From https://movimentodosirmaos.blogspot.com/p/elsie-ainsworth.html
Elsie Ainsworth was born on February 1, 1894, in Burnley, England. The daughter of Benjamin and Miranda Ainsworth, she was raised in a Christian home and baptized in 1924. Even as a young girl, she felt a burning desire for missions. She dedicated herself to the study of nursing, so that she could apply the knowledge she acquired to benefit missionary service.
A poignant moment in Elsie's life occurred on June 9, 1928, at the port of Liverpool, as she bid farewell to her family before boarding the ship Desna bound for Brazil. Finally, her long-awaited missionary work was about to begin on Brazilian soil. Accompanying Elsie on this voyage were Albert and Doris Storrie, who were already working in Brazil with their two children, and the missionary Mary Ethel Halor. The missionaries disembarked at the port of Rio de Janeiro on June 28, 1928.
Initially, as part of the adaptation process, Mrs. Elsie joined the Storrie couple in service in Conceição de Carangola, and later, Mrs. Charlotte , in Barreiros, Itaperuna, and also in Divisório, Muriaé, when they moved there in 1930. In the congregation in Divisório, Mrs. Elsie, Mr. McNair, and Mr. Goldsmith held three weekly rehearsals of the mixed four-part choir, consisting of thirty participants, after the evening Bible School. The repertoire was exclusively "Hinos e Cânticos" (Hymns and Spiritual Songs), the purpose of the choir being to teach the congregation to sing and to lead congregational singing.
Already adapted to life in Brazil, Dona Elsie moved to Córrego Fundo, in the countryside of Minas Gerais, where a house was built for her near the "Casa de Oração" ("House of Prayer" - Meeting Hall).
The year 1934 is marked by a happy event in which, on one of her frequent trips to England, she brought with her to Brazil her sister Ivy Ainsworth , who was also a missionary, and who from then on would be her companion for many years in the country.
One of the missionaries' first initiatives, through an agreement with the brethren, was to open a literacy school to serve all interested people, regardless of age or religion. The school operated on the assembly premises, and the missionaries covered all the costs of materials and organization involved in this undertaking. In terms of pedagogical organization, as part of the strategy, they held services (Bible stories and songs) every Wednesday during the assembly's scheduled hours. In this way, they evangelized the students, and many people were reached!
The sisters made long journeys, on horseback and on foot, visiting homes in the region to evangelize. In addition, their service consisted of providing medical care to the sick through homeopathic treatment, since the rural area at the time had no nearby health posts or clinics. They also worked to teach people about basic aspects of daily life, including hygiene and career guidance.
In their free time, the Ainsworth sisters taught women to swim in a well in the region, and during school holidays, they used to help Mr. William Anglin take the children to see the sea in Marataízes-ES.
Around the year 1952, the brothers from Córrego Fundo planned the construction of a House of Prayer in the city of Conselheiro Lafaiete-MG, on the land where the brothers there already met in the old Evangelical House, which became the residence of the Ainsworth sisters when the House of Prayer was completed.
In 1956, after 22 years helping her sister in Brazil, Mrs. Ivy returned to England to care for her elderly mother, while Mrs. Elsie remained in Brazil.
Another characteristic of Dona Elsie's work was making knitting needles from bamboo and distributing them among the women. On one occasion alone, in 1959, around 200 needles were distributed in Conceição de Carangola.
Mrs. Elsie Ainsworth was called to the presence of the Lord on March 23, 1973, at the age of 79, at the Evangelical Hospital, and was buried in Córrego Fundo.
