Academy for Creating Enterprise

There is a very exciting program that has just been launched here in Suva. It is called "ACE" which stands for "Academy for Creating Enterprise".
This is a 12-week course of study to help teach people how to start up and run a business even in places where there seems to be no business opportunities.

I first heard of this program about last June while reading articles online in the Meridian Magazine.
A man named Steve Gibson had introduced this program in the Philippines several years ago and the articles were telling very touching, inspirational stories of how successful it had worked in that country. It is a program for returned missionaries who have come back to their villages and families and are struggling to find jobs or work or anything to support themselves and their families. As I read the stories I kept thinking, I wish there was something like this here in Fiji because our returned missionaries face these same challenges. (ACE is also being taught in areas of Brazil, Mexico and India)

Meet Frank Stanford!
He is my hero! Though he won't like me calling him that.
He and his wife, Susan, were here in Fiji when we arrived 13 months ago. They had come to Fiji not as missionaries like us but as "full-time Church volunteers". He had just sold his business and they decided to take 8 months off and go somewhere and just volunteer their time and their talents. They choose to come to Fiji and serve in the Temple. While they were here they unexpectedly fell in love with Fiji and more specifically, they fell in love with the young men.
When their time was up last November, they left Fiji and returned home where Frank says that the minute he touched the ground on the other side of the world, he wanted nothing more but to COME BACK TO FIJI!

Long story short: after much praying and searching they discovered that they needed to come back and help the Raising Generation to figure out how to progress in their temporal lives. So many young men are so anxious to do something worthwhile but they just don't have the resources or knowledge of even how to get started.
Frank and Susan are here with a huge amount of FAITH but we all know that faith without works is dead so here is the works part come to life.
After interviewing many, many excited and anxious potential students, this group of 20 (16 men and 4 women) are the first class to get to partake of this hopefully, life-changing experience.

This is week 3. The class is held at the Nausori Ward building each Thursday from 9am to 3 pm. There is no cost for the students except for their time and commitment to take the class seriously. In order to receive a graduation certificate, the students must have a 90% attendance (which means they can only be absent once).
Frank doesn't do all the teaching. Each week he brings in different people to share their experiences in the business world.

This week's guest speaker: Elder Kasteler

Paul thoroughly enjoyed sharing his experiences of why and how he started his own accounting firm and how he got started. It was fun for me to hear him talk about those early days back when he was finishing up his education and trying to figure out what to do next and how to make his dreams come to pass.

I don't think any of these students will be starting an accounting business but the basics of believing in yourself and recognizing opportunities as they pass by and then just hearing that "you can do it" but "keep in mind" are relevant and basic principles. He told how he had no money, a mortgage and a wife expecting their 4th child... but failure just couldn't be an option.

It is really fun to see lights go on in the students faces as something that is said makes an impact on their minds. After he finished his presentation, he had several students ask some thoughtful questions. It was a choice experience to be included in this life-changing project.

This won't be Paul's last time up front in the teaching spot. He has been asked to do two more presentations. One on micro-franchising and one on cash management.
(that seems over MY head!)

We so love these people and want nothing less for them then to succeed
and find JOY in their lives and be able to support their families and grow the Church and Gospel here in Fiji!

Here is another man that is fully involved and committed to this project. His name is Arama Puriri. He is the Finance Manager in the Service Center. He is brilliant when it comes to the business world and taking care of money! He has a strong passion for the success of the youth and young adults and he does an excellent job of getting people to THINK.
The first week of class, he gave a very motivating presentation and I was lucky enough to get to have a small part of it. He had a poem he shared with the class and he asked me if I would read it. It is entitled "The Race" by D. H. Groberg. I don't know if you have ever heard of it but it was new to me. I loved it and thought it was perfect for this class but it applies to all of us and all of the challenges that we face in life. So HERE is the link to it.