Let’s Put Love In Action

Let’s Put Love In Action

The Christmas season is a time for reflection, gratitude, and giving. As we approach Giving Tuesday, we’re reminded that love isn’t just a feeling—it’s an action. At ACE, we’re committed to putting the love of God in action every day by serving the community of St. Mary, Jamaica, through healthcare, education, discipleship, and sustainability initiatives.

From mobile infirmary visits and child sponsorships to supporting single mothers in our Children’s Village and more, every program we launch is a reflection of God’s love in action. But none of this would be possible without your help.

Together, with your support, we can continue to strengthen our programs and transform more lives. Please prayerfully consider partnering with ACE this Giving Tuesday by helping make a greater impact in St. Mary in the following ways:

1. Donate to ACE’s General Fund

Your contributions to our general fund enable us to meet urgent needs as they arise. Every gift, no matter the size, plays a vital role in building stronger communities. Whether it’s providing a warm meal, purchasing medical supplies, or repairing homes, your generosity makes it happen.

2. Sponsor A Child

ACE offers six sponsorship opportunities to assist children, adults, and families in our community to reach their fullest potential. As little as $45 a month can help change the course of a child’s life by sponsoring their education and providing them with the essentials they need, including school uniforms, lunches, and access to annual medical and dental checkups. With your support, they can receive the education and opportunities they need to thrive.

3. Shop ACE’s Amazon Wishlist

Putting the love of God in action can even look like sending socks, diapers, hygiene products, canned goods, and school supplies to those who need it most. ACE’s Amazon Wishlist is filled with items that directly support the people we serve in Jamaica. It’s a simple way to make a tangible impact from wherever you are.

Every Act of Love Makes a Difference

The beauty of putting love in action is that even the smallest contributions or the most simple gifts can create ripples of hope. Thank you in advance for choosing to support ACE this Giving Tuesday. Together, we can put the love of God in action and empower the people of St. Mary, Jamaica, to reach their full potential.

Vision Casting Into Reality

Vision Casting Into Reality

November started with some spectacular visits to Jamaica by our ACE friends and new leaders. If you recall from our October Newsletter, ACE is literally “back to the future” with our outreach efforts. For the first time in years, two vision trips were scheduled for interested leaders who wanted to see what 2025 was shaping up to be for St. Mary and ACE.

The participants got to see and hear from our school principals and how hopeful and grateful they are that ACE is getting back into their schools and assisting with the needs of their teachers and leadership. Sponsored students are on the rise as the needs continue to grow. Our senior adults in the community were met with love, rubbing lotion on their arms, hands, legs, and feet, food, and even haircuts by Gary, the owner of Travis Salon in Atlanta. It was his first time visiting ACE, and we are sure it won’t be his last. 

Edgehill, the special needs school that ACE and Galina Breeze partner with, opened their doors for all of us to hear from the teachers what needs they have, as well as receive big hugs from our many students who love to sing, play, and learn. Laura, a pastor’s wife from Mississippi who happens to be an architect, met with the acting principal about designing a computer lab for the desktops they were given from E-learn, an NGO that focuses on teaching tools for the teachers to use.

At the end of the trip, everything was good. We dodged the rain from tropical storm Sara, and our spirits were warmed from meeting so many wonderful leaders who have a heart to grow with us. All of our staff at ACE, Galina Breeze, and Buccaneers smiled over the incredible generosity of these leaders. This is really encouraging and made a huge difference to all of us, considering how much we have grown since we were there last.

How do we move forward from here? The same way ACE has moved for years — from vision to reality. It all happens because of each of you who believe in the progress ACE has made over the decades. If you were not part of the vision trips this year, that’s okay. Call us and we will fit you into one of the 2025 trips we are preparing. 

A vision is just a vision unless we have the hands and feet on the ground to make it a reality. Thank you, leaders, for your time and commitment with your teammates.

We are forever grateful.

Marla’s Minute: Thankful for the Equipment!

Marla’s Minute: Thankful for the Equipment!

Being thankful comes in many forms this time of year. With the rains coming late to Jamaica, poor St. Mary was flooded with water. Too much water. Our creeks and rivers were bursting with fast-moving streams that caused bamboo and muck to collect and clog our bridges.

While the horses and donkeys seemed to like the ponds forming everywhere, the rest of us struggled to clean out the bridges where the overflow couldn’t get through. Then, my superheroes showed up and went to work cleaning out the debris under the bridges — my dad, Fred, and another friend, Tim, who are both from Bowling Green. Everyone knows my number one superhero is Allen, my incredible spouse, but these men pull in a strong second.

With bobcats, a tractor, and lots of mud, water was running again in just three days. In a place like Jamaica, modern equipment is a huge help at our farm. And did I mention there is no age limit to helping us at ACE? While Tim is a healthy something-year-old, Fred is just as strong in his 80s, and both men are as strong as most of our cattle. Thank you, friends, for taking time out of your life to free up the flow. We are extremely grateful here at ACE. 

Happy Thanksgiving! Come back anytime!
Marla

The Tiny House

The Tiny House

ACE built its first tiny House this month in Water Valley, a place well known to ACE Volunteers from pre-covid days. 

Clive, pictured below, had a stroke several years ago and was left alone, in a yard with an old home that was falling apart and leaked when it rained (swipe past Clive’s photo to view his home).

Thanks to Clive’s generous neighbors, we were made aware of his situation and decided we had to do something quick. The Connor/Hembree Family, ACE friends from Gainesville, GA, flew in as a family of five and went to work with our ACE staff. Building an 8×8 tiny home out of treated lumber was the plan. 

To make it easier to put the home together, we carefully measured and constructed everything under the farm pavilion and then transported everything to the site. The one-room home for Clive was completed quickly thanks to our ACE friends. After the family headed home, all the home needed was painting, and of course, Clive. That’s when our ACE Board of Directors showed up a few days later.

With some yellow and brown paint, along with the help of Clive’s neighbors, we were able to complete the job in one day. We were also able to gift Clive with a single bed, a mattress, and sheets as a housewarming gift.

While the board members were here, they also ran a mini walk-in clinic as we painted, led by Dr. Guy. The doctor gave Clive orders to have plenty of ensure, food, and water. 

Tiny houses may not be for everyone, but Clive is a big fan. Today, he has working electricity, and he is now clean and warm. The only thing left to do for him is transplant his lemongrass, the best mosquito repellant in Jamaica.

More Appreciation & Celebration

More Appreciation & Celebration

We cannot express our gratitude enough for putting your all into helping ACE pay off the Green Life Llanrumney Farm. Now, ACE is able to move freely with our outreach programs, including providing neighbors in need with a place to stay. 

Our friends and families came to Galina Breeze for the annual board meeting and to celebrate the farm payoff. We dedicated the property under the stars, hosted by our own Courtney Simmons. Thank you, Courtney and all of our ACE family, as we redeemed the land from centuries of pirate activities. It’s fantastic and historical.