Jamaica | American-Caribbean Experience

Marla’s Minute: Melrose is a Rose

by American-Caribbean Experience | May 23, 2022 | Book A Trip, Community, Discipleship, Outreach

I love those moments where special people make an impression. One of those for me this year was from one of our wonderful partner churches, Trinity on the Hill, during our Men and Women’s Conference last February. While we’ve been to Trinity many times, have had volunteers come down and even have had members serve on our Board for years, I had never gotten to know Melrose that well until recently.

Melrose has suffered the loss of her daughter and her husband over the past few years, but she is one of those people who never lets loss keep her from finding joy. She is thankful for every day and finds her purpose in making others happy.

Melrose journeyed to Jamaica to serve ACE and help us with our conference and all the day-to-day work that comes with it. When she got home, she wrote a little journal entry about her time here. With her permission, we thought you would enjoy her perspective and outlook on life. I know we did. Thank you, Melrose, and we look forward to seeing you in Jamaica soon.

Blessed

Do we go on mission trips to serve or be served?

Do we go on mission trips to bless or to be blessed?

I thought I knew the answer to that question.

I did not.

The last night of the prayer conference, I asked the women in my small group to list their prayer requests so I could take them home with me. You might think the women would ask for prayer for things that might make their lives easier, but they asked me to pray for them to know God better and serve Him more.

The Jamaican people we met have very little, yet those who know Jesus praise Him through circumstances we cannot imagine surviving.

Their requests humbled me:

“To listen and follow God’s way, not my way.”

“Give me opportunities to be Your servant and an example.”

“To serve God more.”

The women I was supposed to serve, served me.

The women I was supposed to bless, blessed me.

“You will be blessed when you come in and you will be blessed when you go out.” ~ Deuteronomy 28:6

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Our Community is Transforming

by American-Caribbean Experience | May 23, 2022 | Book A Trip, Community, Discipleship, Education, Outreach

ACE’s vision from the beginning has been “changing lives and transforming communities” one person at a time. One of our most needy communities that lines our farm property is Hampstead, and one woman we met there through our sponsorship program is a testament to that transformation.

Meet LaToya Newell, a sponsored child’s mother who received a home several years ago with her four children. LaToya used to be what we call a haggler. She would buy our things from thrift shop and other shops, then flip them to make income for her and her family. Hard times fell on LaToya, who also has a special-needs child, and much of her income shut down.

Until…

ACE needed an animal caretaker at our micro-business, Green Life Llanrumney Farms. For those of you who don’t know the story about the farm, in short, it’s for ACE to incubate small agriculture businesses for our local families who are unemployed and want to work but have no training or ability to compete in the tourist trade market miles away.

That’s where Ricky comes into LaToya’s life. Ricky is one of six horses GLLF has on property to be trained to round up cattle when they get “way up in the bush” and LaToya is going to teach him! At first, she was very nervous about being close to such a big animal (her first time). But after the introduction, the bathing, the saddling, and then the riding, she’s getting to be a natural – a real “Jamaican Cowgirl,” says LeRoy, our horse trainer in St. Mary who is working with her.

LaToya said it is great therapy for getting back to the simple things that really make a day at work fun and fulfilling. It started with a sponsored child, then a family, a home, a skill, a future. Thank you, sponsors, for changing this life and ultimately transforming our community one person at a time.

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ACE goes DEEP and not WIDE

by American-Caribbean Experience | May 23, 2022 | Book A Trip, Community, Discipleship, Education, Outreach

How many times have you heard ACE say “ACE goes deep, not wide” about the way we do life with our community? In three decades, we’ve never changed that direction of depth vs width. We can’t reach every single person in St. Mary, but we hope that those we DO reach and invest in – emotionally, spiritually, financially – will be changed for the better as they then go out to help others.

Do you remember little Orlando from Bonny Gate? We remember meeting him when he was in third grade at Jackson Primary, one of our first sponsored schools. Orlando would run up with eggs in his hand to give us from some of his wild chickens in the yard.

As you may know, that little boy grew up and became the caretaker of Pastor Kermit until he passed earlier this year, and now Orlando’s farming again.

He was one of ACE’s first recipients of a loan with which he purchased his first cow named Betsy. Orlando now owns thirteen cows and sells them to grow his other farm business – pigs. Just this month, he called and asked if we needed any piggies as his pigs Penney and Peggy both had 14 babies each. Now that’s a record!

The farming experience has not only been educational and profitable for Orlando, but it’s been a spiritual journey as well. When Orlando first began to raise pigs, he had a big beautiful one named Tamarind. A man in the community with a reputation for being cruel poisoned Orlando’s pig out of jealousy. Tamarind died a horrible death, and Orlando was devastated and very angry. Years later, as the wicked man lay on his death bed, he asked for Orlando to visit him. Orlando didn’t want to go, but his curiosity got the best of him. The man asked his forgiveness.

ACE provides the opportunities, and opportunities provide life lessons and purpose. We are very proud of our young men like Orlando; no matter how many challenges pull them off the path, they get right back on and do what they are called to do. In Orlando’s case, that’s farming, which creates a business for him and food for others. Our investment in relationships runs deep, and that will make all the difference.

Please keep Orlando in your prayers as he still struggles with the loss of Pastor Kermit whom he called “father”. He still has us and we will be there for the long haul.

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Wellness Comes in Many Forms

by American-Caribbean Experience | Feb 23, 2022 | Book A Trip, Community, Outreach

For the first time in two years, ACE has enjoyed having friends come to Jamaica to serve our lonely residents and needy families in St. Mary. This month, Dr. Steve Guy, our Chairman of ACE, brought down some neat friends of ACE. Some were new, some return volunteers, but all were willing to reach out and help us with our elderly and special needs community.

One of the four impact areas of ACE focuses on wellness. Automatically, most people think of wellness as working out or eating healthy. ACE’s definition of “wellness” covers so much more, as we find the human connection to heal not just physical ailments but emotional and spiritual needs as well. In the past, pre-Covid, we held many Wellness Clinics for medical and dental treatment and visited the infirmary patients, where so many of our medical volunteers so skillfully used their talents and expertise.

These days, clinics are not allowed and the infirmary is still closed to the public after almost two years. We’ve been finding new ways to fill the gap, and our hearts have been moved by the number of in-need families and individuals in our own community. This team of volunteers filled that gap perfectly, as they served the elderly and lonely living around us by simply being present. Love and Rub worked well as did Shaves and Songs. Who says it has to be all medical? Even though our volunteers were in the medical/wellness field, they knew that a little love goes a long way.

We painted, we massaged, we sang – and it was all good. These professionals, who in their daily lives and past trips have focused on medical and dental needs, found that this year was different – it was all about relationships. Many said it was so refreshing! There are many seasons in life, and we are grateful to Dr. Guy and the team for bringing in the “season of love” team. We can’t wait until the Ministry of Health opens up the country for medical and dental health for our community, but in the meantime, we will do what we can to bring wellness in many forms!

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Recycling an Old Tree

by American-Caribbean Experience | Feb 23, 2022 | Book A Trip, Community

There are a lot of beautiful over-100-year-old trees on the Green Life Farm. One of the most beautiful and sought-after trees is called a Guango. To us, it looks like the Tree of Life in Avatar, where everything lives in it and under it. A few months ago, Allen and the farm team were opening up the original path where our creek flows through pasture. At one point, Allen noticed a huge Guango that had apparently been struck by lightning who knows how many years ago. While we saw the burnt-out area of the tree, we decided to cut it down since it was already dead.

What a treasure we found when we saw the beautiful wood intact all around the strike area. With the help of many of our staff, we were able to take the Guango to the woodworking shop at GLF. Just this week, after drying out the wood for a few months, we asked members of the team from Orlando, FL, to help us make tables for our dining area at Buccaneers. Take a look at what a little sanding and varnishing can do to an old tree.

Not only do we have some beautiful tables for our guests to enjoy, but we have over 100 pieces of lumber to help with the other projects we have at the farm. Never think because you are “old”, you can’t be used. The Bible has a verse that reminds me of this old tree: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor 5:17)

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