El Ayudante Nicaraguan Charity Organization

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A big thank you to Julie Downes and the rest of the Auburn UMC team for bringing this beautiful ministry to Nicaragua. You all truly blessed the ladies of Mt. Sinai! 

Read Julie’s Words below:

February 2012 an elderly lady in Nicaragua admired my short apron I made with three pockets across it. I wore it to help me keep up with music sheets, my camera, and our agenda each day while doing different Bible Schools. I tried to give mine to her but she told me she wanted one longer, down to her knees! I promised her I would bring one back if I was fortunate to come back to Nicaragua.

In September, I signed up to go back with a multi generational team from my church, AUMC, and added granddaughter, Sydney Downes, name to the list also. As I began to think about making the lady an apron, I thought about all the mothers I saw in Nicaragua who watched our VBS programs and how we showered the kids with attention and goodies to take home. It came to me to try and bless these women with some attention and useful items they could use. I stayed awake several nights thinking about the possibility of taking as many aprons as I could make by the next August and items to fill the pockets! I began mentioning my idea to some women I know that sew and they seemed interested in helping me achieve my goal of 33! The lady that wanted the long apron lived in this very small community with 33 families. 15 women began making several aprons each and all of sudden by June, I had around 50 + aprons. One lady made 15 aprons that were short! They were perfect to give to the teachers in each school we visited!

Then I was moved to plan a party to present the aprons to the 33 families and came up with the nail painting idea. Several salons in town and individuals donated nail polish for the event and before we left , I had 20 bottles of nail polish and a total of 76 aprons! We were able to give aprons not only to the 33 families of whom some had several ladies in their households but to all the workers we encountered during our week in Nicaragua!

There is no way I can describe the blessing it was to give these aprons to this community, now called Mt. Sinai, and to the teachers we met each day at our Bible Schools, and to the helpful workers at El Ayudante where we stayed. To God be the Glory for the great things He has done and for the aprons He has blessed!

TO SEE THE FULL PHOTO ALBUM FOR THIS PROJECT, CLICK HERE. 

Julie Downes
Auburn United Methodist Team