Recent Happenings...and pineapple

Hello Friends and Family,

We have been keeping busy as usual with trips, school activities and the regular daily grind. David traveled to the SE District of Nicaragua to prepare for a team from Trevecca University that will arrive on May 4th. Then he traveled north once again, but this time within Costa Rica to an area near Upala. Another team will be there in June to plant some new cell groups.

Do you know how pineapples grow? Before arriving in Central America, I always thought they grew on some kind of a tree – like a banana. But no! On David’s trip to North Costa Rica he took some pineapple field photos. So now you know that pineapples grow on small plants near the ground.


Another highlight was spending time with a Work and Witness team from Wisconsin that worked on the seminary campus for about 10 days.
They continued a project to complete new classrooms for a new program at the Seminary. It is a community outreach program to teach basic computer skills and basic conversational English.


And that leads me to tell you that soon I will be changing positions. Although I have fully enjoyed working with Child Sponsorship for the last two years, God is leading in a new direction. As most of you know, my educational background is in Education, specifically Higher Education, so it seems a natural fit to work with the Seminary. My position will be coordinating Public Relations and Communications so the seminary can stay better linked with the world. Lots of neat things happen through the work of the seminary, but the news isn’t reaching everyone it should. So, beginning sometime in April, the transition will take place. I will continue to work with the coordination of Evangelism teams and assisting David with administration, especially when he is traveling.
Next week is an important one around here. Every District Supintendent, as well as other leaders, will be here for meetings. We will have services each night (Wed-Friday) and Shelley is singing with the worship team...so it will be a long, but great week. We look forward to hearing great preaching from Dr. Gunter and Dr. Bustle who are two of the top leaders in the Church of the Nazarene. I am sure it will be a blessed time.

We are nearing what we call Semana Santa or Holy Week. The kids will not have classes and many businesses shut down to celebrate the Easter holiday. Our office will be closed for a day so we are looking forward to that short break.

God bless you all,
The Webbs

Trip to Kansas City

Hello Everyone!
We are finally getting back into a routine around here. After being gone for a little more than two weeks, it has taken a little time to get caught back up. We are hoping that after tomorrow morning when Joshua has two more make up exams, we will be all caught back up on the school work. It's tough to make up two weeks!!!

David hit the ground running and has been traveling since Sunday. We hope he will be able to return this coming Sunday and stay home for a bit before taking off again.

We had a lovely time in Kansas City for the Missionary Training Meetings and the commissioning service. After serving for 3 years under an "intern" contract, we are now officially "global missionaries" which means we are approved to continue on with the work here in the MAC Region. We are glad the interviews and meetings are behind us for now as we were getting anxious to get back to our work, but we did enjoy the time with the other missionaries from all around the world - servants from Brazil, Peru, El Salvador serving in various parts of Central and South America, as well as a few Americans serving in various parts of Europe and Asia as well as the border with Mexico. We were quite an eclectic group but what a great time we had speaking/listening in 3 languages to each others stories of missionary life in whatever place.

Here is a photo of most of the group. The commissioning service was nice with the family and leaders surrounding the missionaries for prayer and sending us out once again.









Kayley had a wonderful time with the other MKs who attended the meetings. The kids took field trips each day and were treated like little Kings and Queens. Good memories!















Kayley and Joshua are already thinking about ending the school year, but we have a couple more months to go yet. But when it is time for Science Fair, you know you are getting close. Kayley's Science fair was today.

She looked like she was having a good time sharing about her experiment with the other kids and adults present.


Thanks for your prayers and support. We are blessed to have you with us on this journey.

David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley Webb

The Webb Page Newsletter March 09

The Webb Page Newsletter
March 2009

Regional Office Missionaries Move to San Jose
In January of 2009, the Regional Office made the move from Guatemala City to San Jose, Costa Rica. A total of 7 families have arrived. We have moved into the new Regional Office and are settling in.

It is different for the Webbs to have so many neighbors. Before the arrival of the Regional Office missionaries, the seminary campus was a quiet place, with little traffic, but that has all changed! There are great things about having so many, so close. For instance, we had someone to watch the Super Bowl with this year. David and I have plans for more dates now with more friends around to help with the kids occasionally. Shelley even got to go with David on a Maximum Mission Trip to Nicaragua North. (See a prior blog for more info on that trip!) What a blessing that was!

The Trees Come Crashing Down!
After the Regional Office staff got moved and settled (a bit), two big natural events occurred. We had an earthquake, the biggest we have experienced at 6.2 and then we had strong winds that blew a tree into the Regional Director’s House. It is a truly a miracle that someone was not killed as the tree went all the way through the roof and into the main stairwell.

It destroyed the back of the house and the firemen determined the houses nearest the tall pine trees (4 families) were unsafe as more trees could fall. Just get settled and then you have to move out! Bummer! The good thing is that many of the most dangerous trees finally got cut down. (See more info in the blog!)


Above you can see some of the damage from the tree falling on the home of the Saenz family.

An example of some of the damage from the 6.2 earthquake that sent us running from our offices. The epicenter was located about 35 miles from San Jose to the north. This damage is from near the epicenter. Thankfully we did not experience any serious damage in the city or here at the Regional Office.










Commissioning Service
In February, the Webb family headed to Kansas City for missionary meetings, General Board Interviews and the Commissioning Service.

For three years we have worked under an intern missionary contract. To become “Global Missionaries” it was necessary to interview with the Regional Advisory Committee in Guatemala in the fall, then after their approval, more interviews were required in Kansas City. We found all our interviews to be more or less pleasant experiences, with the usual butterflies beforehand and sighs of relief afterwards.


So now, we have signed new two year contracts to continue serving here in Costa Rica. We feel we are right where we should be and are pleased to continue in the work of the Lord.


Thanks for your prayers and support.
You are a blessing!
The Webb Family
David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley

Hello Everyone,
Finally this week I have the opportunity to tell you Part 2 about our wonderful trip to Nicaragua North. Check back two blogs if you missed Part 1!

The major "construction" part of this trip consisted in building a fence around the newly painted Children's Dining Hall. This may not sound like a big job, until you remember that you use only shovels and picks instead of mechanic equipment, and when you learn that the ground is not dirt, but hard rocks!

It was back breaking work!

The team from the USA worked alongside the local residents and the "mother" church team to get the work completed. Even the boys worked hard.














On Sunday, the team enjoyed a service at La Carbonera, where Pastor Mercedes preaches each week. This church also houses the Child Development Center, so it was a great experience for the team to learn more about Child Sponsorship while there.

At the end of the service, something very special happened. A father of one of the children in Child Sponsorship came forward to accept Jesus as His Savior and Lord.
It was a great moment to witness as the Pastor praying with him for forgiveness of sins and a new life in Christ. It is a new beginning for this father.


We arrived home tired, but energized knowing all that was accomplished for the Kingdom. One of the team members from Coshocton, Ohio sent the game Monopoly for the kids. They love it and I see many late Friday nights in our future trying to buy Park Place and Boardwalk! Thank you!!!

Next week we will share just a bit about our time at the Missionary Training meetings and the Commissioning Service. We are now "Global Missionaries" which doesn't mean anything will change but does mean that we have survived for 3 years and have the approval of our Region and the church to continue in the work.

God bless you this week.
The Webb Family