The Webb Page Newsletter March 09

The Webb Page Newsletter
March 2009

Regional Office Missionaries Move to San Jose
In January of 2009, the Regional Office made the move from Guatemala City to San Jose, Costa Rica. A total of 7 families have arrived. We have moved into the new Regional Office and are settling in.

It is different for the Webbs to have so many neighbors. Before the arrival of the Regional Office missionaries, the seminary campus was a quiet place, with little traffic, but that has all changed! There are great things about having so many, so close. For instance, we had someone to watch the Super Bowl with this year. David and I have plans for more dates now with more friends around to help with the kids occasionally. Shelley even got to go with David on a Maximum Mission Trip to Nicaragua North. (See a prior blog for more info on that trip!) What a blessing that was!

The Trees Come Crashing Down!
After the Regional Office staff got moved and settled (a bit), two big natural events occurred. We had an earthquake, the biggest we have experienced at 6.2 and then we had strong winds that blew a tree into the Regional Director’s House. It is a truly a miracle that someone was not killed as the tree went all the way through the roof and into the main stairwell.

It destroyed the back of the house and the firemen determined the houses nearest the tall pine trees (4 families) were unsafe as more trees could fall. Just get settled and then you have to move out! Bummer! The good thing is that many of the most dangerous trees finally got cut down. (See more info in the blog!)


Above you can see some of the damage from the tree falling on the home of the Saenz family.

An example of some of the damage from the 6.2 earthquake that sent us running from our offices. The epicenter was located about 35 miles from San Jose to the north. This damage is from near the epicenter. Thankfully we did not experience any serious damage in the city or here at the Regional Office.










Commissioning Service
In February, the Webb family headed to Kansas City for missionary meetings, General Board Interviews and the Commissioning Service.

For three years we have worked under an intern missionary contract. To become “Global Missionaries” it was necessary to interview with the Regional Advisory Committee in Guatemala in the fall, then after their approval, more interviews were required in Kansas City. We found all our interviews to be more or less pleasant experiences, with the usual butterflies beforehand and sighs of relief afterwards.


So now, we have signed new two year contracts to continue serving here in Costa Rica. We feel we are right where we should be and are pleased to continue in the work of the Lord.


Thanks for your prayers and support.
You are a blessing!
The Webb Family
David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley

Hello Everyone,
Finally this week I have the opportunity to tell you Part 2 about our wonderful trip to Nicaragua North. Check back two blogs if you missed Part 1!

The major "construction" part of this trip consisted in building a fence around the newly painted Children's Dining Hall. This may not sound like a big job, until you remember that you use only shovels and picks instead of mechanic equipment, and when you learn that the ground is not dirt, but hard rocks!

It was back breaking work!

The team from the USA worked alongside the local residents and the "mother" church team to get the work completed. Even the boys worked hard.














On Sunday, the team enjoyed a service at La Carbonera, where Pastor Mercedes preaches each week. This church also houses the Child Development Center, so it was a great experience for the team to learn more about Child Sponsorship while there.

At the end of the service, something very special happened. A father of one of the children in Child Sponsorship came forward to accept Jesus as His Savior and Lord.
It was a great moment to witness as the Pastor praying with him for forgiveness of sins and a new life in Christ. It is a new beginning for this father.


We arrived home tired, but energized knowing all that was accomplished for the Kingdom. One of the team members from Coshocton, Ohio sent the game Monopoly for the kids. They love it and I see many late Friday nights in our future trying to buy Park Place and Boardwalk! Thank you!!!

Next week we will share just a bit about our time at the Missionary Training meetings and the Commissioning Service. We are now "Global Missionaries" which doesn't mean anything will change but does mean that we have survived for 3 years and have the approval of our Region and the church to continue in the work.

God bless you this week.
The Webb Family

More Trees Down!

Hello Everyone!
We are currently in the Kansas City area for meetings and for interviews with General Board, but we have heard that progress is being made on the trees near our home in San Jose. Just before we left on Feb. 13th, I took a few photos to post. It is quite a slow process to cut down these very tall trees.

First each branch is cut with a machete and then, when the tree is just a very tall stump, the trunk is cut off from the top in small sections which fall to the ground with a bang!

We know that our "backyard" will look very different when we return to San Jose in a week.

We have a final service tonight (Monday) and then we will enjoy 3 days of vacation with the family in Iowa. It will be a good break before heading back to the field. We have enjoyed speaking in 3 different churches during our time here in KC. We were with two College Church (Olathe, KS) Sunday School classes last week and this week we visited two Methodist churches near Adrian, MO. We met the nicest people with open hearts to missions.

I hope to find time this week to post another blog to continue the post about the Coshocton Team to North Nicaragua. Only part of that story has been told so far.

God bless you all!

Hello!

This blog highlights the team from Coshocton, Ohio and the church planting ministry that happened in a town called Martinez Brothers (so named in memory of the Brothers Martinez who were killed in the war). This area has about 400 residents, an elementary school and a children’s dining hall facility, but not much else. We were privileged to work on the Children’s Dining hall building, build a fence to protect it and show the Jesus Film in the evenings.


The Coshocton Team members are no strangers to Work and Witness ministry. Their church has sponsored many trips, including the one last year to Costa Rica. It was fun to see the returning friends and to meet some new ones as well.

Our “home base” for the week was a small hotel in Somoto, Nicaragua.
(Go a bit further north and you are in Hondurus!). Our transportation consisted of two pick up trucks and for the most part, the team rode in the beds of the trucks which always got fuller as we moved along….there was always someone who needed a ride somewhere!



We spent 3 days working in this community alongside the local residents. They were wonderful people who took great pride in fixing up the little they have.
Pastor Mercedes (seen here painting) organized every detail of the work project and did an incredible job including the town members in the project. You can see Pastor Mercedes painting the outside of the building (3rd photo from the end).


We held VBS activities each afternoon with an average of 60 kids in attendance. It was great to see the children enjoying the Bible stories and the crafts. The story of Noah was completely new to them and their eyes got big as Pastor Mercedes told them about the ark. The kids loved the balloon animals made by the team and waited patiently in line to receive theirs.



In the next few days, we’ll try to post info and photos about the fence project – done the old fashion way with picks and shovels!










Above you can see the new yellow walls and the peach colored posts...Beautiful!

High Winds - Falling Trees

Hello Everyone!
So sorry for the delay in posting this blog. We were in Nicaragua North last week and then with a bit of sickness this week, we've not had time to post. But, finally things are getting into a routine again, but that doesn't mean life is "normal," especially for a those who have been affected by the high winds we have been experiencing here in San Jose.

On Thursday afternoon, after a full day of high winds, one of the trees behind our old office (now our Director's home) decided enough is enough.

They are red pine trees, the skinny, swaying type that with a huge bang fell into the roof and back patio of the Saenz' home. One person was in the home and in all honesty could have been killed, but thankfully the tree entered the home where she was not.

Everyone was very shaken by this incident. The home in not inhabitable at this moment, but men are working to fix the huge hole in the roof. Part of the tree entered through the roof like a sharp arrow and rested on the stairway inside.


We are still having high winds and rain. The fire department has closed off access to the two buildings nearest the trees until they can be cut down. So four families are without their homes and have had to move to other temporary lodging on campus.



We are thankful everyone is safe and are hoping the San Jose government will take quick action to cut the trees down. This would also be a miracle as nothing much happens quickly here. Pray with us for a speedy resolution to this problem.

On another note, we had a great time with the team from Coshocton, Ohio. Since we worked with about half the team last year, it was great to see old friends again and of course to make some new friends too. We will post a blog all about our adventures in North Nicaragua very soon!

God bless you all,
Shelley and David
Joshua and Kayley