Hello Dear Friends and Family,

 

It is Semana Santa (Holy Week) and the Webbs are thankful for a couple of days of rest and relaxation before we celebrate Easter Sunday with our friends at the CiRE Church of the Nazarene (CiRE = Ciudad de Refugio or in English = City of Refuge).  David will be preaching and has a special message planned about, yes, you guessed it, the Resurrection of Jesus.  Wish you could all be there to hear it.

For now, here’s a quick update on all that has been happening.

David and Shelley enjoyed traveling and leading workshops in two locations of the Panama West District:  David and Changuinola.  It was a fast trip of 3 days, but well worth the time and effort to visit the pastors and leaders of the district.  We led workshops on Church Development and Evaluation, helping the leaders to consider the different ministries of their church and how they might be improved.  We enjoyed the fellowship and the food.  Another great note is that Pastor Juan Flores will now be a church planter for the Changuinola area. We are excited to see the district support him as he works to plant new missions in the area.

David, Panama

Pastor and Church Planter Armando with David

David presenting in Changuinola, Panama

As we left Panama, we had a little problem with a border guard who wanted us to leave from the same border we entered (6-7 hour drive!).  Finally, he made it clear he would be happy to receive money, but in the end, he let us continue on toward the border after a brief explanation of the Holiness Cube (a cube, kinda like Rubic’s cube that tells about how to live a holy life).  He may have preferred money or food, but in the end God wanted him to have the Cube!  We can only hope he will put it to good use.

David took another trip to the Indigenous Area of Tayni, meeting with the church leaders from Cuchey.  Four district leaders went as well, representing various church ministries such as youth, missions and Sunday School.  Also, Pastora Leyla married five couples on Friday evening.  They decorated the best they could, using banana stalks (they hold water) as vases for for flowers which made a beautiful aisle to walk down.  

One of five couple who were married last Friday night.

A workshop on NMI by Ruth, the Costa Rica Central district president.

Pastor Arcelio (from Cuchey), Pastora Leyla and David unloading supplies.

Although it had rained for three straight days when they arrived, it was possible to cross the rivers by 4x4. David felt it best to leave the vehicle on the far side of the second river, in case the river rose too much during their time there, so in the end the group did have to walk back (30 minute hike) from Cuchey. But everyone survived the mud and wet and finally arrived safely to San Jose once again. 

Then, this last Monday, David and Shelley, along with two other district leaders, drove to San Carlos and a small village called El Molino to meet with a possible new mission group that is already meeting in the town.  Pastor Hubert and his wife Marcelly have been already working in the area and have been meeting with about 25 people.  This may be the location for a Maximum Mision project in July with a team from the USA, so we also checked out lodging and food options in the area.  It was a long, but successful day in San Carlos.  

This is where the cell group is currently meeting.

Pastor Hubert and Marcelly

Also, this past Sunday, we enjoyed attending the Dedication Service for the Alajuela Central’s new sanctuary that was built with the help of three work and witness teams.  It is beautiful and this church is in a prime location to make a difference in Alajuela, the second largest city of Costa Rica.

Beautiful sanctuary

Kayley is on break this week from classes and couldn’t be happier about that.  Joshua is making plans to spend the summer with us here in Costa Rica, arriving in mid-May after his finals at MVNU.  Hard to believe both our kids are finishing up their sophomore years. 

Shelley is about to get very busy again with CALL (Language School) as both PLNU and NNU will be arriving in May.  David has maximum mission projects in May and July and with all the new church plants and activities, he is staying very busy. 

Finally, Kayley’s birthday is coming up – Sweet Sixteen!  We’ll have a couple of parties for her, one with her teen friends and another with our mission family, to celebrate this momentous occasion on May 3^rd.

HAPPY EASTER to you all.  Many blessings from the Webbs.

Shelley, David, Joshua and Kayley