Just a few weeks ago the following e-mail from my youngest daughter popped in my inbox with little warning.  I found out later that her older sister, Karis, who is 13 years old helped her type it and put in the links, but the words are all Kaleigh’s.

A DOLL FOR ORPHANS

Hi! My name is Kaleigh, if you don’t already know me, I’m nine years old. You’re probably wondering why I’m sending you this email. The answer is I have a MISSION!!! My mission is to buy a doll for Lahema’s house (A home for orphans) in Zambia, you can find more about this house at http://www.legacymissions.org/tree-of-life/ . The problem is, I don’t have enough money, so I need your help!
I want to give these girls a doll, because God has provided me with so many gifts throughout the years, but these girls haven’t gotten many gifts.  This is a way for me to show the love of Jesus to these girls.  One of these girls is one of my best friends, her name is Emma. Emma’s story is really sad, and if you have time I would really like you to read her story at http://www.legacymissions.org/camp-life/emmas-story/. Okay below I have a picture of me and Emma and the doll I’m raising money for to donate to those 12 girls including Emma.

The doll is $95, but I already have $25, so I need $70 more. If you want to donate some money you can mail your donation to me at 338 Tanglewood Lane in Coppell, TX 75019.  Even if you can send just a few dollars that’s fine.  I’ll be buying the doll before I leave for Zambia in May and give it to the kids in Lahema’s House this summer.   Thanks!

If you can’t donate anything please send the message on to a friend who can donate.

Love,

Kaleigh

Even though there were only about 6 e-mails up in the address line,  it wasn’t long before Kaleigh began receiving mail with cash in it from people who had been forwarded the e-mail.  There were children who sent all their allowance and others who gave more.  Soon, Kaleigh received enough money to go purchase the FIRST doll for the girls at the Tree of Life Children’s Village (you can see her with Doll #1 in the picture).  And next Saturday, May 9th, Kaleigh is going back to the American Girl store in Dallas to purchase the 2nd and 3rd doll.  Kaleigh is going to purchasing dolls to benefit the girls in Kristin’s Miracle House (a 2nd home for girls at the Tree of Life Children’s Village) and Lahema’s House.  If you would like to help contribute to Kaleigh’s Mission of giving dolls to the girls in the Tree of Life Children’s Village, please go to the donate page and select the Tree of Life Children’s Village fund –then select Doll for Orphans.  Click here to go right to the Donate Page.

Trust me when I say you have made the right choice.  A few hours rushing around London after a sleepless trans-Atlantic flight can be brutal.  You will run into a few problems of your own though, such as “where do I eat and what am I going to do for the next 10 hours?”

If you want to leave the airport but stay somewhere close, you could check out Windsor.  It is a very nice suburb outside London which is famous for Windsor Castle.  You can check out the castle or just grab a bite to eat and visit some of the shops.

If you decide to just stay at the airport the entire time, then you might want to get to Terminal 5 if you don’t land there.  T5 is the newest, biggest and nicest of the terminals.  It looks almost like a mall and makes the layover almost bearable.

If you have any problems sleeping on planes, then the first thing on your mind is “where am I going to sleep?”  There are three options for sleeping around or at Heathrow.  The cheapest option is to find a couch.  There is only one group of couches at T5 and they are a precious commodity.  I recommend you stake out the couch section until you can lay claim on one.  After that, don’t get up until you are ready to lose your spot.  If you are going to try and sleep here, remember to secure all your baggage and maybe sleep on your backpack.  You will be surrounded by people, but just in case.

The second option is to head to Terminal 4, where you can check into the Yotel.  I’ve never actually done this, but I am trying it out on my way over.  The Yotel rents out cabins by the hour with 4 hours being the minimum.  You can get yourself a cabin for 4 hours for $40 at the cheapest.  Check out their website at www.yotel.com.

The last option is to get a room at the Sheraton Heathrow.  This is the same hotel you will be staying at if you have an overnight return stay in London.  You will get a nice quiet hotel room with a restaurant at the hotel or a McDonald’s across the street.  To get to the Sheraton you will jump on the Hotel Hoppa Bus and it will take you to the front door.  There will be a guide that tells you which bus gets you to the Sheraton and make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get back to make your flight.

Another tip is to check out the Giraffe Restaurant on the second story of T5.  I think it is one of the better restaurants there, and it is somewhat affordable.  If you are a Starbucks-addict, then you may want to grab your last one as it does not exist in Zambia.

So whether you stayed around the airport or ventured out into foggy London-town, enjoy your short stay in London and hurry up and join us in Zambia.  Your kids are waiting for you!

They can if Shawnee Ingrum has anything to do with it.  Shawnee is an Orphan Ambassador who came with us to Zambia last summer with her family for the first time.  This summer will be their 2nd trip.  Shawnee owns Heaven Sent Children’s Boutique in the Coppell/Lewisville area in Dallas and has a deep passion for the orphans of Zambia.  She read on our blog about two high schools in the Klein ISD whose student councils sold t-shirts to raise money for the Tree of Life Childrens Village.  These high school students were able to raise $5,000 and that really inspired Shawnee.  She decided to design a t-shirt that she is now selling in her store with 100% of the proceeds going to help build the Tree of Life Children’s Village.

Heaven Sent Children’s Boutique is selling these exclusive “Hope” t-shirts for $15 each. To get your shirt go by:

Heaven Sent Children’s Boutique
420 E. Round Grove Rd #113
Lewisville, TX 75067

You can even order a shirt by calling them at (972) 459-9400 or sending an Email. They will ship them you for an additional $5.
Orders will be taken through Friday, May 8th.

Thanks, Shawnee, for loving the orphans of Zambia the way you do!

Last Friday, our incredible and Spirit-filled Zambian staff took it upon themselves to cover the land at The Tree of Life Children’s Village in prayer and beg God for His full provision so that the neediest children can move into the first set of homes in just a handful of weeks.

Our staff told us of the wonderful time they had praising God, reading from the Bible out loud, and worshiping the Lord on the hill top.  Altogether, there were 64 Discipleship Leaders and Zone Leaders (who fasted the entire day), the construction crew, our senior leadership (Raphael, Teddy, Harrison, and Olipa), and, of course, my unbelievable brother-in-law Randy Ransom, who is our Director of Construction at the Tree of Life.    The Zambians had a POWERFUL time of prayer (individually and collectively) as they prayed for many many lives to be changed, for children, men & women to come to Christ, that sufficient funds would be provided for the village to open, for the success of Camp LIFE this summer, and for all the children in our Father’s Heart program and the continued growth of the ministry.  If you have ever had the privilege of praying with a Zambian or even a group of Zambians, then I’m sure you can only imagine how powerful this day was! I am very much looking forward to Camp LIFE 2009, so that more Americans can witness first-hand the power of prayer and fellowship with our Lord alongside of the Zambians.  It is an AMAZING experience — one that is always remembered!

By the end of the day, God had already begun to answer their prayers as several of the men on the construction crew accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior — Praise God!  His Hand of blessing has been all over this village since the very beginning.  I’m sure the presence of the Holy Spirit was so thick up on that hill top.

For those of you joining us this summer, you will have the breath-taking privilege of placing your own two feet on this gorgeous piece of land, and Lord willing have the chance to meet the children face to face who will be living in the newly built homes at the Tree of Life Children’s Village.  Please continue to pray along with us for God’s complete provision over the still much needed infrastructure funds — and please spread the word to anyone who may be interested in joining us in giving to this cause so that the “least of these” will literally discover a whole new life in Christ!