Our appointment time was set for Thursday morning at 10:30 at the Zambian State House, the official residence of the President and also where Mrs. Banda’s personal office is located. We were told to arrive up to 45 minutes prior to our scheduled appointment to enable us time to clear through the multiple security points, the first of which included leaving our cell phones and cameras (sorry no pictures to back up my account). Indeed it did take almost 45 minutes to finally make it inside the State House and finally we were escorted into the First Lady’s office around 11:00 a.m.

From the moment we walked into her office, she was already coming from around behind her desk to warmly greet us and shake our hands. I must be honest, I was a bit nervous as I didn’t want to break some official Zambian protocol in how I was supposed to greet her or refer to her or shake her hand. But she instantly made us feel most welcome, thanking us for coming to see her and ushering us to take our seats on her elegant couch and chairs. After being offered refreshments by one of her attendants, she began by introducing herself and then asking us to formally introduce ourselves. With that the ice was broken and we could now begin speaking freely. She struck me as a woman of tremendous humility and wonderful grace as she fully engaged in our conversation and even asked us various questions as we spoke.

I had prepared a special booklet for her that briefly outlined the ministry of Family Legacy. I quickly highlighted our various ministry programs of Camp LIFE, the Father’s Heart, and the Tree of Life and gave a brief history of the work these last 10 years, of course slipping in my very favorite part about being a “child of Zambia” myself. I explained in much greater detail about our Community Resource Centers and our new LIFEWAY Christian Academies that are located all over the city. I even showed her the satellite images of all the CRC’s. She was quite amazed at the breadth of the work and specifically asked me to reiterate (to make sure she heard correctly) the large number of orphan and vulnerable children who are being served in our programs. I showed her images of the Tree of Life Christian Academy and explained that eventually we will have over 1,000 children attending school there. She made the statement when looking at the Tree of Life classrooms, “These pictures say it all!” She was most impressed with what she saw as the quality, commitment and passion that we are pursuing the education of Zambian children.

She also said that rather than establishing her own personal NGO (non-profit organization) as others have done in her position, she wanted to find existing organizations that are already doing quality work here in Zambia and come alongside of them to support them in their efforts. With that, she went on to say that she wanted to make time to personally visit our various projects around the city and most specifically the Tree of Life in the coming weeks so that she could determine the best way to be a support to Family Legacy as we serve the children of Zambia. She handed me and our senior Zambian staff her personal business card and told Raphael that her office would be in touch with him soon !

So as our Zambian friends like to say so much, “God is good..all the time..and all the time…God is good!” As always, we give all praise and honor to God who Alone is the Author and Finisher of our faith. We thank Him for every movement of His hand and every evidence of His grade in our lives and work.

A house at the Tree of Life with the lights on!

Last Saturday, we turned the power on at the Village! That night to celebrate we took all of the Ambassadors who came for Week 0 and baked brownies with all the kids who live at the Tree of Life. This was the first time they were able to use the stoves in their houses, because the solar panels were not powerful enough to use them. This was also the first time that many of the kids had even heard of brownies. They really loved mixing them, eating them and especially licking the bowl clean.

Licking the bowl clean was the highlight of the evening for the kids!

This really is a great accomplishment because it removes one of the final roadblocks before we can have Camp LIFE at the Summit. It allows us to open three more houses this year to another 40 orphans and the first phase of our school to all of the children at the Tree of Life. Thanks to all of you who donated and prayed that power would come to the Tree of Life. Although you can already see the benefits of the power in the milk mustaches on the kids, the tens of thousands of children who will attend Camp LIFE at the Summit is the ultimate goal!

The containers were full of things such as shoes, food, school supplies, playground equipment and even Christmas decorations for next year’s Christmas parties.

Thanks to about 25 of our Zambian staff and some Americans at Week 0, we were able to get it all unloaded in about two days. Next we will organize it so that it gets to the correct CRC, LCA or Villa for Camp LIFE.

For me, 2010 isn’t just a nice sounding, round number year. It truly is a milestone and a landmark. It represents the perfect place to pause and reflect on an incredible ten year whirlwind journey of faith. Since that first trip to Zambia in 2000, God has chosen to send almost 1300 Americans with Family Legacy to participate in our annual Camp LIFE program and over 25,000 orphans have attended Camp LIFE throughout these many years. The Father’s Heart program that God set before us in 2007 is now ministering to 2100 kids everyday in 17 different slums throughout Lusaka. And the Tree of Life Children’s Village which was officially opened last year is teeming with love and laughter from the first group of 64 kids who now live in hope and peace. In just a few short weeks, another 36 orphans will move into their new homes at the Tree of Life. Only God does something like this! And what a joy it has been to work daily in the fields of the fatherless these last ten years!

But this milestone year represents even more than the wonderful joy of celebrating the legacy of the past. It represents that place of launching forward into the next decade of service in His kingdom and to His kids. And there is no better place to embrace the vision for the future than on the gorgeous hilltop plateau of the Tree of Life Children’s Village. The 12,000 square foot Legacy Center will be the central component for all of our future ministry outreach programs. It will serve as the centerpiece for the Camp LIFE Conference and Retreat Center with the capacity to host 30,000 orphans per year in its main hall and on the many acres surrounding it. With this in mind, we are officially launching our “Camp LIFE at the Summit” Capital Campaign. All throughout this year of 2010, we will be fully embracing this vision by faith to raise the $3,000,000 necessary to build the Camp LIFE Conference and Retreat Center – everything from the Legacy Center to the cabins, the prayer chapel to the water slides, the zip lines to the outdoor amphitheater.

Over the last ten years, we have seen the ripple of God’s blessings grow exponentially because of people like you who have become such passionate ambassadors for the orphans of Zambia. With that in mind, I would like to personally invite you to attend our 10th Anniversary Banquet on September 18, 2010 at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center in Frisco, TX. I would love for as many people as possible who have been a part of these last ten years to come and help us celebrate the legacy and embrace the vision. Even those of you far outside the Dallas area from throughout Texas and in the rest of the country, I would love for you to be present and to bring your friends.

Reserve a table now at www.familylegacy2010.com. The money from the sales of tables will go to help fund Camp LIFE at the Summit.

Thank you again for everything YOU have done as GOD has indeed worked countless miracles through so many faithful hearts these past ten years!

Indeed here at the Tree of Life, life really is life. We thank God for his hand of provision. We had a great time on Christmas. We had drinks, balloons, fireworks, church, cake. It was nice and the best Christmas of my life.