Home away from Home!

Apologies for the late posting!  Should be able to get a few of my saved posts to show up today!   

Saturday, June 4th

The past two days in Zambia have been filled with small tasks and lots of organization. Preparing for both American volunteers and the Zambian children is a huge undertaking for this organization.  Each week this summer,  Camp Life is hosting 90+ American volunteers at camp. With each American volunteer leading a group of ten orphans, Family Legacy will cater to about 3,600 children before I leave Zambia. Then, after I leave, a new summer staff crew will come for the last weeks of camp. These huge numbers are an amazing testament to the impact this ministry has not only on Zambian lives, but also on American lives. These numbers represent the largest number of people we have ever had come through Camp Life in one summer. 

Greer, the founder and CEO of Family Legacy, constantly uses the word transformative. The growth of this ministry is a visible representation of how transformative Family Legacy has been for all who have been touched by its ministries. 

And,  can already tell that working on Summer Staff is going to be a transformative experience, to use Greer's words. In keeping with the number of volunteers, his is the largest Summer Staff group Camp Life has ever had. Lots of large numbers this summer. We have about 21 people on Summer Staff, 19 girls and 2 boys. All of us are attending college, all of us have a passion for Zambia and its children, and all of us feel fortunate to be a small part of the experience!

Tonight we welcomed our first group of American participants! After lots of preparation and anxious waiting the arrival, they are "in country"!  Summer Staff made my experience two summers ago comfortable so that I could invest and love over my children. I just hope that I can do the same for the hundreds coming this summer. 

Tomorrow we have church, and camp starts Momday! I have attached some photos of the villas that accommodate us and some of the children that we played with today. 

Here is a little background information on what is in my foreground right now!. The children here now live on the Family Legacy property year round In a community called the "Tree of Life". Those eligible for Tree of Life are extremely vulnerable children who were living in unimaginable situations. Tree of Life provides them not only with a safe bed and food, but also an education all the way through high school. There are about 700 children currently living in the Tree of Life. The children who attend to Camp Life do not live on the property. They are picked by Family Legacy staff who live in the various compounds (or neighborhoods) across town. Many of you may remember my quest to find sponsors for my ten beautiful angels two summers ago. None of my children were in situations that qualified them for Tree of Life, although their situations are not even close to ideal. Instead, by sponsoring my children you have provided them with an education at Lifeway Christian Academy, a Family Legacy community school. These schools are in all ten compounds, and provide students with food  and support as well of education. The villas in which we are staying  look very extravagant and they are!  I have heard stories of summers past in which hot water was scarce and the accommodations were not quite so posh!   Before the villas were built, Family Legacy was having to shell out millions to house participants in off site hotels. The amount of money being spent was crippling and the doors to this organization were near the brink of closing. Building the villas saves money, eliminates distractions, like 'are my belongings safe or will I have hot water', that detract focus from the children, and also provide a source of revenue throughout the year, as they are rented out for various conferences and retreats. 

Upstairs gathering room in our beautiful villa

My hands and brain are pushing for sleep, so I am going to end this post for now! I ask that you continue to pray for strength for Summer Staff and for the American volunteers as they prepare their hearts to receive these wonderful children!