“But as we gradually come to befriend our own reality, to look with compassion at our own sorrows and joys, and as we are able to discover the unique potential of our way of being in the world, we can move beyond our protest, put the cup of life to our lips and drink it, always carefully, but fully.”

Henri Nouwen

Dear Friends,

I am in Bolivia now! Leaving Nashville was difficult but the last two weeks were full in every sense of the word. I was able to spend time with people that I care about and say some difficult goodbyes. One night as I was leaving after spending time with a friend, I was thinking about how my cup is full with so many encouraging words from friends. I have also had time alone process this season of my life. I had been praying for months that my goodbyes would be good and that I would stay present in Nashville until I depart for Bolivia. Praise be to the Father who graciously gifts us with what we need and I couldn’t have asked for anything else as I left Nashville.

Henri Nouwen is one of my favorite authors and a few months after I returned from Bolivia I read his book Can You Drink the Cup. The cup is a theme throughout scripture and alludes to our lifestyle and posture in service to our King. The cup that Christ drank led Him to die on the cross to carry our sorrow and fill us with great hope. In the past couple of years there have been times when I didn’t think my cup had anything to offer because I was exhausted. I was drinking the cup that I had for that season of life. It was a difficult two years in graduate school, but there was also great joy in the things I was experiencing. These past few months as I have been preparing to leave I have been come to more fully understand that the cup that I am to drink for this season of my life is leading me to Bolivia. There will be times of suffering, but also great joy as I live life in Bolivia.

We celebrate the Lord’s supper every Sunday at my church. As our pastor invites us to the table, he encourages us to come with great sobriety but with great joy. I know there are things in Bolivia that are going to be very sobering, but there is great joy in service that I will be a part of in El Alto. That is part of drinking the cup.

On my last Sunday at City Church of East Nashville my friends, family and neighborhood group members gathered around me and prayed for me. I feel incredibly supported by such an amazing church family. My cup is full as I am leaving for Bolivia. I’m grateful for friends and family who have supported me across the miles that separate us. It means a lot to me to know that I am not going to Bolivia alone. I have supporters who are drinking this cup with me and I know will share in the joys as well as the sorrows that I encounter in Bolivia.

Thank you to each of you who enrich my life in so many ways. Thank you for drinking the cup with me. May we be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer (Rom. 12:12).

The next time you receive my newsletter, I will tell you a bit more about my life in Bolivia.

With joy,

Alicia Bunch