But, first of all, just let me say that one of the "funnest" sporting experiences of my life happened yesterday when Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos defeated the Pittsburg Steelers in the wild card play off game. AND, the fact that Tim threw for 316 years in passing, just delights me to no end! Jokingly, I have predicted that he will have 320 yards against New England this coming Saturday (as in Ephesians 3:20 "God is able to do immeasurably more than we imagine!") My conviction is that Christianity needs a role model who will remain above the false-iscity of big time popularity. A couple days ago I was concentrating on Mark 4 and these words stood out, Mar 4:18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. My prayer for Tim Tebow is that he will remain true to his testimony and that he will not be overcome by what I would call...the craziness of celebrity.
In regards to "honesty," I just want to say that I'm convinced that this is a significant season in my life. After serving as a pastor for over 40 years, I'm sincerely seeking for a new place and a new purpose within the context of retirement. It amazes me that we (the Smiths) are totally comfortable with the label, "expat." Our loyalty and kinship with the United States is strong, but, honestly, I am now driven by the goal of finding the place where Colleen and I can both maximize our retirement financially and where our faith in Jesus Christ can make the greatest difference.
So, I want to talk to/with you all about this journey.
Conversations about Costa Rica first appeared on our radar screen about 2 years ago. At first our response was something like, "Yeh, sounds interesting, but probably could never happen." The lynchpin in the entire conversation as far as I was concerned was Colleen. My intent in all of our nearly 38 years of marriage has been to maximize her life and to assist her in every way possible to open doors of opportunity and fulfillment for her. Such a move in our lives would never be possible without her agreement and participation.
Well, wonder of wonders, Colleen was not put off by the idea and actually verbalized interest and openness. Her interest opened doors of exploration for me and the rest of the family. But this is a good place to say that the cost of this transition has been far greater for Colleen than for any other family member (Josh, Jamie, Alex and me). Her gigantic sacrifice was to be willing to give up on the part of her life that was nearer and dearer than I can explain or comprehend.
Colleen had two horses and a goat that she gave up. This was one of the areas of her life that I fully supported...we had built a major 40' x 60' barn (half of which was devoted to her animals), plumbed the barn with water, built a nice tack room and bath stall, fenced and cross fenced the paddock and pasture and further invested in training and the best health products available for her animals.
From my standpoint, the transition to the "expat" life began with significate dialogue with the Longview Church of the Nazarene Church Board, beginning in February of 2011, and culminated with my retirement on September 25, 2011. Again, honestly, my participation in ministry had become, searching for the best word here, confusing. I have always had a desire to lead the local church into the greatest influence for Christ in whatever community I was serving, and, to tell you the truth in my opinion, my effectiveness was suffering. I can easily say that these months of being out of the pastorate have been healing and restorative for me.
By the way, I am in the process of writing an "e-book." The working title so far is, "Wesley on the Chuch of the Nazarene (Wesley Smith, that is!)" My unique experience as a pastor, I'm pretty sure, gives me the credibility to say some things to and about the church that could be helpful to the denomination. I am one of the few people I know who has pastored in both large and small church settings. Not saying when the book will appear, but I'm making good progress.
Anyway, as our retirement discussions and decisions progressed, Colleen and I began a significant and severe separation from many of the material things we had accumulated over the years. We, along with Josh and Jamie, conducted two major barn/garage sales and watched as the accumulations of 37+ years drove away in other people's cars and pickups. Our home miraculously sold when a couple appeared in our driveway to look over our place. They were immediately convinced our place was what they wanted and made a cash offer that we accepted within 48 hours. Our realtor called it a "God Thing!" and informed us that our home was one of three homes in its price category that had sold within the previous 12 months in Cowlitz county.
It really is impossible to describe what it was like to have to give up things that to some extent had become a significant piece of our identity. I had inherited my dad's rolltop desk. He purchased it in 1947 from the estate of an attorney in DeSmit, South Dakota. After lots of discussions and prayer, I passed that desk to my nephew, Lincoln Smith, who lives in San Diego and is a student at Point Loma Nazarene University. Lincoln is preparing to be a Missionary Doctor, so the desk stays in "ministry!" That is just one example of the difficulty of seeing treasured things disappear.
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| Dad Smith's (H. LaVern) Roll Top Desk from 1947. |
Colleen and I both feel strongly that we have cut the ties with our former way of life. We are no longer homeowners with an intent to kick back and retire in a familiar setting. Our talks along this line have reached very definite conclusions. No turning back. We believe the rest of our physical future lies outside the United States.
Okay. It is important to say about the expat life is that it is not for everyone. I think the cost of making the move to another country would be prohibitive for many people. It seems clear to me that many people would not be interested in the expat life simply because of their family connections. Then there are those folks who fear change and the unknown. There are probably other reasons that people shouldn't consider cutting the ties. I have full understanding for those who cannot consider life outside the USA.
On the other hand, we are constantly running into realities that make the expat lifestyle more compelling! Much of the rationale for living outside the USA revolves around the cost of living. I am writing this from Cuenca, Ecuador, and the cost of living is simply amazing here. Gasoline sells for $1.25 per gallon for regular ($1.05, diesel). We have driven a VW Jetta diesel for the past five years that averaged around 42-45 miles per gallon. This is like a throwback to many years gone by. I cannot give you the exact reason gas is so cheap here, but it has something to do with Ecuador being an oil-rich nation and the government has made the decision to control the price in order to benefit the citizens.
We can take a taxi to nearly any part of the city for $2.00. I had my very first experience riding a city bus a couple days ago. We traveled to the end of route 8 that took us to one part of the city, picked up bus 7 that took us to another part of the city (mall), and then bus 13 brought us pretty close to home...for only 75 cents! That amazes me! By the way, senior citizens in Ecuador are quite treasured. They receive sales tax back on a monthly basis. They travel public transportation for 1/2 price (12.5 cents instead of 25 cents). They received free medical care and free medicines. Unrelated to the government, seniors can travel internationally for 1/2 regular fare with the three major airlines in the country. I'm not totally informed about this last benefit, but will tell you more when I know more.
We are living for this month of January on the top floor of a four story building. The rent for the month is $700.00. Month! This includes utilities and having a maid come in for six hours twice a week. We are enjoying this home, but should we decide to re-locate to Ecuador, we would prefer to live on an acre or so. Colleen would love to re-connect with her horse hobby. Home prices vary, but a comfortable apartment/condominium can be had from $50K (one bedroom, one bath) to a comfortable medium of $150,000K (3 bedrooms, 3 baths), to just about any other price. I recently looked at an ad for a mega-home priced at $2.5 million!
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| Typical high rise apartment/home high rise in Cuenca, Ecuador |
We have found the Ecuadorians to be beautiful and friendly people! There is, at least, no visible sign around of the illegal drug cartels. This is a very peaceful county and, I'm convinced, a country that wants a good and prosperous future. Colleen and I talked yesterday about the absence of vice in this city.
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| Nice lady on the street who let me take her/their picture. |
I wish you all could see the major Farmer's Markets that exist around town. We have one about 1/2 mile from where we live. It is a sprawling gathering of marketeers from all aspects of what it takes to make such a market! Many of the people represent the old Ecuadorian culture and wear the outfits that make them unique! The colors are fabulous!
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| Unbelievable variety and supply of fresh fruits and veggies in the local Farmer's Market. |
Can you imagine tomatoes at 4 lbs. for one dollar? I mean gorgeous, firm, red, just right tomatoes! Can you imagine 3-4 large avocados for one dollar? Pasta is 2 lbs for fifty cents. Though, I tried the pasta from the market and didn't enjoy it. The array of fruits and vegetables is mind boggling. The seafood section is amazing. It does have a bit of an odor (Alex took one walk through. That was enough for her.), but the selection is out of this world. In the meat market, you can purchase just about any piece of meat you can imagine. Several aisles have cooked food. Several of the aisles have raw meat. Beyond the typical farmer's market items, various other products are for sale. I'm not good at this kind of measurement, but I would guess that the market must cover close to 5 acres. (Basing that on the size of our 5 acres in Castle Rock.)
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| Imagine 5 acres, or so, of this kind of produce! |
Again, I do not have the exact details, but you can deposit your money in Ecuadorian banks and receive 10.5% interest. The interest rate is based on leaving it on deposit for one year. There is a 20% penalty for early withdrawels. Hm. That would bring the interest rate down to 8%, or so. How does even 8% sound in comparison with what is being paid in your bank? My bank in the USA is currently paying about 1/2%.
Trust you all are doing well. If you have even the slightest interest in the expat life, please be in touch. We only have around three months of answers! But we would love to share what we have learned with you!
Time to go take my walk. Josh and I walked briskly for 5 miles yesterday. I've probably done more walking in our 10 days here than I have in any other 10 period in my life. Good stuff!
I do encourage you to check out www.nazarenesabroad.com to read another recent blog.
Much Love,
Wes Smith
www.nazarenesabroad.com
www.osamountainvillage.net
www.adventurewithwes.blogspot.com
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