Five girls from Casady School in Oklahoma arrived back to the States last summer eager to find a way to impact the precious children they had met at Camp LIFE Zambia. After thinking and praying about it, they decided to raise money for the school at the Tree of Life Children’s Village.  This school will not only provide an excellent Christian education for the children living at the Tree of Life, but eventually it will serve up to one thousand kids from the local community.

In order to raise money for the school, these five girls – Madison and Abigail Utz, Laura Joullian, Emily Ellis, and Maya Shiff – founded Sow Love Zambia.  After one month the teens have raised almost $20,000 and the group has grown to 19 student members, many of whom are returning to Zambia with the girls in July.

The girls’ desire to raise the money for the school at the Tree of Life reflects a broader focus of Family Legacy Missions to provide a quality education to all of the children touched by our programs.  Family Legacy is changing the education of these children through Lifeway Christian Academies, government/private school scholarships, tutoring, and school supplies.  Along with discipleship, a solid education will equip these children with the necessary tools to change their future and the future of their families and communities.

A local news agency wrote a story about the work of Sow Love Zambia. Camp LIFE alumni, please continue to share with others how the Lord has changed your lives and the lives of your kids at camp. And like the girls at Casady School, think of ways that you can use your gifts and talents to impact the lives of these children.  We would love to hear the story of how YOU are helping!

For more information about education in Zambia, go to www.familylegacy.com/education

Camp LIFE 2011 is just around the corner. Our first team meetings were held with 2011 participants in Austin, Houston and Dallas this past weekend. We are so excited about everything the Lord is going to do this summer. With over 500 participants signed up, Camp LIFE 2011 is going to be a summer to remember! Here is a brief recap of the important items you need to remember going forward.

The first thing you need to address is fund raising. If you have not started yet, you are behind. The spring is going to fly by and we do not want you to miss out on everything the Lord is going to do this summer because you started raising money late. Remember to send out letters, talk at your workplace or church, or host a dinner party. For ideas on how to fund raise, click here.

The next thing ALL Camp LIFE participants need to do is login to their Control Panel. Every family unit has a control panel they can log into. It is located in our Camp LIFE section of our website. Your control panel holds all of the info and updates you need for your trip this summer.

Once you are in your control panel, you need to approve your flight schedule. We are going to be purchasing all of the tickets we have been holding very soon. Once your schedule is approved, we can purchase and officially confirm you have a plane ticket for Zambia.  Also, please double-check that British Airways has spelled your name correctly under the record locator on your control panel.

In addition, please make sure to enter your child preferences. If you have an age group or gender you would prefer to have as your group of kids this summer, please fill out that information for us. Although this is not a guarantee we do try to accommodate everyone’s preferences.

The control panel also has our Camp LIFE FAQ’s, as well as a list of every American traveling with you on your trip. Remember during this time to pray for both the Americans traveling with you and to pray for your group of children.

Finally please check your passport expiration. Your expiration date needs to be at least six months after your trip is scheduled. If you need to renew your passport, please do so now.

Once again we are eagerly looking forward to what the Lord is going to do through you this summer!  We are in prayer for all of you!