child sponsorship | American-Caribbean Experience

Marla’s Minute: Reaping A Harvest

by American-Caribbean Experience | Mar 25, 2024 | Book A Trip, Discipleship

The manual for life, The Bible, continually says that sooner or later, whatever choices we make in our lives, we will see the results of these choices come to light in our lives or the lives of others.

“Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:8-9

Let’s look at an example of what has been going on in Jamaica for the past few years, which happened again this month through an I-Quest intern alumni, Gentry. Many years ago, ACE had a season with Gentry in Jamaica where we got to share with her all the things God was removing and adding to her “spiritual toolbox” for life.

Through our relationship, Gentry introduced us to the rest of her family, and we quickly learned she doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Yes, Gentry, like her sisters, comes from good stock. And after all these years, she came back to ACE to serve with her father and older sister. Earlier this month, David, her father who is a carpenter, helped Allen build a larger and better tool closet for all the tools that have often been easily misplaced over the years.

What most I-Quest interns don’t realize is the gift they give to us personally. That gift is the opportunity to catch up with their fast-paced life and see how they have chased after God with all that they do. And Gentry is just one example. Audrey, another intern who is now married, also brought her father down to ACE recently to volunteer in helping lead our spring break teams. Who knows, we might just get another family involved the way Gentry did.

We want to give a huge and sincere thank you to Gentry and her family for the many years they have given their treasures and time to ACE. And even beyond just Gentry’s family, we are reaping so many years of faithful friends and family at ACE in Jamaica. Thank you for your continued love and support!

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A Child Sponsorship Heart Warmer

by American- Caribbean Experience | Jan 23, 2024 | Community

As most of you are aware, ACE’s Child Sponsorship program strives to not only give every child a step up in their education, but also help grow them into young adults who contribute to their community and society in Jamaica. This is the case with 22-year-old Anthony Hucey, who joined our child sponsorship in 2011.

After ACE learned that he had a learning disability, we helped him get accepted into Edgehill School of Special Education. And once he graduated high school, he received ACE’s Apprenticeship Sponsorship, where he was able to get a job on the Green Life Farm (GLF).

Anthony has been working with the GLF team for over a year now and is loved by all. In fact, he has actually become one of the best GLF employees according to his supervisor. That’s because he is always stepping up to learn a new way to serve on the farm, and showing up early to work every day and every week.

We recently learned that there was one thing Anthony has always wanted more than anything…can you guess?

A TV!! ACE provides every employee with a savings plan where they can put a certain amount away each month for an emergency, or even a TV! Anthony was so happy to know that he had enough money to buy the TV of his choice.

He absolutely loves his TV. He doesn’t have internet or cable, but he can still get local channels and borrow others’ internet for limited use. In addition to the new TV, Anthony is also excited to be able to have his own bed, thanks to his two sponsors coming together and chipping in to gift him one for Christmas.

Anthony is one of many special needs adults who are truly wonderful men and women who enjoy entering into new stages of life by working and earning their living. And our team at ACE loves getting to see these accomplishments and celebrate their victories with them!

group of five people smiling at the camera

boy holding a sign that says merry christmas

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Marla’s Minute: A Bittersweet Story

by American- Caribbean Experience | Oct 26, 2023 | Community

We know you’ve likely experienced a bittersweet story of someone you love leaving to take the next step in life. This month, ACE has one of those stories to share.

Our Child Sponsorship Coordinator D’Vaun has been with ACE for eight years and has made the painful decision to move on to a new chapter of life by “semi-departing” from ACE to be a Guidance Counselor at our very first sponsored school, Jackson Primary. We have watched him grow up, get married to our former Administrator Saskia, and welcome their beautiful baby boy to the world.

With more mouths to feed in his family, we all saw it coming. It’s hard to compete with the benefits a government job offers, so we all held our breath until that announcement came. We are all very happy for D’Vaun’s family, but it’s still sad knowing that D’Vaun won’t be around as much.

You may be wondering what we meant when we said D’Vaun is “semi-departing” from ACE. Well, so far we have seen him almost every day, as usual. He shows up frequently at our Peace House supper on Thursday nights and in the late afternoons to continue giving advice to Jewel and other members of the staff.

That’s the sweet part! D’Vaun is and will always be part of the ACE family. He’s even offered to help us with our summer teams and spring break trips when he’s available. Will you get to see D’Vaun and his family when you come down next?! The answer is always a big YES!!! His family is an official sponsored family, and their little baby Markhus has a bunch of self-appointed “kin” to babysit, love on, and train him to be on staff when he grows up. We are confident he will inherit some great leadership genes!

We hope you’ll be happy for ACE and for D’Vaun’s family. We wish them all the best that God has to offer, and we look forward to visiting D’Vaun at Jackson Primary up in the hills soon.

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The Mission & Vision of ACE

by American- Caribbean Experience | Oct 26, 2023 | Community, Discipleship, Education, Outreach

We’ve just released our latest video detailing the mission and vision of ACE. Even after 35 years, we’ve remained focused on our four main impact areas — education, wellness, micro enterprise, and spiritual development.

Please take a moment to watch the video below and discover what we’re currently doing to strengthen each of these impact areas.

Thank you for being a part of our mission and helping us meet the educational, physical, and spiritual needs of people in St. Mary, Jamaica. There’s always a way for you to be a part of what we’re doing at ACE. You can volunteer and plan a trip, sponsor a child, or show your support with a financial donation.

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And They’re Off!

by American- Caribbean Experience | Sep 25, 2023 | Community

“And we’re off” is what we say at ACE when we get ready to drive out of the office to begin our day, but in this case, it’s the students who are off, heading back to class. We have a lot of little sayings around ACE, like the abbreviation “BBD” – that might not mean anything to you (maybe Big Bad Dog?), but to us, it means Book Bag Distribution.

In Jamaica, classes begin on all different weeks and days in September, depending on the school. This may sound confusing, but for ACE, it gives us a chance to address the individual needs for each child being sponsored. This includes assessing items provided through regular sponsorship and team donations, and, if something else is needed, ACE adds to it. With our staff and Arlene being present this year, each day went very smoothly. After fifteen years of providing sponsorship for our children, perhaps we now have the system down, so the confusion stays at a minimum.

Enjoy our collage of pictures of our students getting ready for their first day of the next grade. We wish we had a video to give you the sound and the laughter of the day, as we all came together to see each other and prepare for the new school year.

Thank you all for supporting these students who are growing up fast! They are looking forward to seeing their friends again, prepared to read, write and learn with supplies in hand!