The Smith Family Next Door

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 process, ACE invited the Smiths and their family to spend six weeks with us at the Campus, where they could rest and prepare for their weekend retreats in the States. And did we mention they also helped ACE with the farm, as well as outreach at ACE?

While we really didn’t know the Smiths when they arrived, we officially consider them an extension to our ACE family as they head back to the States this week. 

To the Smith family, thank you for investing your time and talent with us and our National team. We will keep the lights on for you at the Campus, as we anticipate your return soon. 

If you would like to know more about Wet Feet Ministries, go to their website or contact the Smiths at jennifer@wetfeetministries.org. God continues to raise up families that love Him and loves others., and we are so thankful to witness it happening in and through ACE as well.

Marla’s Minute: Generational Blessings

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. 

During the week, one of the singers by the name of Carter came up to me one evening and asked if I remembered his big sister, Susanna, from 2010. Well, I have to say, remembering back some 13 years would be a big challenge for… well, let’s say anyone over 40, so I was honest and said no. Then he tweaked my memory with, “She was the high school student who, for her school project, took on the challenge of raising funds for the infirmary mattresses.” Immediately I knew who Susanna was!

My memory flashed back to the day when this high school senior said she wanted to make an impact through ACE helping our infirmary residents by replacing their 20-plus year-old warped mattresses. Of course, we said yes. Anyone who has served ACE pre-Covid at the infirmary understood why these particular mattresses needed to be retired and changed out for new ones. 

Susanna single handedly replaced at least a dozen mattresses, allowing ACE to take the old ones back to Galina Breeze to wash, bleach and sun them in our green space down to the pool. After all the cleaning, we gave them to children in our sponsorship program who were sleeping on the floor. 

I remember this time very well, and I looked at this handsome young man named Carter and smiled. Generational blessings. A sister that set an example for her brother to follow. Service before self.

I asked Carter if I could send Susanna a message; he smiled and said sure. As I wrote a small note to his sister – who now is married and just had a sweet baby – I thanked God that this young girl, now a mother, had such a great influence on her brother to come to ACE, and that I had the experience of witnessing that positive influence does make a difference in the family. Thank you, Carter, and thank you, Susanna.  

Many Hands Make Light Work

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 teams, and a great mix of young adults, they came to help us get caught up on our many outreach programs. They worked tirelessly around St. Mary at the schools, on our farm, and even preparing for some new businesses and items coming online later this year. We’d love to highlight some of the many projects they worked on.

For those of you have contributed to many aspects of the Peace House, the update is that it’s almost complete! Yes, you have heard this before, but it’s true; we just had no idea how much back and forth it takes to complete a building like this. The final touch this week was the addition of the front doors. Thanks to some friends and donors of ACE, our doors were purchased and ready for painting. Granted, we still need a door opener and glass on the side, but just looking at these doors makes all of us swell with pride.

While all that was going on the Peace House, some of our volunteers focused on the Campus right next door, where our interns and long-term volunteers stay. It has been challenged for years with popping floor tiles and cracking in the main hall and the dining room. We decided to commission a group to chop it up and remove the tile, and what we found underneath was a beautiful terrazzo floor. It’s been there since the early 90s when the house was built. Anyone know how to make it come alive again? It’s dull but has potential. Every time we get this kind of help, we are pleasantly surprised at what our teams uncover. Thank you for making the old new again.

In the last few busy months, it’s been fun to see how our Jamaican ACE staff pulled together in such a great way to work with them and each other. Ms. Foster, our Executive Director, has done an excellent job training, teaching, and coaching all of us to work as a team. Charity and Brian Zalk and family have continually increased their availability on the ground with the ACE crew. Things are going so smoothly that Allen and Marla sit back and smile, pleased at how everyone is beginning to own their own lane. Keep all of us in your prayers as everyone is learning how to operate as a team.

Teamwork makes the dream work, another old saying… and in this case, we are so grateful for such a successful and fun start to the year!

Marla’s Minute –God Gives Me Grace

Marla’s Minute –God Gives Me Grace

This is the month of valentines! I can recall those paper valentine punch-out cards where you write on the back and then give to your teachers and friends. They always seemed to say the same thing: “from _________ “to ________ — Would you be my Valentine?”

A special valentine arrived this month from Virginia just for me. While it wasn’t a punch-out card or even chocolate – remember, Cloud 9 is already here — it was in the form of a sole intern named Grace.

ACE has never had an iQuest intern come in the winter. Grace just graduated from James Madison College and, instead of jumping into her career, she asked if she could join us for the winter season and become our first winter intern.

Grace is my Valentine. I have been without an assistant for four months with Sarah in the states, so administration tasks have been bogging me down in the office. Grace arrived in Jamaica with a big smile and lots of energy, saying “perfect” to every request I asked her to help me with. She loves collecting data and putting it in great graphs and excel formats. She thrives in math and can count money almost faster than a machine!

Grace will be in Jamaica until April, at which time, she will return to begin her career in… well, just about anything she wants, smart enough to master anything and eager to be wherever God leads her. Thank you, Grace, for being my Valentine for these 75 days. You are a blessing, and maybe, just maybe, I can convince you to be our house mother this summer for our new iQuest signups.

Which reminds me… I’m hoping we will get some summer interns who want to grow, thrive, and serve with ACE this summer. Now is the time to sign up and get ready for a season you will never forget in Jamaica with ACE. Teamwork makes the dream work and we need you on our team!

 

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A Visit with Marla and D’Vaun

A Visit with Marla and D’Vaun

Our very own Marla and D’Vaun were featured on a recent podcast!

Thank you to TJ Mauldin for taking time to talk with both Marla and D’Vaun to hear their stories and experiences with ACE and what led them to where they are now.  If you’ve never heard them speak or even if you know them well, it’s a great reminder of how God works through us all for the good of the world around us.  Give it a listen!

Gooden’s Good News – A Word from D’Vaun

Gooden’s Good News – A Word from D’Vaun

Any great undertaking doesn’t start where the results are seen; it starts with a spark of inspiration, a simple idea, a tiny prick that over time becomes a little more than a sensation to ignore. Then God confirms that He’s implanted destiny, and it so happens you’re carrying the seed.

The village has been ACE’s seed. If you’ve been around long enough, you’d have probably heard the pitch (more than once, too). God has inspired us after being his hands and feet in childcare trying and failing, being frustrated when our help only goes so far because we have limited access to our children and our parents aren’t equipped to follow up, God bless their hearts. The village was God’s light bulb moment to us (He has all the great ideas).

You’ve already met Latoya Newel and her family (if you haven’t you’ve been neglecting the newsletter; God’s watching you), For those of us whose memories aren’t as great (I gave you an out), Latoya’s family experienced turbulence after turbulence in their life. All this meant ACE had to go deeper in trying to help. We gave her a job, she stayed with us a while, living in several houses on our property. But nothing can replace a home of your own, and that’s when God reminded us of that brilliant idea He gave us all those years ago.

We’ve made so many attempts to start building the Village for so many others; however, as they say in Jamaica, “Wherever God is, the devil presents himself thrice as much.” We decided that God’s ability to help is greater than the roadblocks that came up. We stepped out in faith and started the process again to make sure that this mom with her five kids had a home., Though the journey was long (with lots of help from sponsors and teams) and we didn’t always follow the route we started, we are beginning to see where God wants to take us. Our first family is in the Village – home, sweet home.

One of my now favorite verses, Romans 8:38-39, speaks to God’s faithfulness and commitment to us, in the same way neither red-tape nor limited resources nor forces of darkness can stop God’s plan to water that seed of faith, a seed that leads to the fruits of our labor and the love of Jesus Christ.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39

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