The Webb Page Newsletter - January 2007

The Webb Page

Volume III, Number 1 January 2007

We have arrived safely in Costa Rica after a wonderful time in the U.S. with friends and family. Read on to hear all about it…

Wonderful Vacation in Iowa

We had a great time visiting with friends and family in Iowa and Illinois. What a whirlwind trip! Of course, it wasn’t all fun and games. We had lots of work to do too. The first day was spent making arrangements for our crates to be moved to Costa Rica as well as going to the doctor. The kids needed immunizations and the dentist got rich off Kayley’s teeth once again. And of course we did some shopping for those things that are hard to find in Central America. But the best part was enjoying the holidays with family after being away for a year. We do not plan on returning to the US for over two years, so it was a sad goodbye once again, but already some relatives are talking of visiting, so the two years will not seem so long.

Parting Ways

On January 2, the Webb family arrived at the O’Hara airport, but we didn’t take the same flights. David took a flight to South Africa and Shelley and the kids headed for Guatemala. David attended the Third Wave Conference in Johannesburg and finally met up with the rest of us ten days later in Costa Rica. It was quite an adventure for Shelley and the kids to travel to Costa Rica without Dad, but God provided the way without a single problem. We are pleased with our new home in Costa Rica, especially since it is located on the seminary grounds and has lots of open space for the kids to play and run (something we had missed in Guatemala!). And it was a happy reunion when Dad finally arrived on January 12^th.

New Address

We are pleased that we can receive mail here in Costa Rica (we had a hard time receiving our packages in Guatemala!) and we hear it is best to send through the USPS using first class mail. Please address packages to David Webb and send to the following address:

Seminario Nazareno (SENDAS)

Apartado 3977-1000

San Jose, Costa Rica

Assignment Changes

During Shelley’s first day of training for Finances for MAC South, she received a phone call from our director, Dr. Saenz saying that he had changed our assignments and that she could stop the training in finances. What an answer to prayer! Later that day, we received an email stating that David would be the Coordinator for Youth and Evangelism and that Shelley would assist him in these positions. We are both thrilled with the changes and pray that God will use us in the area of MAC Sur.

The Crates Arrive

It was a big day for us when our crates finally arrived. They were unopened and in great condition after a year of storage. Within a few hours, they were emptied out and broken down to be used as building material here on the seminary grounds. Kayley ran around the house saying, “It’s Christmas Eve, It’s Christmas Eve!” and has really enjoyed playing with her toys again. Joshua searched to find his Playstation and has put it to good use in these weeks. Mom and Dad are just glad to have some familiar things around the house as it makes it feel more like home. There are no pictures on the walls yet, but there will be soon.

Ministry/School Begins

David left on January 26^th with Eric Buell (Coordinator for Work and Witness) to meet up with a team in Panama City. It’s a great opportunity to meet the leaders on the Central Panama District and also continue to learn Spanish. They will return on February 5^th.

The kids started school January 15^th at International Christian School. They wear uniforms and ride a bus each day. They have adjusted quickly and enjoy the school, their teachers and their new friends. We had to make a few adjustments to their schedules as Joshua was in a French class which was taught in Spanish and Kayley was in a social studies class taught in Spanish. Thankfully, the school made some changes and they both are now in a beginner’s Spanish class which is more on their level.

Prayer Requests:

ØPray that we will continue to learn the language and become adapted to the Costa Rican culture.

ØPray for vision in ministry as we train and assist the leaders in the churches in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

ØPray for our children, Joshua (age 12) and Kayley (age 8) as they adjust to their new school and surroundings.

We sure appreciate your prayers during this transition to Costa Rica. Truly, we have felt God’s hand leading and guiding and assuring us again and again that we are in His will, right where we should be.

We cannot thank you all enough for your support! We could not be in Costa Rica without your help and prayers. Feel free to contact us by email at shelwebb@hotmail.com. May God bless you for all you do!

The Webb Family

David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley

The Crates Have Arrived, The Hot Water Has Not!

Hello Everyone!

Maybe you noticed that the blog was down this week. Sorry about that but apparently the administrator of this particular blog (OK, that would be me - Shelley) managed to delete the entire blog. Not quite sure how I did that, but hope I don't reinact the event. Anyway, after 4 days of consecutive emails to blogger help people, I got a nice response from a gentleman there saying that he had restored the site. I am thankful and now realize how much this site means to our family as a record of our last year and a half.

Yes, we are out of hot water here. First we thought it might be a problem with the gas tanks as they are empty, but now we realize it is the hot water heater that is using the gas way too fast and has burned out its automatic sensor. A new one is on the way and I hope we'll only need to bucket shower with water off the stove for another day or two. Not really a hardship, but it will make us appreciate our hot water.

Of course things don't break when David is here, but only a few minutes after he leaves. He left on Saturday morning at 5am for a flight to Panama. My cold shower was at 7:30am. Anyway, he has called and is doing well just outside of Panama City. He is not alone. Eric Buell is with him and they are meeting a district superintendent and a team from the U.S. to work for the week in that area. I'm sure he'll have lots to share when he returns on Monday after 10 days of traveling.



Our long lost crates with all our worldly possessions did finally arrive last Monday. Within a couple of hours they were unloaded and the wood broken down. It was hard to see what David had spent soooo many hours building being torn down in a matter of minutes, but it had served its purpose and will surely get recycled here on the seminary grounds for some upcoming project. We are glad to have "our" things once again. Kayley and Joshua felt like it was Christmas as they viewed toys they had not seen for some time. Mom is just glad to have some of her kitchen stuff to use again.


We have been attending a Nazarene church in Tibas for the last few weeks. It is not far and since we don't have our own vehicle yet, it has been good to ride along with the Buell family. We have enjoyed the worship service and sunday school classes but when David returns, we'd like to visit other churches that are here in the city. It is good to have a church home and although we are missing our Guatemala church and the children there, it is time to find a new home whether it is in Tibas or elsewhere.

Once again, thanks for your prayers during this transition. Everyone is adjusting to Costa Rican life and all the changes that entails. May God bless your week through and through.

David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley

First Day of School in Costa Rica

Joshua (7th grade) and Kayley (3rd grade) in front of our new home on the grounds of the seminary in Costa Rica. The vehicle behind is the one we are considering buying.

Hello Everyone!

It was a great week for us here in Costa Rica. The kids had their first week of school at International Christian Academy. It is located about 15 minutes from the seminary where we live. Joshua and Kayley take a small bus each day to and from school. The school is larger than they are used to with about 60 kids in the 3^rd grade and about 50 in the 7^th grade. (Their school in Guatemala had less than 20 in each class!). They have adjusted beautifully even to the idea of wearing uniforms with tucked in shirts! Mom loves the uniforms since there are no more last minute discussions about what to wear each morning.

David and Shelley spent much of the week in the car learning their way around the east side of the city. San Jose has over 2 million people and they use a series of rotundas (traffic circles) around the perimeter of the city. We are beginning to become more accustomed to the rotundas and the fact that the car on the inside land has the right of way.

We are still waiting on our shipment of crates. They should be delivered early this week. We are hoping sooner than later since David will be leaving on Friday with Eric Buell to meet up with a work and witness team in Panama. He will be gone for one week.

We will have some additional training in early February and then we’ll be off and running with our new positions in Evangelism and Youth Ministry. There are many leaders to meet in the area of Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua so we see lots of traveling in our futures.

We do have a new post office address here and have learned that the mail actually arrives here in Costa Rica, as opposed to Guatemala where we rarely received any of our mail!

Please address mail to David Webb, Seminario del Nazareno, Apartado 3977-1000, San Jose, Costa Rica. It is best to send by first class mail through the US Postal Service.

One of the VBS classes at the Tibas church. Notice Kayley and Paige on the right side as they memorize a verse in spanish. The lady teaching is actually Joshua's English teacher at his school.

The church in Tibas where we have attended the last few weeks held a VBS this week. (Costa Rican schools do not start up again for a few more weeks.) It was wonderful to watch as the teachers had standing room only in their classrooms! This is the first time for the church to hold this type of activity in a number of years, so it is a great start. They also had a medical clinic, youth evangelism, and a concert for youth in a local park after repainting and cleaning the area. What a great outreach to the community.

We do have a few prayer requests this week as we continue our adjustments here:

1. Pray for our crates to arrive soon and with all our dishes unbroken!
2. Pray for the kids as they continue to adjust to their new school and for Joshua’s school schedule since we’ve requested a change in his French class.
3. Pray for our continued growth in the language. We cannot be fully effective in ministry without more fluency.
4. Pray for David and Eric as they leave for Panama this coming weekend.
5. Pray for our many necessary purchases in the coming weeks: vehicle, household goods and some furniture.

Thanks to you all for your faithfulness in prayer! You are the best!

The Webb Family

Together Again

Hello All,
We are excited to be all together once again as David has now joined us in Costa Rica. We have been here a little over a week and are beginning to feel adjusted to our home and surroundings. We have much to learn to be acclamated to the city and our new jobs, but we're excited to get started.

Which leads to the most recent change in our lives: our new positions as missionaries. David has been appointed as Coordinator for Youth and for Evangelism and Shelley will be assisting him in these two positions. We are excited to work together and Shelley is especially grateful for the change as the position in finances was completely new with much to learn and in addition not in an area of past experience. And so, we are thankful for God's leading in a new direction. God is good!

The kids are adjusting well and will begin school on Monday. They will ride a van to school along with the Buell girls, who by the way, have been great playmates for Kayley since our arrival. Above you can see the back of our new home with the girls posed while playing "spy games" with the 2 way radios.

The campus is as beautiful as we remember with trees, flowers and greenery. The temperatures here are a bit cooler than Guatemala, at least for now. It has been in the low 70s during the day. At night it is a bit cool but with an extra blanket it is fine. (Remember, there's no heat or air conditioning here). We remember well the chapel building (which you can see with the steeple in the photo above) as we helped to paint the chapel in 2003 when we visited here on a Work and Witness trip. It still looks good!

We are anticipating the arrival of our six crates which should arrive by the end of next week. We are praying for no problems in retrieving them from customs. We have been without "our" things for a year and it will be fun to remember what's inside those crates. Our house has 3 bedrooms upstairs and a guest bedroom downstairs so there is ample space for us all. Shelley especially is wanting to make this house a home by having our things dispersed throughout.

We appreciate greatly your continued prayers as we adjust to life here. God has been good in it all and has made a way for us, from fitting things into suitcases, to providing the nicest airport personnel ever, to planes being on time, to problemless immigration and customs ventures, to a beautiful home, to great new friends...the list is long to all our blessings these days. Count yours, I bet your list is long too!

God bless your week...See you next week with another update.

La Familia Webb

Yes, We've Arrived

Dear Friends and Family,

So sorry to be so long in updating the blog. Shelley's laptop is not linking to the internet here for some reason, so computer time has been very short. I am now borrowing a computer from another missionary family here, the Buell's. They have been a real blessing to me (Shelley) and the kids since we arrived here (San Jose, Costa Rica) last Thursday afternoon.

We are settling into our house and are all enjoying it a lot. We are excited that our shipment of crates has arrived in Costa Rica, but we'll have to wait another week or so before receiving as it must go through the customs process. We are anxious to see our belongings that we've been without for an entire year.

The kids are adjusting well. Kayley has played non-stop with the Buell girls and Joshua has enjoyed roaming the campus and playing BB. They will start school on Monday. David will arrive this Friday after a 10 day trip to South Africa and we are anxious for his arrival. We have emailed a few times and he is enjoying his meetings and trainings there.

Sorry for no picture this time, but when my computer is working, I'll upload a bunch. Thanks for your prayers. The kids and I have really felt God's help during this time of transition. Keep praying for our spanish. It's hard to get going again after a two week break.

God bless you all!
The Webb Family