The TN Team

Dear Friends and Family,

This week we are going to highlight our time with the TN Work and Witness team that was here last week. It was a joy to see them all and to catch up on what is happening in their lives. It is really amazing to think that the Webb family was not supposed to be here in Costa Rica and that this W & W trip was scheduled a year ago. A coincidence? We think not and are again amazed by God’s goodness to give us a small taste of home in our 3^rd month here.

The team worked hard to move a huge, and I mean huge, pile of dirt and debris from the front of the new building. This pile had accumulated over two years of work on this building and had to be shoveled and moved by wheel barrow down the road to the creek area. The team also did some concrete work as they built a retaining wall. In addition, a few of the men pulled wires for the electricity in the building.

It was fun to have some young people on this trip as well. The girls, Chelsea, Shelby and Sarah painted the back gate of the campus in a lovely shade of green that managed to get all over their hands and hair before the day was over. They worked hard and played hard too. Joshua and Kayley enjoyed seeing them and managed to hear all the news about the teens back in TN before the week was over.

We had a lovely final evening out on Friday night at a restaurant that overlooks the city. It was a fun way to wrap up the whole week celebrating their hard work and enjoying the company of so many good friends, old and new. It was a sad farewell, but we look forward to seeing the next TN team, the Pastors’ Team, in a couple of weeks.

We are a bit homesick for TN now, but not enough to leave Costa Rica. One friend said as they were boarding the bus to leave, that he was sorry but he was ready to leave…to which David said, “That’s OK, because we’re ready to stay.”

Please pray for our vehicle situation this week as we still have not gained ownership of the 4-Runner, although we have paid for it. It’s a paperwork matter and without this being solved in the next few days we will not be able to drive the vehicle over the border into Nicaragua. This family trip is important as we must have our passports stamped by next week to remain in country. We may have to take the bus, which is safe and comfortable, but we’d rather have our own vehicle in order to visit work sites in Nicaragua.

Next week is Spring Break so we’ll take a week off from the blog as we’ll be traveling. See you again soon!

The Webb Family

David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley

Tennessee Arrives

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow! It has been a whirlwind since I last had the time to write on the blog. Sorry for the delay, but we’re ready to update you now on the happenings here.

For starters, our home district in TN arrived on Thursday with a work and witness team representing two churches: Woodlawn and Trevecca Community. This is special for us as Woodlawn is our home church and we have good friends at Trevecca Community as well. When you live outside of your country it’s a special thing to see familiar faces. We are enjoying the time together and having a great time working side by side.

On Friday morning David and Shelley left the seminary for a Maximum Mission training event near the area of the Poas volcano which is about an hour and a half north of San Jose. Bernie Slingerland, the Regional Evangelism Coordinator, attended as well and presented trainings on church planting and evangelism strategies. The training was well received and 10 people committed to starting new cell groups/churches in their respective areas of north Costa Rica. It was a great start!

This same training group also shared in the experience of painting a local elementary school and showing the Jesus Film in the evening where more than 10 people accepted Christ and will likely form a new cell group in that community.

David and Shelley returned home on Saturday evening which allowed them to join the TN team for a Sunday church service in a local area. One of the TN team members, Chip, is also a professional guitarist and has played with many famous country singers. He played “How Great Thou Art” for the congregation and by the end everyone was singing along which made for a beautiful combination of Spanish and English.

The kids are doing well with school and activities but the highlight of their week is seeing old friends from Tennessee. They run off the school bus each day up to the “Round House” or to the work site to see who is around to visit. Not every team has youth in attendance, but this team has three: Sarah, Chelsea and Shelby. It’s fun for them to have other young people around.

That’s it for this week. We’ll tell you more about the adventures of the TN team in the next blog. Until then, God bless!

The Webbs

Ministry in Costa Rica

Hello to Everyone!
This weekend was busy with two events we were thrilled to be a part of. The first was in the north district of Costa Rica where David traveled on Sunday. The church is located near the Poas Volcano and is about 1.5 hours from our home in the city. From the Poas church, David traveled with about 100 other people 2 more hours north to evangelize in a community of about 2,000 people that have no evangelical church. The church rented a tour bus to take approximately 100 people to this area.



Although weather was a concern with the thick fog and rain, it didn't stop God's work that day. The church had planned on showing the Jesus Film, but with the rainy conditions this proved impossible. Instead the pastor, Johnny Calvo, preached a message from John 14 and afterwards 2o people came forward to receive Christ as their Savior and give their lives to Him. This "mother church" in Poas will be returning this Sunday to again reach this community with the hopes of starting a new church in a short time.

On the way north through the mountains, David's group stopped at a park for a quick rest before continuing. It was quite unique with these "tree sculptures" as you can see in the photo. They were in all shapes and sizes.



On the same day, Sunday, Shelley attended a training event to prepare for a church plant in April in the area of Rosistel. There were 5 people in attendance from Rosistel and about 15 more from this small local church that has a heart for evangelism and compassion. The group made plans for the upcoming Maximum Mission by dividing the responsibilities for leading this project among all those present. We are looking forward to this event and praying for a new leader to emerge who can devote their time to discipling those who are led to Christ from Rosistel.



Joshua and Kayley are doing well also. This week is special for Kayley as it is dress-up week. For instance, yesterday was pajama day and today was movie/cartoon character day. Kayley went to school looking an alful lot like Mickey Mouse with ears atop her head, face paint on her nose and lots of red and black clothing. Joshua is doing better this afternoon, but is suffering a bit with strep throat. He has not had strep since having his tonsils out a few years ago, but his defenses are probably a bit low with the move and changes we've experienced this year. He will return to school on Friday and once again receive lots of make up work.

That's about it for now. We are so glad to have you all praying for us during this busy time. Thanks for your love and support.
Love you all,
The Webb Family