Christmas in July!

Dear Family and Friends,
We have had an exciting time with Grandma Webb and Aunt Tina who arrived safely last evening. It is like Christmas for us as they brought an entire suitcase filled with goodies for our family. Everything from brown sugar and chocolate chips to some new tennis shoes and wonderful Iowa State University apparel. WOW! What fun to see family and share some precious time together. We are blessed.


Kayley, Aunt Tina, Joshua (in new ISU gear thanks to Uncle Charlie) and Grandma Webb

We enjoyed a slow paced morning and then headed off to Antigua where we enjoyed some time shopping and eating. Much bartering was done and some good prices secured for items such as jade jewelry, Guatemalan purses and even toys. We are looking forward to a fun weekend. Our plans are to head to Lake Atitlan in the morning, but if the fog and clouds remain heavy, we may delay that trip until Monday. We want to be able to see all of the beauty at the Lake.

Also, today (28th) is David and Shelley's 16th anniversary so we have even more reason to celebrate. We are excited to see what the next 16 years bring. It will likely be an adventure!

This is a great opportunity for us to take a few days vacation as we've not had a vacation day (except for national holidays) since taking 2 days in February. We are glad for the break and especially to be able to spend it with family.

God bless you all this week. Until next time...

David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley 

One Heart, Many Hands

Hello Everyone!

We have arrived back in Guatemala safe and sound after a fun, tiring, exciting and busy week in Chiapas Mexico. We encountered many obstacles to our arrival, including a problem at the border with the vehicles, but God made a way for us. We arrived one day later than planned, but in time for the event called Un Corazón, Muchas Manos (One Heart, Many Hands). Many of you will recognize this event as it occurs every four years along with the Nazarene General Convention, but this was the first event of its kind outside the United States. There were 250 participants including about 90 Americans/Canadians.
Shelley helping with the Children's program in the park.

We worked for four long days in construction, evangelism, children’s ministries, medical clinics and compassionate ministries. David and Joshua’s group built a new soccer/basketball court in a local community. Shelley and Kayley’s group cleaned two parks, painted the bottom section of trees (more than we could count) and replaced the outside of a humble home with “laminex” (kind of a thick corrugated paper). The days were long. Most nights we would return to the hotels at 10 or 11 pm. But the last night was the latest. The services ended at 1:15 a.m. Let’s just say, the kids were worn out!
All three of the 8 year olds slept through a loud exciting service at 11pm.

Probably the most rewarding part of it all was witnessing two cultures come together for the good of a community. We all made many new Mexican and American friends in a short span of time. (A special hello to our new friends in Orlando, Virginia and Springfield, MO)

Just three of our new friends from the area of Chiapas, Mexico.

Coming home was an adventure as well. Since our missionary friend Emily had to leave the event early, we were a bit concerned getting out of the country with the vehicle that was in her name. But, since Emily is not a common name in Central America, the border official assumed that David must be Emily and handed him the paperwork. Needless to say, we were thrilled with the results and were able to proceed through the border with no problems. Thank God!

We are glad to be back “home” in Guatemala City since the temperature is probably 20 degrees cooler here with much less humidity. This is a welcome relief. We are looking forward to this week as our schedule will be a bit slower.

The Youth in Mission team left early this morning. We already miss the girls. They have become a special part of our lives during these six weeks of ministry. We had a special “goodbye” meal last night to wish them well in their future endeavors and to thank them for their service in Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador this summer. I feel confident we have not seen the last of these talented girls on the mission field…they’ll be back.

Kelsey, Kristin, Yuri, Elena and Hannah (with Kayley trying to get into the picture!)

Pray with us this week as we are learning more about our future assignment. We’ll let you all know when we know more.

Have a great week! Until next time...
La Familia Webb 

Máxima Mision

Family and Friends,

It has been a wonderful, yet tiring week for us in Guatemala. The Máxima Mision team with 40 people (10 adults and 30 teens) from Michigan arrived on Wednesday and it has been non-stop activity ever since. We have planted two new churches in two different parts of Guatemala City.

Both churches needed some construction work. The team has built two new classrooms for one church and added a wall to another church. A sidewalk has been built as well as much painting and cleaning.
David and Julio mixing mortar for block laying.

In addition, lots of energy has been spent on making the Bible Schools really fun and exciting for the kids. The team has done the Bible School nine times in five days! Wow! One time was outside a local mall where there were at least 200 people in attendance. Another was just this morning in a local school where more than 500 children attend. The team also did a dental clinic with the children to show them how to brush their teeth correctly.
The Jesus Film being shown in Colinas de Minerva in an empty lot across from the church.

Two evenings the team showed the Jesus Film near the churches. It was a truly a miracle that we had no rain during the showings as it has rained for nearly every evening for three weeks. It was amazing to see the beautiful clear skies filled with stars. The film was well received and after both showings there was a great prayer time.
Great times of prayer and celebration after the Jesus films in both locations, Colinas de Minerva and Villa Nueva.

A highlight for our family was attending the first service in one of these locations, Colinas de Minerva. After working in the community for a few days, we were unsure if anyone would come for the first service. At first it was just our family and Pastor Daniel, but then the people started coming. First some children, and then a few adults and soon we were a group of 36 people for the initial service in this humble church. We were blessed beyond measure as Daniel spoke about the need to produce good fruit with our lives. It was a great Lord’s Day!

We have a few requests this week as we prepare to travel to Mexico on Friday for One Heart, Many Hands work projects.

Pray that we will recover from colds and sinus problems (probably a result of lots of dust and concrete mixing).

Pray that we’ll have no problems extending the children’s visas on Tuesday.

Pray that we’ll have no issues as we cross the border into Mexico, particularly with our vehicle which is not yet in our name, but in the name of the church. This could be a problem.

Pray that our travel to Mexico will be safe and that we’ll have a fruitful time of ministry during the week.

Gracias por Todos!
La Familia Webb