As the Lord has broadened the scope of people who have joined with us in ministry, we have seen that there are people all across the United States and even Canada who are now a vital part of this growing ministry. Even if you don’t live in Dallas, we want you to know that we value you and consider all of our “out-of-state” alumni just as important as those here in Dallas! SO, after much prayer and several confirmations, the idea for the “Family Legacy Road Show” was born!

Our staff will be traveling all across the country to come and share what the Lord is doing over in Zambia. The vision is to have our staff come and speak to you and your friends about the different ministries within Family Legacy. We want to help motivate your friends and family to sponsor your children, sign up for Camp LIFE 2010 and help build The Tree of Life Children’s Village.  Several individuals and groups of alumni are already coming up with creative ideas that God has laid on their hearts to raise awareness and funds for the areas in Zambia they are most passionate about — we are thrilled to come to your events and simply be a voice representing Family Legacy. If you went to Zambia and are longing for all of your friends to know more about what you experienced, then the Family Legacy Road Show is for you!

If you are interested in having Family Legacy come to YOUR hometown then let us know ASAP, as we are mapping out our Fall Road Show Calendar THIS WEEK. So, from New York to California, Florida to Illinois – we want to come your way…and don’t worry, Texans – we are coming YOUR way, too! We will need interested people to help organize and spearhead the events in the various cities across the country. If you want to be involved in helping us organize an event in your city, please contact Paige as soon as possible so that YOUR city makes it on the road show circuit.

We’re always looking for creative ways to get people ‘plugged in’ to Camp LIFE and the year 2010 is no exception. For the first time ever, we are introducing ‘College Week’ in May 2010 where college students and their parents can experience the life-changing JOY of Camp LIFE 2010. Listed are some of the benefits of participating in Camp LIFE College Week:

• No Summer School Conflict

In May 2010, you’ll be able to come to Zambia without interrupting your college schedule. The dates for College Week are May 16th-30th, which means it fits nicely in between the spring semester and summer school. You can be back on your college campus before summer school starts!

• More Time in Zambia

You get to spend FOUR EXTRA DAYS on the ground in Zambia and it won’t cost you a penny more. You arrive on Tuesday, May 18th and Camp LIFE doesn’t start until the following Monday, May 24th.

• Behind the Scenes

On each “extra” day, you will spend the morning helping set-up for Camp LIFE 2010 by helping with many of the necessary tasks not normally seen by the American Ambassadors.

• More Time with Kids

The afternoons of the extra days will be spent at a CRC or The Tree of Life playing with and loving on the all the amazing children.

• More Time in Communities

You will get to spend these afternoons IN the various communities where the children live located all around Lusaka. This will allow you to see more of Lusaka than just one community.

• Save Money

You can receive $500 OFF the cost of your trip just by bringing either your mom or your dad. Your parents have never been worth so much!

You can sign up for Camp LIFE 2010 here.

Hey…Jesus Loves Me! Our walk-in song for Camp LIFE 2009 was a huge hit with the kids.

The education system in Lusaka, Zambia is very different than what we see in the US or other western countries.  In Zambia there are two main types of schools:  government schools and community schools.  A government school is very similar to the system we are used to, except that a fee is charged to attend school.  We work mostly with children who attend community schools, primarily because the fees for government schools are too expensive.

Community schools are run by individuals in the community who see a need or opportunity and open their own school in the area.  The fee to attend a community school is significantly cheaper, but very often you get what you pay for.  Community schools often only last two hours a day so that more children can be cycled in.  Access to books, supplies, proper curriculum and quality teaching is often hard to get on such a tight budget and is lacking in most community schools.  Many of the schools we work with also have very old facilities with exposed electrical wires or inadequate plumbing.

There are very few restrictions on who can open and run a community school.  We love partnering with community schools like Destiny School run by Peter Kaunda, but sometimes the school directors are not looking after the child’s best interest.

Since school fees are a big portion of your monthly sponsorship, we want to be able to ensure that the children are getting a quality education for more than 2 hours a day from very qualified Christian teachers and with all the necessary supplies and books.  By opening our own schools, we can offer all of this to your sponsored children, as well as another chance to impact the child’s daily life.

The new schools we are opening this year and next will greatly improve the quality of education these children have access to.  Please consider helping us open the first seven schools this year by buying school supplies for a child in Zambia.  Click here to learn more about our Fill-A-Backpack campaign where we are trying to collect 1,000 backpacks and supplies to send to Zambia.  School supplies go on sale this week in the U.S., so now is the best time of the year to get a lot of great stuff for the lowest price!