Community | American-Caribbean Experience

Graduation, VBS, and Sponsorship

by American- Caribbean Experience | Jul 27, 2021 | Book A Trip, Community, Discipleship, Education, Outreach

It’s mid-summer, and while that may not seem like Spring to you, we have felt the subtle changes that normally come with the new growth the season of Spring offers. You’ve heard of Christmas in July? Well, we had Spring in Summer!

Spring is normally the time for graduation. Instead, Covid pushed things a little. This month, ACE was invited to attend one of the primary school’s 6^th grade graduations. We had helped provide funds to build a stage inside their general assembly room where graduation was held.

Marla arrived in time to witness the Enfield Primary’s Class of 2020 walking in their caps and gowns into the hall to receive their diplomas. As each student, all 23 of them, walked into the hall, they had a spring in their step that let everyone know this wasn’t the end; it was just the beginning for them, moving into the next season of their education and life.

For the younger kids in our program, ACE held its first VBS since 2019 and a first at our new facility at Green Life Llanrumney Farms. Each sponsored child that attended came alive as our college volunteers reminded them they are loved and highly favored by God. The theme this year was “Destination Dig” and that’s exactly what happened – our students dug into the Bible, their faith and God’s love for them through activities, songs, and stories! The verse of the week was “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

The Big Finish event for VBS was taking our students on a hike to the historic Ruins on our property where they got to see “old digs” and how ACE was revitalizing the old into the new. Students loved it! We even had a farm moment where the children got to love on horses, donkeys and cows, and even a few puppies! Many of them had never seen such large animals before or experienced the signs of life on a farm!

This summer brought us all the renewed faith and hope of spring, having our volunteers back as our sponsored children experienced new adventures, and we look forward to the changes and new growth yet to come.

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Help Comes in Large Packages

by American- Caribbean Experience | Jun 28, 2021 | Book A Trip, Community, Discipleship, Outreach

Our dear friends from Rebel Ministries arrived this month to help us out with clearing our coconut trees of bush and debris, all the while assisting a sponsored family with pouring a floor for their new home. While we have been so grateful over the past year and a half for the individuals and friends who have joined us to volunteer their time and talents, we haven’t had a team of friends this size in a long time… and it’s true, many hands make light work! Thank you, Rebel, for accepting the challenge to serve!

ACE in 2021 is looking different and younger. When we say younger, we mean, don’t wait until you are an adult to come volunteer. We need adult volunteers, for sure, but bring the young ones with you!

Our iQuest program this year is a perfect example of what young people can do. If you, as a teenager or young adult in your 20s, need to “sort out” what’s been going on in your life, why not consider a season in Jamaica with ACE? ACE has many programs available for students as well as homeschool families that would like to help in a new way and yet continue academically through our “living classroom”.

Start becoming a global volunteer early while learning about world views, clean eating through healthy farming, and see what God is doing in Jamaica.

You might even pick up some secret outstanding coconut dessert recipes to take home.

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VBS in July!

by American- Caribbean Experience | Jun 28, 2021 | Book A Trip, Community, Discipleship, Education, Outreach

It’s true – the first VBS for the ACE students and community since 2019 is going to happen. Just a few days ago, the Government of Jamaica opened up the country to allow up to 100 people to be part of an outdoor gathering and lifted the curfew to more reasonable and normal hours. ACE is not only thrilled this is happening but excited that we will get to hold VBS at the new farm and school area at Buccaneers.

Are you a VBS leader? Do you love working with children? Want to be part of this exciting outreach? If so, please contact our office and get the details. We already have the curriculum and a college group helping us facilitate, and we’d love to have your helping hand and expertise! It’s three days of wonderful fun and blitz. Having experienced leaders helping our local staff would be an additional gift. Consider coming down and contributing to this post-Covid activity!

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Little Faith, Big Faith

by American- Caribbean Experience | Jun 28, 2021 | Book A Trip, Community, Discipleship, Education, Outreach

Everyone seems to know what the word “faith” means. In daily conversations, some say, “keep the faith,” others say, “just have faith,” and, during the last 15 months, many have used the phrase, “I’m losing faith.”

Often, we highlight what our child sponsors have done to help their students and families in Jamaica during the past year and a half, from donating beds, mattresses, refrigerators, rooms, food, clothing to sending encouraging notes and letters. This is faith in action. And sometimes, the story of how God works through faith is even deeper…

During this time of high unemployment, Romeo, the father of triplets, and his wife made the decision to start building a home for their family. By working every little job that came available and through the help of family and friends, Romeo was able to put money aside to build the “block” house for his children to grow up in and to pass down through the generations. Building a block house is not a cheap or easy thing to do. The land he was building on was family land, passed down to him. The cost of the block, steel, cement, sand, stone can add up, but, even more than that, it’s a lot of work for one man!

Little by little, day by day, the children would help their daddy build one row of block at a time. When the funds ran out, they would wait, praying for increase in work and income. It came, little by little… one day here, one week there, but it came, as they, even the children, knew it would. Little moments of faith in action.

He needed hands-on help. This month, one of our dear friends and her team of volunteers committed to helping Romeo and the family complete the first two rooms for them to move into by the end of July. When the Walkers found out that their project was the one this team wanted to help with, they all smiled, knowing that prayers were being answered. Little moments of faith confirmed.

Once we knew the project timeline was accelerated, thanks to the extra help of the team on the way, our ACE office reached out to the family who sponsors the triplets and asked if they could help with some supplies, as the Walkers were tapped out of funds. Miraculously, they were able to donate most but not all the funds to pour the floor. Little moments of faith continued.

The project began, but unfortunately, the funds ran out. There was not enough there to complete the project. We just needed a little bit more, but we all had faith that God would provide!

Then, unexpectedly, while the team was still working, a donation came from someone separate from the team, this project, or the Walker family. This donor, who had never given prior to this, felt called at this moment to give a gift that coincidently covered the exact amount needed for the Walker family to complete the floor. The cost was covered, the job was completed with many helping hands, and the family was on their way to having a place to call “home”. This is Big Faith at work.

And that’s how you see God working at ACE, in the Walker family, and in the lives of all of you who have invested into Kingdom things through sponsorship and volunteering. Those little moments of faith turn into Big Faith moments every time when God is in it.

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Marla’s Minute – How many “i’s” in Mississippi?

by American- Caribbean Experience | May 25, 2021 | Community, Discipleship

For the first time in years, Allen and I did something we wished we would have done before now: travel by car to see friends of ACE who have been MIA since the COVID pandemic hit.

We started out in Ringgold, Georgia, where we spent the night with some friends who, incidentally, are way ahead of us in the farming business. Chicken, horses, cows, fish, flowers, and plants… you name it and that’s what you get when you show up at the Greg and Sheila’s home!

From there we went to Cullman, Alabama, and were treated like family by our next host and hostess. If you ever wondered what a tool barn should look like, just ask David and Valery; they have everything you could imagine to “get ‘er fixed” on the farm. We moved on to Mississippi, where we saw our friends from Tupelo, Madison, and Columbus.

One of our personal highlights was in Louisiana with a friend’s mom and dad who, for many years, ran the Bauxite plant in Manchester, Jamaica, when ACE was very young. Sitting in their living room enjoying lemon cake and coffee, seeing all the Jamaican art and Jamaican décor, brought home the fact that, while life and people move on, God always brings up another generation to carry on the work behind the faithful ones who have served well. Thank you, Zack and Carolyn, for being a living reminder of this.

While we had wanted to stop and visit other friends of ACE in Louisiana, we found it just didn’t work out for one reason or another. We did, however, get to spend the evening with friends in Baton Rouge before heading home via Columbus. Believe it or not, we still stay in contact with the very first Intern ACE ever had: Laura Ladd. She is now fully grown (not old) with three almost-grown kids and a great husband, Breck, who is Senior Pastor of a Baptist church in Columbus. Did I mention Laura is an architect? She sure is, and she is designing our (soon to be released) plan for our Green Life Village homes.

We are back in Jamaica, feeling fresh and looking forward to what God has in store for us and our community. We know, after experiencing such hospitality, that we never have to worry… just enjoy the ride and know that God is in control. Thank you, friends, for reminding us that we are not in this alone, but we have lots of company on the bus called ACE.

Grateful for you all,

Marla, Allen and the ACE team

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Final Good-bye to Pastor Watson

by American- Caribbean Experience | May 25, 2021 | Community, Discipleship, Outreach

After years of service to his community and touching the lives of countless people along the way, Pastor Winston Watson transitioned to Heaven on May 13 after a battle with cancer. Winston served on our ACE Board of Directors for a season before moving on to new adventures in 2017.

For volunteers who served with ACE prior to that, they may have had the opportunity to spend time with him and will remember his great smile and encouraging words. He was truly a missionary at heart, responsible for bringing Jesus to the hearts of so many – which should be everyone’s ultimate goal! May God bless him for that! As they say in Jamaica, “it’s never goodbye, but ‘see you later.’” Pastor Watson, we know you are at peace now.