The Webb Page Newsletter - December 2006

The Webb Page
Volume II, Number 7 December 2006
www.thewebbspage.blogspot.com

¡FELIZ NAVIDAD! MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

First, we’d like to say a big THANKS to you all for your prayers and support this year. It has been a wonderful year and we are excited about our upcoming move to Costa Rica. This fall brought some special opportunities in ministry and in our personal lives.

Maximum Mission – October
We were privileged to help with another work and witness team, this time from Michigan. We worked in the area of Lake Amatitlan doing community service, VBS in the park and giving a jump start to a new church in the area. This picture to the left shows the final touches of paint being added to the sanctuary in Villa Nueva. It was a very productive week of ministry.


VBS at Colinas - December
Our local church plant held a VBS for three days in December. It’s a great time to hold a VBS here in Guatemala since the kids are on school vacation from mid October until mid January – yes, it’s their summer break. We used the theme of Navidad and the kids had fun learning about the angels’ message to the shepherds, the birth of Jesus and the three wise men. We had around 25 kids each day so it was a good turnout and a successful VBS. We are excited to hear how this church grows in the coming months.

Thanksgiving at the Beach
A highlight for our family was spending time with two other missionary families at a house very near the black sand beaches of the Pacific Guatemalan coast. It was a time to relax and have fun and be thankful for all our many blessings.
The photo includes Joshua and Kayley as well as Hannah and Abby Slingerland enjoying the beach. And yes, we enjoyed turkey!





Language School
We completed our final lessons at our language school in the first week of December. It was a good feeling to have completed the curriculum, but we realize we have much to learn. Studying does not end now, nor will it in the near future. There is always more to learn when it’s a second language. But we are truly thankful for such a wonderful place to study and learn.

A Little Wreck
We had a car wreck just two days from completing our daily trips to Antigua and the same day that we listed the car for sale on the internet with the missionary community here. How ironic! But God was with us and saved us from all the problems that could have come from this accident. We walked away without a scratch to the amazement of those who witnessed the event. You can read more on our blog at www.thewebbspage.blotspot.com.
Here’s our poor little Pathfinder after the incident. It held up pretty well except for the front chassis. We’ll miss this vehicle!



What’s Happening Now
Well, Mom and Dad are sorting, selling, organizing and packing things for the move to Costa Rica as well as spending some time in the office learning more about their future positions in Costa Rica. The kids are busy finishing up this semester at CAG. Since we are leaving the school a few days early, Joshua needs to take his exams early. This is a bit stressful for him, but he’ll be glad to be done with his studies for awhile. They will both miss their school and their friends here. This will not be an easy move for them as they have adjusted rapidly and this is truly home for them.

Future Plans
We will leave here on December 17th to visit family and friends in Iowa and Illinois. The first order of business is to arrange for our crates to be moved to Costa Rica. We are all excited to see what’s in them as we can hardly remember after a year.

We will fly out of Chicago on January 2nd, but not all of us together. David has meetings in South Africa, so he will be leaving that morning for his long flight to Johannesburg while Shelley and the kids will leave a few hours later for Guatemala. Shelley and the kids will have one day in Guatemala to make final arrangements and then arrive in Costa Rica on the 4th, and David will arrive about a week later. The kids’ new school does not start until January 15th, so they will enjoy a nice long holiday with lots of time to explore their new surroundings on the seminary campus in San Jose.

Merry Christmas!
This newsy letter will have to substitute for the beautiful Christmas card with a stunning photo of the Webb family, at least for this year. We are excited to celebrate the birth of Jesus with our family and friends and pray your holiday will be a special reminder of God’s amazing love for you.

God’s Blessings to You,
David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley Webb 

A Crazy Week!

Dear Friends and Family,

Yes, it was a crazy week! Two days before ending our time in language school, we were in a car wreck on the road from Antigua to the city. We are thankful to be unharmed, although we can’t say that for the Pathfinder.


It all took place when a man on his bicycle decided to cross in front of us on a highway. There was no way to avoid hitting him, but by turning hard to the right, we were able to avoid a head on collision. We then ran into a concrete culvert thing, kind of like a ditch and from the impact our vehicle turned on its side with the driver door on the side of the road. Apparently, the man is OK because by the time we were able to get out of our vehicle (after being pushed back onto our wheels by 10 or 12 bystanders) he was gone. Other people said that he realized it was his error and did not want to be responsible for the damage to our car or our bodies. So, that’s the big news of this week, but in all of it we felt protected by God. It is truly miraculous we were not hurt and that we did not seriously harm the man in the street.


The Pathfinder held up very well, except that the front chassis is broken in two. We have yet to hear from the insurance company, but probably it will be totaled. We are sad as it has been a great vehicle and really held up well in spite of the wreck. We are now believers in larger vehicles!

Otherwise, the week progressed as normal with the completion of our time in language school on Wednesday, a day in the office on Thursday and a Christmas party on Friday. Probably the best part of the week for us was the VBS we helped with at our church on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was a lot of work as we only have 4 or 5 adults to help, but the kids were well-behaved. We had around 26 kids each day, with a few less on Sunday. Lots of music, crafts and Bible lessons about the meaning of Navidad. They enjoyed it tremendously and received prizes for learning the memory verses. We are sad to have only one more Sunday at Colinas, but trust that God will continue to build the church through the labor of Pastor Daniel and the others.

We have two more weeks here before traveling to Iowa and Illinois for Thanksgiving and New Years. We’re busy sorting and packing to try to fit our clothes and things into our suitcases. We were allowed two 70 lb bags each when we moved here and now we can take only 70 lbs each to Costa Rica. That is the challenge for this week as well as continuing to prepare for our assignments in Costa Rica.

God bless you this week! And thanks for your continued prayers for our family during this time of transition.

The Webb Family