Royalty Status

This weekend I attended my first Camp Life meeting for my Zambia mission. The moment I sat down in the chapel at First Baptist, my eyes filled with tears as I watched on the big screen images of all the orphans I would be holding in a few months. Even opening the big binder that I was given to read over everything little thing I would need to know before getting on that airplane caused me to cry. The movement of God in my life was just so hard to understand and accept in that moment. Still, I managed to wipe my tears, browse through the four pages of packing necessities and learn some songs for camp.

Towards the end of our meeting, Greer, the founder, spoke about the gift we were giving our kids. Each year, every orphan who attended the camp would receive a pair of brand new sneakers. My cousin, Megan, has told me about in the past, as well as many of her friends. This was not a surprise to me, but an expectation, that I would be putting shoes on these children's feet.

This year, however, things would be different. Unlike years past, we wouldn't be giving our orphans sneakers. Many of the organizations that helped Family Legacy in the past, like Tom's Shoes, were unable to meet our needs. Greer was told that it just wasn't going to happen. I was in shock! I had dreamed about this and was really looking forward to this event. I was also devastated for the orphans who would return to their village with torn, broken shoes, or even worse, no shoes at all.

Greer's face didn't mirror mine, though, and that's when I realized that we were going to do something even better. But before I tell you, there's something you need to know.

Zambia is a country in Africa, like many others, that is poverty stricken. Alongside that comes disease, crime, and devastation. Out of the 10 million people in this country, 1 million children are abandoned because of AIDS. It's absolutely heartbreaking to learn this, while also looking at the startling statistic that Zambia has the 5th largest death rate in the world. All of the children I will be meeting in Zambia are orphans, and some are called "double orphans" This means that they were orphaned by both parents, left to their grandparent or aunt or uncle, and then orphaned again from their caretaker's passing.

As children, they are the last to receive healthcare, as adults have first priority, and unfortunately, that means they are prone to disease, fighting it on a daily basis. Disease is not the only token they fight while in poverty, as I've mentioned crime. The leading crime in this country is rape. Girls are ushered into prostitution, learning from within their families that they are meant to provide for the sexual needs of the man. These girls are beaten, starved, and deprived of any descent right all because of their gender.

With all of this in mind, these children truly believe that they are nothing. They are treated as dirt from the time they are babies, and therefore think God doesn't want them.

Going over to Zambia, I will be changing their minds. I will be teaching them about Jesus, washing their feet as He would, and on the very last day, I will make them believe that not only does God want them and love them, I will tell them,

"YOU are royalty in His kingdom! YOU are a prince/princess of the Lord. You are worth more than this Earth could ever tell you! YOU are royalty!"

Now remember, I told you that we didn't have sneakers to give these children. We have something that is worth gold in their country. In Zambia, in order for a child to attend school, they must own a pair of nice black shoes- Zambian black shoes. This is what we will be placing on our children's feet. And those shoes will not only allow them to go to school, they will change their life, and make them believe that they are in fact royalty.

This is where you come in, yes, YOU! These Zambian shoes are not being provided to Family Legacy, these shoes must be purchased, and I need your help. Each pair of shoes is $20, and must be bought in Zambia. At camp, I will have 10-12 orphans under my care, and I want them to have prayer partners in the US who will be praying for them. My orphans- whoever they are- need YOU. I want to extend to you this opportunity to grant a Zambian child royalty status by buying them their very first pair of school shoes and praying for them as they walk into the light.

Please email me if you would like to pray over one of my orphans and show him/her that they are a prince/princess in His kingdom with a pair of school shoes: Stephlmc@gmail.com


Watch this video below that shows what a difference education makes in a child's life: