micro-business | American-Caribbean Experience

ACE’s Four Impact Buckets Unite for Spring!

by American-Caribbean Experience | Mar 26, 2025 | Community, Discipleship, Education, Outreach

What a fantastic start to our 2025 outreach year in St. Mary, Jamaica! In February, our medical and dental teams served the community, providing exams, cleanings, fillings, and other essential wellness services.

This month, our ACE team, along with volunteers from the States, helped feed and care for many elderly and special needs neighbors who lack support. They also helped clean their homes. It was inspiring to see college and high school students make such a significant impact in the lives of the lonely and hungry. In just four days, we received an overwhelmingly positive response to our staff and volunteers’ loving hospitality.

The Ricardo Ranch

While love, care, and support are essential, nothing compares to the impact of a dedicated team like the one from Ringgold Baptist in Ringgold, GA. Each year, they generously offer their construction skills to address a critical need: providing safe, dry housing for those in need.

This year, they supported Ricardo, a construction worker who suffered a life-changing accident when he fell from a roof and broke his neck. Despite being paralyzed from the waist down, Ricardo’s spirit and hope inspire everyone around him, making it hard for anyone to complain.

Thanks to ACE’s commitment and the many hands that joined in, we built Ricardo a new home. Just today, Ricardo moved in and can finally call this place home, all thanks to the generosity of those who dedicated their time to make a difference in his life.

Education & Edgehill

Many of you may remember that ACE is the primary sponsor for helping Edgehill School of Special Education meet its specific needs outside the classroom. This year, we aimed to transform a large closet into a computer lab, where 13 donated computers and a whiteboard will enable special needs students to access the world beyond their reach.

Construction began one day and was completed by noon the next. All that remains is for the electrician to install the electrical outlets, and then we’ll be ready for the students to embark on their journey to explore the “safe web.”

Our volunteers enjoyed reading, singing, and interacting with the classes during construction. It’s hard to say who had more fun at Edgehill—us or the students.

Help for Hampstead

Volunteers can’t discuss ACE without mentioning the “bucket brigade.” It’s true—ACE is known for tackling challenging projects in just a few days.

This week, Hampstead Primary School, one of our sponsored schools, requested our help to finish their multi-purpose court, which will be used for sports events and general assemblies. This month, we began constructing the seating for attendees.

This will be a full summer program, as it takes more than just a few days to complete. ACE is committed to our students and schools. If you’ve never participated in a “bucket brigade,” there’s still plenty of time to sign up. Many hands make the work light!

Hampstead Elementary School Construction Project

Fun and Discipleship during the Hampstead Elementary School Construction Project

Bucket Brigades at Hampstead Elementary School

Pigs & Microbusinesses

What do pigs and microbusinesses have in common? In some businesses, the answer might be a lot of fat. But not with ACE! The Green Life Farm pig pen business is thriving at Buccaneers, where Jamaicans flock to enjoy delicious jerk pork sandwiches and ribs.

Our pigs have outgrown their pens. So this month, with the help of volunteers from Kansas City Christian School, we tore down the old pens and constructed new ones—all in one day! This is what happens when you have seniors in tip-top shape doing the work. Our farm staff truly appreciated the assistance.

While most of the work is completed, we still have a few posts and some painting left. The pens almost look nice enough to spend a little time with the pigs… almost!

In other great news, we recently received a call from a couple we’ve come to love, Marty and Christa Bevel from Kentucky. They asked if they could assist on the farm for a month. Our answer was a resounding YES! We met Marty and Christa years ago and invited them to visit ACE about four years back. This time, they felt called by God to help us, and we couldn’t be more grateful. God always brings us the most incredible help!

Spiritual Development

Marty and Christa are knowledgeable about pigs, chickens, cows, and all things farming. More importantly, they have an incredible love for Jesus, which shines through in everything they do.

The Jamaican staff at the farm has fallen in love with them and even asked them to stay longer. Marty leads daily staff devotions to start the day, while Christa invests in the ladies on the farm and our ACE staff. We have all come to love them and will miss them when they return to Kentucky. But we’re keeping the lights on for them and expect a return visit. Please pray for a longer stay!

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Now That’s a Bunch of Bull!

by American-Caribbean Experience | Jan 28, 2025 | Outreach

Starting a micro-enterprise going into the cattle business was no joke, as we knew nothing about raising cattle. We went in blind. The lessons taught were hard to swallow. We made plenty of mistakes; but now, we are reaping the “beef steaks.”

Growing the herds, as well as discovering how to efficiently separate the heifers, bulls, calves, and pregnant mothers, were just a couple of lessons we had to learn. Pastures had to be recreated for them all. Our farm staff work tirelessly each day to feed, water, and restrain fences to keep the cattle in their pastures.

Due to the large number of bulls we had, we needed to sell some off. We sold our second set of bulls this past week, which will help us finance a slaughterhouse that will humanly butcher one cow at a time and is built to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Health. The funds raised will also allow us to create a “shoot” that will guide the cattle straight into the trucks, significantly easing the load off of our farm staff, as well as the cattle.

We could not have done this alone. Over the past several years, our teams have assisted us in making the pastures, clearing them out (especially after the hurricane), and building a holding area for the cattle. Thank you to ALL of our sponsors who believed in us over the years, assisted in purchasing the cattle, came down to give advice, and lent a helping hand.

God is in all of this and yes, it’s a lot of bull, but for us, it’s a also a lot of supernatural direction. We never do anything without asking for God’s coverage and guidance, and He has made it happen over and over again. Praise God! We have to take the bulls by the horns and sometimes by the tail. That’s just life, and we are so grateful.

Blessings,
Althia Foster

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Marla’s Minute: Back to the Future

by American-Caribbean Experience | Oct 28, 2024 | Book A Trip, Community, Education, Outreach

Before COVID, ACE was rather successful in our community outreach in and around our four partner public primary schools. The model ACE created was based on “going deep and not wide.” First, we form a partnership with one of our rural primary schools in the area that lacks funds and opportunities for their students, unlike the city schools of Kingston, Montego Bay, Ochi, etc.

Second, ACE forms a 10-year minimum relationship with the principal and teachers at the school. ACE receives a list of all of the students in need of sponsorship, and the children get added to our Child Sponsorship Program. Through sponsorship, we dig even deeper into the students’ homelives, where relationships are formed with everyone living in the home. ACE can then also discover any medical, dental, or other healthcare needs of the student and their family members.

From that community, many elderly and special needs members are met by ACE volunteers and employees with a helpful and compassionate hand and heart.

All that and more came to a full stop almost four years ago with the COVID shutdown. Schools closed, infirmaries and hospitals closed their doors to visitors, and for the most part, ACE lost all progress we had spent decades building.

Then God did something fantastic! He opened a door to start creating businesses on a piece of property we now own call Green Life Farms.

For the past three years, volunteers have come to help us “work the farm.” Cutting bushes, discovering ruins, raising pigs and cows, picking fruit, and helping an old farm with history become a modern-day working property for our Jamaican community. With our food court, Buccaneers Jerk and Juice, Treasure Chest, and Cloud 9 Chocolate, we were able to survive the downturn in the economy.

During that time, many friends were probably wondering if we would ever “come off the farm” and get back to what we do best—“changing lives and transforming communities.” Even we wondered that at times. But the time has finally come.

Looking into the future and even starting right now, ACE is back in our communities with open arms from our teachers, neighbors, and infirmary patients. Unfortunately, the government-run infirmary still hasn’t opened to groups and has a strict policy of visitors. Interesting enough, we have found more “shut ins and disabled adults” living on their own and barely surviving right in our own community. So, we’ve started our own elderly ACE Mobile Infirmary (AMI) visits. That’s the silver lining behind the COVID closings of the infirmary.

ACE is now BACK to the FUTURE. We’re getting back into our schools and communities. Just this week, a family from Gainesville, GA, surprised us with a visit and built a homeless man a house, followed by our ACE Board of Directors finishing the home with paint and a single bed. If you are considering a trip down to Jamaica this coming winter or sometime in 2025, please prepare to go back to our communities, see old friends and meet new friends. We are thrilled. Yes, we like farm work, but ACE loves those relationships.

When you come down next, be sure to bring all the hugs and energy you can. We have three years to make up!

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Marla’s Minute: Paid In Full!

by American-Caribbean Experience | Sep 26, 2024 | Book A Trip, Community, Outreach

September was a month for the ACE record books. Because of the goodness of God and you, our partners, we can joyfully say that our Green Life Farm, where all the micro-businesses develop, has been PAID IN FULL!

That’s right, we no longer have a mortgage to pay on the land! For the past five years, Allen and I have been sharing our vision and heart with so many of you about the importance of having land to use as ministry outreach for the local community, like the Peace House and the ACE Office. A location where many micro-businesses can be incubated so that Jamaican families can earn a living and get out of the generation of poverty.

We are thrilled to reach this milestone, and we are so grateful to each of you that have given their treasure and prayers to this legacy campaign. We made it, and we did it together! ACE now has the foundation we needed to ensure the land is ours for generational building and demonstrating to the community just how active God still is among His people.

Please join us in celebrating these moments in ACE history as we now move forward with the Fosters at the helm of ACE. We are excited to see what else God will add to this property as a witness to His goodness. Plans are in the works to build a professional stage on the farm, where performers will be able to share the Gospel through music and talent. The greenhouse is being rebuilt to supply pure, clean food to the community, as well as hotels that have a large demand. And there’s also going to be a Green Life Learning Center for high school students who have come through our program but still need help getting up to par in reading, math, english, and the arts. This last phase of development is only possible now that the farm has been paid in full.

Thank you, friends! Truly, thank you for believing in the vision of hope and opportunity in St Mary, Jamaica through ACE. Now, let’s continue to pray for a pastor to come along at the Peace House and help guide our staff to reach the next level.

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Marla’s Minute: A “Full Court Press”

by American-Caribbean Experience | Aug 27, 2024 | Book A Trip, Outreach

In high school, I was called “Roberta Rebound” by my basketball team. While I would have rather been called “Hanna Highpoint scorer” for my ability to put points on the board, I recognized I had a keen ability to retrieve the ball after a missed shot or a long-court steal…. and take our team all the way to state without scoring a single point for the team.

Being part of a group sport taught me many things in life. One of the biggest lessons I learned was that we all succeed when we have a team around us to pull for us, share with, and even contribute to our best so that others can do their part to score for the team. When our basketball team went to the playoffs at the end of a season almost every year, many times, the other teams were as good at the game as we were. In a close game where the last few points meant win or lose, our coach would call us to the bench on a time out, look us all in the eyes, and say… “Girls, it’s now time for a Full Court Press. Let’s get the job done and go home with the trophy.”

Next month, September 16th to be exact, is the beginning and the end of a big game for ACE in Jamaica. September marks the end of a five-year “Full Court Press” for purchasing the Legacy property for ACE called Green Life Farms.

God has allowed ACE to own an incredible 838 acres of prime farmland just outside of Port Maria for future micro-business and development focused on clean food and agriculture.

The final note on the property is due September 16th, and while we are still moving up the court, we could use your help to make the last point to win the game. We started with a sale price of $1.2m US and went 2 years without an income due to COVID. As we round the corner, ACE owes approximately $150,000 US. Only God can make this happen in this short of time.

Will you help us score here at the end of the game so next month we can say, “Paid in Full”? As a teammate and not the captain, I want to say thank you to all of ACE’s supporters and givers who have been a part of the team from the beginning. Thank you for the servers who have literally given physical and emotional power behind and within the game. And thank you in advance for some of you who are still waiting to get in the game in the last few minutes.

We need all of you to help us with a Full Court Press and celebrate what God has done with his little ACE team. Because we may be a little team, but we serve such a big God.

Much Love,
Roberta Rebound

Ready to join the Full Court Press and help us pay off the mortgage on the property?

Donate online through the link below. If you prefer wire transfer, please contact our Stateside Office at Office@acexperience.org or (770) 573-7024 for details.

Donate Online

ACE is a 501c3 non-profit organization and all donations are 100% tax deductible. Annual giving statements are mailed out at the end of the year.