Prisoners and Dignitaries | Fayette Presbyterian serving prisoners and their families
When Fayette Presbyterian team came to El Ayudante last year they visited the prison and were greatly impacted by the conditions that they saw. From praying and asking about the needs of the prison a vision was born to build a visitor center so that the prisoners could receive their families in a place that was welcoming. The Fayette team took this vision back home with them where they worked hard raising funds in order that the vision could be completed.
When they returned to El Ayudante this month they were able to see the completion of their vision, a visitor center was constructed and ready for use. While they were in Nicaragua a celebration ceremony was held for this great accomplishment. Many local dignitaries were present and played a role in the ceremony including: the chief of police of Leon, a representative of the Catholic church, a representative of the Evangelical church, representative of human rights, representative of the prosecutor’s office, friends of the police, and a representative of the secretarial defense of Leon. Vanessa, the director of El Ayudante, and Judy from the Fayette team both spoke at the ceremony as well. The presentation also included songs sung by two small groups of prisoners; a male group and a female group.
These two groups spoke about how important the visitor center was to them, and also apologized publically for their behavior while thanking us for remembering them. Joe and Jeremy from El Ayudante sang a few worship songs at the ceremony and one of the children from El Ayudante, Jesús, danced to Michael Jackson. After the ceremony the Fayette team served snacks and gave out Bibles to the prisoners. When the Fayette team left the prison, many families were waiting to receive their loved ones in a new visitor center.
– Jade Williams, EA Intern
