Education | American-Caribbean Experience

Paying off the Farm

by American-Caribbean Experience | Jan 27, 2022 | Community

Remember the ask ACE made to all of you the last quarter of 2021 to help us pay off the Green Life Llanrumney Farm? As you know, the farm is the place where all our micro-businesses will flourish to keep us hiring more and more Nationals. We want to keep you posted on how we are doing in raising the $700k needed by 2024.

Take a look at the graph to see how it’s going. Pretty impressive, we think. It’s also a faith-builder for ACE and, hopefully, for all of you who gave the funding to help us reach these goals. So far, with the help of many generous sponsors, we went over the $100k mark in 2021. Thank you!

If you are led to help us get to the $350k mark by summer and $500k by December, we would be grateful. After all, seeing is believing – and seeing is always a confirmation that it was completed in the supernatural world before it became visible in the natural.

Just watch what God will do this year… and it’s all good!

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

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Christmas and Celebrations

by American-Caribbean Experience | Jan 27, 2022 | Book A Trip, Community, Education, Outreach

Thanks to ACE’s dear friends, Tina and Luke, all of our sponsored students and friends celebrated Christmas in style! As the COVID syndrome continues globally, the Rebel Ministries team came through unafraid, full of life and energy. The last week of 2021 ended with lots of laughter and smiles as our team and staff hosted several separate parties across a few days.

The farm was our background for open air fun and storytelling. Students had cards and gifts from sponsors, and the celebration of Jesus’ birth was at the forefront! Most of all, it was such a “shot in the arm” of encouragement for ACE. Beyond the partying, this team worked so hard every single day, and it gave us hope for what 2022 will look like. Thank you all for making our end of year and first of year so fantastic

As for the rest of you considering coming to Jamaica, well, come on… we’ve got work for you and our staff is ready for some American humor! Are you ready for us? Let’s make it happen!

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New Year, New Faces

by American-Caribbean Experience | Jan 27, 2022 | Book A Trip, Community, Discipleship, Education, Outreach

ACE is always changing! That is to be expected when people are involved in the lives of others, and this year will be no different in Jamaica.

Remember our own Anthony, the beekeeper? Well, Anthony is all grown up, out of school for the moment (he graduated), and he lives with his sister in nearby Hampstead. Always ready to learn a new skill, Anthony works with one of our men who repairs our pumps at the farm and makes a nice living. But what about the bees and the honey he left behind?

Introducing Romario, our new beekeeper! Romario was just beginning to start his own beehives in the Bonney Gate community, close to where Pastor Kermit lives. As Anthony was transitioning to a full-time job outside of ACE, he and Romario started working together at the Campus. While Anthony has the long-term training, thanks to local and foreign volunteers, Romario has learned to breed queen bees at lightning speed. We’ve been told by Mr. Haywood the Bee Master that this is quite a skill to do as the production of honey triples.

All we know is more bees means more honey and more honey means more sweetness pouring out of ACE! The business of bees continues for another passionate young man, and we already see him buzzing with success!

Thank you, David and Valerie, for donating the extractor. We have it set up in the Campus living room looking like a new piece of furniture. You get the first bottle we will harvest this spring.

This is what Changing Lives is all about for ACE. We are so proud of these young men growing up and pursuing their passion, learning new skills, and always changing for the better. And thank YOU for supporting our honey business. It’s just sooo sweet!

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School and AVC Progress Report

by American- Caribbean Experience | Oct 25, 2021 | Community, Education

Are the students attending school in Jamaica? We get this question a lot these days as most of the families in the States are dealing with the same back-and-forth issues. The answer is: it depends.

Each school is making its own decision on whether to be in session, and, in addition, the Board of Education has mandated all students be vaccinated to attend. In the world of ACE in St. Mary, like in the US, there are those who are unable or unwilling to abide by that rule. Families are trying different options, such as online schooling. Last year, ACE implemented the ACE Virtual Classroom (AVC), where we provided space, devices and help for larger groups of children to connect to their classrooms online. We’ve since reorganized this into smaller tutoring sessions with a better staff-child ratio for more productive learning. The tablets generously donated for AVC are still being put to great use by our students and educators.

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All of these learning options – in-person school, online learning, AVC, tutoring – present pros and cons as they (and we) maneuver through this “new normal.” ACE, as the physical arm of our sponsors, is assisting these students in several ways. The most important place to start, as always, is with the health and wellness of these growing students. We’ve mentioned many times on social media and in newsletters how your donations have enabled us to continue to feed and care for our sponsored families, but it doesn’t hurt to remind you – and thank you – again! This past year, ACE was very busy every quarter delivering toiletries and food to the many families that had absolutely nothing. That also included some of our staff who had more mouths than they had funds to feed them.

ACE Jamaica has had numerous conversations with professional teachers and educators from St. Mary as well as other parts of Jamaica to figure out the best way to work through what this past year of school closings, delayed learning and general frustration has done to our students. ACE called on every sponsored family to survey what was their greatest need as schools reopened. Hands down, the feedback was, “Help us with books!” Since many students are still not attending in person, we switched gears from uniforms and shoes (which were still new from last year, should a student need them) to books and supplies. The Ministry of Education was slow in deciding per grade what books each family should purchase, with many changes happening daily, so by the time we knew the curriculum, we were pressed for time. D’Vaun and Althia set out on a mission to locate and purchase hundreds of books before school began.

What a great job they did! Books were coming from everywhere – Kingston, Ocho Rios, private bookshops. In addition, parents expressed a need for workbooks for their children to write in. Hundreds of workbooks, textbooks and reading books filled our boxes and shelves, and our staff worked tirelessly to resource every book possible for the students.

ACE requires each parent to purchase at least one book (and, in some cases, two books) for their child as a buy-in. As challenging as it may be, there has to be that participation (or as we call in the States, “skin in the game”) to show we are all in this together. Playing an active role in their children’s education, these parents feel empowered and the students feel supported.

As the families came for their books, it was almost like a homecoming; everyone was all smiles and excited for a new school year, in whatever form it was! It always feels good to be part of transforming not only our communities, but our families – and especially the children — even in little ways.

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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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