Dear Family and Friends,
Travel and more travel just lately, but we are so thankful
for God’s mercies to allow us to come and go safely each month. Whether it is within Costa Rica or to Panama,
we are always glad to arrive home safely, without incident. (Well, maybe better to say, without accident
– there are always incidents!).
David went to the Indigenous area a couple weeks ago and got
to participate in a meeting of indigenous leaders (elected representatives from
the communities) along with some governmental leaders. There is a census coming up, which involves
walking from pueblo to pueblo talking to people, getting an accurate count of
people in each area and doing routine preventative medical work. The Church of the Nazarene has been invited
to participate in the census, walking in small groups. The plan is to do this the first week of
April. This is not for everyone, as it
involves a lot of hard hiking, but we are hoping to find some young, strong
souls willing and able to go along and minister as they go.
On this trip, instead of driving across the river, the group
rode a tractor across. The water was a
little high and it is hard on the vehicle to drive across. Coming home, everyone walked across.
In preparation for the bridge project (building a walking
bridge across this same river), the road has been cleared so that materials can
more easily be brought in. Another
advancement is the new benches (pews) at the Cuchey Church. The local pastor and his son have begun a
small business of making wood furniture and the pews were one of the first
projects. That is quite an improvement
over tree stumps.
Keep praying for the Indigenous Area pastors (Arcelio and
Maximilliano) who we are working with, as well as the census and bridge
projects.
Just this last weekend, we went to Panama for the West
District Assembly. This year it was held
in Changuinola, a city of about 25,000 on the Caribbean side. It was a long trip to arrive, leaving at
7:15am and arriving at 7pm. We stopped
to make two visits, one with Pastor Edwin in Limon and the other in Bribri to
see an independent missionary family, the Jones’. They are assisting with the translation of
the Jesus Film into Cabecar. It is hoped
that this translation (multiple voices at a cost of $35,000) can be made this
year with the help of Jesus Film Harvest Partners. The recording will be done
in the town of Bribri by Cabecar speakers.
This will be a great tool for the Cabecar people.
The other hold up was the electricity, or I should say, the
lack thereof. We waited on the Panama
side until about five minutes before the border closed, and thankfully, we were
able to process all the paperwork, pay all the fees, and leave for Changuinola
at 6:15pm. This is the old bridge that until about two years ago was for cars, but now is used just for pedestrian traffic. That's a good thing 'cause there are lots of boards missing on that bridge.
This was Kayley’s first trip to Changuinola, and she loved
it. The prices in Panama are much more
reasonable than Costa Rica, and so we shopped for clothing for her on Friday
night. She was pleased to find some good
deals on things she needed.
The Assembly was held on Saturday morning. In normal Panamanian timing, the 9am meeting
began at 10:30am when everyone finally arrived.
Many district leaders came from the Pacific side (Chiriqui) and left at
4:30am to arrive. The district reported
16% growth this year, mostly from the organization of two new churches near
David, Panama. It was a great
celebration, led by the Regional Director, Dr. Carlos Saenz.
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| This is the street we walked between the hotel and the church. |
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| Seven of the pastors, each giving a short report. |
The trip home was much faster. The highway between Limon and San Jose is quite dangerous, especially at night, and we were glad to make it home safely and in record time.
Kayley is staying busy with her school activities. Her junior class is preparing for their
senior trip (no firm plans to location yet, but it usually involves an
airplane) that will take place this fall. They are raising funds and Kayley’s job is to make brownies, cookies,
etc since very few know how to bake here.
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| Can you find Kayley? (1st row standing, four from the left). |
Upcoming Events:
-Today is David’s birthday, so we are celebrating with a
meal out and a movie.
-A trip to the Indigenous area is in the works to attempt to
complete the plans for the bridge.
Without this, we cannot move forward with the project.
-There is a Maximum Mission event in Los Chiles next weekend
(near the Nicaraguan border) and we may go to help out.
-The Tavares, Florida and district team will arrive at the
end of the month for a week of community service and SENDAS projects.
-Kayley will be going to youth camp for 3 days over Holy Week.
-Shelley is working hard to finish the translation of six
books into English that focus on mission. The books are part of the School of Leadership series.
-Kay Lynn Robson, a volunteer missionary, will arrive on
March 11th – next week. Yeah!
That's the news for now. Thanks for your support and prayers. If you have interest in supporting any of the projects you read about here, just let us know.
Blessings to everyone,
The Webb Family
