It has been waaaaay to long since I have written for my blog. One of my major passages was Easter. This was my first Easter in Costa Rica and my first in all my 64 years to spend by myself. Here are a few words I wrote on Easter Sunday evening:
It is Sunday evening. Easter Sunday evening to be precise. This has been THE most unusual Easter in my memory. One reason is because I am...home alone. (Well, not quite. Our schnoodle, Lillie, is here with me.) But the fact of the matter is, other than Lillie, this has been my very first solo Good Friday and Easter. Josh, Jamie & Alex moved back to the States nearly two weeks ago. A few days after they left, Colleen also departed for a 6 week visit with her sister and other friends.
Our church here had no Good Friday service. That has been one of my favorites over the years. Always fulfilling to gather with the saints and give thanks for the Ultimate Gift! This morning was strange in some ways. Attendance at our church was...down. It is a small church and when I say down I mean down by 20% from our regular Sundays. One reason for the lower attendance has some to do with with way Costa Ricans celebrate Easter. It is a MAJOR holiday. Massive numbers of people make it a week-long occasion. The beaches, and highways, are shoulder-to-shoulder. One couple in our church had over 50 family members and friends camping on their property. Other people have similar situations, so many of them feel like they must stay with their family and miss church. I, on the other hand, would approach it from a totally different standpoint. I'd say, "If you are going to camp out in my yard, you better get your behinds up and go to church with me to worship the Total Reason for this celebration. Otherwise, the rent is $25.00 per person, per night!" I'm thinking attendance would increase!!! Ha! But I must say that we had a wonderful service. Several people came forward at the end of the service for special prayer. I had met and invited a new family to come to church with me. They showed! And, they really seemed to enjoy the service and meeting our people. After church I drove a teen home and have spent the rest of the day reading and resting.
Okay, today it is my goal to give some more "inside scoop" on life in Costa Rica. By the way, what is on my mind is going to take up a fair amount of writing space. Please notice the large print. I do that primarily for myself. My vision is good, but even better if the print is large! And, it is more comfortable, less exhausting for my eyes. Just saying, the large print makes the artical appear longer than it is!
So, get ready for some pretty fast transition from one subject to another!
Retirement in Costa Rica, so far, has been very much inline with Ephesians 3:20, "...immeasurably more than I ask or imagine!" My weight is down rather substantially. When I left the States I weighed in at 208 lbs. This morning the scale quoted me at 185. I've not seen that level since early marriage! Also, my blood pressure is down to the point where I've discontinued my bp medicine, and, because of diminished foot pain, I have cut back on Neurontin from 1200 milligrams per day to 600 per day. Sleeping has become rather predictable. Before arriving in Costa Rica it was common for me to go to sleep at 11-12 PM, then wake up for 2-3 hours and then go back to sleep until 6-7 AM. Here, it is not unusual to be asleep by 9:00 PM and sleep through until 5:00 AM. The changes have been amazing.
Lillie and I walk from 3-5 miles per day. That, I'm convinced, has contributed to the weight loss and bp control and is getting me ready for a Grand Canyon hike in October (with Dave & Linda McClung and possibly my brother, Bruce, and also possibly with Josh & Jamie)! The heat and humidity here always make that walk a drenching experience.
So, along with what I've already mentioned, I wanted to take some time and space today to talk about some things that are really special about Costa Rica. The following are people, things that have stolen my heart.
1. The People! The fact of the matter is that God has provided very special friends wherever we have been. One of my little exercises today was to take some time to remember and pray for our friends over the years. Here, however, there is something very unique about the friendship aspect. First, all the gringos (mostly North Americans) are so far away from home that it is essential that we enthusiastically befriend each other. The same sort of thing happened in Alaska. We were all a long ways away from our family and we really did/do need each other! Additionally, here we have found the ticos (locals) to be happy and very loving. Amazingly so. I spent time with O'ger and Liz this afternoon, a lovely Tico couple! What fun to sit on their porch and listen to their dreams. By the way, they were raising a parrot that got ejected from its nest when the tree in which the nest was located fell over. I say "were" because their cat now has parrot breath. Such stories I would never have heard in the USA!
2. The Coast Highway (Hy 34). This isn't necessarily in order of importance, but I am SO thankful for the highway between here and San Jose (the airport!). It really is amazingly smooth and comfortable. We can make it to the airport in about 3 & 1/2 - 4 hours and we rather enjoy making the trip! We travel through miles of palm groves and see lots of life that is unusual and different. The palm workers still use lots of teams of oxen to pull the carts. One river we cross is called "Crocodile River." The crocs are huge! How they reach that large size without a migration of wildebeasts is a mystery to me. The ocean beach area is spectacular and we have discovered one of Costa Rica's best values in the Jaco Beach area...Chocobananas for only $1.00! Shhhh. Don't tell people about this bargain. The owners would probably get wind of this and raise the price!
3. Our Builders. Jose and Maria Godinez have been one of God's good gifts to us. We were told that using a local/tico builder would cause nightmares. Well, the opposite has been the case. Jose goes well beyond the 2nd mile to make sure everything is in order. Here is a recent picture. We had suggested to Jose that it would be good to have a graveled area where we could park the car close to the house. The retaining walls, planters, and cement parking was what he came up with. The cost for this "add on" was very reasonable, just over $6,000.00. We think it would have been well over $20,000.00 in the States.
4. Osa Mountain Village. That is the name of the development where our home has been built. You really should take a good look at it by checking out www.osamountainvillage.net. Josh has done a great job of sharing the highlights. Last week, the CEO of the Village took me on a tour of the improvements. It is simply amazing. Since Osa Mountain Village is billed as a luxury, self-sustaining community I'm sure it would come as no surprise to you that there is a nice recreation area (pool, ping pong, sun tanning, etc.) and a nice refreshment area and restaurant. What really is surprising is all the work they have put into the organic, self-sustaining aspect. Jim Gale, the CEO, took me to the agricultural area where there are large tilapia ponds, goat facilities (milk & cheese), chicken enclosures and free range territory, along with acres and acres of fruit and vegetable production. As residents of Osa Mountain Village we share in all the bounty we can use for only $150.00 per month. That is amazing.
Let me add some to this (This blog is a work in progress. Started over two weeks ago. Writing in the Firestone store as I said earlier.) Talking with two folks from Canada who paid nearly $150,000 for 3/4 acre. We paid $124,000 for 1.25 acres and have the added blessing of participating in their communal food system. SO thankful to be here.
5. Osa Moutain Canopy Tour and Butterfly Paradise. The Canopy Tour is an eleven zip line event, wrapping up at the Blue Morpho Cafe just down from our home. It has been fun to meet several of the groups as they wrap up their tour and see the joy on their faces. A man told me this past Saturday morning that this was their 4th time to do the zip line. He said they love it so much that whenever family and/or friends come to town that they always have to do the Canopy Tour!
The Butterfly Paradise is just across the road from our home. David and Jarvia have done and awesome job of building and supplying the Butterfly Paradise! It is truly one of the most spectacular sights you will ever see. In an enclosed umbrella of netting, hundreds of butterflys roam freely. Recently I watched as two blue morphos landed on a lady at the same time. There is really nothing quite like the Butterfly Paradise experience!
6. Our Church. Our church is named "The Church of the Coast" and is one of the most unusual and most enthusiastic gatherings of believers you could imagine. The church is made up of 1/2 ticos and 1/2 gringos. Each service is fully translated into Spanish and English. Though we average around 50 in weekly attendance, the church has the feel of a church that is actually much larger with the possibility of substantial growth. Paster Payton McKeever is our pastor and we love him and his wife, Julie. They have two children, Brooks (13) and Megan (5). Most of you know that my history of ministry has been totally wrapped up in the Church of the Nazarene. This is my first departure. I'm hoping in God's time and in God's way to be involved in a church plant for the Church of the Nazarene as we go along, but am in no hurry.
7. The Climate. To be honest, we struggled with the heat and humidity on the coast. To conserve electricity, we slept with fanS directed on us every night. Temps in the day time often hovered around 85 degrees, with the humidity coming in at 120%. Just kidding on the humidity, but not much. Since we've moved to the higher elevation of our home, those statistics have been changed considerably. Being close to 2000 ft. elevation gifts us with much cooler temps. It is common to be 10 degrees cooler than on the coast and the breeze makes it seem even cooler. I find it amazing that in a tropical setting we have such a comfortable climate. Last night I slept with the window open and covered by a quilt! How nice!
We are headed into the rainy season. Day before yesterday it rained most of the day. Our landscape workers worked straight through the day! Yesterday and today have been sunny and bright and very comfortable.
One thing that is a bargain here is labor. I had a lady come in to do cleaning at the home we are moving out of and paid her the going rate of $4.00 per hour. Outdoor maintainence people can be hired for $3-$4.00 per hour. Product is expensive. Labor is not. To tell you the truth, I wonder how Costa Ricans can make it on the low wages. They pay the same for life's essentials as everyone else. My practice and intent is to be as generous as possible without upsetting the cultural applecart!
Well, folks, that is enough for this time.
Oh, I need to say that I've been following the trip of a couple College buddies who were traveling from the southern-most tip of South America to Oklahoma City (Doug Eaton) and Kansas City (Brad Moore). It was fun, an honor and privilege to intersect with them just a few miles of south of where we were living to enjoy a meal and a time of fellowship with them!
If you plan on being in Costa Rica, please let me know. I will do my best to come and see you. One of these days pretty soon I will have us situated so we can entertain visitors! Looking forward to having you come by and see us!
Have a super day.
Friend,
Wes
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