Final Post and Memories Night

Dear friends,

Please forgive me for the extreme delay in this post.
There are reasons (legitimate and otherwise), but the bottom line is that it is late.

That being said, please join us tomorrow for an evening of fellowship, celebration, and sharing.
After our time in Tecate, join us for a Mexican- themed potluck on Thursday, April 7 at 6:00 p.m. in the Quad. Following the dinner together, we will meet in the W building at 7:00 p.m. for a time of celebrating and sharing all that God did over the week in Tecate.

• You can sign up for an item to bring to the potluck here. Thank you! 

Now, without further delay, the post for Wednesday, Day Four:

Wednesday is a bittersweet day on many levels.  On the one hand, you're excited because it's the last day of work, yet you're exhausted because you've been working hard for the last three days. You're also full of joy and hope because today you are handing over the keys to this family's new house, and a new chapter is beginning for them. At the same time, you're sad because, on many sites, you've gotten to know these families, and today is the last day you'll be with them. You're also sad because you won't get to see the impact these houses will have on the families.

What happens in Tecate is so much more than just building homes. It's changing lives. It's providing opportunity and dignity. It's softening hearts and expanding ideas of what and where God's kingdom is. It's a beautiful thing.

It has been an immense joy and privilege to go on this trip and put together these posts and albums for you. Please consider joining us tomorrow night for fellowship and reminiscing.

Enjoy these pictures from the final day (and some from earlier in the week as well):

Thank you and God Bless!!

Tuesday 2016

Here is the post from Tuesday (Day Three):

At some point on Tuesday, everyone has the exact same thought,"We are only here for one more day."
I don't know if anyone else felt the same way, but by the time Tuesday night came, it felt like we had been there forever, and that we had just arrived.

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure and the privilege to ride with our translator and hear the stories of some of the families that we were building houses for.

We started at site 14, where Doña Olga regularly feeds breakfast and lunch to nearly 100 neighborhood children almost every day. She began doing this when she discovered that the teachers were sending students home because they were unable to concentrate as a result of having very little to eat. Unfortunately, because of the holiday, we were unable to witness this in person; however, those working on the site (as well as the occasional visitor) were able to experience her talents in the kitchen.

After site 14, we visited sites 3 and 7. While neither family was engaged in anything at the level of what was happening at site 14, they were both good families trying to make things better for themselves and for their children.

My favorite moment of the day was when we were finishing up our interview with the family at site 7. At each site Mrs. Jahde likes to communicate to the families that it is a great honor and privilege to be building the house for the family. When she says this to the family at site 7, the mother turns to us and says, "I know. I can tell by the way the students are working. They work hard, with smiles on their faces, and seem to genuinely enjoy the work." I'm paraphrasing a little bit, but the sentiment was the same. This touched our hearts. It's the sort of statement that we hope and pray can be said of the work we do, but never expect it to be said.

Enjoy these photos from Tuesday - Day Three (and earlier):

Hotel WiFi

Hello friends and family,

We have all made it safely over the border and to our hotels.
Unfortunately, it appears that the hotel wifi cannot withstand the strain of 100+ high school students (I had faster upload speeds in Mexico! [when I had internet. . . ]).
This has really been a special week, and I want to make sure the final post and photo albums convey that.
Additionally, because I will be driving again tomorrow, I want to make sure that I am as alert as possible so we all return safely.
Because of these two things I am going to delay the final post until tomorrow (Friday) night.

To whet your appetite, here are some photos from sites 1 and 2 from Tuesday.
These sites were different from the others, because they were only a couple of feet separated from each other (as you can see in the pictures).

Thank you so much for your patience and your support.

God Bless!!

Technical Difficulties

Dear friends and family,

Please forgive us for not posting anything within the last 36 hours.

Unfortunately, our internet connection has been down all day.

I am only able to post this because someone is letting me borrow their phone.

We hope to have a massive double post once we return to the states tomorrow afternoon.

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding.

God bless!

Day Two - Monday

Yesterday was a big day. The houses are beginning to actually look like houses. And it also was the start of our Soccer Club, Kid's Club, and Public Health ministries.

I decided to wait until this morning to post*, because we wanted to make sure that we received as many photos from as many sites as possible, and it looks as though the decision has paid off. Monday's Album should have photos from every single site!

Sunday night, Mr. Neuner said something at the evening worship session that has stuck with me. He essentially said that what we are doing here in Tecate, Mexico is more than simply building houses. What Christ has called us to do here is to reclaim people and places considered worthless, and show everyone that those people and places are indeed valuable.

Thank you so much for your prayers!! We have had very few incidents or injuries (especially serious ones) so far, and the weather has been fantastic! Continue to pray for these things. God has shown up in amazing ways, and we ask that you keep praying with us that he will do even greater things in and through us before the week is over.

Thank you so much for your support!

God Bless!

*At least that was when it was supposed to post! I must have forgotten to press the publish button. . . 

Day One

**UPDATED**

Today, construction began in earnest, and all groups have made great progress.

In today's album you can find pictures from the Church and School sites, as well as from sites 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14. We have group photos from the Church site, the School site, the cooking crew, and sites 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11. (The goal is to have the remaining tomorrow).

Finally, we have some photos of the Kid's Club group making bracelets for the kids who will start showing up tomorrow, and the Soccer Club group meeting recruits and getting the field ready.

To find out which site is which, just click on the info "i" in the circle in the upper-right hand corner of the pictures.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We ask that you continue to pray for health and safety, but also that the Lord will work in and through each of the individuals on this service trip.

Thank you and God Bless!

**UPDATE**

We received more pictures this morning from several individuals who didn't know where we were set up. So the album now also includes photos from sites 1 and 13, more images from sites 3 and 4, and group photos for sites 1, 8, and 13.

Arrivals

Today marks the official start to Tecate 2016, with the arrival of all of the students and volunteers to camp.

In today's pictures, you will find:

• The student leaders for each site (the L-Team) getting some training.
• The A-Team getting camp ready for the hundreds of people about to arrive.
• The L-Team visiting the construction sites to ensure that each is ready to go.
• Some of the houses we built last year.
• The kitchen staff preparing dinner.
• The A-Team welcoming everyone to the camp.
• Our first entire camp meeting.

Click on the picture below to view today's album.

Please continue to pray for health and safety. 

Several individuals made the tough call to stay home because of illness, but many more have arrived sicker than they thought they were. Please pray for healing for those individuals currently suffering (at home and in Mexico), and pray that those who are not currently sick don't also become ill.

Please also pray for safety, both as we travel to and from the construction sites, but also on the sites themselves. Many of these students have never used tools in the manner that the students will for the next several days. Pray that they will use them safely and confidently. Also pray that those of us a little more comfortable around a hammer might not take that for granted.

Thank you for your time and interest.

God Bless.

Dear friends and family of The King's Academy, welcome to our Tecate 2016 blogsite!!

After months of planning, we are on our way toward another great week of serving Christ in Tecate, Mexico.
Yesterday (Tuesday, 3/15), everyone brought their luggage and construction equipment to the school's front parking lot and it was loaded up into semi-trucks that are, right now, heading for our camp.
Please be praying for these trucks and the individuals driving them. Specifically be praying that they will be able to get over the border without any issues.

Tomorrow (Thursday, 3/17), Our Advance Team (A-Team) will leave for Tecate in order to unload the trucks and set up all of the tents for the rest of the service team.
Friday (3/18), the Leadership Team (L-Team) will drive down. On Saturday, they will visit the building sites and make sure that each one has the supplies needed to begin building.
Saturday (3/19), the remaining students and volunteers will drive down.
God willing, by Saturday night, everyone will be in Tecate, and all of the sites will be ready to begin construction.

For these initial stages of the trip, the following are items that you can be praying for:

1) Safety. We have close to 500 people serving in Tecate this year. That's a lot of people rising in cars for 8+ hours and crossing a border.

2) Health. Cold and flu season is upon us. Please pray that all of our students and volunteers are able to remain healthy so that they may be able to serve fully as well as have an enjoyable experience.

3) Weather. The forecast is for days in the high-70s/low-80s. Pray that this remains the case, as we are unable to work on our projects if it is raining, for a variety of reasons.

4) Finally (and most importantly) pray that God will be at work during our time there. Pray that God would speak to us and move through us.