Day 1: God is Good!

Jambo! Day 1 in Kenya is in the books and I am certain I speak for our team in expressing our great gratitude for your prayers in support!  We know your prayers carried us through the long journey of multiple flights and sleepless nights (or was it days; time got fuzzy there for a bit!) to finally arriving and being welcomed by the amazing staff at Gracehouse Resort.  It was a very late arrival (or rather, early as we arrived at 1:30am) yet, the staff greeted us wholeheartedly with a song of welcome and a warm meal.  We went to bed with full hearts and tummies! 

Entering Amani Ya Juu for the first time!

Today we visited Amani Ya Juu, heard the story of its beginning, and met many of the ladies that it serves.  It was a joy to meet the ladies and hear the impact Amani has made on their lives--it was quite incredible.  Please check out this short little clip of the blessing we were treated to as we were first introduced to the women of Amani.

In no particular order, please enjoy a short photo summary of the rest of our first day in Kenya.  It was a wonderful day that I know will forever be embedded in our hearts!

Beautiful mosaic artwork on the main building at Amani.  The story of how Amani began and came to be is powerful!  God is at work in this place and we are blessed to be even just a small part of it!  Please read HERE for the full story.

"Twistings"
Meaning taken from the Amani website: "Africa often communicates her wisdom through symbols. This African motif, called Nkyinkyim by the Adinkra of Ghana, is literally translated as "twists and turns."It symbolizes the winding path that life takes, and how one must be versatile and resilient to succeed. This symbol has been embraced by the women of Amani. “Twistings”, through hardships and losses, are all too common in real life.  Amani provides a safe space where personhood and worth is regained, the will to pick up the pieces and begin living again revived. Passion returns. New skills prepare them for a new path. Life takes on meaning and purpose once again."

The cutting room at Amani.  Here, Monica shows me the process she takes in cutting the pieces for an elephant baby bib.  Monica is one of the many women who fled from Rwanda in order to find a better life.  Amani has taught her skills that have helped her support herself and her three children.  She shared that Amani was especially helpful to her when her children were small as she was able to take work home and still care for her children.  Through the Amani sewing machine subsidy program, she was able to take a machine home to further assist her in completing projects.

Delphine has been at Amani for many years.  Here she shows us one of the many screens the women have created to use in making their own textiles.  This beautiful design is screen printed onto fabric which in turn is used to create a myriad of products.  Later in the day, Delphine proudly shared with us that she came knowing not a single thing about sewing but after receiving training at Amani, and much practice, she became one of the best "stitchers" they have!

Here one of the women trace a pattern and then cut the shape to later be sewn into a giraffe plush for children. 

Today, Charlene gave a powerful testimony of what going through trauma and forgiveness looks like.  It was the first of many "transformation" talks that we pray will be encouraging and draw the Amani women closer to Jesus.

 We were able to meet the women of Amani in small groups and heard bits of their stories, we spent time getting to see their works in progress, and ended with a time of reviewing our "peace projects" for the next day.  It was a full and wonderful day! A quick picture before we turned in with everyone sporting our team shirts (see first pic above).  We have full days ahead with the aforementioned peace projects, more transformation talks, and relationship strengthening! 

Prayer Points

• Pray for our continued good health.
• Pray for each person as they share their "transformation presentation." This is a time where we each get to share our testimony and give a word of encouragement to the women at Amani. 
• Pray for energy, patience, and perseverance as we start our "peace projects."  These are service projects that will help Amani in various ways.  (Gardening work, creating new textile to designs,  website/social media work, and many other things.)
• Pray for God's transformational work to be done in the hearts of the Amani women, as well as in our own! 

 Thank you for journeying with us!