Celebrating Through Service -- Lifesong Zambia

We invite you to share a word of encouragement to our staff at Lifesong Zambia. To do so, please reply to this email or leave a comment on our Facebook wall and it will be forwarded to our staff. Thank you in advance for your kind words of support!  We are blessed to share this update from Lifesong Zambia from missionary Shane McBride, "Often times Independence Day is celebrated with fireworks, picnics, and apple pies. Well, here in Zambia on October 24th, we are using the holiday as a time of reflection. We are blessed beyond measure and our students know this.   So, how will we celebrate? Through service. Our students will be going into their community and serving the elderly and widows. It will be a week long activity of shoveling, mending roofs, cutting grass (not with a mower, but by hand with a slasher), fetching water from the wells, picking up trash, and volunteering at the two local medical clinics.     It's a celebration of both Zambia's Independence and Christ's provision as He Brings Joy and Hope to these children, and through these children INTO the community.    Also, please remember to pray for our Grade 7 students, from Oct 30 - Nov 2, as they take their BIG GRADE 7 TEST.  We are very thankful that the pre-exams went very well. Able, below, finished #1 out of 300 students taking 7th grade pre-exams! He was even competing with the wealthier kids at other private schools. In fact, 7 of the Top 10 scores were Lifesong kids!"

One Silent Night -- FFH Concert

Lifesong for Orphans is excited to announce an upcoming Christmas concert featuring FFH with special guests from Lifesong Zambia. This concert will provide a excellent opportunity for churches to bring awareness to their orphan ministry while enjoying a unique performance celebrating the birth of our King! 

Buy tickets today online* or at the door for the following locations:

November 17th Olathe Bible Church / Kansas City area

November 23rd The Gathering (concert & dessert) / Chattanooga area

November 25th Covenant Presbyterian Church / Birmingham, AL

December 1st First Baptist McKinney / Dallas  area

December 8th Heritage Church / Quad Cities

December 9th Elmbrook Church / Milwaukee area

December 13th Southern Baptist Theological Seminary / Louisville, KY

December 16th Bethany Baptist Church / Peoria area

A love offering will be taken during the concert and 100% will go towards orphan care!  

Visit our website for more information on times & tickets!

*Tickets sold online have a processing fee included in the ticket price. 

"Poor" Kids Come Out on Top -- Lifesong Zambia

**New Opportunity** We invite you to share a word of encouragement to our staff at Lifesong Zambia. To do so, please comment below and it will be forwarded to our staff. Thank you in advance for your kind words of support! 

We are blessed to share this update from Lifesong Zambia from missionary Shane McBride,

Do you remember back in your elementary and high school years when you dreaded THE TEST? The final exam. The one that meant you passed or failed. The test that is gut wrenching and has possibility to change you life. 

Our Grade 7 students are going through that very emotion right now. In Zambia, there are three major exams that every student must pass to move forward in their academic career. This past week, our first ever Grade 7 Students, along with Teacher Erick, went down to the local government school to participate in the MOCK Exams.  Our students were not only nervous about the test, but also about being mixed in with other schools. Our kids were made fun of, as they are know in the community as the "poor" kids.  It's heart breaking, but God is REDEMPTIVE. 

After the final day of exams, Teacher Erick was grading the MOCK Exams for about 40 kids.  As he was tallying the numbers, a smile overtook his face.  His class, the "poor" kids, achieved 7 out of the top 10 positions in the class!! God is so good!!  Blessed are the poor, blessed are the weak, for they will inherit the Kingdom. This was a strong message sent into the community, that God cares for His kids.  

Please join us in praying for our Grade 7 students that they will continue to study and work hard for THE TEST coming up Oct 30th - Nov 2nd.

Updates from Lifesong Zambia

We are blessed to give you an update from Lifesong Zambia from missionary Leslie Ringger,

"We are praising the Lord for the ability to get a cement mixer!  We've been able to complete so much more in our numerous building projects this month, namely two buildings on the farm, and a home addition that will give our new team member, accountant-extraordinaire, Sheila Schwab, a place to call home. We're so thankful to have her join our team!

As we begin our second year in strawberry farming we realize that there is still much we are learning in the process, but we thank God for His leading and trust Him to provide the increase of our labors.  It is an honor to work beside an amazing group of Zambian women who have a desire to serve God and a drive to lift their families out of poverty. They are an encouragement to us all.

 

And here is a picture of our Lifesong students' first day with their new uniforms! They are praising Jesus for something most American kids are thankful NOT to have. How ironic!"

 Please continue to pray for our staff and children at Lifesong Zambia!

A Time to Praise! Over 200 Church Funds!

Guess what? Last week we celebrated our 203rd Church Fund Partner!

We invite you to check out what God is doing through active and intentional churches who desire to defend the fatherless not only in word, but in ACTION...

Churches like Grace Hands of Hope in Indianapolis, IN who has partnered with Lifesong to establish a Church Fund. Their fund financially assists families who are bringing orphans into forever families and also are active in Lifesong's work in Honduras. They are planning their second trip to Honduras this fall and are eagerly raising funds for computers and Rosetta Stone software. 

 

They encourage other churches to, "Take a step – most of the time not fully seeing the next step, pray, watch God work, be blessed! That’s the cycle of getting involved in orphan care and it truly does give joy and purpose to life that is hard to describe."

 

First Baptist McKinney in McKinney, TX is another fund we are blessed to serve.  Like Hands of Hope, they have an active role in funding adoptions in their local church through providing grants and loans.  Along with their local service, they are also globally minded with a heart for Lifesong Zambia as they support missionaries Shane and Mitzi McBride. 

They share, "To step foot on the campus of Lifesong in Zambia is confirmation that God is at work there. The staff is amazing. The kids are beautiful and smart and James 1:27 is tangible at Lifesong School for Orphans in Zambia! It is our privilege to be able to partner with Lifesong and join God in the work He is doing."

We praise God for the faithful churches we are blessed to partner with and invite you and your church to join the movement of active and intentional movement for the fatherless.

To learn more about Lifesong Church Funds, please visit our website or contact Rich Metcalfe at rich@lifesongfororphans.org