Rachel Comes to Bolivia!

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Originally uploaded by LeslieBurdick

One of my greatest joys of my last two months in Bolivia was that Rachel came!!! The Lord really opened the doors for her to come for her summer break, so she arrived on June 3 with little idea of what she was in for. On June 4, I took her 4 hours North of La Paz to a small town in the jungle called Caranavi where I dropped her off to live at a discipleship training facility and work at the orphanage next door. She was the only American and was around very few English speakers. She was immersed in the Spanish language and Bolivia culture. Halfway through her time, I took her out to go on a Project Helping Hands Medical Trip with me at a helper, so that was fun, and then when she finished, she came to an IJM Pastors and Leaders retreat to help out, and finally, we spend our last week together spending quality time together with precious friends in La Paz. When we left La Paz, we left together and it was so good to be able to cry on each other's shoulders. I was so proud of Rachel and the way she embraced the culture, the people, and the experiences that she encountered in Bolivia. And I'm so grateful that we can always share these Bolivia memories with each other.