Day Five Adventures

On Thursday we had an incredible experience.  We went to Amani Ya Juu.  It is place where women who have literally fled for their lives can come and work and sell the crafts they make.  There are women from all over Africa - Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, the Congo etc.  We were able to hear some of their stories.  One woman fled with her husband and 8 children.  They found a tiny one room shack to stay in and had no source of income.  With her family starving she connected with Amani through word from a friend.  She was accepted and now can feed her family.  They have moved into a two bedroom house with a living room inbetween!  She was so thankful.  I think of the verse in I Thessalonians 5:18 "...in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  It takes on a whole different meaning.  What a blessing to have met her and heard her story.  

Amani began with three women in a garage and has now grown to 80 women!  They recently built a 3 story work facility and ship 20 crates of goods all around the world once a month.  The women also receive counseling and are introduced to Jesus.  Most of them have come to know Him as their personal savior!

While I was there I also had an incredible thing happen - a God moment.  I saw a white woman there who I faintly recognized.  We started talking and it turns out she was someone I graduated with from Wheaton College.  She is the United States liason for Amani.  She shared with me that in October she is bringing 20 Amani women to 5 different states in America.  They are going to be doing fashion shows to raise awareness for Amani and will be selling their things - which are beautiful BTW).  Their first stop is Chicago and they will be doing a show in Wheaton.   She asked if we could house some of the women while they were there.  What a fun opportunity.  I think it would be a blast to have a fashion show closer to our home and support this incredible ministry!  Maybe!  I'll work on that when I get home!