Wellness Comes in Many Forms

Wellness Comes in Many Forms

For the first time in two years, ACE has enjoyed having friends come to Jamaica to serve our lonely residents and needy families in St. Mary. This month, Dr. Steve Guy, our Chairman of ACE, brought down some neat friends of ACE.  Some were new, some return volunteers, but all were willing to reach out and help us with our elderly and special needs community.

One of the four impact areas of ACE focuses on wellness. Automatically, most people think of wellness as working out or eating healthy. ACE’s definition of “wellness” covers so much more, as we find the human connection to heal not just physical ailments but emotional and spiritual needs as well. In the past, pre-Covid, we held many Wellness Clinics for medical and dental treatment and visited the infirmary patients, where so many of our medical volunteers so skillfully used their talents and expertise.

These days, clinics are not allowed and the infirmary is still closed to the public after almost two years. We’ve been finding new ways to fill the gap, and our hearts have been moved by the number of in-need families and individuals in our own community. This team of volunteers filled that gap perfectly, as they served the elderly and lonely living around us by simply being present. Love and Rub worked well as did Shaves and Songs. Who says it has to be all medical? Even though our volunteers were in the medical/wellness field, they knew that a little love goes a long way.

We painted, we massaged, we sang – and it was all good. These professionals, who in their daily lives and past trips have focused on medical and dental needs, found that this year was different – it was all about relationships. Many said it was so refreshing! There are many seasons in life, and we are grateful to Dr. Guy and the team for bringing in the “season of love” team. We can’t wait until the Ministry of Health opens up the country for medical and dental health for our community, but in the meantime, we will do what we can to bring wellness in many forms!

 

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Recycling an Old Tree

Recycling an Old Tree

There are a lot of beautiful over-100-year-old trees on the Green Life Farm. One of the most beautiful and sought-after trees is called a Guango. To us, it looks like the Tree of Life in Avatar, where everything lives in it and under it. A few months ago, Allen and the farm team were opening up the original path where our creek flows through pasture. At one point, Allen noticed a huge Guango that had apparently been struck by lightning who knows how many years ago. While we saw the burnt-out area of the tree, we decided to cut it down since it was already dead.

What a treasure we found when we saw the beautiful wood intact all around the strike area. With the help of many of our staff, we were able to take the Guango to the woodworking shop at GLF. Just this week, after drying out the wood for a few months, we asked members of the team from Orlando, FL, to help us make tables for our dining area at Buccaneers. Take a look at what a little sanding and varnishing can do to an old tree.

Not only do we have some beautiful tables for our guests to enjoy, but we have over 100 pieces of lumber to help with the other projects we have at the farm. Never think because you are “old”, you can’t be used. The Bible has a verse that reminds me of this old tree: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor 5:17)

 

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Cloud 9 gets crankin’ again!!

Cloud 9 gets crankin’ again!!

It’s been a while since Pat has been making chocolate in our Cloud 9 chocolate factory. But this week, the lights were on, the machines were grinding, and the sweet smell of Jamaican chocolate was in the air again. Bruce Smith, our founding ACE chocolatier, arrived on the island after a year and a half to help Pat get the St. Mary chocolate bars rolling out again.

Not only was Bruce surprised to see what Pat and her helpers had been working on, but he and the team of volunteers from Bethel Baptist got to be the first ones to experience the chocolate-making tour and taste the new, improved flavors of St. Mary chocolate.

We delivered our first wholesale order to a shop in Falmouth where some of the big cruise lines dock! With the help of Bruce, Pat and her team can now make about 100 bars per day. This is 100% increase in production from 50 bars last created pre-COVID years.

ACE is so proud of this micro-business. We hope to launch our first tour next month to our friends at the tourist board. We are praying for a “sweet deal” in bookings from the hotels and ships as we move into fall.  Need some chocolate? Go online to our Cloud 9 website to read all about our story and our flavors, and then come on down to Jamaica to pick some up!

 

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Christmas and Celebrations

Christmas and Celebrations

Thanks to ACE’s dear friends, Tina and Luke, all of our sponsored students and friends celebrated Christmas in style! As the COVID syndrome continues globally, the Rebel Ministries team came through unafraid, full of life and energy. The last week of 2021 ended with lots of laughter and smiles as our team and staff hosted several separate parties across a few days.

The farm was our background for open air fun and storytelling. Students had cards and gifts from sponsors, and the celebration of Jesus’ birth was at the forefront! Most of all, it was such a “shot in the arm” of encouragement for ACE. Beyond the partying, this team worked so hard every single day, and it gave us hope for what 2022 will look like. Thank you all for making our end of year and first of year so fantastic

As for the rest of you considering coming to Jamaica, well, come on… we’ve got work for you and our staff is ready for some American humor! Are you ready for us? Let’s make it happen!

 

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New Year, New Faces

New Year, New Faces

ACE is always changing! That is to be expected when people are involved in the lives of others, and this year will be no different in Jamaica.

Remember our own Anthony, the beekeeper? Well, Anthony is all grown up, out of school for the moment (he graduated), and he lives with his sister in nearby Hampstead. Always ready to learn a new skill, Anthony works with one of our men who repairs our pumps at the farm and makes a nice living. But what about the bees and the honey he left behind?

Introducing Romario, our new beekeeper! Romario was just beginning to start his own beehives in the Bonney Gate community, close to where Pastor Kermit lives. As Anthony was transitioning to a full-time job outside of ACE, he and Romario started working together at the Campus. While Anthony has the long-term training, thanks to local and foreign volunteers, Romario has learned to breed queen bees at lightning speed. We’ve been told by Mr. Haywood the Bee Master that this is quite a skill to do as the production of honey triples.

All we know is more bees means more honey and more honey means more sweetness pouring out of ACE! The business of bees continues for another passionate young man, and we already see him buzzing with success!

Thank you, David and Valerie, for donating the extractor. We have it set up in the Campus living room looking like a new piece of furniture. You get the first bottle we will harvest this spring.

This is what Changing Lives is all about for ACE. We are so proud of these young men growing up and pursuing their passion, learning new skills, and always changing for the better. And thank YOU for supporting our honey business. It’s just sooo sweet!

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Skill Sets We Wish We Had

Skill Sets We Wish We Had

Many of us are good at cooking, writing, organization, and even decorating our homes, but what about repairing a 150-year-old bridge with stones found in the yard?  At Green Life Llanrumney Farms, another micro-business of ACE, we have been finding all kinds of treasures from years ago popping up as we continue to “bush” the pastures and land, and now we are finding piles of stones! Some of you may remember the old stone bridge going up to the Great House where Henry Morgan built a home for his wife Mary Elizabeth; later, the Parachinis, one of the first Italian families, built on top of the ruins that look out over the pastures.

This bridge was literally falling apart. While we have cement today to make repairs, we wanted to maintain the original look. So we hired Paris, or as the locals call him, Captain. Captain has been working many years in his profession, repairing the history of St. Mary and Llanrunmey one stone at time. We thought you would like to see what repairing and restoring an old stone bridge looks like, using our new-found stones. We asked him would he teach a few of our men how to do this form of art. Without hesitation, his answer was yes, and, while we hope it won’t take half a century to get this stone laid, Bulla and Johnson are picking up the trade, making their job skills even more valuable.

Now, we just need volunteers to help us collect them from the farm – sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

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