Wrapping up 2009

Happy New Year! I'm excited to welcome 2010 along with the rest of the Amani staff. We've been on a much-needed break the past few weeks, and now that we're back, I'm catching up on a few things that fell through the cracks in the mayhem of the holidays.

Below is my end-of-year letter wrapping up 2009 and looking ahead to 2010. I hope to have some more updates soon.

December 2009

Greetings of peace! This letter comes to you from my desk at AmaniDC, currently surrounded by piles of products just arrived from Amani Kenya, along with tall stacks of orders ready to ship to customers. In the past few months our small staff has been flooded with volunteer sales, website orders, shop customers, and wholesale buyers — all symbolizing a growing market for Amani’s beautiful products. We are seeing now the fruits of the past year’s labors, and the importance of healthy, growing US operations now based in DC.

By your support of my work with Amani, you have had a hand in bringing these fruits about. I want to share with you an update from the past year and a glimpse of what’s ahead for 2010.

2009: “We start as fools and become wise through experience.” -Tanzanian proverb

A retail shop opened in January during a recession — it is a story unlikely to end in success. And yet, while AmaniDC’s success certainly cannot be measured in one year’s time, we can say with confidence that sales and outreach this year have far surpassed our expectations. A thriving DC location has made it possible for Amani to weather this difficult economic season.

The year involved a lot of “firsts” for our staff. We went from working on the floor with piles of paper and products to a welcoming boutique, office, and warehouse with systems on which we can rely. Below are some of our most notable business-related successes:

• Established inventory and financial systems for moving products and tracking US sales
• Designed and set up Amani’s first US retail shop
• Increased communication with customers, volunteers, and donors through mailings and e-newsletters
• Provided product feedback to the Africa centers efficiently, resulting in a refined product line
• Strengthened and expanded our partnership with volunteers selling products throughout the US (Product shipped to volunteers from the US Warehouse this fall doubled that of 2008!)
• Implemented an upgrade to our online shop enabling web sales to increase significantly.

AmaniDC has indeed become a fully functional part of the Amani family. Amani’s unique products (made even more marketable this year!) give us a natural way to extend peace to many new people. We see it in the faces of our eager customers and hear it in the voices of our enthusiastic volunteers—Amani’s message of peace is impacting lives.

We have been encouraged by our warm reception in a neighborhood struggling to attract business. One woman from the church from where we rent space told us, “Amani opening here was a glimmer of hope for this neighborhood. It encourages us that Mt. Pleasant is a place where people come and thrive.”

I’ve been able to represent Amani to the Mt. Pleasant Business Association this year. Through relationships with local organizations and business owners, it’s become clear that Amani’s mission has a unique niche in Mt. Pleasant. The struggles of small business owners to adapt to a changing, multicultural city are acutely felt here. I look forward to continuing to learn from and with these new friends in the coming year.

We have also this year continued our conversation with Restoration Ministries about partnering together toward a job skills training internship for the women and girls with whom they work. We have been able to encourage one another as we develop each of our ministries. We hope to begin an internship program with Restoration Ministries in 2010.

Thank you for your financial support this year. The donations from my supporters have provided approximately 30% of the salary costs for my full-time position this year. Your generosity has made the growth of Amani in the US in 2009 a reality. The network of friends investing in Amani in this particular way has been a tremendous encouragement to me. I thank God for you!

2010: “Reason is our soul’s left hand, Faith her right.” -John Donne

The coming year will certainly hold a new set a challenges. As you may have heard, I have agreed to step into the US Country Director position on an interim basis in mid-January when Rachel Kistner (who currently serves in this position) resigns in anticipation of the birth of her first child. The change is bittersweet for us all. We rejoice with Rachel and her husband Ben, but will miss her greatly at Amani. The interim nature of the position will allow Amani and me time to discern whether the role is a good fit for me. The Board and I will evaluate my performance and experience after six months, and then decide whether to make the position permanent.

What will happen to my current job, you ask? I will merge many of my current responsibilities with the Country Director position. We are also hiring part-time staff right now to help alleviate shop responsibilities that Rachel and I have shouldered in the past year. This is an immediate need. If you know of anyone in the DC area who would be interested, please let me know. This will be the first aspect of changes to our staff next year. Please join me in praying for the right people to join our AmaniDC team in 2010. Your continued financial support of my position in the coming year will enable this change and growth.

As you can see, the new year will get rolling with big changes at AmaniDC. I’m also excited to start it off with a long-awaited trip to the centers in Africa. Amani’s mission is grounded in relationships. It’s essential for us to stay connected to those who first shared this peace with us: the women at the centers in Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi. Visits also help us work together as co-laborers to refine Amani’s global operations. I am planning to travel to all three of the Amani centers in Africa in late January/early February. You may know that my mom, Debbie, works part-time with Amani connecting volunteers in the US who sell products through our Kenya Export Office. Her involvement in Amani has been such a joy for us both. I am excited that we will be making this trip together as mother and daughter, co-workers, and friends.

This upcoming trip will allow us to rekindle relationships with friends old and new, as well as work to improve Amani’s US support of Africa operations. Time together affords opportunities to share about our lives and the extension of peace in the US. The women at Amani’s centers in Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi work hard to share this peace with excellence through their products. Trips like these foster continuity and unity among the widespread Amani family.

We also have some specific ministry and business goals for our trip. Debbie will do some technical stitching training, as well as working with the Kenya Export Office to help her better perform her tasks in the US. I will work with Amani women on communications — facilitating exercises in personal storytelling and writing to create opportunities for the women themselves to share about Amani — and I will also represent the US staff as the Interim US Country Director and meet with leadership to work on specific ministry and production goals. We hope to visit some of the women in their homes and pray with them.

As we enter 2010, please join me in praying for God’s care and guidance for the Amani family and the DC location in particular, as well as our upcoming trip.

As you know, Amani uses donations for outreach and strategic growth. Because it values the connectedness of its staff, Amani is investing approximately 25% of our trip costs. My mom and I have decided to contribute 40% personally. We are fundraising together the remainder of our trip budget, which is about $2,600. If you are considering year-end donations for 2009, a gift to Amani for this trip beyond your current ongoing support will be an excellent investment in the growth and ministry of this unique organization.

To make a gift via check or credit card or to update your giving information, please fill out the enclosed giving card and send it to Amani Foundation, PO Box 28133, Chattanooga, TN 37424.

Again, I am deeply grateful for your friendship and support. I look forward to continuing to share with you how God’s peace is thriving at Amani—both here in DC and around the world. If you are interested, I would be happy to talk more with you about plans for the upcoming year. Now more than ever, I am passionate about Amani’s ministry and believe in its mission. I hope you are captivated by this work as well and the peace from God that it demonstrates.

Warm blessings to you and your family this Christmas season! May you find many reasons to celebrate and take heart as we give thanks for Christ’s coming and await his return.