BY COURTNEY SIMMONS
Once again, this past month, I had the blessing of taking a group of families and students to Port Maria to serve with ACE. This was our eighth trip as a school (Sugar Hill Christian Academy), and what an amazing week we had. There were 17 people on our team who were returning with 13 additional, wide-eyed, and super excited first-timers. I absolutely love getting to share my favorite place with all my students and their families.
As a school, we sponsor 10 students. So, we had the opportunity to reconnect with them just after arrival by inviting them all to lunch and a time of swimming at the hotel on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday allowed us the opportunity to get in a great workout slinging concrete at two different schools. We timed our lunch with each school’s lunch to allow us the opportunity to spend time with the students. When they went back to class, we got back to work. Some of us mixed more concrete while others focused on untangling our hair…if you’ve been there, you know.
On Wednesday, we painted the new duplex in the Children’s Village, and on Thursday, we found the Lord working on us as we received blessing after blessing out on AMI (Ace Mobile Infirmary) visits. You always step into those moments thinking that you are there to bless someone in need, and you leave realizing that you are actually the one in need, having received the blessing for that day. Isn’t that always how the Lord works?
Speaking of the Lord’s work. As we ended our day on Thursday down at the river helping to clear it out for the benefit of the farm’s water pump, I had a first-time experience myself. After serving ACE for over 30 years and leading countless teams, I got the opportunity to baptize four of our team members in the river. I have heard of other teams doing it, but I have never personally had the privilege. We spent time on the bank sharing testimonies before wading into the river and obeying the Lord. As we did so, I noticed ACE staff and Farm staff had gathered around and mingled with our team to be blessed by this honored sacrament of The Church. In this moment, I was reminded again that we Americans always end up being blessed more than we bless. The Lord has a way of taking our time and our efforts to bless everyone involved just as He promised Abraham in Genesis 12:2: “I will bless you…and you will be a blessing.”
May His work of blessing continue at ACE as we honor them and Him by simply showing up to the work that HE has already begun (Ephesians 2:10).
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.