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!

The Lord is continuing to do big things for Family Legacy and for the orphans of Zambia! Within the last month the Lord has increased our staff to 18. That means that in the last year the Lord has doubled our staff! Meet the newest staff members Taylor, Anne, and Ashley:

Taylor Smith and his wife Amanda both attended Camp LIFE last summer. After the Lord stirred their hearts when coming back to the States, Taylor decided he needed to do something more. After numerous discussions with Greer, we decided Taylor’s strong communications and logistics background were a perfect fit.

Here at Family Legacy, Taylor‘s title will be Marketing and Strategic Partnerships.  His job is to effectively share the vision the Lord has given to Family Legacy with our constituents to empower them to be ministers of reconciliation for Zambia. He will find unique ways to connect our constituents’ gifts and talents with the work that the Lord is doing in Zambia

Anne Ferguson is a two-time Camp LIFE alumni. After serving on our 2010 Banquet Committee, Anne decided to join our staff full time. With her strong fundraising, development, and event planning experience, Anne will be a huge asset as we grow as a ministry.

As Director of Development at FLMI, Anne will help coordinate our overall fundraising strategies, as well as finding ways to better equip board members, volunteers, Camp LIFE alumni, and supporters in fundraising efforts and events.

Ashley Roberts and her husband Casey attended Camp LIFE 2010 with a group from their church. After a lot of prayer, Ashley felt led to join our Family Legacy staff in the Father’s Heart office.

Ashley was previously a Leasing Manager, and her customer service background will be a tremendous help within our sponsorship programs.  As a Sponsorship Ministries Assistant, Ashley will help to manage our sponsorships as well as streamline correspondence between sponsors and children through letters and child updates.

The growth of our Family Legacy staff will boost the excellent work that is already being done by our staff in Zambia and will extend the impact of what the Lord is doing there.  To learn about other new faces who have joined Family Legacy in recent months, be sure to check out our staff pages.

The $1000 down payment is due for Camp LIFE January 15th! Because this is so close we wanted to remind people to really make a strong fund-raising push. You should have started already, but if you haven’t you need to start your fund-raising now.

Although fund-raising may seem like a daunting task, or something that you can put off until much later, we have found that fund-raising is easy when you meet it head on and with gusto! And often you can even put the “fun” back into fund-raising. So here are some helpful tips and practices we have seen work for Camp LIFERS in the past.

First and foremost pray. We believe in a living and active God who hears the prayers of his people. Hebrews 11 tells us that faith is the assurance of things not yet seen. We have a saying around the office that goes like this, “If you already can see it, then you don’t need faith.” In other words, fund-raising might be a place God is allowing you to use faith.

However, this doesn’t mean you pray and let it be. It should be followed by action. So here are some ways to pursue money for your trip:

Speak to your church, your missions’ pastor, or your Sunday school groups. Talk about your desire to go with us to Zambia and describe the sort of impact you will have. You will be surprised at how many people will be interested in what you are doing for orphan children! You will also be surprised at how many churches or organizations have money for people like you who want to minister to others.

Next, have dinner or dessert parties for friends and family. Do this before your trip to talk about what you are doing. And promise to keep them up to date and follow up with another event after your trip to tell them about your experience. People like to know that the money they invested made a difference. So make them feel like they played a part in what happened in Zambia, because in actuality their financial assistance is directly related to the impact you make in Zambia.

Consider doing various jobs like babysitting, mowing lawns or car washes, or events like garage sales or bake sales where all of the money comes back into your trip account. Advertise that these things are for the orphans of Zambia and again how much of a difference this money can make for a child in Africa.

Get creative. We have had many Camp LIFE alumni create shirts, jewelry, shoes, artwork, or music to sell to make money for their trip. Use your gifts and talents the Lord has blessed you with. He gave you those talents for a reason. Why not use them to send you to Zambia?

Look into businesses or organizations that do profit shares. We know that Chick-fil-a, Fuddruckers, and some ice cream shops that will allow you to do some sort of profit share where you can take a percentage of the sales on a particular day that would go towards your trip. Places like Sonic may allow you and your friends to be car-hops and keep tips. Be bold and seek out places that may allow you to do this.

Don’t forget to post on your various social media outlets like facebook, blogs, or twitter. Post your monetary goal and trip info somewhere where it can be seen by a large audience. You never know who might give. Contact Rebecca Evans about setting up your own webpage in which you can direct your friends to donate.

Finally, don’t be afraid to talk. Again focus conversations on what you will be doing, serving orphans. The worst thing someone can say is no. So remember Joshua 1:9. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified or dismayed, for the Lord Your God is with you.”

The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) staffed jointly by officials from Zambia and Zimbabwe, says one of the two major dams on the river between the two countries will open its flood gates in early 2011, meaning that communities may have to be relocated. The ZRA manages Kariba Dam situated between northwestern Zimbabwe and southeastern Zambia. The opening of the gates can cause flooding and the evacuation of communities.

An official with Zimbabwe’s Meteorological Services told IRIN that parts of Zambia and Zimbabwe could see flooding as early as next week. “There are real fears that some areas will experience flooding and we have received some reports that some areas are experiencing too much rain,” he said. Parts of Southern Africa experienced heavy floods in the second week of December, displacing at least 1,200 families, according to state media.

Although this does not directly effect Father’s Heart and Camp LIFE children in Lusaka, many children have family in regions around the Zambezi. There is also another possibility that an influx of displaced families head to Lusaka looking for work during the flood season.

Rainy season is also a time where malaria and cholera are a huge problem in the compounds, as rain floods wells, sewage systems, and takes it all into the streets.

The good news is that God is above it all and that there is not one child that escapes his eye. So be in prayer, but know that God is carefully watching over his precious children in Zambia!

Are you a current or former teacher? Want to head to Zambia for Spring Break? We have just the trip for you.

This March 10-20, 2011, we are offering a teacher training trip for American teachers. American teachers will get to work with our Zambian teachers on teaching methods, curriculum, planning and effective testing. There will be large group and small group teacher training as well as on site co-teaching, observing, and student testing at our Lifeway Christian Academies.

The trip will include a Sunday worship service at the Tree of Life Children’s Village, shopping at the Arcades cultural market, as well as a bike tour of London on the way over.

The trip is limited to 10 participants and will cost $3600. To lock in your spot and price you must sign up by January 15th.

If you are interested in the trip please contact Taylor Smith

To watch the impact of the last teacher trip, click here.