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Lahema was a 16-year-old double orphan stricken with AIDS and living with her elderly grandmother when she first attended Camp LIFE in 2003.  She had contracted the deadly virus when she was raped at the tender age of 8.  The empty, hollow, lifeless stare coming from her face combined with her frail, disease-ridden body would stop anyone in their tracks.

But the Lord was looking after his child, and in that same year at camp, Lahema accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. She truly had a new light in her eyes!  In 2004, she appeared at Camp LIFE still very fragile, but her soul was obviously alive and her heart was renewed.  In 2005, Lahema was a completely different child.  Her face was bright, her skin was clear, and she had gained so much healthy weight!  She had begun receiving free ARVs (antiretroviral drugs) as part of President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.  She went around evangelizing, praying for sick people, and spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to her community.

The following year, Lahema was counting down the days until Camp LIFE 2006.  However days before camp started, she suddenly fell ill with pneumonia and needed to go to the clinic.  Her grandmother had gone to the farm to get food, but she had given money to a neighbor to take Lahema to the clinic in case she needed treatment.  Instead of taking Lahema to the clinic, the neighbor thought to herself, “Why spend good money on a girl who is going to die from AIDS anyway?”  And so she pocketed the money.  Hours later, too weak to stand any longer, Lahema laid face down in the dirt crying and praying for help. With neighbors standing idly by all around and staring at her, Lahema left this world.  The Lord looked down on that sweet girl and decided if nobody would help her, he would bring her home. Lahema dwells in the House of the Lord. And there she will stay for eternity.

The Lord in his intricate mercy moved in the fall of 2006. A fund was set up to honor Lahema’s Legacy, and money was raised to build “Lahema’s House” – the very first home for AIDS orphans at Family Legacy’s Tree of Life Children’s Village.  The construction and opening of Lahema’s House caused a ripple effect and the opening of other homes quickly followed.  Today, over 100 children call the Tree of Life their home and live in love, safety, and peace…

Though her time on this earth is finished, Lahema’s LEGACY remains.

“Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.  The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd; He has led them to springs of living water.  And God has wiped away every tear from their eyes.” - Revelation 7:16-17

Here are pictures from our 10th Anniversary Banquet

The Village is growing! By God’s grace Family Legacy opened three new houses at the Tree of Life Children’s Village this past summer.   Faith House, Lindsay’s House, and Leadership House became the 5th, 6th, and 7th homes to be finished.  Eventually the Tree of Life will have 25 homes and more than 300 children coming from dire living conditions.

These houses are led by loving Christian house moms and dads who create a nurturing family atmosphere that most of these children have never known.  Since the opening of the first home in May 2009, the Tree of Life has gone from a handful of kids to a thriving community with more than 104 children in residence.  It is a very active community indeed!

Each of these new children has been rescued from a desperate situation of abuse, abandonment, illness, neglect and/or poverty.  Many of these children came from our Community Resource Centers which is the first step in rescuing them from horrible conditions in their previous homes. Others are siblings of children who had already moved into the Tree of Life.  It was awesome to see the children who were already living at the Tree of Life line the street cheering and singing as the new children arrived on the bus. What a fantastic introduction to a new life, as the new children were reunited with their old family members and introduced to their new family at the Tree of Life! They no longer have to worry about where they will sleep or what they will eat.  They have beds of their own (many have never slept in a bed, much less their own) and plenty of healthy food.  Furthermore, they are receiving quality education at the Tree of Life Christian Academy as well as ongoing discipleship and counseling from our full-time pastors.  It is a world away from the life they once knew, and it will provide them with an excellent foundation for the future.

With another 18 homes yet to be built (and capacity for another 200 children), there is still more to come!  Who will fill the NEXT houses at the Tree of Life?  We can’t wait to see who the Lord will bring!