Hello World,

Time flies when you are having fun.  At least that is my excuse for not posting a blog from more than one month.  SORRY!

Well, let’s start with the family.  Both kids went back to school in this month, Kayley on the 6^th and Joshua left for the USA on Aug 21^st.  Both are getting adjusted to the new school year, and both are juniors at their respective schools, ICS (Kayley) and Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

Joshua and Lilly

Joshua at a ball game in Columbus.

Just before Joshua left us once again, we took a few days off to visit Cahuita National Park, located on the Caribbean side.  This area is less developed than the Pacific side, but beautiful just the same.   Since Joshua had never been there, he enjoyed the unique experience of the natural beaches and let’s not forget the snorkeling.

Back at the office, Shelley said a sad goodbye to her office assistant Helen who is going to the Dominican Republic on her way to Honduras to serve as a missionary with Genesis.  Check out this site if you do not yet know what I am talking about!

http://www.mesoamericagenesis.com/

The SENDAS crew at Helen's going away party.

But God has provided and I have a new assistant named Vicente.   I am so thankful for the help God gives me in my work.  I don’t know if I would survive without these great leaders who use their talents for the Lord.

Vicente Bustos, new office assistant in Public Relations

In other GOODBYE news….we have a number of missionaries leaving this month.  The LeGrands were the first to say goodbye to Costa Rica, leaving for a 4 month home assignment before they are assigned with Work and Witness in another area of the Mesoamerica Region.  We are already missing their kids running around campus, asking us questions and in general, just making life fun.

On September 23^rd, we have two families leaving for the USA: Lucas and Liz Gentry, who have served as volunteers for an entire year with SENDAS and Gary and Naomi Faucett who have taken intensive CALL class before they head to the Dominican Republic to work with the Genesis project.  We are excited to watch as God uses them in ministry in the coming months and years.

Lucas and Liz Gentry

Gary and Naomi Faucett with Profesora Gaby

A final goodbye will be for the Jimenez family.  They have served at SENDAS with us for nearly 3 years and will be moving to Ecuador to serve on the South America Region.  Many blessings to them as they move even further from their families:  Esdras is from Mexico and Scarlet from Nicaragua.

CALL has had another good year.  The language school is blessed to have three great professors who are patient and caring as the students learn Spanish little by little.  I am blessed to work with these great ladies!

All three CALL professors:  Zeidy, Gaby and Nuria.

In other ministry news, David and Shelley have been working all year on the translating and recording of a Spanish radio show called Family Care.  Our friends Miguel and Irene record the 5 minute show in Spanish and then we record it in English.  There are many Caribbean islands that are waiting to have these shows available to them on the radio and on the website.

A first for David and Shelley – leading a marriage workshop!  We taught the basics of the 5 love languages at the mission Three and Three (yes, that is actually the name of the community, something about two families with 3 boys each) really enjoyed the teaching.  Many couples that live there are not married, but instead live together.  But as they are learning more about God’s plan for marriage, they are sensing a need to be married in the church.  Fourteen couples came forward at the end to pray for their marriage and three couples talked to the Pastor afterwards asking about the process for being married.  God is good!

More than 80 persons were in attendance at 3y3.

Lastly, we enjoyed our time with the Costa Rica Central pastors and spouses at their first retreat in nearly 15 years.  It was a time of relaxation, talking, eating, and marriage/family workshops.  We are so thankful for the great leaders we work with here in Costa Rica.

Many of the Pastors and spouses from the CR Central District.

Another blessing for us here in Costa Rica is to spend time with Alvaro and Monica.  Alvaro lived with David's family as a foreign exchange student when David was five years old.  You never know who God will bring into your life once again, but we sure are pleased He gave us these last few years with these special people.  Al and Monica are moving back to Columbia soon and we will miss them.

Alvaro and Monica have been family for us here in Costa Rica.

We can’t wait to see you next summer when we visit the USA.  We are planning on spending some time in Iowa, Kansas City, Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee and Chicago in our two months of traveling and speaking in churches.  Maybe we will see YOU then.

Thanks for your prayers and support.  We couldn’t be effective in ministry without each one of you.

Blessings,

The Webbs