September 17 - A Love Story on the Amazon

Dr. Íris and Dr. Tayana were prepared to do mission work, but what they didn't expect was to fall in love on the Amazon.

My name is
Tayana Nascimento da Silva.

I am a dentist,
and I live in Belém, in Pará.

My name is Íris Sena.

I am a physician,
specializing in family medicine,

and I live in Belém, Pará.

I am training as a dental surgeon,

but my routine involves academic study.

I am studying medicine as well.

I am a doctor in a town
in the interior of Pará.

We assist families in a health center
called The Family Health Strategy.

As a doctor and a dentist,

Dr. Iris and Dr. Tayana were excited

when they heard an invitation
to join the Luzeiro 29.

I have seen people sitting
on a plastic chair,

in the middle of the countryside,
living in poor conditions,

and we did what we could.

Sometimes we could only
make fluoride applications

and essential services.

When I arrived on the boat,

I almost fell back when I entered
and saw the clinic structure.

I was so excited.

I would make videos
and send them to my family.

I would say, "Guys,
there's a whole office inside the boat."

I thought I was going
to get here and not find that.

A very capable structure for the services.

There's a lot of collaboration
with donating medicines,

with supplies for the work
in my area and others.

It was very encouraging.

Also, the work itself,
which is the best of all.

In the most remote places,

there is a lack
of basic health information,

so an essential part of the doctors' job

is to educate people
with good health practices.

The most common thing
that comes in is decayed teeth.

We do a lot of restorations,

and unfortunately,
we do a lot of extractions.

If I find someone without cavities,
I think they are infrequent,

just a few cases.

I think I can count them on one hand.

The most common in children,
young people, is germs.

We talk about the purification of water,

about the correct way to wash your fruits,

vegetables, legumes, and everything else,

to avoid contamination.

There is no point
in giving medicine today.

Next week, they eat poorly again,
use untreated water,

and unfortunately,
they can get the disease again.

Sometimes, one toothbrush
is used for the whole family

or more than one person in the house.

That's common.

Then, "No. Look, here's
a toothbrush for you,

one for your father, one for your mother.

Don't let everybody use the same brush

because the disease you have
will pass on to others."

The lack of information is so significant

that this information--

super simple for us,
that we were born knowing--

practically, for them, it's new.

Íris and Tayana's stories
began in different places.

They first met
on this Luzeiro 29 adventure.

Their story is about
how they cared for people,

but it is also a story of love.

I came as a dentist,
and he came as a doctor.

We met for the first time
in the van, going to the boat.

There, we started talking
and started a friendship.

When we left, we did academic work
with the data from here,

The friendship continued

until we started dating
a few months later.

Then, after that, a little bit later,
we got married.

Sometimes I feel like I'm inside a dream.

I don't know if you've ever
had that feeling--

like you're looking at your life
from the outside.

You look, and you say, "Wow,
it even looks like a dream.

Is it really true?"

When I look at the opportunity
to be working here,

I feel like an active part,

like being an extension of God's arms.

I can tell you that it is
a very great feeling of gratitude.

From Dr. Íris
and Dr. Tayana's perspective,

it's heartwarming to do good.

However, they recognize
that there are still thousands of lives

that need care and the love of Jesus.

It will still take many miles of sailing
and many years

to continue seeing, feeling,
and living Project Luzeiro.

At the end of the day, however,

when we lay our head on the pillow,

we feel that sense
of mission accomplished,

of duty fulfilled.

To be able to remember
that I was able to help someone,

that there were people
who left here smiling,

thanking me because
they weren't feeling pain anymore,

because they were going
to be able to sleep at night--

that's the best payoff, I think.