Tecaté Adventures - Michael

Day 0

Hello, my name is Michael Rosa. As a freshman at The King’s Academy, this is my first year heading off to Tecate. I am very excited about this trip, although I am still pretty nervous since I have never gone before. The one thing I am most looking forward to is meeting the family members whose home we are making and forming relationships with them. I also really hope that if they do not already know about God, we can spread His light into their hearts. What I am not excited for is being away from home, showers, and bathrooms for these four long, hot days. We will be working hard, so we will not be very clean for a while, but I suppose that is the small price we must pay for such a large gift to those in need. From this trip, I hope to take away a few things. First of all, I want to deepen my relationships with new friends. I also want to learn about Mexican culture and develop my Spanish speaking skills. Finally, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of those who live in a less fortunate situation than I do and be able to connect with them.

Day 1

It was a dark morning when I was roused from bed and told that I had to get ready to head off to school. Going to school at 5:00 am was not my favorite, but I knew I had to go for the betterment of others. We embarked under the shining stars to drive to school, and my adrenaline kept me from napping on the way. Although I was tired, the energy given off by my friends kept me awake and alert, for the time being. After searching for my car assignments, I saw that I had to drive with some students I didn’t know very well, but it turned out we had a great time and connected over the trip, although I did eventually sleep for quite a while. Arrival at camp was easy, and I got settled in easily. Despite some anxiety, the first day turned out much better than expected.


Day 2

To be frank, when I first saw the concrete we were to build the kind man’s home on, I was shocked at the small size. Then I realized that this was truly a lesson God was teaching me: to discover what life is like for those who live lives that are far less perfect than mine. It was quite the enlightening experience. We began to get all the tools out, and I felt overwhelmed, but when the kindness of my those I was with paired with my earnestness to help our family, I truly felt overjoyed. All the building went without a hitch, and we got all four walls built and set up. Along with this I got to practice my Spanish translating skills and also use a saw, which I had never done before. Overall it was a great day.

Day 3 - Building Continues

Today was to be an earlier start than yesterday, a fact that many students were not happy to learn. Despite this, everyone was in a great mood when we met up with the family again and got straight to work. Before this, however, the morning chapel speaker’s message was one that I could feel impacted the lives of students all around. This is one aspect I value very highly and love about The King’s Academy; not only can we build houses for those in need, but we also get to hear about the Lord from different people and their knowledge, all the while growing closer to Him. Today was also a day of new experiences, similar to yesterday. I, along with fellow students, got to use the hand saw to cut out windows and doors, which was one thing I never expected to be able to do. Communicating with the family and other natives that came around really helped immerse me in the language and hear it from a true speaker. Altogether it was a fruitful day that I am sure pleases the Lord, and I am sure that tomorrow will be just the same!

Day 4

The Penultimate Day of Building

Wow, if I am to be brutally honest, this trip has been both exhausting and draining. I am physically exhausted after holding up dry wall and drilling for hours. I am mentally drained because of being with people for so long without a break.

All this may sound bad, but I have a home to return to and the family that my site is building for does not as of now. Because of this, God has truly shown me to think of my own issues as if I were in the shoes of those less fortunate. Especially for a kid who has come from a safe and clean home, the scales have fallen from my eyes, revealing God’s light in the lives of all the people King’s has been, is, and will support. 

I love this trip for that. Not only do I get to experience new things that I never have before, like nailing in a roof or drilling in dry wall, I also have the extremely unique chance to grow closer to God through these hardships and being so far away from home and from family. 

All in all, although I may be caked in mud and looking forward to a shower, I am forever thankful to God for giving me, through King’s, this opportunity to give a family in need a glimpse of the privileges I have everyday.

Day 5

The  Finale

Few experiences have warmed my heart more than when Oscar said in a truly grateful tone, “Gracias. Muchas Gracias. Thank you.”

Oscar and his daughter, Nicole, are the ones we built the house for. Witnessing the way that my work and others’ could change a person’s life so much was incredible, and I thank God for it constantly. Along with this, my site gave Oscar a Bible in Spanish which I thought was such an amazing way to foster a Christian spirit in this family far past our building this week in Tecate. This being the last day of physical work, my team reflected upon the past week, and we realized how blessed we were to have such great leaders and such good teamwork and work ethic. Not only that, but Oscar also helped work with us exactly like another member of the crew and that made me see God’s love prominently.

Today I had one of the best interactions I have had in while. After working very hard for a long time, some of my friends and I went to talk to Oscar, and with the help of Google Translate, we communicated well. I enjoyed this so much because it was a very unique chance to connect to one who I cared for and to break the language barrier. I have been so blessed on this trip, and I am so thankful that I have been able to shine the light of the Lord on those whom I’ve interacted with.