District Assemblies

Hello All,
It has been a very busy two weeks here and so here is our official apology for the lack of blogging happening in the Webb household in Costa Rica. But finally, tonight I have found a few minutes to share what's happening here.

These last two weeks have been the annual district assemblies in the area of MAC South (Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama). There are 8 districts, so that means 8 assemblies. No, we did not attend all of them simply because of the cost of extensive travel, but we were privileged to have a part in three of the meetings: Costa Rica North, Costa Rica Central, and David attended the Nicaragua Southeast assembly. All the assemblies were great times of celebration of a year of God's blessings in each area.

Here in San Jose, we enjoyed a wonderful ordination service for three pastors in the area. Nina Gunter, General Superintendent, preached a great message that night and our friend and pastor here in San Jose, Leyla Ramirez, was one of three ordained.





Early Thursday morning the crew of 6 leaders left before sunlight to head north to the border with Nicaragua. From there, after crossing the border, they boarded a boat headed toward San Carlos.


Moody and Nina Gunter in front, Rod Rivera (Communications Director for the Region) and Dr. Carlos Saenz (Regional Director).

Finally arriving around 11am, the assembly was held with a room full of pastors and leaders. After only 3 hours of meetings, the group left for the border once again and finally arrived back to the seminary at 9pm. A long day, but a good day.

With the Assemblies behind us, we are now looking forward to a couple days off this week with the Thanksgiving holiday. We plan on spending Thursday with a some friends, missionaries with the Methodist church and seminary here in San Jose. So we'll enjoy plenty of turkey and fixings, I'm sure. And the Packers on TV, surely we'll keep busy cheering them on.

We are very thankful for a wonderful year here in Costa Rica. We are looking forward already to a great 2008 after a brief Christmas break in the USA.

God bless you all this Thanksgiving as you enjoy time with friends and family. There is much to be thankful for.

The Webb family

The Cell Phone Blues

Dear Family and Friends,

We have a story to share this week...

Every country is different. Every place has its pros and cons. Life in Costa Rica is beautiful with the tropical rain forests, mountains and beaches, but there are a few drawbacks as well.

In the good 'ole USA and in most developed countries, having a cell phone is as easy as saving the money to buy it, purchasing the perfect plan for your needs and before walking out of the store, you are set to go. You can begin texting as you leave the building. Simple, right?

Not so simple here. Here people wait on average six months on the waiting list with the government to get a line. And of course, you can only get on the list if you are a resident of Costa Rica (we're still working on that...another long process for another blog). Then you must buy a phone and this little tiny card called a SIM card (never heard of that 'til I got here; it must be inside all phones, I don't know!).

So we arrive here and find that the Evangelism Ministry has this wonderful cell phone that can be used both in Costa Rica and Panama. What a blessing.



When David is gone I can reach him if there is an emergency, right? Not so fast. The beautiful phone (it really is neat with a camera and all) is missing an essential piece of equipment...the SIM card. Where did it go? I have no idea. Apparently it was lost in the moving process, maybe even flushed or burned...Not sure how it met it's untimely death, but the fact remains, it's gone to Cell phone chip heaven. Which unfortunately leaves David without a functioning phone. But good news, the SIM chip is cheap...only about $1.25. No big deal, right?

That was in January. Since then we have learned that only the person whose name is listed as the owner of the line can purchase the SIM card. Unfortunately we learned that just after the owner left the country for good. Ugh. So, this nice individual named Eric Buell formatted an official letter giving permission for our friend Ana Betsy to buy the cheap little chip. Eric signed it and somehow we managed to get our hands on the original. But another glitch. After driving to the local grocery store Mas Por Menos (More for Less- Yeah, right!), the phone company didn't like the signature on the letter, as it differed a bit from the copy of the passport signature. So, back to the letter writing. A few months later we receive letter #2, this time with a signature perfectly matching the passport. They couldn't possibly deny us our tiny chip, now. Oh, but there's more...

After another trip to Mas Por Menos, we were a bit irritated but not totally surprised when they now required an attorney to verify the signature. Ana Betsy kindly pointed out to the nice man who kept saying "No" that maybe he did not realize that it would cost 4 times the amount of the chip to have the signature verified, but to no avail. He simply did not care, not that we expected him to.

But finally, after more trips to Mas Por Menos than I care to mention, we received the tiny little chip that fits perfectly in the tiny little slot under the battery. (I won't go into how still then the phone didn't work and Ana Betsy had to call the company who had somehow forgot to activate the chip!) Finally David made his first call on the phone, calling me from upstairs while I was down. Yes, I could hear him through the phone and from upstairs, but it worked. He's pleased. I'm glad it's over. And the kids love to play with the camera. All is well.



David at his desk listening intently to someone's Spanish.

So that's our story for this week. The end of an 11 month saga has come. Praise the Lord!

In other news:
Joshua has been sick with a throat infection and a virus. We're thankful for a good medical clinic nearby where Joshua received care on Sunday morning. He was to have braces put on this Friday, but after missing 3 days of school already, we've postponed that appointment to January. We're hoping he can attend school tomorrow and get caught up in his classes.

Thanks for your prayers. God bless your week!

The Webbs

Spelling Bee and Seminary Graduation

Hello Everyone,
It has been a cool week weather wise here in San Jose. It feels like an Iowa fall which is making us a bit homesick for a good college football game. Our ESPN does not show any of those games, but they sure like soccer. Actually, we are getting more used to watching soccer and enjoy a good goal. We have been able to watch bits and pieces of the World Series and once in a while a Monday night NFL game which has become a weekly tradition for Dad and Joshua to catch a least a few minutes of whatever game is showing that night.

This week Kayley was chosen for the 4th grade spelling bee. This is an honor as only 3 kids are chosen from each class. Kayley did not win, but performed well under the pressure of many eyes. She is now encouraged to read even more to learn more words so she can do even better next year.



There were many visitors to the seminary campus this week with a weekend retreat, education leaders' meetings and graduation all rolled into one long weekend. We participated mainly by making trips to the airport to help pick up folks. The graduation ceremony was great with representation from 9 countries including Brazil, Peru and Cuba. Many of the grads could not attend because of visa issues, but we enjoyed meeting those who were there and clapped for those who could not make it.



Our next door neighbors are the rectors of the seminary. They are Ruben and Monica Fernandez who both have doctorates and teach and administer SENDAS. They are wonderful neighbors and we enjoy them when they are around. Here they are being congratulated on another year of great work educating students throughout South and Central America.



We hope your week is a great. We are glad to hear the fires have died down in California and our friends in Carlsbad are safe and well.

Until next week,
The Webb Family

ICS - International Christian School

Hello Everyone,
This week we'd like to tell you a bit about the school that Joshua and Kayley attend. It is called ICS which stands for International Christian School. It was started as a missionary kid school but has since developed into an English language school attended mostly by Costa Rican kids. It goes from Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade.

The school is about a 10 minute very bumpy, pot-holey ride with some of the prettiest scenery you can imagine. One hill is so steep, I many times must shift down to 1st gear to make it up. (I'm sure that grade of slope would be illegal in the USA!)


Do you see those potholes? Let's just say, you weave yourself down the road!

The school has 5 main buildings. One for primary, one for a chapel and lunch room, one for administration, one for secondary and the last for a beautiful new gymnasium. (Joshua is hoping for a basketball team later this fall). The primary and secondary buildings have three wings each attached by outside walkways. There are 3 soccer fields of which Joshua is famous for finding the muddiest, dirtiest hole to fall in during his lunchtime tackle American Football game.



The kids are pleased to have a short week of school this week. They did not have classes on Monday because of Dia de la Raza (Cultural Day) and tomorrow (Friday) is parent-teacher conference day so no classes once again. Three day week....could it get any better? Well, maybe so since Kayley has a friend overnight tonight and Joshua is off visiting his new Russian friend Mike, shown in the picture below.


Tey, Mike and Joshua in front of the secondary wing.




Kayley and Jasmine ready for a sleepover.

Last weekend, David led training sessions in the North part of Costa Rica, an area not far from a pretty and active volcano called Arenal. Shelley, meanwhile, attended the Costa Rica Central NMI (missions) convention, much like what Nazarene churches celebrate each year in the states with some official voting along with reports of what has happened during the year. Unfortunately, neither Webb family member managed to remember to take photos, so we're nothing to show you for our efforts. But, it was all good!

This next week will be busy with lots of meetings here on campus. There is a retreat for Pastors and wives as well as seminary graduation. It will be fun to see many leaders here from the three countries.

Our schedule for 2008 is booking up already, but if you are interested in taking a missions trip to our area, please let us know as soon as possible. Already we have teams booked for January, February, March, May, July and two in August! We'd love to see you! Email us at dwebb@nazmac.org or swebb@nazmac.org.

God bless you all!
The Webbs
David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley

Weekend Activities

Hello Everyone!

Well, it has been a an uneventful week with our normal routine of office work, phone calls and plans for the future, so there is nothing too exciting to report this time around. The kids are in school and will receive their first report cards later this week, so they are preparing for some tests and projects.

Kayley and Joshua have both enjoyed our "adopted" dog, Tawny who has handed down to us from the Rice family who in June left the field and are now in Oklahoma. Tawny is a quiet, patient dog who sleeps on average 18 hours a day, so she is not too much trouble, except for the hair that is everywhere! She puts up with Kayley pulling on her and dressing her up so Kayley loves her.


In other news, on Sunday, David led a workshop to prepare a new church plant for their upcoming Maximum Mission, an event to reach out to the community and raise awareness of the Church of the Nazarene in the area. It started with an afternoon church service and afterwards a two hour training time.


The church is in the town of Alajuela, just north of the airport, and this particular part of the town, Santa Rita, was declared by La Nacion, the most prominent Costa Rican newspaper, as the most dangerous section of Costa Rica. There are lots of drugs and other problems that come along with that, but the new Pastor, Pastor Marco, feels led to plant the church in this neighborhood to make a difference in the people's lives. It is difficult work, but he has courage and strength to carry on. You can pray for him as he recently lost his job because of being a pastor, so he is looking for other work. He is not worried, even though he has a wife and baby to care for. He is a testimony of trusting in the Lord for all things.


The man with the smile is Pastor Marco, along with others in the new church.

David had a wonderful time in the United States in September and attended conferences in Ohio and Oregon as well as visits to Tennessee and Iowa. We were glad to have him home after that nearly two week trip. (Sorry, no pictures as the camera is left behind somewhere!)

Well, that's all for this week. We hope and pray you are well.
God bless,
The Webb Family