God’s Miracles at Long Road Clinic

God’s Miracles at Long Road Clinic

It had been a full year since any medical or dental team had been able to make the hour-and-half-long journey to the Long Road Clinic in St. Mary.

So when our ACE providers recently made the trip, they were met with many grateful smiles and sighs of relief. We were told that ACE has been the only professional medical team willing to take on the washed-out roads, trekking for miles to serve our little community.

Thanks to the gracious hospitality of the local Catholic Church, we were able to set up in our usual spot and provide much-needed medical, dental, and spiritual care to those who had been waiting for so long.

And then—just after we left—the road gave way. A complete collapse.

Had it washed away before we arrived, we would have never reached all of the wonderful people who needed our help. Had it collapsed while we were there, well… we might still be there!

But God’s timing is never early or late—He’s always on time. He held up the road just long enough for us to get back to Galina Breeze Hotel and, more importantly, to ensure every person in the community received the care they needed.

Thank you to all who make these clinics possible.

Marla’s Minute: Unto the Least of These

Marla’s Minute: Unto the Least of These

The heart of ACE has always been and will always be focused on people. We call Jamaicans “our people,” “our seniors,” and “our extended families.” When you come to Jamaica to volunteer, you can rest assured that one of the days, if not two, will be spent in our community with one of “our people,” through our AMI visits.

This month made the top of the list compared to all of our previous Februarys for reaching out and helping our elderly and those in need. Friends bought food for distribution and helped clean up individuals and their living spaces. We even had friends assist our ACE staff by singing and reading to our elders. They were also treated to a gardening lesson or two from local yards. 

Does it feel good to leave a home seeing smiles on our seniors’ faces? You bet it does! I just pray and hope someone will come visit me when it’s my time to rest. And hopefully have a garden of something to show or a song to sing.

Thank you, friends, for never growing tired of doing good for the least of these.

Blessings,
Marla

Back in the Saddle Again

Back in the Saddle Again

This month seems to be all about using farm verbiage to express how the beginning of 2025 is going for ACE. We mentioned last year how we are all relieved to know the COVID years are now behind us and we are now positioned to do what we do best in St Mary once again. That is to go deep and not wide in serving our neighboring communities.

Schools are back in session. Our AMI (ACE Mobile Infirmary) visits are met with great appreciation and a feeling of security that someone in the ACE family cares about them enough to check in on them. The micro-businesses are growing, so employment is increasing locally. That means Nationals are able to grow and earn and learn. 

We are firm believers that when God gives you a vision, you stick with it. Not based on the difficulty of the task at hand or the time it may take to accomplish. ACE always finishes what we start. And that creates patience in our ministry. 

If anyone spends any amount of time with me, you will know that learning patience is important to me. And this may not come as much of a surprise to those of you who have quite literally grown up in ACE, but one of the greatest compliments I was given at the end of last year by a board member was, “You have really grown in your level of patience with projects and people.” 

I’m continually reminded of the Bible verse that says, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9, NIV).

I used to think that meant that God will make things happen in a month for ACE. Now that I’m older and hopefully wiser, I cannot help but better understand the old saying, “It’s not the destination that counts; it’s the journey to get there.”

ACE is back in the saddle, enjoying God’s journey once again. We are all so excited to see volunteers this year signed up to help us accomplish all the good things God has set in play for ACE so that He alone gets the glory. We are looking forward to seeing you in Jamaica, where the weather is nice and warm! 

Happy Trails!
Marla

Now That’s a Bunch of Bull!

Now That’s a Bunch of Bull!

Starting a micro-enterprise going into the cattle business was no joke, as we knew nothing about raising cattle. We went in blind. The lessons taught were hard to swallow. We made plenty of mistakes; but now, we are reaping the “beef steaks.” 

Growing the herds, as well as discovering how to efficiently separate the heifers, bulls, calves, and pregnant mothers, were just a couple of lessons we had to learn. Pastures had to be recreated for them all. Our farm staff work tirelessly each day to feed, water, and restrain fences to keep the cattle in their pastures.

Due to the large number of bulls we had, we needed to sell some off. We sold our second set of bulls this past week, which will help us finance a slaughterhouse that will humanly butcher one cow at a time and is built to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Health. The funds raised will also allow us to create a “shoot” that will guide the cattle straight into the trucks, significantly easing the load off of our farm staff, as well as the cattle.

We could not have done this alone. Over the past several years, our teams have assisted us in making the pastures, clearing them out (especially after the hurricane), and building a holding area for the cattle. Thank you to ALL of our sponsors who believed in us over the years, assisted in purchasing the cattle, came down to give advice, and lent a helping hand. 

God is in all of this and yes, it’s a lot of bull, but for us, it’s a also a lot of supernatural direction. We never do anything without asking for God’s coverage and guidance, and He has made it happen over and over again. Praise God! We have to take the bulls by the horns and sometimes by the tail. That’s just life, and we are so grateful.

Blessings, 
Althia Foster

Marla’s Minute: All I Want For Christmas

Marla’s Minute: All I Want For Christmas

The economy has been skyrocketing to the moon these days. A single head of cabbage is approximately $20 US at the grocery store. While our farm staff plants as much as possible in the rich soil, ACE and its micro-businesses consume every vegetable grown. We even make natural drinks with our fruits. What is not used is given to our families in need with homemade soups and drinks. Needless to say, food is in high demand.

People ask us all the time what they can do to help. Lately, it’s all about providing and growing pure, clean food. ACE is preparing to grow food from 9 ft. aeroponic towers inside our greenhouse, which has been restored since Hurricane Beryl blew by in June. Each tower can grow food from planting to reaping within 52 days. We’ve done our homework and believe this will be a game-changer for all of us. Lettuce, carrots, peppers, micro-greens — you name it, we will grow it for the hotel, the food court, the neighbors, and the supermarkets. It will be a defining moment for all of us in 2025.

What do I want for Christmas this year? You guessed it, more aeroponic towers! They ship from Memphis, TN. Each tower costs approximately $850 US, including shipping. Our goal is to purchase 100 towers, and we currently have enough funds for 52 towers. Would you consider purchasing a growing tower for Green Life Fresh as an end-of-year tax-deductible donation?

If you want to learn more about the aeroponic towers, you can check out this PowerPoint here or watch this video here

Thank you for helping us focus on making healthy and real food for our community, so we can in turn build healthy and real relationships with the people we serve. Merry Christmas!