Volume II, Number 6 September 2006
After a very busy, almost crazy busy summer, life has settled once again into a routine of school and trainings. But I’m getting ahead of myself because before that happened…
Visitors from Iowa
We had the wonderful opportunity to have David’s mom and sister visit us from Iowa. Neither had been to Central America before, so it was an adventure for them. For us, it was a chance to spend time with family and of course to “show off” the things we enjoy here in Guatemala. (OK, maybe some of the things we don’t enjoy also!) It’s almost impossible to describe how life is different here, so we’ve given up trying, but when you can show someone the differences, it makes a lot more sense. We are thankful we had the opportunity to spend four days with them.
David, Virginia (Mom), Tina, Joshua and Kayley at Lake Atitlan.
Language School, Again
We started back in language school after a break of 2 ½ months on August 21st. We have made good progress and now are in the final book offered by the school. That does not mean we have mastered it all, it just means we have it all in our heads and understand the basic grammatical concepts. We’ve found to apply it all successfully takes a lot more time. We are just now speaking somewhat decently in present and past tenses, and we learned all of that in our first three months here. So, I guess you’d say we are progressing normally with the ups and downs that go with learning a second language.
Church Planting
After working in the area of Colinas de Minerva this summer with cross-cultural teams, we felt led by God to continue helping there. The situation is a bit different than in most church plants since normally a cell group is started and then a church building is obtained. In this case, we already had the property and the building and great man of God, Pastor Daniel agreed to pastor there, but there is no consistent congregation as of yet. So every week, Daniel and David visit with people in the neighborhood and invite them to attend on Sunday. Some Sundays it is just Pastor Daniel and our family in attendance, sometimes some children show up and Shelley leads them in singing and in a short lesson, and other times some adults show up as well. It has been a great experience for us to first hand see the difficulties in starting a new church. It has also been a great blessing and test of faith to remain encouraged in the face of obstacles. We appreciate your prayers for this new church.
The Kids
Joshua and Kayley are back to school as well. They have adjusted well to all the changes this year and the school has been a big part in their easy adjustment. Joshua is in 7th grade and studying all the basic courses including an advanced math class in pre-algebra. He also is participating in band and drama. Kayley is in 3rd grade and loves most everything about school. One of her favorite classes is Spanish. She seems to have an intense desire to learn the language more and more. They are both looking forward to the future and to life in Costa Rica. It’s difficult to leave friends behind, and they will once again have to endure this loss in December, but they have learned there are always more friends waiting for them at the next place. (That doesn’t really make it any easier, but Mom doesn’t have any other words of comfort than those.)
Youth Leadership Training
In September, David had the awesome opportunity to be a part of a four day training event called SeminarioMas (More Seminary). For David it was an opportunity to meet the youth leaders he will be working with in Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. This was the first event of its kind in Central America for our church, so it was a big deal. Every Central American country was represented. David especially enjoyed meeting Emma, the national youth coordinator for Panama and Karen, the national youth coordinator for Nicaragua. It was exciting to see their hearts, passion, commitment. It is amazing to think that 75% of the people in Mexico and Central America are 25 years old or younger. Wow—what an incredibly important generation for the church to reach!! Below you can see David’s “team” performing a cheer. (David in upper left corner.)
Preparing for Costa Rica
There are many arrangements that must be made for our move to Costa Rica, so we’ve stayed busy emailing for shipping quotes, sending birth certificates to states for authentication and filling our forms for the kids’ new school in Costa Rica. Also, David has been doing some training with David Gonzalez, the leader for NYI (Youth) for all of Central America and Shelley has begun her training in the area of finances. There is much to learn and God always asks us to do more than we think is possible, but with His help, we can do whatever He has in plan for our future.
Prayer Requests
Pray for our preparations for the move to Costa Rica.
Pray for the church plant in Colinas de Minerva.
Pray for our continued good health and protection from illness.
Pray for God’s help in becoming more comfortable with Spanish each day.
Gracias!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! We are so grateful for your prayers and support during these first 9 months on the mission field. A special Hello to our home church in Woodlawn, TN, our most recent church home in Lenexa, Kansas (Hello Centralites!) and to our LINKS churches in Los Angeles! You are all a blessing to us and we would not be here without you.
God’s blessing to you,
David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley Webb
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