Earthquake near Volcan Poas

Hello Family and Friends,
We had a real scare a little more than a week ago when an earthquake (6.2) struck here in Costa Rica. The epicenter was located just a little east of Volcano Poas, which is not more than 30 miles from here. I (Shelley) was in my new office and the first thing I thought about was if this new building had been well constructed and would stand the test of an earthquake. I yelled and ran out of the building, along with everyone else.



With so many new missionaries who had just arrived, this was quite a shock. They had all experienced earthquakes in Guatemala, but not this strong. We assured them it was not a "normal" quake. Joshua was on the soccer field and said that all the trees started moving and the ground shook and then things started falling from the trees. He was in the safest place of all out there. Everyone here at the seminary is just fine. We had some pictures fall off the shelves and such, but nothing major.

It is a different story closer to the epicenter.
I have not heard final reports, but early on the news said there were 15 deaths and 100 people missing.












Of course many people lost their homes, vehicles, etc... and the damage to the natural environment is massive. Many crops are lost and fisherman are out of work for now.



For those of you who have visited La Paz Waterfall, this picture sums it up. The water is completely brown and filled with debris.


We have had some aftershocks, but nothing like the 6.2 that struck that Thursday at 1pm. We'll not forget it for awhile around here. Of course, as a church we are trying to find the best ways to help those who lost so much. Supplies have already been send by local churches to the most affected areas.

In other news, the kids started to school this week and had a good first 3 days. It is fun for Kayley to have a buddy in her class (Abby Slingerland) and all the kids seem to be adjusting well to the school schedule once again. Here you can see a photo of some of the missionary kids playing on the playground.


Please pray for David as he is traveling all this week to Nicaragua. He will be training church planters and helping to prepare for many projects that will occur in April and May.

We have heard about the frigid temps in our home state of Iowa (40 degrees below zero!) and are thankful for temperate weather here. We will get our winter blast in February in Kansas, but seeing friends and family will make up for any freezing temps.

God bless you all,
The Webb Family

Hello Everyone,

It has been an interesting time here in San Jose as the Regional Office missionaries make the Big Move to Costa Rica. In all, 7 families are making the move. The week started with a special prayer time/meeting to begin the New Year in the New Building. The building structure is completed but there is more work to be done to complete all the “finishing touches.”

For now, David’s office is in the lower level and Shelley’s office is on the main level. After working side by side, sharing an office, it has been a bit of a change, but we are both adjusting well to our new spaces.

Kayley is especially pleased with the changes since it has brought her even more friends.
The Slingerlands have two girls, Hannah and Abby, and the Armstongs have two little ones, Elijah (5) and Sydney (3). There are two families from Guatemala who have 5 girls between them, so that even makes it more fun. Here are a few of the girls playing basketball. You can see the new Regional Office in the background - the yellowish building.

All the children have been playing together all week, enjoying the outdoors as well as video games and movies inside. Joshua continues to enjoy the church youth group and the band. He hopes to play the drums even more this year as his skills are improving with each practice.


Since none of the missionaries have cars yet, we have been honored to assist by either loaning our car or running people from here to there to get the things they need to make their house a home. Everyone is getting settled in and hoping that the shipment with their household goods will arrive sooner rather than later.

We said goodbye today to our good friends, the Ceballos. They are returning to Mexico and will pastor in the same church they left 2 years ago. Their family has served at the seminary and in the local church alongside us. They will be missed!


The kids begin school this week (Wednesday) and some are looking forward to that more than others. David will begin traveling again next week with a trip to Nicaragua and then both David and Shelley will host a team from Ohio to Nicaragua North at the end of the month.

February will be busy with a 2-week trip to Lenexa, KS for meetings. We are all looking forward to being in the USA for a small break and hope to see some family from Iowa during our visit.
Thanks for your prayers. You are appreciated. God bless you all,

The Family Webb

Happy New Year!

Hello Everyone!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This year we remained in Costa Rica for the Holiday. We have enjoyed the warm weather, but we all would have preferred to suffer in the cold and be a bit closer to family, but we are looking forward to a two-week break in February for meetings in Kansas City area so our “holiday trip” will just be a bit delayed this year.

On Christmas Eve our local church filled a large van and 3 cars to visit three marginalized communities for the purpose of playing games with the children and giving each one a small gift.














It was great fun and a very rewarding day.
Here in Costa Rica, Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve with a meal with family and friends and then at midnight the gifts are opened! Everyone stays up very late enjoying their gifts.
We spent the evening with a local family and stayed until 12:30 until everyone had opened their gifts. After getting home at 1am or so we thought about opening our gifts, but even the kids were too tired and agreed to wait until morning to enjoy the moments even more.


We have enjoyed two special meals with the missionary families that have remained for Christmas. On December 23rd, we had everyone to our home for a Christmas meal and then on New Years Day we enjoyed another get together at our neighbor’s home. Both events were a blessing for all!

The Slingerland family arrived in mid December and we have enjoyed our time with them. The kids have especially had fun playing on the seminary campus and getting caught back up on life after not having much contact since 2006 when we lived in Guatemala. It was a blessing to have them here to share the holiday season.

We are looking forward to Monday, January 5th when almost all the Regional Office missionaries will have moved to Costa Rica and we will begin to see what the future looks like with all the changes that are coming. We know it is all in the Lord’s Hands and that He will help all the missionaries make this important transition.
God bless you all!

The Webbs

Thanksgiving at the Beach

Hello Everyone!
We had a great trip to celebrate Thanksgiving – at the beach! Even though the closest beaches on the Pacific side are only 2.5 hours away, we have only managed to travel there one time in the year and a half that we’ve lived here. We promised the kids that another beach trip would happen this year, and we managed to keep that promise just in the nick of time.


We packed up on Thanksgiving morning and ate turkey sandwiches in the car on the way through the mountains. There is a place we like to stop which is located at one of the highest points and from there you can see the ocean and a beautiful view of the mountains.

We stayed at a hotel only a short walk from the beach. The beaches in Costa Rica are known for their strong waves and surf, so we enjoyed doing some body surfing and board surfing.
The kids took they new boards and enjoyed playing in the waves.

After returning from Thanksgiving, life returned to normal. The kids have finished the semester and will not return to school until January 14th. They are excited for a break from studying.

The Slingerland family will arrive tomorrow from Guatemala. They are the first family of the Regional Office to arrive. Kayley and Abby are best friends and we have learned they will be in the same class at school. This is a blessing and they will be a help to each other.

As we near Christmas, remember the reason for celebrating this holiday season. The gifts are fun, the lights are beautiful, but it is really all about Jesus and his birth – Emmanuel – God with us.

Enjoy the Christmas season with friends and family. We’ll be here in Costa Rica if anyone has a last second thought of visiting!



God bless,
Shelley, David, Joshua and Kayley

Nicaragua South Celebration

Hello Friends and Family,
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones. We spent 2 days on the Costa Rican beach, soaking in the sun! We will share more about that next week.

For this week I am going to post an article about the Centennial celebration the Nicaragua South district held a couple weeks ago. David attended the event and had a ball! Hope you enjoy it too!



Nicaragua South District Celebrates Centennial The Centennial Celebration for the Nicaragua South district, recently held in conjunction with the District Assembly, was a huge success with over 2,000 people participating in the celebration.



On November 22nd, the District sponsored a parade and march from the Central Park in Rivas to the Bible Institute in San Jose, a walk of 3 miles. Nearly every one of the 62 churches participated in this great event.







Old and young alike either walked or rode on floats, pickup trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, three-wheeled taxis or horses to celebrate the 100 years of the Church of the Nazarene worldwide Led by police escort, with horns honking and great enthusiasm, the crowd made its way to the Bible Institute.



A huge banner was hung across the main highway stating: Congratulations Nazarenes! 100 years of Preaching Biblical Holiness. “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News.” Romans 10:15

A semi-truck was decorated in blue with the words “Holiness Unto the Lord” and “100 Years – Church of the Nazarene.” On the center of the float was a 5-foot high globe of the world, representing the work of the Church of the Nazarene worldwide in these 100 years.



Upon arrival at the Bible Institute, the crowd began worshiping the Lord in unison. A wonderful time of prayer was had for the youth of the Church, surrounded by the Pastors who pledge to train and support them in their Christian walk.

The keynote speaker was Rev. Ernesto Bello, the first Nicaraguan District Superintendent in Nicaragua who currently pastors in the state of New Jersey. His message spoke of the great history of the Church of the Nazarene in Nicaragua, the great potential for the message of holiness in this country and the importance of the youth in this movement.

One of the oldest living members of the Church of the Nazarene in Nicaragua was honored. Rev. Ricardo Peralta is now 85 years old and was one of the first Nazarene pastors in Nicaragua.

Not only was the South District celebrating the 100 years of the Church, but also their own great heritage, which began in 1943. The entire Church of the Nazarene in Nicaragua has its roots in the South District since the church grew outward from the area near Rivas called San Jorge. The Bible Institute is located in San Jorge along the banks of Lake Nicaragua and through the years many pastors have been trained in this Institute. Today in Nicaragua, there are more than 170 churches and approximately 15,000 members.



Rev. Gerardo Reyes, current District Superintendent, closed the service with a wonderful prayer dedicating to the Lord the future of the Church of the Nazarene. His leadership was evidenced by the great turn out at this event and the unity shown by all the churches in celebrating the 100th year birthday of the Church of the Nazarene.