Marla’s Minute: Let’s Hear it for the Boys
Let’s hear it for the Boys…….
Remember last month’s Marla Minute when I said I was getting old? Well, this proves it. One of my many favorite songs during the 1980s (and many of you weren’t born yet!) was a song called “Let’s Hear It For The Boy”. Since Father’s Day falls in the middle of this month, we want to reflect on ACE’s admiration for the men and boys that help us at ACE.
In Jamaica, as in the states, we know that if it were not for the strength of men who come down to serve, all of us on the ground at ACE would have a much more challenging time in completing our many tasks that spring up. Just ask Allen; he is the tractor driver, who not only repairs the tractor, the bobcat, and the billy goat (as we call our large grass cutter) but drives them all when no one is around to help out. He sees firsthand the work that gets done when a strong team is serving. During one of our June weeks, we had 25 boys-to-men coming with our friend Tina’s team. These men, along with others throughout the month, have helped our men at ACE and on the farm finish the many hard and heavy things we don’t have the hands or feet to do.
Before you ask, we are not forgetting our strong committed girls and women who are the experts at supervision and clean up after these guys complete the heavy lifting… and even do some heavy lifting themselves! It takes the unique talents of many to finish a project, and to all of our volunteers who give up their vacations and time at home to do the hard work here in St. Mary, we are grateful!
I know, it doesn’t fit our time in history to make these statements on the specific talents and strengths of men versus women. The world seems dead set on erasing our differences, but we are reminded that, to honor God, we are not to conform to the things of this world, “but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
Thank you, Allen and all the men that choose to make a difference, at ACE and at home. We hope you had a wonderful Father’s Day!
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.