Dear Friends,
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| 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!
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| 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!
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| 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!
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| 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
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