Three short weeks ago, I came to Bolivia to temporarily fill in as the guest house hostess. Since then, I have been busy translating, cooking strange foods, and coordinating volunteer activities. I've met volunteers from all over the US and from as far away as Australia. We've worked together to find our way around an unfamiliar city, to communicate via hand motions and little bits of Spanish with a Quechua woman who came to our clinic, and to grow in our faith and in our ministry here.
These volunteers have jumped into life in Bolivia, helping feed babies at a local orphanage, washing the hair of street children, training EMTs, and more. It has been a privilege for me to be a part of their experience here, to see the ways God is working in them and through them.
One volunteer gave up hours of her time to keep an orphan boy company while he was in the hospital. Others have bravely shared their testimonies, helped translate at church, and sought ways to serve each other, as well as the people here.
The time the volunteers have here in Bolivia is limited, but I can see the effect they've had in the faces of the orphan girls they've played with, as well as in the way they interact with each other. I've seen them growing, struggling with the challenges of poverty and culture shock, and seeking how to love God and each other better.
Although volunteers come to Bolivia seeking to make a difference here-- and they do make a difference-- often they find that the biggest difference is in themselves.
These volunteers have already started to return to their various homes, and new volunteers are on their way. But I know that God will continue the work he has begun here, both in their lives and in the lives of those they've touched.
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