Welcome to the blog for The King's Academy service trip to Tecate Mexico.
Everyone has made it to camp safe and sound!!
I did not hear any reports of any caravans having difficulty crossing the border, so that is a tremendous blessing.
Unfortunately, some of the supplies we loaded into trucks appear to have been confiscated at the border. While I wasn't given specific details on exactly what was taken, it seems to have been non-essential items. We still have plenty of supplies to support everything we are hoping to accomplish here in Tecate.
This year for the blog we're trying something new. We have asked members of the SL (or Spiritual Life) team to share reflections for each day. The hope is that you might get to hear stories about some of the amazing things that happen here from the students experiencing them. Each day, two students will write a short reflection and I will post them there. I have edited these posts very little -- only to fix glaring grammar issues and to help with understanding.
And as always - links to pictures at the end.
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Reflection 1
I've been at Tecate before, but, of those years, I've never seen what the Mexican culture was really like as I did today. When the SL team (Spiritual Life) arrived at camp, we were greeted by Pastor Eric who told us all about the culture at Tecate. He told us to about how the culture is in great need for prayer because the families there aren't always perfect. These families really needed Jesus in their culture, and it's gonna take time. It is overwhelming to realize that we are only here for less than a week, but for Pastor Eric, it is an ongoing mission.
Afterwards, we drove around to various sites like the school. soccer fields, and to the families themselves. While driving, I couldn't help but breathe in the beauty of Tecate. Unlike the Bay Area, there were mountains on all sides; sometimes I spotted some of last year's houses on them and wondered how the families in them are doing. We went around each site and prayed for the children, the community, and the Tecate culture. The last site we went to was site 6. When we arrived at the slab foundation, we saw an entire family and their tent on top of it. Soon there would be a house where they stood. We went to greet them and asked,
"Could we pray for your family?" (Puedes orar para tu familia?)
"Yes, Yes!" (Si, Si!)
Some of our SL team members were fluent in Spanish, and I have to say it is quite a profound experience when we used our 3+ years of Spanish to actually translate and pray for the family. As the Spiritual Life team, I hope God reaches out to every family and that throughout this week, we not only change lives afar, but in our own hearts as well.
-Matthew Leung
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Reflection 2
4/8/17
7:12 p.m.
Typing a typical blog is one thing, being part of a group to help those in need is another.
As many of you are reading these blogs, you may also know that there is not only people here in Tecate, but other places around the world, getting ready to deliver the truth about God. Building homes, ministering out on the streets, going to busy metropolitan cities, or even going into a rain forest, those are just a few of the things we do. For most trips, many have left on Friday of the 7th, while today is the day when all the people arrive to Tecate, ready to work hard while having fun.
This year, I have joined the SL team, believing that it was the same thing as the L team, where we would help people in our work groups with any struggles they had. However, being part of the SL team meant more than that. Not only were we helping our work groups, but we were also in charge of helping others with their spiritual needs.
I'm pretty sure most would figure out what I mean by "spiritual needs", but for those who don't, it's basically like helping others perhaps find God in some way.
Today as members of the SL team, we went around looking at the sites where everyone was going to work for the next couple days. We prayed for families and over the work sites that people will work at. We also met with other fascinating people that would help continue to evangelize to the people such as Pastors Eric and Francisco. During our meeting with Pastor Eric, we were exposed to the main problem of Tecate that we would have to overcome. We had to change the mentalities of these people of our mission to Tecate in order to see progress.
Pastor Eric told us that there are some people that will only continue to rely on us, seeing us as the saviors who bring them comforts. This means that we have to somehow prove or show that it is not us Americans bringing gifts, but God.
To be honest, even though I believe that I am a Christian, I realized that I was nothing but the same as our fellow brothers and sisters in Mexico; lost sheep that need to be guided.
All I can hope is that through our actions here in Tecate, our fellow brothers and sisters would be able to change their mentalities, fully allowing them to acknowledge and believe that their is a loving God, waiting for us to answer the door when he knocks.
I believe that as the King's community and through the help of those fighting alongside us, we will eventually light a spark of God's love here, making the spark into a beacon of life. guiding others to Christ as well.
- D
Saturday 2017 Photo Album
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