Sankofa October 17th

In less than a month I will be traveling to Orlando, Florida to work alongside the Sankofa team of 10 Amani women traveling from Nairobi to present Sankofa. Sankofa is a fashion narrative that uses the beauty of Amani's fashion and textile to present a three chapter story of Separation, Transformation, and Celebration. The narrative is presented with music, readings, dance, and vibrant costumes depicting the corporate story of finding peace and wholeness through Amani ya Juu.

Sankofa has been put together by the Amani women, and lead by Lynn Windmeyer and Rachael Segrest who have served as missionaries at Amani for the past few years.

I am so excited to see the show first hand as I was not able to go last year to the first Sankofa in Nairobi. I believe the stories and beautiful presentation by the Amani women is a testimony to the Lord's amazing grace and saving power as He transforms us. It will be a powerful experience for all who attend the shows in Orlando, Charlotte, and DC.

I will be traveling with the tour to each state to help represent Amani's ministry programs in the US as well as just helping out where I can. I will be leaving on Oct 3rd, and returning to DC on Oct. 11th, in time for the team to arrive and prepare for the DC show that Friday.

I hope you can join me at the DC Sankofa on Oct 17th. It will start at 8pm at the The Waterford: 6715 Commerce Street, Springfield, VA 22150 32801. You can purchase tickets through the Amani webstore, and please also feel free to call me is you have any questions about it.

Praying that the Lord's peace is embracing each of you!

IBC Coffee, Tea, and Chai!

Being a part of the IBC Coffee, Tea, and Chai was a true blessing! The fellowship was great, the food was AMAZING, and the messages from Ammani, Patricia, and Bethany were so encouraging. I had a great time with everyone who volunteered to run the Amani marketplace and it looked fabulous. I think the best set up so far!

Thank you to everyone who prayed for the event, and who prayed for me as I prepared to speak. The Lord brought a spirit of calm when it came time for me to speak, and I truly appreciated the opportunity to share about what He has been doing in my life through Amani and relationships with women in my life. I hope it was an encouragement to others!

2008 Reunion in DC

Photos from our Amani DC meeting a few weeks ago! We had a great time with the Chinchen's and a last minute visit with Amani board members Cathie Burke and Judi Hammer.

April update!

Dear friends,

It is hard to believe it is already April of '08! Where has the time gone?

Some news on the DC Amani front is that we are now actively planning for the Amani Center in DC! This is a huge step, for a dream that was birthed in 2005. After years of praying, planning, and PRAYING the Lord has begun to give us the first steps and open doors.

You are probably wondering what a DC Center will look like. The desire is to see a boutique and cafe that functions as a sustainable business in the city, and a training program for marginalized women in the district to have a constructive and safe environment to gain life skills in resume building, office, cafe, and boutique work. It will function as a stepping stone for women who have been struggling, and to be given a second chance, and to ultimately bring the Lord's peace to women and families in our own city who need Him, as well as we do. That is the brief synopsis...

In about two weeks Becky Chinchen and her husband will be traveling from Liberia, and we will have the pleasure of meeting with them over the DC plans. It is rare that our offices can meet in person. So we are very excited about this time together.

You'll notice I am saying "we" in reference to the DC office. I have the pleasure of introducing both Debbie as well as Brittany as new Amani staff. Debbie has been working as our Amani US Volunteer Coordinator, and has been doing a fabulous job at scheduling and communicating with the vast amount of Amani volunteers throughout the country who are conducting Amani gatherings and sales in their homes. It is such fun working with Debbie, and seeing her gifts in communication and heart for ministry impact the women she is in consistent communication with.

And Brittany, this has been a long time coming, but Brittany has decided to come on as a full time missionary to help lay the foundation for the DC Amani Center. Once at a full time capacity, Brittany will be involved with a location search for the Center and planning for our ministry program. Please pray for Brittany as she begins this new phase of life as a missionary, both emotionally, spiritually and physically as she begins to raise support.

I will be working alongside both Debbie and Brittany, as well as working in a broader capacity as the US Country Director. It is wonderful to see our US office grow and to be able to work alongside such wonderful women!

A few highlights coming up this year that I ask your prayers for, are the Immanuel Bible Church Women's Tea that I will be speaking at. Amani will also have a market place set up which Debbie is taking charge of, but this time I have been asked to share my story of the Lord's work in my life these past few years with Amani. This is definitely a stretching and challenging request, as I am not crazy about public speaking, but the Lord has used this opportunity as well as the planning meetings with Patricia Croll, Bethany Drum, and Ammani Nagesh to be true moments of spiritual encouragement and growth. The support from Patricia and Bethany, and the collaboration with Ammani, who has a wonderful testimony of the Lord's redemptive work in her life, has been a true blessing. The Tea is on May 18th. Please pray for personal peace the day of, and that the event will be a blessing to the Immanuel community. If you are interested in going to the tea, please contact Immanuel Bible Church's Women's ministry, www.immanuelbible.net/family/women/coffee.php. The tickets are on sale now.

Then this Fall, Sankofa is coming to the US!! Sankofa is the fashion show outreach which happened last year in Nairobi. It was such a success, and the clothes in such demand, that Amani has decided to bring it to the US and tour through 4 states, including DC. The event will be Nov 1st in DC! Details to come!

I pray each of you are well. Thank you for your support and encouragement. It is amazing to see where the Lord has taken us, together, these past few years.

In His service,
Rachel

Elections in Kenya

As I'm sure you have heard on the news, Kenya has been in turmoil since the presidential elections. There was such a sudden and unexpected explosion of violence, which has taken the country by surprise. Amani was closed for a few days, and is just now getting back on its feet. We are praying that peace will continue so that Kenyans may begin to rebuild and heal from this crisis.

The Amani women have been affected, and many live in the areas where violence was most prevalent. Please be praying for them, their families, and continued safety.

Amani was able to put together a Food Distribution Fund for the Amani women and their families, and we are continuing to distribute food and supplies until they are able to get back on their feet.

We have been overwhelmed by the support shown to the Amani women by friends from around the globe! It is truly a beautiful portrayal of our family of faith.

You can read more about Amani's repsonse to the violence in Kenya and the progress of the Food Distribution Fund at http://amaniyajuu-news.blogspot.com/.

World Magazine!

Amani made it in World Magazine this week! Check out the link below and feel free to pass it along to friends.

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/article.cfm?eid=AFCF4B84-ED87-101B-166F5CA7F13E7C0D.

We have had a wonderful response to our website, and sales boomed! Praise the Lord for such interest and especially in the funds raised.

November 2007 Newsletter

Rachel’s Amani Ministry Update
November 22, 2007

It has been some time since I last wrote to you, so I pulled some photos together for this little-longer-than-usual letter! I want to share with you highlights from our missions trip to Nairobi, as well as a brief update of what I’m doing this Christmas!


The DC Amani Safari to Nairobi
We flew into Nairobi, Kenya on July 16th, and hit the road running the next morning!

As the first Amani Mission’s trip, our group was the first to have a schedule that focused solely on learning, experiencing, and growing together with the Amani ya Juu ministry. We entered the Amani Center on Riverside Road Nairobi, and were greeted with hugs and smiles from our friends at Amani who had been greatly anticipating our arrival!

We started off the day, as we would every day at the Center, with group prayers, thanksgiving, and worship as we welcomed the Lord into the midst of all our activities at the Center. As always- the singing was a most joyous and welcomed sound. Even when I don’t understand all of the Swahili lyrics, the posture of worship and adoration to the Lord always moves my heart and soul- to me the sound of my Nairobi home at Amani!

Learning about the Ministry...
We soon met with Mary Maina, Deputy Director at Amani ya Juu, who explained the ministry of Amani and how she focuses on bringing the ministry to every program of Amani. From devotions, to cafe, to stitching room, to shop, to export, the Amani family is constantly ministering to one another.

This started us off with a comprehensive understanding of the multi-faceted aspects of the ministry. We had many more “meetings” throughout the 2 weeks which focused on ministry programs, outreach, mission and vision, US ministry, and African Cultural Knowledge.

Ministry Partners
I think the most favored activity was time with our Amani ministry partners. Each team-member was paired with an Amani woman who shared similar interests. We wished we had more time with our partners, as this was one of the most personal and fun aspects of the trip.

Debbie Noetzel was paired with Elicah to work on a quilting and sewing project, Sharon was with Josephine planning art projects for the next Amani Watoto chil-dren’s camp, Lou Ann
worked with Simprosa on product costing and with other women on learning to type on a computer. Miriam worked with Rose in Export, Jessie was with the Tie and Dye department and bonded quickly with Anne. Betty helped with typing as well as taught a parenting seminar with the Amani momas. Brittany rotated to develop writing of stories from Amani women for the website. In addition to this we all split up to visit our Amani host’s home, as well as attend church with our new friends on Sunday. Everyone came away with wonderful friendships!

End of the trip...
You can see we packed everything in, but the time with our hosts and visiting homes, although tiring, was so impacting.

Through these personal relationships I think our group came to understand the ministry to the fullest. Amani is often difficult to explain, as it has so many facets. It is primarily a relational ministry, so experiencing relationships within the community really ends up being the best way to understand! I think we all walked away in awe of the Lord’s healing power and peace that the Amani community is a testimony of!

After months of long distance planning through emails, as administrators we were all thrilled with the outcome of this inaugural Amani Safari “Trip of Peace.” The women of Amani Nairobi so appreciated the time the team spent with them.

We learned that in Africa you come to know a person by knowing their face, by feeling their hands, and exexperiencing time in their presence. We women of global Amani came to “know” each other well through this trip! Each team member has an open invitation to come home to Nairobi, where their Amani family will be thrilled to embrace them once again.
I have been told by a friend in Amani Nairobi, that Africa and especially Amani, has a way of bringing healing and rest to our souls. My prayer is that we all received this gift from the Lord this summer.

Right now... I am in the midst of planning for Christmas country wide volunteer sales and outreaches. It is incredible to see our calendar filled to the max with volunteers hosting events to share about the Amani ministry. It will keep me busy until the new year! I am thrilled to now be working with Debbie Noetzel, who came on after the Amani DC Safari to help coordinate our many Amani volunteers.

This year I will be bringing Amani to the “Peace Bazaar” at Church of the Resurrection in Washington DC, and McLean Bible Church’s “Evening in December.” We are thrilled to be involved in both of these ministry outreaches to individuals in the DC area.

Please join me in praying that through the dozens of outreaches where Amani is present this Christmas season that the truth of the Gospel will be shared with those who need Him. This is the best gift we can offer to anyone this year!

In His true peace,

Rachel Kistner