OKEECHOBEE – “People always say I’m unique,” said the woman standing in a garage filled with cleaning supplies and hygiene products.

Grace German-Smith was raised in Fort Lauderdale but spent a lot of time in Virginia where she worked in the fields alongside her family. “We went to school there. My grandparents did contract work where they took people out for the season.”

Singing has always been an important part of her life. “I grew up singing, starting at 9-years-old.” She sang in church and opened concerts for people like the Winans, the Southern-Aires, Shirley Caesar and John McKee. “My family has a history, a background in music. When my mama found out I could sing, she was like…’Let’s go with it’… Out of six children, I was the one with the voice.”

At a very young age, Grace began doing mission work with her mother, grandmother and aunt. Some of it involved singing, but there were other ways to help such as cooking. “Everywhere they went, they took me."

Admitting she fell away from God for a time and did some things she is not proud of, she eventually found her way back. “Everyone has areas in life where they take detours, especially when you grow up as sheltered as I did,” she said.

Grace and her husband Larry ended up in Okeechobee after Larry's mom became ill with lung cancer. He was from Okeechobee, and his mother was still here. He wanted to be near her for her final days.

While they were here, Grace fell in love with the community. “I just fell in love with Okeechobee. I’m a city girl with a country heart.”

Originally, the couple planned to move to Jacksonville after his mother passed away, but she fell in love with Okeechobee and got a job out at the prison. She has been there three years as a corrections officer, now  a sergeant,  and loves her job. “To me, they are not just inmates; They’re souls. When I deal with inmates, I deal with them on that level.”

Grace is the author of a book called “My Destiny Unfiltered.” It can be found on Amazon. As she was writing the book, she felt called to start a ministry and named it Harvesting the Future.

Already involved with a group of women who made up lunch bags filled with sandwiches, chips, bottles of water and bars of soap, she drove back and forth to Fort Lauderdale to distribute them.

“One day, it came to me. I started looking around Okeechobee and saw all these needy people. I have this thing. I hate to see somebody without. I just can’t take it. I know I can’t save the world, but I’m going to do everything I can.”

She decided to try to meet some of the needs right here where she lives. She goes everywhere she can think of, out to the lake, Douglas Park, the park near the police department. They put up a tent and start handing things out.

 “Sometimes, I just drive around in my car and look for people who look like they could use something, and I hand it to them. I love doing it. It makes me feel good.”

At this time, the couple does everything they do “out-of-pocket,” although occasionally when she tells someone she is going to put a tent up in the community and pass out laundry soap, hygiene products, toothpaste, toothbrushes, stuff like that, they pitch in and donate to help a little bit.

To help with the costs, Grace uses coupons and has a garage filled with supplies to hand out to people. “It just makes me feel good to help someone else.”

An ordained pastor, she has had trouble finding a building and usually preaches out of her garage or from under a tent. “Until God blesses me with a building, I will keep doing it under a tent, or in my garage or from my car.” She also uses Facebook Live. “I am here to serve the community, not necessarily to start a church. I’d love to get with somebody who can do the food while I do the hygiene products and soap. If I can get a building, I want to start an after-school program for children who need help with homework or tutoring. We could do an etiquette class. Have therapists and teachers. I want to help children. I’d like to help the elderly too. Give them a place to get out of the house and play bingo. In my vision, there’s a Grandma’s Corner where the child has one-on-one time with an older person who can read to them or help with schoolwork or whatever. That’s my dream.”

When she isn’t ministering to others, she enjoys spending time with other women. Recently, she went with a group of women to Mexico and then almost immediately headed to Texas. The trips were organized by a woman named Shaun who has a program called, Just Shaun’s Events. “She caters to the women of the community and gives them something to do. She puts together things for women of all ages and cultures.  She brings light to people.”

Grace and her husband have four adult children and 13 grandchildren, one a newborn. She plans to help as much as possible with the new baby and even changed her work schedule so she could be home with the baby when needed.

When asked what advice she had for others, she said, “People with negative energy are the ones you want to separate yourself from. That’s always been my policy. I raised my kids that way. Pray for them and treat them with respect, but you don’t want to spend a lot of time with them.”

She can be contacted through her Facebook page, Uniquely made German Smith.