It's Official!!!

Dates have been set and tickets have been purchased!  The Ahrens family is moving to Costa Rica!  On November 7^th, the five:) of us will be boarding a flight headed to Liberia Costa Rica.  We will each have a carry on or two and a large checked bag in which we will cram everything we can’t live without!  Many of you who are reading this know that we have been talking and praying about this move for many years.  What may take you somewhat by surprise is the suddenness of our decision.  As we continue to post in the months ahead, our goal is to include you in the journey we have experienced so far, and in the adventure that lies ahead.  

Why Costa Rica?  Why now?  Why isn’t Andy staying in school for his final year?  These are a few of the questions we have both asked ourselves, and been asked over the past couple weeks and months.  Let me do my best to explain. 

our scouting trip in August

Why Costa Rica?  Lyd and I have talked for many years about the idea of serving the Lord in Central America.  During my first year of Spanish over 10 years ago, I met a fellow student from Costa Rica named Francisco Calderon.  Francisco invited me to visit his family and I did.  For a month I lived in Costa Rica with a Costa Rican family.  From that visit, I have wanted to go back.  There are many aspects to life in Costa Rica that we find attractive: culture, lifestyle, values, weather, cost of living to name a few.  We are excited about the education that this will be for all of us.  We will have the opportunity  to learn Spanish, and are excited to see what the culture teaches us.  Living in another country provides contrast to something that is often otherwise invisible, culture.  We believe there are likely aspects of US culture that we have incorporated into our view of God, and it will be fascinating to see which of those are easier to recognize through this experience.  As in every city of every country, Tamarindo Costa Rica has spiritual needs that can only be met by Jesus.  We have seen the Lord open many doors as we have prayerfully considered this move.  At this point it seems clear that He is saying, “go forward, this is good.”  As a family we will carry the message that Jesus alone is the reason for hope to any place we find ourselves.  The truth is that there are more reasons than can be articulated concisely, but one final reason… it is a place we think we will like to live.

just a glimpse of Tamarindo

Why now?  Lydia and I spent 10 days at the end of September visiting the northwest of Costa Rica.  We spent the majority of our time in Tamarindo, visited a couple churches and met a community of believers in the process.  Our plan at the time was to make a move next summer.   One of the more challenging aspects of living abroad is legal residency.  In Costa Rica, there are several ways permanent residency can be achieved and each have significant and expensive hurtles involved.  During our stay in Tamarindo, we were repeatedly advised to consider making our move before the birth of our baby girl in February.  Having a baby in Costa Rica provides a very simple path to permanent residency for the whole family.  As a side, our little girl will have dual citizenship and that may be possible for all of us down the road.   It is important to mention here, thereby precluding the questions that will most certainly follow, the healthcare in Costa Rica is very good! Before we left, we were able to get an appointment to meet with a doctor who came highly recommended in San Jose (the capital of Costa Rica). 

Why isn’t Andy finishing his last year of School?  This is perhaps the most challenging questions to address, not because the reasons are blurry, but rather because differences of philosophy inevitably yield differing conclusions regarding the validity of the answer.  It is important to mention here that the decision regarding school preceded the decision to move by a couple months.  Perhaps the simplest and most satisfying answer is that although I didn’t complete the school’s program in its entirety, I did accomplish the primary goals that I had set for this phase of my education.  In the end, cost (time, resources and focus) vs. reward is the final reason for the decision.

Tamarindo beach

Thank you for taking the time to read this.  Lyd and I will be posting more over the coming weeks.  We will let you know how things are progressing, what doors are opening, what doors are closing and if we are crawling through any windows. We will be reporting the good the bad and the ugly, and yes there will be all three.  You are our prayer support!  If you are willing to make us the subject of regular prayer, please take a moment to shoot us a quick email or find Lyd on Facebook to let us know.  We would love to hear from you and to know you will be praying for us.  We would appreciate specific prayer as we attempt to navigate the bureaucratic maze of the residency process.  Also, we will be traveling on November 7^th and 8^th; the boys have never flown for more than 2 hours so this will be quite exciting.  As we move from family and friends to a new culture, there will be many emotions that attempt to overwhelm us.  Please pray that we will rest in the Lord and not allow fear, loneliness, or doubt to overcome us. Also, pray for the safe delivery of our little girl come mid-February. We thank the Lord for you all, our friends and family. Hasta luego for now!