Ecuador

Today is what missionaries so fondly call "hump day", which basically means that I am half-way through my Ecuador experience, or at the top of the climb. As fate would have it, today is also my three month anniversary. Being away from Isaac has been really difficult, but has also helped me to realize more fully those things that I really love about Isaac. I guess in a sense, being apart has helped me to draw closer to him. Maybe separation really does make the heart grow fonder.
Ecuador has been a really incredible experience for me. Already in the short time that I have been here, I feel like I have I have had so many experiences which have opened my mind and changed my perspective on the way that I see things in the world. It is so hard to explain those situations as they are ones that touch your soul; similar to when a certain passage of scripture is profound to you at a certain moment in time, but when you try to explain to others why that seemingly basic scripture held so much meaning, the description seems so shallow in comparison to the experience. My journal is filled with stories of experiences and details of trip, but I thought that I would take a few highlights to share with those who are interested.
As part of the nursing curriculum, it is required that all students take a class known as "rural nursing." Knowing that this class could be taken abroad, I have been excited about it long before I even was accepted into the program. When Isaac and I decided to get married in February, we debated whether or not I should still register for a section that is abroad, or if I should stay more local. I interviewed for Ecuador, still unsure about whether I would go or not, and was really surprised when I was notified that I was accepted despite little to no Spanish knowledge and despite there being a large number of highly qualified students who applied and were turned down. After a lot of prayer, we felt good about my decision to go and starting planning for my trip.
I am trying to focus my experience down here based on the example of the savior, and that is the example of service. As nursing students we are not here to vacation, nor on the other end of the spectrum are we here to save the world and to help pull the Ecuadorian people out of this deep dark pit. The people here certainly don't need our pity and we have absolutely no right to pity them. We are not here to help because that implies that we have a position of power and requires a debt to be repaid. We are not here to fix because that implies that something is broken and we are here to repair it. We ARE here to serve and to learn, because through service we work together with the people and both parties are enriched and lifted to a higher plane. These concepts were taught to us by a member of the church Humanitarian department and I have found that as I have let these concepts guide my thinking, I have had a more fulfilling experience, and have been able to learn so much from the people here.
Quick overview of what I have been doing: School screenings for over 1000 students, teaching health classes at several stake centers across the city, teaching CPR to the police academy and the firemen, building houses with an organization called Hogar de Cristo, working in the ER, burn unit, OR, and ICU at the local hospital, performing service work at the Guayaquil Temple, working with Kellogs to write a grant for the schools here, organizing diabetes support groups by visiting health clinics, frantically trying to learn spanish, and working to avoid contracting a parasite. Next week I will be offering labor support and teaching at the maternity hospital SotoMayor. I am so exicted. We have been so busy and come home exhausted every day, but the work is amazing. I probably have sweat more than I have ever sweat in my entire life as it is so ridiculously hot here and there are very few places with AC. I am so looking forward to more great experiences to come and also looking forward to seeing my husband again. I miss him. I have so many more pictures, if you would like to see more, please let me know and I will give you the address to the site where I am posting them!