Christmas greetings from DC! I pray this letter finds you well during this season of our Lord’s birth.Ben and I continue to be blessed living in the District. We have been excited to see an Amani storefront space become available for the US office! Last night we unpacked a uhaul with friends, moving the rest of the Amani products into the new space. Friends from church helped to not only drive the items up from NC, but also a small group in the neighborhood helped to unpack it all. This truly is a community effort, and I am honored and blessed by the friends and supporters who are helping to make this new location a home for Amani in DC!
Sankofa US Tour
Let me back up and share a little bit about Sankofa. Ben and I were especially excited to be able to open up our home to the Amani Sankofa team that was touring the US this Fall. The team spent a week in the DC area, and we hosted a big African style banquet in our home. We were maxed out at 30 people, but we had a wonderful time all packed in the kitchen cooking together. Grace made an amazing beef stew, Gladys and Catherine made Chapatti’s, Lucy ugali, Rahab perfected the suma- weeki (greens), and I made an American jumbalia. It was a great time, and we felt like one big family.
Sankofa was wonderful. I was able to travel with the team through four states and be a part of the Sankofa presentations and events. We had many wonderful times of outreach in different homes, offices, groups, and each show shared the message of Christ’s transforming peace to eager audiences. This included a Charlotte audience of over 1,000 people. We were all truly amazed! If you didn’t get a chance to see the Sankofa show, there is a link below to a video of it from Charlotte.
New AmaniDC shop
So Sankofa wrapped up by November 10th. We were able to take a deep breath and a few days off before diving into the next big project. This one though has been a long time coming- opening a US Center in DC! We have dreamed of it for years, have made countless proposals and plans, and this year the details finally came together and we found ourselves in a sound place to plant a new center in DC.
Brittany Noetzel has been helping with the location search since she came on in the beginning of this year. A month ago she walked by a storefront property on Mt. Pleasant St., which is owned and managed by The Community of Christ La Casa church. After looking at the space and talking with the church, we realized it was just a perfect fit. There is room for a storefront (two windows right on a main retail street with foot traffic), an office, and a back-room warehouse. In addition our landlords are wonderful and excited about the mission of Amani, and working with us to reach-out to the DC neighborhood surrounding us. We signed the lease on Monday Dec. 8th, and are currently moving ourselves in.
We are also welcoming Julia Simmerly to the Amani US team to help with the US warehouse which is relocating this month to DC. We are also grateful for the hard work of Arnila Santoso who has been volunteering to help us recruit volunteers for Eastern Market and other DC market opportunities. Countless other volunteers have helped us tremendously this year, especially with Sankofa, and I am thrilled for us to have a space to all share together now.
I want to thank you for your prayers both for me and for Amani in the US. The fact that AmaniDC is opening next month is a true testimony of the Lord’s provision and answer to prayer.
Ben and I pray you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Thank you for your tireless support and prayers. You have walked with me along this long road, and I give thanks for you.
With a full and grateful heart,
Rachel
Posts
