American-Caribbean Experience | American-Caribbean Experience

It’s in the Bag

by American-Caribbean Experience | Aug 25, 2025 | Community, Education

Every year, we host our annual Backpack Distribution to provide students with the supplies they need to succeed in the classroom. Thanks to our ACE friends and family, we were able to equip 170 students across 30 schools, from infant/basic and primary schools, to high schools and special needs schools.

Depending on their needs, each child received pens, pencils, markers, crayons, composition notebooks, folders, glue sticks, a uniform, and in some cases, even shoes. For Jahvaun, a young boy who wears leg braces, the gift of two new pairs of Crocs from his sponsor brought the biggest smile to his face. His excitement was a powerful reminder of how something as simple as a new pair of shoes can make a world of difference.

But it’s not just the physical gifts in the bag that impact our students. What’s truly gifted in each bag is hope for the coming school year and a reminder that these children are loved by God!

Backpack Distribution is one of the busiest times of the year for our ACE staff and requires a lot of planning and coordination. From confirming each student’s school status to ensuring the right uniform materials are purchased (each school has its own specific color and shade), our team works tirelessly to make it all come together.

As usual, we faced several challenges. We encountered our normal challenges, such as parents forgetting to pick up school reports or needing reminders to attend their appointed distribution day. But this summer also brought a unique challenge — a gap in teams on our calendar left us short on backpacks. Our mission teams play a vital role in bringing school supplies and backpacks in their suitcases in preparation for Backpack Distribution. While this may have slowed our team down, it allowed us to prepare for the distribution with extra care. It also gave our staff time to focus on unfinished projects, like painting the campus and working on Mr. Brooks’ house.

Even still, we had an incredible blessing arise out of a tragedy. Following the tragic loss of Sam, a young man from the Rebel Ministries team, funds raised at his funeral were donated to ACE. These funds helped us purchase the remaining school supplies needed, turning a moment of sorrow into a blessing for the children of St. Mary. It’s a powerful reminder that God works everything out for good and His provision shines through, even in the face of challenges.

And praise God! The week went incredibly smoothly, and our parents expressed deep gratitude for the support they received.

Backpack Distribution may be over, but our work continues year-round. You can still support the children of St. Mary by donating to our Walmart and Target registries (linked here or through the buttons below), where you can purchase school supplies that ship directly to our staff to keep our students equipped throughout the year.

Thank you for continuing to support our children and help them thrive.

May God bless you all,
Althia

Shop Our Walmart Registry

Shop Our Target Registry

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The Long Game

by American-Caribbean Experience | Aug 25, 2025 | Book A Trip, Education

AMBER SMITH

The ACE Sponsorship Program was established 20 years ago and has touched the lives of over 650 children and their families. The program offers a unique opportunity to invest in the youth of Jamaica, specifically in St. Mary. The commitment level our sponsors have continually shown over the years is paramount. We have seen children’s Sunday School classes put coins together to sponsor a child. Elderly couples who sponsor multiple children and send monthly letters of encouragement. Parents who choose to sponsor a child the same age as their own children to cultivate friendships. Sponsorship stories are diverse, yet all share a common thread of inspiration in which people give to bless someone.

One such sponsor is Jenny Carson. She decided to make a long-term investment by sponsoring siblings, Ashley and Ashawn, for nine years. She celebrated their birthdays by sending gifts and writing letters in between. She watched them grow up. Unfortunately, Jenny became ill and was unable to work, so she made a tough decision to end her sponsorship. This year, Ashawn graduated from Primary School. When Jenny received an email with his graduation photo, she was so grateful and instantly shared the photo that was taken when she first began sponsorship (photos shown below). The photo shows Jenny holding little Ashley and the children’s mother holding tiny Ashawn, depicting the heart of sponsorship. We are so grateful for people like Jenny who choose to become sponsors and impact the lives of others.

Another longevity sponsor is Arlene Curran. Arlene met Ruschell when she was in basic school (preschool/kindergarten in the U.S.). Ruschell was so little and shy. The 12 years of sponsorship were filled with an abundance of school supplies, birthday gifts, funding home repairs, and even assisting Ruschell’s mother with cancer treatment. Every year, their friendship grew deeper, and now, Arlene is considered a part of Ruschell’s family. They share photos of significant events and even gift Arlene with personalized presents as well. Last month, Ruschell graduated from high school and plans to attend teachers’ college to become a basic school teacher. Arlene made the long-term investment in Ruschell, and now Ruschell is choosing to pay it forward.

The ACE Sponsorship Program is unique in that we don’t seek the quick, easy, and fast. Rather, we play “the long game.” Slow and steady investments and believing that God will bless our efforts. We choose to give without wanting anything in return. However, we often get more than we ever imagined possible.

If you are interested in making an impact and becoming a sponsor, please contact Amber Smith at amber@acexperience.org or visit our Sponsorships page for more information.

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Marla’s Minute: Friends & Fundraising

by American-Caribbean Experience | Aug 25, 2025 | Community, Outreach

This month, Allen and I have focused on visiting friends of ACE in Mississippi. Yes, fundraising is always important, as well as receiving volunteer help through our teams. Yet, as we were driving back to Atlanta to prepare to leave for Jamaica, both of us agreed that the best part of this trip was catching up with friends we haven’t seen in years, talking about life, and being introduced to new friends. The common denominator is and has always been ACE.

God has blessed ACE with incredible people who, year after year, support, send, pray, and recommend others to (what we would like to call) the best ministry in Jamaica and the whole Caribbean! This trip, we were introduced to new pastors and new friends who offered professional help furthering our bee business, as well as our growing towers. Allen and I are forever grateful for the way God knows our needs before we even ask.

Get ready for some new products ACE will be selling in our various micro-businesses to sustain the heart of our outreach programs. It’s going to “bee” so sweet and tasty!

Blessings,
Marla

Marla with Trip Leader Anthony and His Family

A Tasty Jamaican Dinner at the Fundraising Event

Fundraising Event for ACE at First Baptist Madison

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Marla’s Minute: Wellness in July

by American-Caribbean Experience | Jul 21, 2025 | Book A Trip, Community, Outreach

What a treat it was this month to have a first-time medical and dental team volunteer at ACE to help us serve St. Mary Parish!

Normally, wellness teams join us in February, so you can imagine the courage and dedication this team from First Baptist Madison had wearing their scrubs in the summer heat and hauling their equipment into the depths of St. Mary Parish.

The Ministry of Health had asked us to visit Rock River, a location that ACE has not hosted a clinic for in over a decade. But, after an hour’s drive from the hotel, our team was greeted by large lines and even larger smiles.

The primary school up the hill allowed us to use their facility for dental visits and to conduct an educational training class for the students. We also operated out of our wellness center at Green Life Farm, and we were able to dedicate a full day to our special needs students and their families.

Beyond this wellness clinic offering dental and medical checkups, I’m honored to say that Edgehill School of Special Education has significantly benefited from ACE volunteers this summer. Teams also helped us pour a concrete driveway for them and upgrade their computer room, all before they start the new school year.

Overall, in just one day, we were able to provide 63 dental checkups and 41 medical checkups. Several of the volunteers from the team were not in the medical field, but they were still so eager to offer support in any way they could. Our team was so proud to watch them step up without hesitation and do a phenomenal job during the clinic.

I want to give a big thank you to every provider and volunteer who came just in time for us to prepare for the start of the school year.

Blessings,
Marla

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Althia’s Angle: Magnifying God’s Greatness at VBS

by American-Caribbean Experience | Jul 21, 2025 | Community, Outreach

Every July, ACE hosts a three-day vacation bible school (VBS) for the children in our community. While we usually host three different camps in multiple locations, this year was a little different. Last-minute changes in volunteer numbers left us with only one camp to host at Freehill Basic and Primary School.

Yet God showed up in mighty ways and reminded me that ACE focuses on going deep, not wide.

The team from FCC Stillwater came organized, prepared, and more than ready to host an outstanding VBS with the theme, “Magnified! See the Greatness of God.”

It reminded me of the song, “Come, let’s magnify the lord. For He is worthy to be praised.”

We used props and bright colors to capture the kids’ attention. We used magnifying glasses to look at insects and butterfly wings so we could see how the smallest things can play a big part in our everyday lives. We sang beautiful songs of worship to Him and danced around joyfully. All to illustrate how we can magnify God in our individual lives. Every detail was accounted for, and every activity tied in wonderfully with the theme – even our Oreos activity, which highlighted the sweetness God has to offer.

The kids loved the topic, and I was so touched by everything they had to say about the week. They left knowing the God of our universe sees each and every one of them.

One moment in particular that stood out to me was meeting Todd, an older gentleman with special needs who attended his first-ever VBS this summer. The joy radiating off of him as he painted with the kids was unforgettable. At the end of the week, he gave me a big slap on the back and an even bigger hug, and he told me how much he loved me. He also promised to return next year. That greatly warmed my heart, and I know he left VBS feeling the love of God and the warmth of our ACE family.

Even with another VBS happening the same week nearby, we still served almost 50 children, teaching them about the goodness and greatness of our God. The first two days, the team split into two so half of the team could help our staff clear roads in our pastures and repaint the campus.

On the last day, however, the whole team came together to put on the grand finale at VBS. We were able to really focus on each child and provide a ratio of almost one volunteer to one child. Remember how I said we go deep, not wide? This is what we’re talking about. This is how we get to really invest in the lives of the people we minister and bring them closer to Jesus. All thanks to God, everything just fell into place for VBS.

I still can’t believe that last week we hosted our final team for the summer. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for blessing us with an incredible summer, furthering ACE’s mission, and magnifying God’s greatness here in St. Mary, Jamaica.

Whether you came down on a mission trip, directly supported us financially, supported an individual so they could come down to serve, or took the time to pray for us, your assistance made our work possible this summer.

Thank you,
Althia