I’ve been looking through some of the video we have from Camp LIFE 2008 and came across these two clips.  I really have no purpose in showing them to you except that they both make me laugh (especially the first one, watch the boy in the fleece jacket).  They also make me very excited to get to Zambia.

Francis with Discipleship Leader and New Backpack!

Francis is a nine year old Father’s Heart sponsored child from Garden Compound in Lusaka.  His mother had cancer of the eye and HIV and was not going to live much longer.  Francis’ Discipleship Leader, Mulela, was able to be right there for Francis and his mother day-in and day-out during the month of January.  Miraculously, after many visits from Muleya, his mom finally came to know the Lord and accept Christ as her personal Savior!  Her salvation came less than one month prior to her passing.   Because of Francis Chita’s Father’s Heart sponsorship and the heart of his Discipleship Leader, his mom is now in Heaven and they will be reunited one day!

Once his mother died, Francis’ grandmother was the only one who could take care of him.  His grandmother felt she had to take Francis to an orphanage because she couldn’t afford to feed him even though his mother’s dying wish was that Francis could stay with his grandmother.  By the grace of God and the generous heart of his Father’s Heart Sponsor, Family Legacy has been able to step in and provide monthly food assistance allowing Francis to stay with his Grandmother!

Real lives of little children all the way on the other side of the world in Zambia are being transformed and assisted every day through Family Legacy’s Father’s Heart Program — Will you consider sponsoring a Zambian orphan?

Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa that it is slightly larger than Texas.  It’s northern border with the Democratic Republic of Congo gives it a distinct shape that looks like a butterfly.   The largest city is the capital of Lusaka, which is in south central Zambia.  Most Zambians live in either Lusaka or in the northern part which is know as the Copperbelt.

The thing that shapes Zambia the most is the Zambezi River which leaves huge floodplains in western Zambia.  The Zambezi River is of course most famous for its drop at Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe.  Although Victoria Falls is the most famous waterfall in Zambia, it is definitely not the only waterfall.  In fact the Kalambo Falls in the north east is more than twice as tall as Vic Falls.  Eastern Zambia is very different from the western portion, filled with smaller rivers that cut through plateaus and mountains with a high point of over 7,000 feet.  Central Zambia is flatter with big plains and a denser population.  Here you can also find Kafue National Park which is the second largest national park in the world.

Zambia is also known for its wildlife with a huge hippo and elephant population.  One hotel was built on the migration trail of a family of elephants, but it doesn’t stop the elephants from passing through the lobby every November.  The rhino population in Zambia has been almost completely killed off by poachers, so the remaining rhino are actually protected by armed guards 24 hours a day.

Zambia is truly an amazing country and the people who live there are just as wonderful.  If you would like to visit Zambia with us click here to read about Camp LIFE.

We are very excited because we believe that the Lord will have us ready this summer to open the first homes at the Tree of Life Children’s Village.  As soon as we raise the funds from our infrastructure campaign we will be able to start putting on the final touches to a few of the Family Life Community Homes.  This marks a big milestone for the Tree of Life, but we still have a long way to go.  These are just the first of 25 Community Homes at the Children’s Village.  You can help us out by donating to our infrastructure campaign here or learn how you can help to build a house for 12 orphans here

The video below shows the different stages in the construction of a Family Life Community Home, from the original concept all the way to a fully built house.    Lord willing, these houses will be filled with Zambian orphans in just a few months.