the same direction. There thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living. (Friedrich Neitzsche)

Princess Lily and Princess Emily

2010-01-19T13:05:00.000-08:00

Lily and Emily were invited to a "princess party" last week. Here are some pictures. Lily is now three and a half, and Emily will be one and a half in a week. Our girls are growing up!

Prayer Letter - December 8, 2009

2009-12-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

We hope and pray you are experiencing joy in God this Christmas season!

Urbana preparations…

As I have mentioned in previous prayer letters, I will be leading a Bible study in the Gospel of John for a group of about 1,000 young people at the Urbana Missions Convention, the mornings of December 28, 29, 30, and 31. I would really appreciate your prayers for my preparation, and as I teach at Urbana each of those mornings. The thousand or so people in the study I am leading have signed up specifically for the “International Poverty Track” at Urbana, so they are people who have at least an interest in, if not a calling to, the poor internationally. I am praying that this Bible study would be inspiring and compelling for this group as they consider God’s heart for the poor and suffering around the world.

Last Saturday, I had an all day “practice day” at which I taught all four texts that I will be leading at Urbana. It was very helpful. I got some really good feedback from the group about what things they really appreciated, and some suggestions for improvement. I have another practice day this coming Saturday, and I’m sure that will help even more. Thank you for your prayers for me and for the Urbana convention in this month of December!

Mini’s Corner

The longer I live, the more I value questions. Questions have a lot of power. The power to suggest, “What if we tried this?”, create doubt, “What if this isn’t true?”, clarify motives, “Why do I believe this?”, and much more. I’ve been thinking about questions more often lately thanks to two very smart people, L.G. Palmer and C.S. Lewis. L.G. of course is my three year old daughter Lily Grace who has been a continuous fountain of questions, most of which begin with “Why?” Being around Lily and her questions forces me to shift out of a state of mental lethargy I didn’t even realize I had succumbed to. This is because a lot of things I take for granted as an adult are new and wondrous to a toddler and therefore worth asking questions about and investigating further. For example, we were stopped at an intersection when she asked, “Why does red mean stop?” It’s a great question that I never even thought about asking. Trying to find answers to her questions keeps me alert to the wonders of the world around me and humble because I have to answer, “I don’t know why” to a lot of questions.

I have been reading C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters and have been learning so much from them. It is written from the point of view of a demon who is trying to instruct his nephew in how to lead a patient (a human soul) away from God (or “the Enemy,” as he refers to Him). Two statements that particularly struck me were from Letter 19, where Screwtape says,

Nothing matters at all except the tendency of a given state of mind, in given circumstances, to move a particular patient at a particular moment nearer to the Enemy or nearer to us.

In the meantime, get it quite clear in your own mind that this state of falling in love is not, in itself, necessarily favourable either to us or to the other side. It is simply an occasion which we and the enemy are both trying to exploit. Like most of the other things which humans are excited about, such as health and sickness, age and youth, or war and peace, it is from the point of view of the spiritual life, mainly raw material…

Since reading these statements, the question I’ve been reminded to ask myself in any situation, whether difficult or comfortable, is “Am I allowing this situation to bring me closer to God or create distance between us?” Because however complicated the situation or issue might be, it is as C.S. Lewis simply put it “raw material.” My hope this Christmas is that whatever situation we are in, we will choose to draw closer to God, especially since he first loved us and chose to draw near to us in a little town called Bethlehem.

Magic Princesses and the Love of God

Back to Dave: My favorite Christian singer in the Spanish language is Jesus Adrian Romero. In addition to his many amazing songs about God, he also has a beautiful love song which he wrote to his wife, called Mi Vida Sin Ti (“My Life Without You”), and another which he wrote to his two daughters, called Magicas Princesas (“Magic Princesses”). I love to listen to these two songs, and think of my own wonderful wife and daughters, and thank God for them.

I was recently watching a concert version of Jesus Adrian Romero singing Magicas Princesas on You Tube (If you wish, you can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr5fFf8PWL8). I was holding Emily on my lap, and Lily came to watch and listen to the video as well. She asked me what he was singing about, so I was explaining the song to her in English as he sang it in Spanish. I told Lily, “He is calling his two daughters magic princesses… He’s saying how much he misses them whenever he is away. He always wants to cut his travels short and come home… He is describing the joy they bring into his life... He is singing about how beautiful they are… He is saying that he always wants to tell them how important and valuable they are. He wants to nurture and protect their hearts… He is saying that his daughters are like a message from heaven of God’s love… He’s saying they are growing up so quickly, and he sometimes wishes he could hold onto them forever. But he knows one day they will grow up and leave home, and when they do, they will take with them a part of his life that will never return… And so on as he sang the song.

As we watched the You Tube video, the camera alternated between him singing the song on stage, and his two daughters listening in the audience. And his two daughters had tears in their eyes as they listened to their daddy singing the song. So Lily asked me, “Why are they crying?” I said that people sometimes cry when they are very happy, and they were so happy to know that their daddy loved them so much, and was singing to them of his love. I found the song quite moving, so I was actually tearing up a bit too as I listened to it and thought about my own daughters. So I told Lily, see I have tears in my eyes too, because I love you and Emily just like he loves his daughters, and I am so happy that God gave you to me! At this point Lily wrapped her arms around me very tenderly and affectionately, and laid her head gently on my shoulder, with such a peaceful and contented smile on her face, and just nestled there. And when the song ended, she wanted to listen to it again. And again, and again! We listen to the song over and over for about an hour until it was her bedtime, with her snuggled up to me all the while, and Emily on my lap. As we listened, Lily asked me to sing along with him. So I sang the song repeatedly in Spanish to my girls, and told them in English that I felt so grateful to God for both of them, and for their mommy, and loved them with all my heart. It was a precious and poignant time.

After the kids were in bed I did some reflection. One of the things Jesus Adrian Romero says in connection with some of his worship songs is that the spiritual world is just as real as this material world; and that our experiences in this material world are an invitation to experience the spiritual world. I was reflecting along those lines on how this experience of the love I have and was feeling very strongly for my own family was a reflection of, and invitation into, spiritual realities. And I thought about the truth that God loves me with a love that is so much greater, purer, and fiercer than the love that I, in my human limitations and smallness, could ever feel or express, even for the people who are most precious to me; and that the love I feel for my wife and daughters, for example, is an invitation to recognize how greatly – and far greater still – I am loved by my God. A few Scriptures came to my mind:

Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. (Isaiah 49:15)

It was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother's breast. On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been my God. (Psalm 22.9-10)

Thus says the Lord, your Creator, and he who formed you … “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you… Since you are precious in my sight, since you are honored, and I love you…” (Isaiah 43.1-4)

The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. (Zephaniah 3.17-18)

As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62.1-5)

It is, of course, this great love of God which sent Jesus into this world as a baby, and then to the cross. As we celebrate Christmas this month, I pray that you may know that YOU ARE LOVED, far more deeply than you even have the capacity to love anyone yourself. And may this knowledge fill your heart with joy in God, and rejoicing in the great treasure we have in him, above all else.

We are so grateful for you and your role in our lives. HAVE A MERRY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

For the joy set before us,

Dave, Mini, Lily, and Emily

A quote to ponder:

A person is fully human when joy is the fundamental thing in him, and grief the superficial. Melancholy should be an innocent interlude, a tender and fugitive frame of mind; praise should be the permanent pulsation of the soul. Pessimism is at best an emotional half-holiday; joy is the uproarious labor by which all things live. (G. K. Chesterton)

Prayer letter - November 13, 2009

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Friday, November 13, 2009

Dear friends,

I had hoped to send out a prayer letter about 2 weeks ago, but our house has been hit with sickness for the past several weeks, so I am finally getting to it now. Thank you for your prayers for us, and please keep them coming! Here’s an update from the Palmers…

Preparation for Urbana

In September, I traveled to St. Louis for a training in preparation for the Urbana missions convention, at which I will lead a Bible study of up to 1,000 people. The training was super helpful. I appreciate your ongoing prayers for my preparation for Urbana. As part of those preparations, I plan to hold two all-day-Saturday Bible study sessions at which I will lead all four of the texts in John’s gospel that I will be leading at Urbana. Anyone who wants to attend is welcome – Saturday, December 5 in Paramount (next to Long Beach), and Saturday, December 12 in Pomona. If you’d like more information about attending one of these studies, please email me.

SP update

Three of the missionaries I have been training this year are hoping to be ready to join our SP team in the Middle East by early January, less than 2 months from now. The Team Leader of that team is in the Middle East right now, continuing to do research and make preparations for the rest of the team to join him and his wife in the coming months. I welcome your prayers at this time for this team and the new members who are seeking to wrap up their fundraising and other preparation.

Ministry in Long Beach

Our small group Bible study has been meeting at our house for 2 months now. It has been very encouraging, to get to know this group of people in a deeper way, and to study and apply the Word with them each week. This Bible study group has been a particular answer to prayer for Mini also, as she values deep relationships, and has really connected deeply with some of the women in our study.

Family update

Lily is thoroughly enjoying pre-school and amazing us with how smart she is. She will be 3-and-a-half next month. Emily is 15 months, and is starting to say some words. She loves to have us read children’s books to her.

Lily wore the green sari that appears in a blog post just below this letter to an Indian wedding we attended, to the delight of the Indian people present. Someone at the wedding asked Lily if she was Indian, or white. She responded, “I’m GREEN!” Good answer!

Smile Pinki

2008 was a great year for Indians in cinema! Slumdog Millionaire was NOT the only movie filmed in India to win an “Oscar” at the Academy Awards earlier this year. The other film was Smile Pinki, which won the 2008 Oscar for Best Documentary Short. It is a 45 minute true story documentary produced by “The Smile Train,” a charitable organization that trains and equips local doctors in the “developing” world to do free cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries, thus changing the lives of thousands of poor children affected by this deformity. Mini had received some unexpected money earlier this year, and she wanted to give it to the Smile Train to provide a cleft lip surgery for a needy child. The Smile Train sent us the Smile Pinki DVD as a thank you. The DVD is so amazing and inspiring. It is profound to realize that for a few hundred dollars you can help change the life of someone like the little girl and boy portrayed in this film. After watching the DVD Mini and I both readily agreed that, though we are raising support ourselves for our ministry, if any of you wanted to make a donation to the Smile Train, even if it were at the expense of making a donation to us, we would be completely in favor of that! The extras on the DVD are very inspiring as well. I thought I would share this with you all, in case you would like to check it out. As far as I know you can’t rent Smile Pinki on Netflix, but you can go to the Smile Train website (www.smiletrain.org) and request your own free copy from the home page.

We are so grateful for your prayers for our ministry and family, and are always happy to hear from you!

For the joy set before us,

Dave, Mini, Lily, and Emily

A quote to ponder:

You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give. – Winston Churchill

Mischievious smile

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This has got to be one of the cutest pictures of Emily ever! She's 13 months in this picture:

Lily's sari

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Mini's cousin Anil got married yesterday to Reeja, and we dressed Lily up for the Indian wedding in this beautiful sari that our friends Jason and Jen gave to her as a gift. When Mini's brother Manoj saw her in the sari, he asked her, “Lily, are you Indian, or White?”, to which she confidently responded, “I’m GREEN !!!” :^) Smart girl!!

Prayer letter - September 20, 2009

2009-09-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for your prayers for us! Here’s an update from the Palmers…

Preparation for teaching at Urbana, this Monday – Wednesday

Please pray for me as I travel to St. Louis tomorrow (Monday) morning for a training in preparation for the upcoming Urbana missions convention. I have been asked to lead a morning manuscript study in the Gospel of John for the International Poverty Track, which will have up to 1,000 participants. I’ve never led a Bible study remotely that large before! Please pray for my preparations, and also for Mini, Lily, and Emily as I am away for the next three days.

Lots of teaching this past month

In my last prayer letter (August 10), I asked you to pray for several upcoming speaking engagements that I had in the past month. Thank you for praying for me; each one went really well. Mini and I had the opportunity to present our ministry to one of our supporting churches at their annual camp, which was a fabulous time and a lot of fun. I also gave a message at our church in Long Beach on forgiveness, from the example of Joseph in Genesis 45. And, I taught at our Commissioning Service for seven new Servant Partners missionaries. As they are about to embark on their lives and ministries among the poor, I shared about on Jesus’ example of incarnation and his identification with society’s poor and vulnerable.

One thing I really love about our annual Commissioning Service is the sharing that each new missionary does of how God has led them to this point of committing their lives to serving the urban poor. It brings tears to my eyes to hear them share their stories and to see their dedication to God and his Kingdom. I praise God for these seven new workers that he has raised up, and thank him that he has graciously allowed me to work with and influence them at this stage of their preparation. Please pray for our missionaries on the field in Servant Partners, as they work in very difficult and demanding places, the urban slums of the developing world.

Long Beach update

We’ve been in our “new” home for a month and a half and are enjoying it very much. We hosted our first small group Bible study at our house this past week, and we plan to continue hosting them weekly. Please pray with us that as we follow Jesus in this community, and as God’s Word is taught, God would make us and our home a beacon of light for our neighbors.

Family update

Lily started pre-school this past week! It’s just a morning program, but quite a milestone nonetheless for our little girl who is growing up fast. Lily loves going to school. She cried when school let out because she didn’t want to go back home! Check out the attached picture of Lily and Emily if you’d like.

We are so grateful for your prayers for our family and are always happy to hear from you!

For the joy set before us,

Dave, Mini, Lily, and Emily

Lily starts preschool.

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Here are a few pictures from Lily's very first day of preschool, September 15. Lily loves preschool so much that she cries when it is time to go home!

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Here's a cute picture of Lily and Emily together, taken September 15. Lily is 3 years 3 months in this picture, and Emily is 1 year, 1 month.

Emily at 13 months

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Here is a very cute picture of Emily at 13 and a half months

Prayer letter - August 10, 2009

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Monday, August 10, 2009

Dear friends,

The past month has been super full! We have conducted our annual training for Servant Partners here in Los Angeles, bought a home and moved in (!), and celebrated Emily’s first birthday. Read on for more details!

Servant Partners GUTS training

In my last prayer letter I asked you to pray for our GUTS training, July 18 to 25. That first week went fabulously well. The candidates have now gone to Manila, Philippines for five more weeks of training among the poor in the slums. Please keep praying for them in Manila!

I facilitated the training throughout the week, and did about 15 hours of the teaching (there were other trainers as well). I am very excited about this group of new missionaries, and the eagerness with which they are giving themselves to the training and to the work ahead. We had a fabulous time getting to know each other and building our relationships. By the end of the first week of the training, they were enjoying their new friendships so much that they were already talking about how great it would be if they could all be on the same team on the field. I told them with a smile, that’s why the training is six weeks long instead of one – long enough to start to get on each others’ nerves! :^) They are a wonderful group of people and I’m so glad each of them is part of our Servant Partners’ staff team.

I would also appreciate your prayers as I have four more speaking engagements / teachings in the coming month – two for Servant Partners, one for our church here in Long Beach, and one for a supporting church. Thank you for praying for my preparation, and that God would bless and use each teaching for his purposes.

We bought a house!

For the first time in our lives we bought a home. We got a great deal on a foreclosure right here in North Long Beach, less than two miles from our church. Our mortgage is cheaper than our rent was at the apartment, so financially it works well. We moved in a week ago, and we really like it!

Please leave a comment if you would like our new address, and do not have it yet.

One reason why we are excited about the home is to have a greater degree of stability with our neighbors. Homeowners move too, but there is even more turnover in apartments. It was sometimes frustrating, in our apartment, to begin to get to know our neighbors, only to have them move on after a couple of months. We hope to build many long term relationships with our neighbors at our house, Lord willing for years to come. In this first week we have started getting to know a few of our new neighbors. We also plan to begin leading a small group Bible study in the Fall based out of our home, and are very excited about being able to invite our neighbors to it, and to our church, as we get to know them. PLEASE PRAY for us as we settle into this home and neighborhood, that we would be a light and the presence of God’s kingdom in this community.

God is also at work in our real estate agent who helped us get the house. She is a Buddhist Vietnamese American. As we have told her about our life, she expressed interest in learning more about Jesus. We gave her a Bible and she has started reading it and asking us questions. We explained the kind of work we do in Servant Partners, and she told us that we should send Servant Partners people to Vietnam because people there are becoming Christians! So it seems that she is very open to the gospel. Please pray for her to come to faith.

Family Update

Emily turned one on July 28! She’s just starting to walk.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and our ministry. We are grateful to be able to share our pilgrimage with you, and are always happy to hear from you!

For the joy set before us,

Dave, Mini, Lily, and Emily

Emily's first birthday party

2009-08-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

Emily Faith turned one on July 28! Happy birthday Emily!! Here are some pictures of the birthday girl, her big sister, and mommy and daddy at her birthday party. Her favorite gift was this little wagon in which she sits, and it is so adorable when her big sister pulls her around in it!

Prayer letter - June 27, 2009

2009-06-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Dear friends,

Grace and peace to you in Jesus! Here’s an update from the Palmers…

Fountain of Life Covenant church update

Our church plant in Long Beach is experiencing a big milestone this weekend, as we are inducted into the Evangelical Covenant denomination as an official member church at the Covenant’s annual meeting. We’re transitioning out of “church plant” status as the church has become established and strong. Praise God for causing this planting to grow and thrive! We are a multi-ethnic, multi-class fellowship in the midst of the city, reaching many new unchurched people from all sorts of different backgrounds. It is a very exciting place to be and I am so grateful we can be a part of this ministry.

As I mentioned in my last letter, our church’s camp was June 5-7. It was a very inspiring and powerful time as we studied Luke 10 together. Luke 10 begins with Jesus sending out the 70 to be laborers in God’s harvest (verses 1-24), and ends with the passage about Mary and Martha (verses 38-42). Martha is distracted and troubled by all her serving, and Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to his teaching. We talked about deepening in our intimacy with Jesus, sitting at his feet and listening to his teaching, and having that be the thing that directs and fuels us as “Kingdom workers” and laborers in God’s harvest. We talked about how easy it is to go to one extreme or another – either the extreme of burning out like Martha because all we do is work, work, work in service and ministry, to the detriment of being with and receiving from Jesus (John Piper has a great quote that it is not temptation that hinders his life of prayer, but service); or the extreme of only contemplating, praying, and worshipping God, to the exclusion of actually getting out there to love, serve, and speak of Jesus with our neighbors. So, as a church our goal is to hold action and contemplation, service and worship in the proper tension, so that we are all personally experiencing deeper and deeper intimacy and life in Jesus, and then allowing that life to overflow to those around us who need the gospel.

Sandwiched between these opening and closing sections of Luke 10 is the famous parable of the Good Samaritan (verses 25-37) – a person who actively loves his neighbor, at personal risk and cost, across barriers of race and cultural prejudice. We talked about how direct the application of that parable can be in our ethnically and culturally diverse city. We saw how the traveler was robbed and abused in the streets, but cared for at the inn. We pray that our church would be such an inn – a place where the wounded may come and receive compassion and care until they are whole. God is definitely doing that in these first years of our church’s existence, and we pray it may continue and increase. PLEASE PRAY for us, that God’s Kingdom would flourish in us and through us for the blessing of our city and beyond.

Servant Partners update

Our annual training for new Servant Partners’ staff, the Global Urban Training School (GUTS) starts in just three weeks, on July 18. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING for my teachings and preparations, as well as for our eight new staff members who will attend the training: Jed, Mel, Tim, Philippa, Amy, Laura, Andrew, and Nate.

They will put some of you to death . . . yet not a hair of your heads shall perish (Luke 21:16, 18)

You may have heard about the murder of an American missionary in Africa this past week. Attackers tried to kidnap him by forcing him into a car, and when he resisted, they shot him in the head. He was a personal friend of some of us in SP. He had devoted his life to serving the poor and vulnerable, and sharing about Jesus. He leaves behind a wife and 4 children. Please join us in prayer for his family, for the poor to whom he ministered who no longer have his compassionate presence, and for the ones who murdered him, that God in his grace would open their eyes and call them to repentance and life, just as he did the Apostle Paul.

I have often thought about the verses from Luke 21 in the heading above. Immediately after telling his disciples that they will be hated by everyone because of his name, and that some of them will even be put to death, Jesus reassures them by saying not a hair of your heads shall perish. By referring to each individual hair of their heads, Jesus hearkens back to his earlier teachings (recorded in Matthew 10:30-31 and Luke 12:7) where he says the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows. If God does not forget one sparrow (Luke 12:6), and no sparrow can fall dead apart from our Father (Matthew 10:29), and we are of much more value to God than they; if we are so known and cared for by God that he keeps track of how many hairs remain on our heads at any given moment, then we can have confidence that no harm may befall us but that which God sees and superintends, and we truly can live our lives free of the fear of death and in joyful anticipation of entering the presence of a great and loving Father. I am grieved that this man was murdered. I am also inspired by his faithful example, and reminded that all that truly matters and will endure is blessedness in God’s eternal Kingdom. May we all devote ourselves in our own ways to those things that will endure eternally!

Financial update

I thought I would share a mid-year update with you all concerning our financial support. With the economic downturn we have lost over $600 per month because of donors who have had to suspend or stop their giving. We have recouped some of that lost support with new donors who have come on board this year as well, but we are still encountering a shortfall each month. Our situation is not remotely as difficult as that of many who have lost their jobs entirely – including some of our former donors – so we do recognize and are grateful for how blessed and provided for we are even now. And, of course we totally understand if any of our donors need or choose to stop giving at any time. But we do need to work on some additional fundraising this summer in order to sustain our work. So, I want to request your prayers for that. And, if you are interested in hearing more about our ministry, or joining our financial support team, please let us know. That would be a great blessing to us!

Lisa B. update

In previous prayer letters I told you about Lisa B., a Servant Partners intern who suffered spinal inflammation and paralysis in March. She is still paralyzed, slowly improving, and expected to recover in 2 to 3 years. She can move her head, and has some movement in her shoulder, wrists, and hands. She has a voice activated wheelchair and a voice operated computer that she can work on. She is holding onto the goodness of God in the midst of her suffering and trusting that he has a purpose in it. Please keep praying for Lisa.

Family Update

We celebrated Lily’s third birthday on June 11. Emily will be a year old on July 28. You can see pictures of them on our blog.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and our ministry. We are grateful to be able to share our pilgrimage with you, and are always happy to hear from you!

For the joy set before us,

Dave, Mini, Lily, and Emily

A quote to ponder:

I slept and dreamed that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted, and behold, service was joy. -- Rabindranath Tagore

Lily rides a pony

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We took the kids to Griffith Park and the LA Zoo last weekend. The highlight was Lily riding a pony -- only $3 at Griffith Park1 We also rode the miniature train. Here are some pics:

Emily on the train...

Emily, a chair and a laundry basket

2009-06-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

Here are cute pictures of Emily exploring under a chair, and posing in a laundry basket...

Lily's third birthday

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Lily had her third birthday on June 11. Here are some pictures from her birthday party on June 14. The theme was "My Little Pony":

Emily standing

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Emily can stand up unassisted all by herself now. She is 10 months. She should be walking before too long. Here is a picture of her...

And another one from the same day...

Sisters

2009-06-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a cute picture of Lily and Emily taken this week. Emily is 10 months and Lily is a week shy of 3 years old...

Prayer letter - June 3, 2009

2009-06-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Dear friends,

Well, summer is pretty much upon us. We appreciate your prayers for us through the summer months, which will include our church camp this week, our major annual training in Servant Partners next month, and both of our daughters’ birthdays. Read on for more details!...

Global Urban Training School begins July 18

Our annual training for new Servant Partners’ staff, the Global Urban Training School (GUTS) begins July 18 – 26 here in the Los Angeles area, then continues in Manila, the Philippines for 5 more weeks. Preparations are well underway for this major training event. PLEASE PRAY for me as I am doing most of the preparations, as well as doing some of the teaching at GUTS. We plan to have eight new staff members in the training, plus six children. (Two married couples are among our new staff, with three children to each married couple.) PLEASE BE PRAYING for our eight new staff members who will attend GUTS next month: Jed, Mel, Tim, Philippa, Amy, Laura, Andrew, and Nate. They are all raising funds for the training this month, as well as doing some reading and writing assignments in preparation for GUTS, so PLEASE PRAY that God would provide for them financially in a challenging economy, and prepare them mentally and spiritually over these next six weeks until GUTS begins! I also appreciate your prayers for my own preparations, including the various teachings I am preparing for the training school.

Fountain of Life Church Camp

Our church in Long Beach has its annual camp this weekend, June 5-7. We will be focusing on Luke 10 and deepening in our church’s vision and life together as a family of faith. The two previous camps were very powerful times of deepening in relationships with one another and convictions and values from God’s word together as a community. PLEASE PRAY that God blesses us all this weekend!

The New Friars

In my last prayer letter, I asked you to pray for our trip to San Francisco last month for an annual gathering of the leaders of several ministries that focus on incarnational mission among the urban poor. Our whole family had such a fabulous time. It was refreshing to be among and strengthen our relationship with other like-minded friends. Mini got to participate in all the discussions because childcare was provided, which was so refreshing for Mini, and the childcare was so excellent that Lily asked if she could stay in San Francisco when it was all over! A major focus of the discussions was a writing project that all of our various ministries would collaborate on together. So, Lord willing, we hope to publish a book in 2010 that includes voices and stories from all of our various ministries of the things that God has done, and what God has taught us, as we have lived and ministered among the poor. We pray that it will be an encouragement to many in the Church whom God is calling into mission among the world’s most vulnerable, and I welcome your prayers as well for those who are working on this project. (I personally am not one of the authors – others in SP will contribute.)

Family Update

Lily is almost 3 years old! Her birthday is June 11. Emily is 10 months and on the verge of learning to walk. You can see updated pictures of them on our blog, if you like.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family. We are grateful to be able to share our pilgrimage with you, and are always happy to hear from you! Every blessing to you this summer!

For the joy set before us,

Dave, Mini, Lily, and Emily

A quote to ponder:

Vulnerability means to be hurt over and over again without seeking to love less, but more. Divine love is sheer vulnerability—sheer openness to giving … Being vulnerable means loving one another as Christ loved us. If we did not have to forgive people, we would have no way of manifesting God’s forgiveness toward us. People who injure us are doing us a great favor because they are providing us with the opportunity of passing on the mercy that we have received. By showing mercy, we increase the mercy we receive. The best way to receive divine love is to give it away, and the more we pass on, the more we increase our capacity to receive. (Thomas Keating, The Heart of the World: An Introduction to Contemplative Christianity)

Prayer letter - April 28, 2009

2009-04-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

April 28, 2009

Dear friends,

After 21 years of writing prayer letters, I have finally decided to give them a name: “The Palmers’ Pilgrimage” (which is also the name of our blog). If you want to know why I chose “The Palmers’ Pilgrimage,” then read this next section. If not, you can skip to the following one!

Why I’m calling these letters “The Palmers’ Pilgrimage”

The origin of the name “Palmer” dates back to the Middle Ages in England. It refers to a person who goes on a pilgrimage to a “holy place,” such as the city of Jerusalem. Medieval Christian pilgrims who traveled to Jerusalem were given a palm branch as they entered the city, hearkening back to Jesus’ triumphal entry (see John 12: 12-13). They were then called "palmers" in reference to their palm branch.

I appreciate the associations between palmers and pilgrims, because, of course, the Christian life of faith is commonly referred to as a pilgrimage, a journey through this world to our heavenly home. John Bunyan’s book Pilgrim’s Progress is, of course, the classic example. There are a number of passages in Scripture from which this concept of God’s people as pilgrims comes – we are strangers and exiles on this earth, sojourners who are on the way to our true homeland, for which we eagerly long:

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11, KJV)By faith he (Abraham) went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, … for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (Hebrews 11: 9-10, ESV)These all died in faith, … having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11: 13-16, ESV)

These texts have been very significant to me throughout my adult life. I long to live my life “for the joy set before me,” with my eyes fixed on Jesus, as a pilgrim and sojourner on this earth. I hope that naming these prayer letters “The Palmers’ Pilgrimage” will remind me and others of the journey of faith we are all on to the better country, the city that has foundations.

Lisa B. update

In my last two prayer letters I have asked for prayers for Lisa B., a Servant Partners intern who became paralyzed from the neck down on March 13. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for her. She is in physical therapy and is gradually regaining some mobility. She can now move her arm some, and wiggle one of her toes. She can eat and breathe on her own. She is now in a motorized wheelchair which she controls by moving her head. So she is making gradual progress. She feels that God has spoken to her that she will be fully healed, but also that she will need to be patient and wait for it to happen. Her doctors are estimating anywhere from 6 months to 2 years of physical therapy for a complete recovery. Of course, God may heal her faster than that. Please pray that God would give her and her husband Eric patience and strength to persevere through this difficult time. We have been requested to pray along the lines of Psalm 27:13-14 for both Lisa and Eric.

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Family Update

Mini and I celebrated our sixth anniversary two days ago, April 26! I am so thankful for my wife and family. The kids are doing fine. Emily is 9 months “old” today. She is crawling everywhere, exploring the world, and learning to stand. You can see pictures of Emily and Lily on our blog.

The New Friars

Next week our family will travel up to San Francisco for 4 days to attend an annual gathering of the leaders of multiple ministries that focus on incarnational mission among the urban poor. I request your prayers for our travels and for these meetings, May 4 - 7.

Scott Bessenecker is one of the leaders who plans to be present at these meetings. If you’d like to learn more about what next week’s meetings will be about, and what incarnational urban poor ministries like Servant Partners are all about, then I highly recommend and encourage you to read Scott’s excellent book, The New Friars (InterVarsity Press, 2006). Scott describes five characteristics that today’s missions among the world’s poor have in common with monastic orders and other friends of the poor throughout the history of the Church. He profiles several of our Servant Partners staff in the book. It is a very inspiring read which powerfully conveys many of the convictions, values, and passions that many of us in incarnational urban poor ministry share. I commend it to you and would love to hear any comments you may have on The New Friars.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family. We are grateful to be able to share our pilgrimage with you, and are always happy to hear from you!

For the joy set before us,

Dave, Mini, Lily, and Emily

Emily stands up

2009-04-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

Still a few days shy of 9 months old, Emily can pull herself up and stand on her feet, as long as she is holding onto something with at least one hand.

The Lily Mermaid

2009-04-21T10:30:00.001-07:00

OK, this was NOT coached or prompted! :^) Lily was stepping into Ariel's fins all by herself after watching "The Little Mermaid" DVD a few times, and it was so sweet we just had to record it!

Oral Hygiene

2009-04-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

Emily (with 2 little teeth poking through on the bottom) is getting a jump start on oral hygiene...

Jesus loves Emily

2009-04-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

Emily's shirt says, "Jesus loves (heart) me," and Emily looks very happy about that!

All clean

2009-04-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

Emily is all clean and cute as can be after a bath! She is 8 months...

More Ponytails

2009-04-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

Lily's hair is a good length for ponytails now. Here are some pictures we took yesterday...

Emily at 8 months

2009-03-28T10:10:00.001-07:00

Emily is 8 months today. Two-thirds of a year. She is crawling now and has been very happy and smiley this week, perhaps due to the joy of greater mobility. Here are a couple of cute pictures we took, including one where she is giving us a "high five":

Fairy Princess Lily

2009-03-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken today - Lily is 2 years and 9 months...

Emily sitting up

2009-03-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken today, Emily is a week away from 8 months...

Pretty in ponytails

2009-03-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

Lily was 2 years and 8 months when these pictures were taken...

Emily's dedication, March 1 (7 months)

2009-03-21T14:18:00.001-07:00

Emily was dedicated on March 1, 2009 at both of our churches - Fountain of Life Church and East West Church. She was seven months old. Here are some pictures...

Emily at 6 months

2009-03-21T14:14:00.001-07:00

Though Emily is just a week away from 8 months now, she was 6 months when this picture was taken. I've been remiss in updating the blog these days!

Lily and Emily are happy to be sisters

2009-02-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

Lily and Emily are getting along super well together and having fun playing with each other. Here are a couple pictures from early February. Lily is 2 yrs 7 months, and Emily is 6 months in these photos...

New Year's Eve

2008-12-31T19:56:00.000-08:00

Here are Lily and Emily bidding farewell to 2008. Emily is 5 months in this picture, and Lily is 30 months.

Merry Christmas from Emily

2008-12-20T22:46:00.000-08:00

You may recognize this Santa suit. Lily wore it for Christmas 2006 and that picture ended up on our blog too. Now it is Emily's turn. Merry Christmas!

O Christmas Tree

2008-12-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of the family (mostly Lily) decorating the Christmas tree...

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Last Halloween's jack-o-lantern was Harry Potter, to commemorate book 7...

And, if you know anything about our daughter Lily you know that this year's jack-o-lantern just HAD to be Dora. Lily is VERY excited about the Dora pumpkin and keeps giving it hugs (when the candle is not burning) and saying, "I LOVE you Dora!"

We also took Lily to a halloween festival at a local church and she got to meet Winnie the Pooh and Tigger too. She was so excited and even gave Pooh bear a kiss...

Emily is 3 months

2008-11-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of Emily at 3 months...

Big sister, little sister

2008-10-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of Lily (2 years 4 months) and Emily (12 weeks) wearing their matching "big sister" and "little sister" T shirts...

And here's a cute picture of Lily Grace...

Emily 9, 10, and 11 weeks

2008-10-16T15:25:00.001-07:00

Today, Emily 11 weeks and 4 days. Here are some recent pictures of her. In this first one she is 9 weeks old, trying to raise some money since she doesn't get an allowance yet...

And here she is 10 weeks old, in her carseat...

Here she is with her loving big sister Lily, who is 2 years and 4 months...

And I took this one today, 11 weeks 4 days...

Emily is 2 months old

2008-10-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

Emily reached 2 months on September 28. She is doing great, smiling and cooing and interacting with us a lot. Here is a picture of her at 2 months...

And, going back in time, here she is at 6 weeks, lifting up her head...

And, at 7 weeks, looking rather philosophical...

And, another shot of her at 2 months old, with her big sister Lily (27 months)...

We thank God for our two beautiful little girls.

Little mommy

2008-09-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

A two year old will copy everything you do and say, and Lily Grace is no exception. She's been observing mommy feeding baby sister Emily for these past weeks, and this morning she announced that she was going to feed one of her baby dolls. She sat in mommy's chair, strapped on mommy's nursing pillow, and assumed a perfect feeding position with the doll. After we snapped the picture, Lily put the doll over her shoulder, patted her on the back to burp her, and switched her to the other side. Lily is going to make a good mommy some day...

Emily smiling

2008-09-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

The "experts" say that newborns can start smiling at about 6 or 7 weeks or so, but Emily got a bit of a jump on that. Check out this lovely smile at 5 weeks and 5 days...

Lily and Emily together

2008-09-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

In these pictures Lily is 26 months and Emily is 5 weeks...

Emily at five weeks

2008-09-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

Here is Emily at 5 weeks...

Three weeks plus or minus two days

2008-08-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

Here is Emily at two weeks and five days...

And here she is after her bath this morning, three weeks and two days...

Tuckered Out

2008-08-03T17:50:00.001-07:00

This picture of Emily yesterday (6 days old) pretty much sums up how the whole family feels these days!

Emily on day 3

2008-07-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of Emily today, day three of her life outside of mommy. She is doing great. She had a routine check-up yesterday and the pediatrician said she appears to be in perfect health. Mini is also recovering well, much improved from 2 days ago. Lily is also enjoying her baby sister very much. She is helping us take care of Emily, "reading" to her, counting Emily's fingers and toes, etc. It's very sweet. Thank you all for your prayers, congratulatory emails, and love. We are grateful for you all.

Announcing Emily Faith Palmer

2008-07-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

With great joy we announce the birth of our second daughter, Emily Faith Palmer.

Mini and I both love the name Emily. (It’s quite the popular name these days, so we’re obviously not the only ones!) We also like the way Lily and Emily go together. We chose Faith for our daughter’s middle name as it is the virtue and divine gift that we pray will mark our daughter’s life. We pray that she may follow the example set out for us all by the people of God described in Hebrews chapter 11.

Emily Faith was born at 1:09 am today, July 28, 2008 (seven days past her due date). She is doing great so far – sleeping and eating well. Mini lost more blood than usual and she is weaker and more weary than she was with Lily’s birth – but she is not in danger. She just needs some time to get her energy back.

Mini started having contractions at 5:30 am yesterday, July 27. The contractions were steady all morning, but slowed down in the afternoon and early evening. Then they came on very strong from about 8:40 pm, until Emily was born four and a half hours later. Mini did great and I was so proud of her.

Emily was 7 pounds and 12 ounces at birth, and 21.5 inches long. She looks quite a lot like her big sister Lily. We look forward to you meeting her in person. If you do come by to see Emily in the coming weeks, may I encourage you to also show some extra love and attention to Lily as well, and not just to the newest center of attention!

Lily is enjoying getting to know her baby sister. Please pray for us all in the weariness and adjustments of the coming weeks. We’ll do our best to post more pictures of both of our girls on our blog in the days ahead.

Baby overtime again

2008-07-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

Lily's baby sister was due yesterday (July 21), but she is still inside of mommy. Lily was born two days past her due date. We'll see if the same goes for her sister. That would mean being born tomorrow...

Of course we'll get the news out asap when the baby is born!

Sailor girl

2008-07-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

Here's Lily (25 months) in a cute sailor outfit that was passed on to us by a dear friend in Sacramento...

Lily Grace is Two Years Old!

2008-06-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

Lily Grace turned two years old yesterday. Happy birthday Lily! We shot this video last week of her "reading" her "Little Girl's Bible." (She does this with quite a few of her books now -- she has heard us read the page to her enough times that she has it memorized word for word.) Here's the page she's "reading" in the video...

Lily plays in the snow

2008-06-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

Our family went to church camp at Big Bear over Memorial Day weekend, and it snowed on us (in late May!). Lily got to play in the snow for the first time...

She owns the road

2008-05-09T21:08:00.001-07:00

Here's Lily cruising on her new tricycle, a gift from her grandparents... She's 22 months old in these pictures.

Little camper

2008-04-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

Lily was given a little toddler tent by a friend this past week. She loves to put her dolls down to bed in it, and lay down next to them. We're pretty sure she'd sleep overnight in this thing, though we haven't tried that yet...

Bubble bath

2008-03-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

Here are two cute picture of Lily in the bubble bath, at 21 months old...

The creature from the bubbly lagoon!

Lily at 20 months

2008-02-14T08:41:00.001-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures of Lily at 20 months old doing some of her favorite things -- swinging on the swings at the park, and eating oatmeal...

Lily is going to be a big sister

2008-02-14T08:38:00.000-08:00

Here is Lily's reaction to the news that she is going to be a big sister, if God wills, come July...

Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

Here are the two loves of my life on Valentine's Day...

Lily and Isaac

2008-01-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

Lily's friend Isaac was born a month before her. She sees him at church on Sunday, and sometimes during the week on playdates. They're obviously friends...

In Loving Memory of Midi Mikasa and her son Nathan

2008-01-08T07:19:00.000-08:00

I have been grieving since the morning of January 2, when I received news of the death of two members of our church plant here in Long Beach. Mark and Midi Mikasa, and their 4 year old twin boys Nathan and Lucas were returning home from a family gathering on January 1 when their vehicle was struck by a pickup truck that had run a red light. Midi died at the scene, and Nathan died of his injuries at the hospital early in the morning on January 2. Mark and Lucas were hospitalized for several days but have since been released and are recovering at home.

Both Mark and Midi have been very dear friends of mine for 15 years, ever since college days at UCLA. Mark and I lived on the same dorm floor in 1992. He began attending the dorm Bible study I was leading, and became a follower of Jesus. Midi also was a member of our campus fellowship at the time. She is respected and admired by all who knew her as a woman of exceptional kindness, compassion, humility, care for others, and sensitivity.

Mark and Midi were founding members of our church plant in Long Beach and have played a very active role in the life and ministry of the church. We miss Midi and Nathan immensely and are heartbroken for Mark and Lucas.

Last Sunday morning we had our first church service since the accident. Mark, Lucas, and their families joined us as we remembered Midi and Nathan, and took comfort and hope from the truth that they live forever in unspeakable joy in the presence of God, and will greet each of us on that great day in the Kingdom of God.

Please pray for Mark, Lucas, their family, and our church. We've lost two members of our family. We trust that in the sovereignty of God even this will work for all of our eternal good. But it is obviously severe and painful nonetheless.

A trust fund for little Lucas Mikasa has been set up, as well as memorial fund for Midi and Nathan that will help with funeral expenses. Please allow me to invite and encourage you to send a financial gift for one or both of these funds in honor of Midi and Nathan. If you would like to make a contribution, all the information you need is here: http://www.folcov.org/mikasas/

Above is a picture of Midi reading to some of the children in our church: her twin boys, Lily, and Joy Teter. (Her son Nathan is sitting between Midi and Lily. Lucas is on the other side of Midi.)

Thank you for your prayers for us.

In sorrow and hope,

David

Lily is a year and a half

2007-12-11T14:37:00.000-08:00

Lily is a year and a half today. She is 17 months plus in these pictures...

This is one of my all time favorites:

These ones are very cute too!

Giddy'up

2007-12-11T13:10:00.000-08:00

Here's Lily riding a horsie at her Uncle Donny and Aunt Kimmie's house...

Lily at the park

2007-11-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

Here's Lily at the park last week...

At Leela and Raji's wedding

2007-11-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

Mini's good friend Leela got married to Raji today, and we took these pictures at the wedding...

Keys please!

2007-10-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

Lily likes to put the door key into the lock and practice turning it. Some day she's going to want the car keys...

Pigtails

2007-10-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

Lily's hair is getting longer and longer and we sometimes put them into little pigtails these days. So cute!

At the Long Beach Aquarium

2007-10-01T23:38:00.000-07:00

We took a family outing to the Long Beach Aquarium two weeks ago. None of us had ever been. We got in free thanks to a promotion honoring employees of non-profits, and saw it all for $5 parking. It was astonishing! The Long Beach Aquarium is world class.

Here is the family in the "Lorakeet forest."

This giant Spider crab nearly attached itself to my head a la the original motion picture "Alien." Somehow Lily convinced it that she needed a father and I escaped unscathed.

All it wants is a hug! Even giant spider crabs can reform.

It's not every day that you can take your daughter out to pet the live sharks and manta rays! (for real, you can pet them!)

And a splendid day it was!

Lily, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana

2007-10-01T23:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Lily waking up from her afternoon nap...

Is a move to Seattle and a gig with a grunge band in her future?...

What a difference a little H2O makes!...

Our trip to Ensenada, Mexico

2007-08-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

Last week, we all went down to Ensenada, Mexico for the first ever SP all staff gathering. This was Lily's first international trip since we returned from India when Mini was six months pregnant. It was a fabulous reunion of the whole SP family. Here are a few pictures. First, a group shot of almost everyone who attended (a few people were busy during the group photo)...

Here's a family photo that we took at the hotel in Ensenada where we stayed...

Here's a picture of Lily cruising around the hotel grounds...

And, here's Lily strolling along the beach in Ensenada in what has now come to be known as her "Marilyn Monroe" dress...

Here's Lily lounging in a lounge chair...

Here she is sporting her new SP T-Shirt...

Little swimmer

2007-07-18T22:32:00.000-07:00

Lily reached 13 months on July 11. She discovered "swimming" this past month, and she can't get enough of the water. We definitely have an outdoor girl. She cries when we take her back into the apartment again after being in the pool! Here are some pictures:

Tooling around on her birthday

2007-06-11T22:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Lily walking and tooling around on her first birthday (June 11).

Happy Birthday Lily Grace!

2007-06-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Lily Grace! Today is your first birthday. We praise God for bringing such a delightful, beautiful, wonderful little girl into our lives a year ago today. You are the most precious gift we could ask for, and we love you so much. It was been such a joy to watch you grow up before our eyes. You have changed so much in your first year. You’ve gone from a completely helpless infant to a curious, fearless toddler who loves to explore and climb and play. We have so much fun with you, laughing and playing together, and we live out each day in amazement of who you are and who you will become. We can’t wait to see what the years ahead have in store! We love you with all our hearts!

Here's mommy helping you blow out the candle on your first birthday cake!

A Passage to Narnia

2007-05-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

Here's Lily two weeks before her first birthday. We laughed about how it almost looks like C. S. Lewis' famous wardrobe has been replaced by a bookshelf, and Lily is exiting Narnia after being a queen there for decades and hunting the white stag (and of course no time at all passed in our world)...

Reading with Daddy

2007-05-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

Here we are this morning reading Animal Babies

Special delivery

2007-05-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

This picture of Lily was taken yesterday -- 11 months and five days old... Who needs a stork when the postal service delivers packages like these!

Sweeter than Chocolate

2007-05-17T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here's Lily earlier this week, wearing a shirt that was gifted to her by friends. It says, "Way Sweeter than Chocolate"... :^)

Lily is 11 months old tomorrow

2007-05-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

This past month I've gotten knee surgery, and the whole family has been sick - all three of us were sick for about two weeks (poor Lily Grace) and Mini and I continued sick even after Lily recovered - hence I've gotten pretty backed up on my work and one thing that fell by the wayside was posting to the blog! My knee recovery is coming along. Lily Grace is coming along too, so I'll post a few recent pictures of her...

This one was taken just yesterday (two days shy of 11 months). She is wearing her "Jesus loves me" T-Shirt and she looks happy to know that he does!

This one was taken the day before yesterday (three days shy of 11 months). She's got a bit of remnants of her sweet potato meal still sticking to her face, hence the slight orange color. Look at those eyes!...

Here she is playing the guitar with daddy about 2 weeks ago. (Look closely at my right knee and you can see where the two incisions were for my knee surgery - one of them covered by a band-aid, the other not.)

Here she is on Easter Sunday with her flower - namesake...

Sleeping beauty

2007-03-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

Here's our sleeping beauty at 9 and a half months.

Lily's dedication to God

2007-03-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

Lily got dedicated to God yesterday, at both of our churches -- Fountain of Life Covenant Church in Long Beach, and East West Church in Anaheim. It was a very special day. We prayed Jesus' words in Mark 10: 14 over Lily:

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs."

We pray that as Lily grows she would come to Jesus, and know him as her maker, her lover, her friend, her redeemer, and her Lord. We also pray that God would help us be good parents who will always help her to do so and not hinder her in any way. And we pray that as Lily grows she would retain that childlike quality that marks those to whom the kingdom of God belongs.

Here are a couple of pictures from her dedication day:

Lily at 9 months

2007-03-12T22:48:00.000-07:00

Lily is 9 months old. She can stand up by herself. Here are a few pictures.

Lily at 8 months

2007-02-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

Lily turned 8 months old on February 11. She can stand up on her own two feet and shuffle around, holding onto something. Looks like she'll be an early walker. Here is a picture of our sweetie at 8 months.

Lovable Lily

2007-01-31T10:03:00.000-08:00

How could you not love this little girl???

Back after a long hiatus

2007-01-30T16:02:00.000-08:00

It's been almost six weeks since I last posted to this blog. With our apartment complex fire, being displaced from our home for six weeks, and also having a knee injury which has slowed me down, plus the holidays, going to Urbana, etc., I just haven't done it. But now things are settling down, we are back in Long Beach, and I plan to get back on a more consistent posting pattern.

Lily is seven and a half months now. About five weeks ago, Lily learned to stand up holding onto something for support. Here's a recent picture of her on her own two feet:

Merry Christmas from Lily

2006-12-18T22:11:00.000-08:00