Monday Update On Wes's Adventures!

Dear Friends,

Alexandria's 10th Birthday Dinner

It is good to report again from SW Costa Rica with an update of what is going on in our lives!  The good news is that we are having a great time, overall.  The “fly in the ointment” is the challenge of having to adjust to the changes.  We have some heat issues.  Colleen, especially, is sensitive to the hot temperatures.  Ceiling fans throughout the home are lifesavers!  Bugs are distractive, to say the least.  A good word came from a guy at church yesterday.  He said that this was the worst time of the year for the bugs.  I’d say that I have somewhere around 12 bites.  This is paradise in many ways, but there are some reminders that…we’ve been thrown out of the garden! (Genesis 3:23)

But, speaking of paradise…Josh, Jamie, Alex and I enjoyed a wonderful Sunday yesterday.  Colleen was a bit exhausted due to a bad sleep.  She spent the day relaxing at home.  But for the rest of us, we went to church and enjoyed a wonderful service.  Pastor Payton (his first name) is a wonderful Missionary and Pastor.  He shared a significant message yesterday about reaching the community.  My goal and intent is to encourage him and boost him as long as we are a part of his congregation!

LOTS of these green parrots around, especially in the evenings.  They are noisy birds, but gorgeous!

After church we came home, changed into swimwear and headed for the beach.  Folks, talk about being out of my “symbolic universe!”  Swimming in the warm Pacific Ocean on a Sunday afternoon is unlike anything in my historic past.  The beach we went to is associated with a very Costa Rican upscale restaurant.  So, there we were enjoying pork ribs, chicken fingers and pollo tropical chicken, getting ready to enjoy the surf.

When all of the sudden in the jungle between the restaurant and the beach there came this guttural, booming call of what sounded like a seal to me.  Our server quickly told us that a lone howler monkey was in the area.  Well, I’d never seen a monkey or monkeys in the wild, so I set my mind to following the sound in the trees and devising my plan to make my best attempt at seeing the critter!

What became apparent immediately after lunch was that there wasn’t just some long howler monkey, but (sorry about putting those two words together!) a troop of them.  One of the momma monkeys was actually carrying a baby on her back!  What fun!!!

Okay, then we continued on our trek to the beach.  Alex and Josh and Jamie were somewhat ahead of me.  All of the sudden Josh exclaimed, “Look, an alligator.”  He called Alex back when all of the sudden the alligator made a whip spin splash and disappeared into the bottom of a pool.  I’d (kinda) like to report it was a 10 footer, but it was more like a…3 footer.  Still, it was in the wild!

Lots of Hummingbirds down here.  You know why hummingbirds are called hummingbirds, don't you?  It's because they do not know the words!

Then, on this morning’s walk.  Josh and I have been taking a very demanding walk each morning.  It seems like after the wakeup calls of the parrots at about 5:30 AM, or so, everything quiets down until mid-afternoon until dark.  So our walks have been rather uneventful save for the pristine beauty of the surrounding jungle.  This morning had a couple exceptions.  On our way out, an amazing blue morpho butterfly came whispering by us, turned around and came back to within 5 feet of us, hovered a bit and then darted off into wherever it was going.  Then, as we arrived back home, another one did basically the same thing.

The blue morpho is a stunning butterfly, iridescent and huge, big enough to make you wonder how they are able to control their huge wings in order to cover so much territory so fast.  Josh’s café is named, “The Blue Morpho.”

God is SO good!

Okay, So It's A Buzzard.  It's Still Pretty Good Photography.

Inside Thoughts:

I’ll be honest with you, retirement has some puzzling pieces to it.  On one hand it is apparent to me that I don’t really need retirement.  I’m in pretty good physical shape, my mind is pretty keen and as near as I can tell I have a good attitude about…getting things done.  But on the other hand, in 10 days of being spread away in our home here, being in a setting that comes with minimal demands, I’m experiencing some healing or renewal or something like that.  It makes me think that the wear and tear of life had some downer-type effect on me.

It would be just fine with me if this particular “season” in my life was a sort of fluffing up, of sorts, to prepare me for what some call the “fourth quarter.”  I’m thinking this morning that it would be super special to have a retirement that is filled with vistas of enjoying God and significant participation in helping people in whatever ways I can.

Interesting how things change, isn’t it!  This thought is going to be way out of left field.  Josh and I were chatting this morning about how the whole face of ministry and missions is changing.  Us moving out of the United States has opened our eyes to things we simply hadn’t thought before.  A good example is this…I’m here and available to work for the Lord…for free.  Unless something catastrophic happens, we have what we need to take care of our needs, setting me free to minster for free.  That’s just an amazing thought to me and I wonder how many other people are in the same boat.

The world has shrunk to the extent that it is now possible to do life radically differently than we ever have.  A good “for instance” is that in church yesterday, we participated in the worship experience with around 50 other people gathered to worship the Lord.  This church is made up of “Gringos & Ticos” (North Americans and Costa Ricans).  The service is conducted in both Spanish and English.  In this case, I’m guessing that the financial ministry of the church is largely supported by the Gringos.  We’ve met several couples and individuals who have answered an inner call to break with life-as-usual and are living their lives for Jesus here in Costa Rica.  Just saying that lots of other Christians are finding ways and places to minister for Jesus...free!!!

It just raises an issue, a question…is there some possibility that a new worldwide window for relationships and ministry and life is evolving where we are beginning to participate in a super-Spirit Filled-passion to live out the life of Jesus wherever we are? Much of this thought process is very new to me.  Just wondering if the outcomes of Martin Luther's reformation are getting ready to land in the hearts of individuals and couples, much like it was originally intended. 

I know this much...we have invested in sending out a limited number of Missionaries every year for a hundred.  We've reached the point (Church of the Nazarene) where that scenario is changing dramtically.  Finances are tight.  Any possibility that Nazarenes and other believers going out all over the world, living as expatriots and helping local churches, is the new face of World Missions?  Certainly something for us all to think about.

I’m afraid this blog investment is getting too long, but I promise to share more thoughts as we go along.  However, if I could speak to your heart in a closing paragraph, I’d say that we are quite possibly entering a time where we will enhance all of our resources (spiritual, relational, financial) by staying in touch, encouraging each other and sharing ideas for making the best of life. 

Pretty sure the thoughts that are coming to my heart are because of retirement and rest.  As we go along with this “Adventure Blog,” please share your ideas.  Nothing would please me more than for this to become “our” blog instead of “my” blog.

All My Love,

Wes

Costa Rican Men's Retreat & Special Fotos

One week ago today [written on Sunday morning] Colleen and I headed south!  And, what a week it has been.  This morning (Sunday) I'm having thoughts about how Sunday mornings have been for the past 41 years or so.  So different to get up and think about...going to church.  My standard operating procedure is undergoing dramatic change!  Not bad change.  Just change.  This morning I am praying for Pastor Payton (that's Pastor Payton and "Mo" in the 1st pic) and the "Coast Congregation" to have a wonderful morning.  There is no Church of the Nazarene in this area so we have the privilege of enjoying worship today with a small congregation in Uvita that is making good progress in reaching people for Christ in this area.

Josh and I joined in with 11 other men for a 24 hour Men's Retreat beginning this past Friday evening.  It was adventure from start to finish!  The "start" had to do with not being able to find the retreat center.  The "finish" revolved around knowing that we had connected with some men at a very spiritual level.

The retreat was conducted in the Costa Rican home of someone who lives in Steamboat Springs, CO...a magnificant complex of comfortable living and meeting-type buildings.  We studied through the book of Job in 4 sessions during our time together.

There were some other highlights...involving photography!  Look closely at the pics.  I had a wonderful time taking pictures of birds, butterflys, flowers and spiders.  Hard to believe I have this privilege!

Will share more, of course, as we go along.  I will tell you that Josh and I had an encounter with what I'm pretty sure was a Fer de Lance snake.  It happened on Friday evening, but it was drawing close to the time we had to leave for the Men's Retreat.  I think we "dispatched" him, but not sure.  It's too complicated of a story to tell but it did involve a 10 foot steel bar, a flashlight and places in the roof of the garage where a snake can hide.

Continued...Monday morning.  Colleen and I took a nice long walk this morning.  Warmer than it has been since we arrived, but more than tolerable.  I suspect we walked close to two miles, down to the local market.  This really is an amazing place.  It is nearly impossible to look in any direction without seeing stuff that you've seen on National Geographic.  This morning we were awakened by screeching parrots.  Took the dogs out to the back yard.  Dasher surprised some of the neighbor's chickens and sent them packing!

We think of you all very often and offer up our prayers of thanksgiving that we have the wonderful privilege of calling you all...friends!

Much Love,

Wes

Ojochal, Costa Rica!!!

Dear Friends,

Well, the adventure has begun.  I am writing this from the front room of our rented home here in Ojochal.  All I have to do to remind myself where I am is to lift my gaze from the screen to the backyard.  I've already taken lots of pictures and will post all that I think will give you a good concept of where we are and to what we are up! (For my English friends!)

First, let me regress a bit.  Our last formal service as a Sr. Pastor was on September 25th.  We had family in attendance as well as guests from each of the six churches I have pastored in these 42 years.  What a blessing!  The service as well as the "honor" was much more than I had anticipated.  The church presented us with a generous financial gift.  In addition, the folks who were present contributed another $1,500 love offering!  So amazing!  Honestly, considering the difficulty of the economy and the ongoing financial needs of the church, we were not expecting anything except the joyful presence of our family and friends.  The gifts more than took care of our family reunion back in Branson, MO.  To all who were there and to all who contributed...Thank You very, very much.

Following the final service, we were head over heals involved in wrapping up the packing.  Since we were moving to a foreign country it was necessary for us to keep a manifest list of all the boxes and then to place a value on the contents for customs purposes.  A great group of friends gathered in on Sept. 28th to load the forty foot container.  We knew that we had plenty of space, especially since we had sold so much stuff.  Making a long story short, we drove the last "piece" into the container our, Isuzu Rodeo, at about noon.  It took us another 45 minutes or so to tie things down, but by about 1:00 PM, the container was on its way to the railroad station to be shipped to Long Beach, CA, and from there to Costa Rica.  We will be reunited with our "stuff" on about the 30th of this month!

The next stage of our journey led us to Branson, MO, for our family reunion.  It was a great time.  I've heard of Branson for many years but this was my first opportunity to be there.  The highlight, of course, was the family.  There are five of us Smith kids and we were all present along with our spouses.  We saw the Oakridge Boys, the Bald Knobbers and Pearce Arrow.  We enjoyed great meals together and lots of laughter and love.  Bruce and Caye are arranging the next reunion in 2013.  Hey, there is nothing like family!

We arrived back in Longview to have a few days in our hotel, and then Ron & Sherry Worthington opened their home for us for the last couple days before the flight to CR.  Being in their home allowed us to spread everything out and then pack it into appropriate weights and combinations.  Thanks, Ron and Sherry!
We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Tom and Olevia Kinsey for allowing us to use their pickup for ALL the time we were without a car.  Pastor Chuck Dunnavant drove us to the airport.

As an aside, we had time in our hotel with the new Longview interim pastor and wife, Rick and Bonnie Ryding.  What a lovely couple, and, I believe with all my heart, the perfect match for Longview Nazarene!

Just a moment for a disclaimer...I will do my best to be more brief in future blogs!  Too much has happened since I last wrote.  Thus, this long epistle!

We departed from the Portland airport at about 5:45 PM on Sunday evening, October 16th.  (Oh, and I should tell you that I had my head shaved on the Saturday before we left.)  Colleen's Dr. was very helpful in getting our Schnoodle classified as an "Emotional Support Dog!"  As a result, Colleen was able keep Lillie with her on the entire trip.  I need to say that it was a lot of fun having the dog with us and it was fun to share her with lots of different people! 

We traveled "1st Class" all the way from Portland to Liberia, CR.  That is an amazing miracle, especially since we were traveling through the night...Las Vegas, Miami and then finally to Liberia.  We made Liberia our destination because we heard that the customs personnel there were more lenient/understanding of people traveling with dogs.  They were.  Moreover, customs was a breeze.  The only thing we lost was a bag of popping corn that we had purchased from a Mennonite store in Iowa.  Shucks!

From the Liberia airport we made our way to Thrifty car rental and then to San Jose.  Folks, I gotta say, that was one of the most nerve-racking trips of my life.  There are very few street signs in CR.  We were scheduled to meet some friends at a particular place in San Jose but the problem was that I did not know exactly how to get to the agreed-upon location and then didn't know how I was going to contact them when we did finally arrive!  Makes me nervous just telling you this.

Well, the good news is that we "miraculously" took the first exit into Santa Ana (where our hotel was located and where Josh and I had previously stayed) and within a minute passed by a place that I recognized from that stay.  My heart was thrilled and my blood pressure took a healthy dive.  Within another five minutes or so, we were at our hotel and didn't even need our friends to come and lead us to it!  Honest, I give God praise for what may seem like a little miracle to some, but to me was HUGE!!!

Okay, I will try to wrap this up quickly. (Those of you who know me didn't even flinch when I said that!)  Anyway, we had a great night's sleep and then a full day on Tuesday registering at the American Embassy, getting finger-printed at the Police Station and creating a "Power of Attorney" document at an Attorney's office.  Our good friends helping us become residents (more about them in a future blog) told us since we had gotten so much done that we were free to go to our home in SW CR.  We had thought the process could take as much as two and one half days.  One day and we were done.  Praise the Good Lord.

Our last challenge in San Jose was to return our rental car and obtain another one that could be taken to Uvita, CR.  Thrifty does not have an office there.  National does.  So, our challenge for the day was to get to the Thrifty office, around the corner to National and then off to Ojochal.  Sounds easy, doesn't it?  It wasn't.  But, we made it and arrived on Ojochal at about 4:30 PM on Wednesday (19th).  What a joy to be back with Josh, Jamie and Alexandria!  Jamie had a delicious meal of potato salad (Costa Rican style with beets and other unique contents) and a native dish...Arroz Com Pollo.  Fun to hold hands with the fam and give God "Thanks!" for a safe trip and for the privilege of being together in Costa Rica.

There is so much more.  We'll just call the rest of this...optional reading.  On Thursday morning Josh and I drove up to our property where contractor, Jose, and his crew are building our home.  Things are going well there, but since it is the rainy season everything is muddy and wet.  Feel free to add Jose to your prayer list.  He and his wife, Maria, are wonderful Catholic Christians.  We have really fallen in love with them.  Pray for their protection and efficiency!

Yesterday afternoon we spent an hour in the ocean.  Again, what fun!  I am eager to learn how to fish from the beach and from rock jettys.  Today Josh and I had a meeting with, Gary, the main contractor for all the building on Osa Mountain Village.  Then back home to post my first blog from Costa Rica!  Right now, Colleen is very Costa Rican comfortably dressed.  Jamie is doing some pool maintenance and sun tanning.  Josh is working.  Alex is trying to coax Lillie into the pool.  I'm finnishing up a blog.  Hey, retirement life is great!

Wrapping this up on a very personal note.  I am so pleased, actually more than I can possibly say, that my Good Friend, Jesus, has been in the leadership position in my life since 1965!  I'm thinking right now about some famous words from Psalm 23, (Message translation) 1 A David psalm. GOD, my shepherd! I don't need a thing. 2 You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. 3 True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. 4 Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure. 5 You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. 6 Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home in the house of GOD for the rest of my life.
Gracious!  Those words say it a lot better than I can!

Love To You All!

Friend,

Wes