Christmas and Celebrations

Christmas and Celebrations

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

New Year, New Faces

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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Skill Sets We Wish We Had

Skill Sets We Wish We Had

Many of us are good at cooking, writing, organization, and even decorating our homes, but what about repairing a 150-year-old bridge with stones found in the yard?  At Green Life Llanrumney Farms, another micro-business of ACE, we have been finding all kinds of treasures from years ago popping up as we continue to “bush” the pastures and land, and now we are finding piles of stones! Some of you may remember the old stone bridge going up to the Great House where Henry Morgan built a home for his wife Mary Elizabeth; later, the Parachinis, one of the first Italian families, built on top of the ruins that look out over the pastures.

This bridge was literally falling apart. While we have cement today to make repairs, we wanted to maintain the original look. So we hired Paris, or as the locals call him, Captain. Captain has been working many years in his profession, repairing the history of St. Mary and Llanrunmey one stone at time. We thought you would like to see what repairing and restoring an old stone bridge looks like, using our new-found stones. We asked him would he teach a few of our men how to do this form of art. Without hesitation, his answer was yes, and, while we hope it won’t take half a century to get this stone laid, Bulla and Johnson are picking up the trade, making their job skills even more valuable.

Now, we just need volunteers to help us collect them from the farm – sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

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The Second Container is Coming!!

The Second Container is Coming!!

We are not sure if you remember the drama around shipping the first container to Jamaica a year and half ago, but the good news is there is NO DRAMA this time! We purchased the 40-foot container for ACE before the prices on containers more than doubled, AND we were able to gather all the previously limited supplies to fill it!

Thank you to all of you for helping us raise the funds to buy everything we needed for the ministry and farm for a while. We are really thankful for David and Pam who made our staging area, again, a huge platform for all kinds of inventory for several months.

The container pulled out of the yard on its way to Savannah, GA, to load on a ship. We are thrilled to know we will be receiving all these much-needed items. Stay tuned for the arrival. More equipment, more jobs, more reasons to give thanks!

And the Help Goes On

And the Help Goes On

ACE is known for following up on what they promise and this is a story of one of those follow ups. Pat and her sponsored boys have been living in a beautiful home her sponsors and other supporters built for her and her family several years ago. Yet, with water only running once a week in her community, Pat needed a large tank (called a RHINO in Jamaica) to gravity-feed water to her inside tank all week long. Thanks to the boys’ sponsor, a RHINO was purchased and installed!

Just because school has not been happening the way we are all used to, students and their families are still being provided for in very important ways. Thank you, sponsors, for meeting the most basic of needs.

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