Tena!

After Banos, we went to Tena! Tena is a small city kind of on the outskirts of the Amazon. We spent about a week there working to help put on a free health clinic. We helped with screenings, we taught about teeth-brushing and did fluoride treatments, and for the majority of the time, I was involved with Days for Girls teaching. Teenage girls came from the nearby schools and we taught them about their bodies, menstruation, and with some groups even safe sex. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I felt so much love for these girls as we tried to help educate them.

One of our groups really hit us deep. They were 10-12 year olds. We felt prompted to talk about what to do if you’re ever in a situation that makes you feel uncomfortable and the girls started asking all kinds of questions such as “What do you do if someone in your family is touching you and you don’t want them to?” “What do you do if your mom doesn’t believe you?” “How can we be safe from kidnapping?” We answered as best we could and tried more than anything to help the girls feel empowered and to know that any of these things are not their fault. After the group left, Katie, Mara, and I just kind of burst into tears…we could not believe that girls this young were facing these kinds of things regularly. I kind of felt like a missionary again. As we taught other groups we were just praying and praying to know what to say, how to help these girls feel loved and empowered. We handed out fertility bracelets to help the older girls track their cycles and know when they would be less likely to get pregnant. We even ended up buying condoms and bananas and practicing with the girls because we even had 14 and 15 year olds in our class pregnant. We did roll playing and kits and had so much fun with these girls. We even had a couple from time to time stay after to ask us more personal questions. I love those girls with all of my heart and you just hope they’re okay!

We held the clinic at a local Catholic hospital. The hospital is run by the nuns and I seriously believe these nuns are some of the kindest, most selfless women on the planet. On one of our first days in Tena, we toured the hospital. As we walked through the hospital, I was overcome with so many feelings. First, just the amazing blessing it is to live in the United States and the access to the kind of healthcare I have. Second, I need to do more. I realized that someday Austin and I may have the opportunity to visit places like Tena and train healthcare providers or come down and help in free clinics. I realized that the Lord has a plan for my life. He will open the door to so many opportunities if I can just stay close to Him and listen. I also realized that there is a season for all things. So many times on this trip I felt like I needed to do more, give up my life and move to another country to serve, but I think the biggest lesson I learned on this trip is that there are people in need everywhere. Even if I end up working at a hospital in Utah, I will still be able to touch lives if I seek to do so. There is a time for all things, maybe someday in the future, Austin and I will be able to travel and serve on a greater scale. It makes me want to save money now and really develop myself as a nurse so that I can be ready for those opportunities.

Also, this is the cutest baby in the entire world.

We also visited a village! They danced for us and attempted to teach us how to dance…yikes! Haha, they painted our faces and we taught them how to use Days for Girls kits as well. We had so much fun with the little ones. They were just the kindest people. I bought a few things from their store and to thank us for coming, they gave us bracelets and other trinkets they had made. I will never stop being amazed by the generosity of those in Ecuador!

We rode these awesome motor canoe type things to another part of the Amazon to take a tour and learn more about native animals and plants. Of course the animal lover ended up with a bird 😉

One night, the doctor that was hosting us took us out to well known swimming place for the locals. It was gorgeous!! We had so much fun swimming in the river. We even hiked up and jumped off the mini cliff! The jump was fun, but the hike up there was a little treacherous! I ended up with some nice cuts, but it was all worth it for the jump!

I was also amazed by the members in Tena. We attended a teeny tiny branch the Sunday we were there and I was amazed by the strength of the members. They sang the hymns so loud! Haha they were just enthusiastic about everything 🙂 They gave some of the most touching lessons I’ve received in a long time. Just helps you realize that Heavenly Father puts people places for a reason. After church, we went to eat at the home of an AMAZING lady. She was seriously the sweetest, cutest, funniest little thing. I about died over her tilapia too….okay, so I have a big problem with dead fish, but once I got past the creepy part, it was delicious!! Seriously, the best fish of my life. We had so much fun with her 🙂