BLOG
The Tiny House
ACE built its first tiny House this month in Water Valley, a place well known to ACE Volunteers from pre-covid days. Clive, pictured below, had a stroke several years ago and was left alone, in a yard with an old home that was falling apart and leaked when it rained...
More Appreciation & Celebration
We cannot express our gratitude enough for putting your all into helping ACE pay off the Green Life Llanrumney Farm. Now, ACE is able to move freely with our outreach programs, including providing neighbors in need with a place to stay. Our friends and families came...
Marla’s Minute: Back to the Future
Before COVID, ACE was rather successful in our community outreach in and around our four partner public primary schools. The model ACE created was based on “going deep and not wide.” First, we form a partnership with one of our rural primary schools in the area that...
Marla’s Minute: Paid In Full!
September was a month for the ACE record books. Because of the goodness of God and you, our partners, we can joyfully say that our Green Life Farm, where all the micro-businesses develop, has been PAID IN FULL! That’s right, we no longer have a mortgage to pay on the...
Twists & Turns
Jamaica does have a fall; it’s called hurricane season. The storms off of West Africa roll out into the ocean and forms sandstorms, which stay in the air over Jamaica and cause more heat than normal. Or the storms become hurricanes, which we pray for everything but...
Marla’s Minute: A “Full Court Press”
In high school, I was called “Roberta Rebound” by my basketball team. While I would have rather been called “Hanna Highpoint scorer” for my ability to put points on the board, I recognized I had a keen ability to retrieve the ball after a missed shot or a long-court...
Displays of Gratitude for Backpack Distribution Days
Long-time volunteer Arlene is currently in Jamaica helping ACE with our annual Backpack Distribution Days as we kick off a new school year. The following article is Arlene’s recap of this year’s event. If it’s mid-August, then it must be time for me to journey back to...
Marla’s Minute: Beryl, Blessings and Beets
All we can say here on the ground at ACE in Jamaica is……whew!!! What a surprise hit we received from Hurricane Beryl. Who would have thought, this early in the summer? As we watched Beryl coming towards us, all hands on deck began preparing for the storm. God answered...
A Sponsor’s Story
BY TINA STUBBS In 2011 the school where I worked, Heritage Academy, began sponsoring Anthony, or Antonio as he was known then. He was ten years old, and we were told he was very shy and hesitant to speak. He was at Hampstead Primary School and eventually began...
Barrels of Bounty
BY AMBER WENDLING SMITH I have experienced cheerful giving both while living in Jamaica and as the Stateside Sponsorship Coordinator. To give an unexpected gift and see faces react with gratitude fills the giver’s heart with much joy. I often get asked by sponsors...
Marla’s Minute: Let’s Hear it for the Boys
Let’s hear it for the Boys……. Remember last month’s Marla Minute when I said I was getting old? Well, this proves it. One of my many favorite songs during the 1980s (and many of you weren’t born yet!) was a song called “Let’s Hear It For The Boy”. Since Father’s Day...
30 Years of Growth
"30 years of growth and some things never change”. That’s the thought I had this past week as I mixed concrete at GLLF with my team of 27. You may be thinking that I was bemoaning the opportunity that lay ahead of me, but I really wasn’t. I actually love cooking in...
The Harvest is Great
Before 2008, my perception of Jamaica was based on the cruise ship port in Ocho Rios and commercials for the huge all-inclusive resorts. All of that paints a picture of a thriving culture where everyone is living the dream life. It was not until June of 2008 that I...
Althia’s Angle: Preparing for a Full Summer of Teams
Last month, my husband, Foster, and I came up to the States for a much-needed break before we hit the ground running with a summer full of mission teams. We spent our time resting, gathering essential supplies, and preparing for the busy season ahead. Summers at ACE...
Trust God’s Calling
Chelsea Peterson served on ACE’s iQuest internship program in 2014. But the journey to get there brought about its own set of challenges and need for dependence on God. The following is her story that she shared with our team. This month marks the 10-year anniversary...
God’s Expectations Vs. Mine
Long-time ACE volunteer Tina Gerke shared the following story with our team after her recent trip to Jamaica. It’s been almost 23 years since I first stepped foot in Jamaica. I would have never believed all the changes and lessons that I was to learn along the way!...
Protecting Donor Gifts Amid USPS Issues
It is always ACE’s top priority to protect the gifts we receive from our donors. That’s why we want to make you aware of recent issues that we’ve experienced with the Atlanta USPS and offer alternatives to continue supporting ACE in timely and secure ways. In recent...
Marla’s Minute: Still Seeing God At Work 36 Years Later
I’m Old…. That’s what I was thinking inside my head as I was standing beside a group of teenagers and college students this spring. We began the famous bucket brigade slinging gravel onto ACE’s greenhouse floor. The fact that ACE has aged about 36 years since the...
The Lord’s Garden
Former ACE iQuest intern Audrey Renner recently came back down to St. Mary, Jamaica, with her husband and father. After her trip, she headed back to the States and shared the following letter with our team. I’ve always loved springtime in Ohio. Suddenly, after months...
Marla’s Minute: Reaping A Harvest
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...
We Are Warriors
Tina Gerke has been volunteering and leading trips with ACE for 23 years now. After her latest trip in March, she shared the following story with our team. My recent two weeks in Jamaica were another amazing time of watching God work. I never cease to be amazed at how...
A Lent Devotional
ACE volunteer Christina Kershaw came down on a mission trip with Bethel Baptist Church in 2018. As she was recently reflecting on her time in Jamaica, she wrote the following devotional. May her experience and reflection bless you during this Lent season! READ: John...
Marla’s Minute: A Home Run For Lashauna
Last week, ACE had our annual Men’s & Women’s Conference in St Mary. However, unlike the past 16 years of holding the conference at Galina Breeze Hotel, we moved the conference to an outside event space, Buccaneers Jerk & Juice Centre. When some very...
Answering The Holy Spirit’s Call
In 2009, my wife and I took our first trip to Jamaica to serve with ACE. I recall our uncertainty on the long roller coaster ride from Montego Bay to Galina Breeze, survived only by the assistance of Dramamine. The main highway looks a lot better now than it did back...
Marla’s Minute: Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend
It’s never easy to lose a foundational pillar in any organization, but since Jesus loves Mr. Myers more than we do, He decided to bring him home for company last month. Mr. Myers was 89 years old, still riding a motorcycle to work, and kept an incredible work ethic...
The Smith Family Next Door
ACE hosts site trips, which invite leaders to experience what ACE does and our “why” in Jamaica. Our most recent site trip happened last October, where we met Jennifer and Mitchell Smith. They are just starting a much-needed ministry called Wet Feet. But in the...
A Child Sponsorship Heart Warmer
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...
4 Ways to Give Hope on Giving Tuesday
As we enter the “Giving Season” and Giving Tuesday draws near, we can’t help but think about how thankful we are to have a community of supporters that don’t simply give during a season of the year, but they give of their time, talents, and treasures throughout the...
Marla’s Minute: A Bittersweet Story
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...
The Mission & Vision of ACE
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...
Peaceful Discussions at the Peace House
Thanks to so many donors and volunteers, we are enjoying our Thursday night dinners in our Peace House on the ACE Campus. For years, we’ve been planning and sending pictures of what we are doing to get this building ready for a weekly dinner and discussion with Pastor...
Marla’s Minute: ACE Expands Another Notch
We have been so blessed to see another generation of our ACE family coming into the world. Earlier this month, D’Vaun and Saskia gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Christovaun Azhani! D’Vaun already gave him a pet name, Markhus. Whichever name you decide to call...
And They’re Off!
“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...
A Word From Arlene – Gathering in Peace
Most of you know Arlene, whom we wrote about in last month’s newsletter. She is our long-time and frequent volunteer who always brings work ethic and words of wisdom with her on every trip. This was her take on our new happenings at the Peace House. I’ve been here...
Cloud 9 and Pat soar to a Higher Level
Our own chocolatier, Patricia, was granted a visa to enter the US for a much-anticipated conference in Atlantic City on chocolate. Thanks to so many of our friends in the New Jersey area who arranged the housing details and for Bruce Smith to secure the invite to the...
Marla’s Minute: What a Summer!
We want to give a big thank you to all the wonderful volunteers and sponsors whose generosity and time made this summer a great success. ACE is in full swing for fall and, after three years of prayers, concerns, and faith walks, we as a staff feel that God has...
A Word From D’Vaun: Nicoya’s Story
In our years of changing lives and transforming communities, God always places the people who He wants us to touch within our reach. We never aspire to do more than God has equipped us to do, thus our mantra of "Deep not Wide". Over the years, we have made connections...
She’s an 80 Lady!
When ACE says we have long-term volunteers, we are not joking! Many of you have met Arlene from New Jersey, but did you know this friend of ACE just turned 80?! And she is still going strong, the most young-at-heart go-getter we know. We met Arlene when she came with...
ACE Goes Deep, Not Wide
Many of you have heard this before as it’s a mantra we continually repeat among our staff and with guests. This month, Sugar Hill got to do something rather amazing. They dismantled a house they were part of building many years ago to move it to another location. One...
Celebrating a Remarkable Friend of ACE
Last week, Allen, Althia, and I had the honor of traveling 1600+ miles from Jamaica to New Orleans, Louisiana, to be a part of a dear friend’s defining moment. Our personal friend and an ACE spiritual mother, Helen Delaney – or as we call her, Pastor Helen – invited...
Marla’s Minute: Generational Blessings
Earlier this month, ACE hosted a choir group from Augusta. This was somewhat new to ACE as we are used to having volunteers coming to work, sweat and serve. What a special blessing to not only see the projects done with love, but to hear in song their servant hearts. ...
Marla’s Minute: iQuest’s Purpose
For 25 years, ACE has offered what we call iQuest. As most of you know, this is a leadership course for young adults who are being guided to serve here in Jamaica. They participate, lead and serve in many capacities before finding their place in the world of “making a...
Peace House Update
If anyone has ever engaged in building their own home, the dream of moving in on time quickly fades with the reality of what supplies are available, what didn’t arrive, misfit fixtures, and, well, just about anything that can keep a building from becoming a...
Happy Birthday or “Happy Earthstrong mi bredah” as our friends in Jamaica might say!
Every quarter, ACE staff plans a birthday celebration for your sponsored children. Like most birthday parties in the States, they are full of fun and games, and we make sure that each child gets a small gift. We are finding challenges accommodating the varying ages of...
Marla’s Minute – The Peace of Easter
In my middle-class world growing up in the U.S., my mother and grandparents made sure that Easter was a big deal around our home. There was a big Easter basket full of all the great things a child loves that today are considered toxic to the body… chocolate eggs,...
Greenhouse Growth
Do you have experience in organic greenhouse gardening? We have recently been given the chance to purchase two brand new greenhouses that a local farm operation can no longer use. This is an amazing opportunity for Green Life farms to grow food not only for our...
Home Away From Home – A Word from Lynne
We were blessed to have Lynne, a former volunteer, come out to housesit at the Campus. She was a Godsend to us for being present and willing to help us in whatever ways He led her. Thank you, Lynne, for sharing your talents, your time, and your kindness. Here are a...
Marla’s Minute: Saving Savvy
ACE is always looking for ways to cultivate relationships and restore people that just need a little help along the way. We are very proud to say that we, as individuals with ACE, are just the hands and feet of a greater story, the story of a Savior who loves all His...
We are the Zalks – A Word from Charity
In 2019, Brian and I were vacationing in Jamaica, and we experienced God undoubtedly and distinctively calling us to uproot our life and come serve Him there. As a family, we came as a package deal, so that included our kids – at the time, nine-year-old twins and a...
Many Hands Make Light Work
Many hands make light work This old saying portrays a picture of what ACE has experienced this spring on the ground. For the first time in years, we have been blessed with many incredible volunteer teams in a row! Ranging from families, high school students, college...
TRIP COST
There is an old proverb, “If you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.” History proves that lasting change in a poverty culture is achieved by empowering the people to reach their full potential and become self-sustaining. ACE is invested in our community long-term and in conjunction with our partners in the US, we are identifying the circumstances of those around us in order to find real solutions for their unique needs.