April 2015

Hello All,

A beautiful day at Poas.

It is hard to believe it is April already.  We hope it is warming up wherever you are in the USA.  Our weather stays similar year round so the four seasons are something we miss, but after hearing about all the cold and snow, we are grateful to be where God has placed us for now with temps in the 70s and low 80s. 

Kay Lynn, Shelley’s assistant for CALL, arrived a couple weeks ago and has been a great help already with the program.  There is much to do to prepare for the Point Loma group who will arrive in mid-May, and add Spanish classes to her daily list of to dos and you have one busy new assistant.  The only negative so far is that Kay Lynn twisted her ankle while working with the Work and Witness team from Florida.  It is slowly healing, and we hope in another week she will be walking normally once again.

 

The Tavares/Florida team were here with us for one week from March 27-April 3.  It was a great week of ministry both in the Coronado community and at SENDAS.  Here are some photos that highlight a few of our moments with the team who were led by the Tooleys (Pam and Joel) who serve as pastors at the Tavares Church.

Painting the desks for the Cuchey theological educational center.

Thankful for the concrete mixer that allowed us to complete the new sidewalk in a short time.

Part of the 27 person team from Tavares and the Florida District.

These are the teens on the team.  A great group of young people.

Bayne worked so hard!

Allison Tooley painting the back of one of the SENDAS homes.

Are you serious?  Ethan, you are amazing! (taken at the volcanic lake above Poas Volcano).

Kayley was worn out after camp and tour day.

The work continues in the Indigenous area of Tayni.  David went with Patrick LeGrand (W&W Coordinator for CR) and John Whited (engineer) to survey the land now that more has been cleared.  The bridge project is a BIG one.  Pray for God’s leading as the leaders consider the possibilities.

The river where a bridge is needed.

John and Pastor Arcelio

The Work and Witness team left on Friday morning and a few hours later, the Webbs were on their way to Tayni for our first trip as a family.  Normally between Shelley’s work and Kayley’s classes, it is impossible to get away, but God provided the opportunity and we all enjoyed the short trip to Cuchey.  

We hiked from the center in Gavilan to the river (20 minutes), then crossed the river and hiked a bit more to the Cuchey Church (20 minutes more).  God gave us cloud cover for our hike.  Cuchey, like most indigenous communities, has no electricity unless a generator is used.  There is a latrine for the bathroom and the river for bathing.  The Pastor’s family accepted us to their home and served us coffee and crackers for breakfast. 

Ready to cross the river.

Kayla enjoyed all the children and wanted to stay a few more days.

Kenya and her baby.  She is 13 years old.  This is a common reality in the Indigenous area.

After our hike to Cuchey with sweat on our brows.

The home where Kayley and Shelley spent the night.

Heading home... 

We met up with Pastora Leyla and Pastor Felipe who had worked all week long with the governmental census group (vaccinations also) visiting some of the furthest villages. They showed the Jesus Film and 38 people accepted the Lord and 8 were baptized.  The local leaders will follow up with discipleship.  In other news, there are plans to begin translating the discipleship materials into Cabecar and for more Seminary classes to begin soon. 

The missionary group (LeGrands on left, Felipe and Leyla in center, Webbs on right.

Kayley enjoyed a 4 day camp with the Los Angeles Church during Holy Week.  She had a wonderful time, but we don’t think she slept much. 

The group from Los Angeles - Camp 2015

Kayla with all the other girls at camp.

Beautiful girls...

Easter Sunday service was a blessing at the Los Angeles Church, just down the road from campus.  Great worship, teaching, and food.  It was a good way to celebrate our Lord’s resurrection. 

We are looking forward to being with our friends in the USA in June, July and the beginning of August.  Our time will be short because of Kayley’s school schedule, but we hope to see you then.

Many blessings from our home to yours.

The Webbs

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.  

This is the street we walked between the hotel and the church.

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. 

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 11^th – 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

February 2015

Hello Dear Friends and Family,

Another month has passed and we are enjoying the dry season in Costa Rica.  Actually, the weather has been strange with a bit of rain from time to time and wind...even more than usual for this time of the year.  So much so, the McDonald's sign in Tibas blew down a few weeks ago. Other big news in Costa Rica? Both Wendy's and Bagelman's restaurants have closed along with a handful of other businesses.  The economy is getting tough here for the nationals. Jobs are hard to come by.  Pray for responsible changes to be made to help these situations.  

Here at SENDAS, Shelley is staying busy with CALL. Currently there are four students on campus and a few more online. The Schrages are volunteering at ICS (Kayley’s school) for three months while they take a few hours of Spanish classes each week.  Roger and Esther have traveled the world, so it is fun to hear their stories.  We also have Bob and Teresa Willis with us for two months.  They will begin volunteering with SENDAS very soon (accounting and data entry) after they study Spanish a bit more to have a stronger base.  All four students are enjoying Costa Rica and blessing everyone they meet.  We are blessed to have such great CALL students with us.

Bob and Teresa Willis (with Profesora Gaby)

Roger and Esther Schrage

In mid-March, another volunteer will arrive.  Kay Lynn Robson is making her final arrangements to come to study and volunteer with CALL.  Shelley is in need of some help and Kay Lynn is going to fill that role!  Can’t wait to have her here with us on campus.

In other news, this is the time of year for District Assemblies in Costa Rica.  In February, both districts held their assemblies, with David presiding over the Central District Assembly.  Both meetings went very well with growth reported on both districts. 

David with Superintendent Mario Vargas and wife Sharon.

David with Rev. Sirlene Bustos.

Costa Rica Central Assembly 2015

Costa Rica North Assembly 2015

Our friend, Jorge Garcia, receiving greetings from Dr. Crocker upon Jorge's retirement after serving for over forty years on the district.  Rev. Johnny Calvo, Superintendent North District looking on.

We were blessed to have a few Work and Witness teams come through during January and February.  The volunteer missionary leaders for the teams were Ted and Lori Bruce.  They did a great job with all three teams.  The team that stayed here on campus was from Oregon.  They worked at the Los Angeles Church and ended their time with a big celebration service on their new concrete pad. Things are looking bright for that church as they continue to pay off the land debt and move forward with the construction little by little.

Ted and Lori Bruce receiving the thanks of the Los Angeles congregation.

Ted after a hard day of work.

The beautiful property of the Los Angeles Church of the Nazarene, with the newly poured concrete pad. 

David has taken trips to the Liberia area to visit churches and missions there with Pastor Casey Shorr, who led workshops.  David also traveled with the Paul and Mary Jetter for a few days, visiting Quebrada Grande, Muelle, San Pedro de Poas and San Jose. 

Pastor Casey Shorr and Pastor Franklin in Paso Tempisque.

Coming up next is a trip to Sarapiqui which is part of the Central district where there are two mission churches. Then soon after a trip to Panama West for their District Assembly. 

News from the kids:  Kayley’s social calendar is full these days between school activities and youth groups.  She is looking forward to Easter when she has a break from school and time to enjoy with friends.  

Kayley with the El Alto youth group at the skating rink.

Joshua has started a new job in Mount Vernon with a company called Fastenal.  Because of this, a car purchase was necessary.  He is proud of his 2004 Pontiac Sunfire.  Buying your first car is a milestone and to have the first “real” job and car purchase come within a few days of each other made for a memorable week for him. We are super proud of both our kids!  (Can you tell?)

We love serving in Costa Rica and the people are the main reason for that, but the beautiful rainbows and scenery don’t hurt a thing.  Come bring a team and we’ll see you here soon.

The Webbs

Third Wave 2015

Our family was so blessed to have been a part of a youth leaders conference called Third Wave.  It is held every 4-5 years in a different world region each time.  David attended the event 8 years ago in South Africa and the last event was held in Thailand.  But this year, Costa Rica was the home of the event, and to be more precise, SENDAS hosted the event.  

USA and Canada Delegation at Poas Volcano.

It started off for us with the arrival of the delegation from the USA and Canada.  Jan 3 was arrival day and we met up with the group of 53 (yes, that is a 5 and a 3) persons at the Holiday Inn where the pre-tour started.  From there we enjoyed a three great days together visiting Poas Volcano (no view at all, too cloudy – booo!), Las Colinas for lunch (and trout fishing) and then the coffee tour at Doka. 

That night we arrived to Punta Leona where we enjoyed the pools, beaches, canopy tour and a trip to Jaco (beach town nearby) for shopping.  The monkeys at mealtime were a hit!

On Tuesday January 6 we arrived to SENDAS for Third Wave.  It was wonderful to get to know people from all parts of the world.  There were 169 participants from 35 countries.  Each one a leader of youth in their part of the world.  Awesome!

Another highlight was to see our Costa Rican friends serve the participants all week long.  Kayley was part of this group.  They were much appreciated and received a standing ovation at the end of the event.  Kayley was a big help with her translation skills.

Kayley and Estella, who met at the event, be stay connected on Facebook from now on.

Hugo, Andrea, Kayley and Helen - great leaders for now and the future!

But the best day of the week for us was the Ministry With Others day.  So much planning went   into this day by many, many people, but in the end four different Costa Rican locations were shown the love of Christ.  There were about 43 participants along with 45 or so Costa Rican volunteers at each site.  San Ramon, Heredia, San Pedro de Poas and Orosi de Cartago were the four locations with San Ramon being the furthest from campus and a location where we had no church presence, until now!  

The Costa Rican volunteers at San Isidro de Heredia.

Love the new murals at the elementary school.

Painting fences at community centers, walls at a school, holding event for children (200 kids in attendance in Heredia), picking up trash, talking to folks in the streets and going door to door, and dental clinics were just some of the wonderful service projects for the day.

Our role in the event was of a support nature.  We have great leaders in Costa Rica. With our friend Gaby Bustos coordinating with them all, we could focus on filling in when and where needed.  A medical clinic visit, a quick run to find a supply or two, asking if anything was needed.  It was great to watch all the leaders and volunteers in action, and even better that we were not needed to lead the event.  Can you tell we are a bit proud of the Costa Rican leaders? 

And even though the Packers lost their playoff game, and I hate to bring it up, we did have a great time watching the game against the Cowboys with a great new friend from Australia, Cameron.  He is an avid Packers fan who David picked out of the crowd early on.  These two were fast friends.

Well, we are now back to a more regular (whatever that is) schedule with David’s trips, Kayley’s school, occasional Skype calls with Joshua,  and Shelley's work with CALL and translations of books into English. We are blessed each day to be serving with such great leaders.  Can't wait to see what God will do to grow the churches of Costa Rica in the future.  It's looking bright!

Until Next Time,

The Webbs

Christmas 2014

Well, we are nearing the end of an exciting week with a youth conference called Third Wave that is happening on our campus.  But we realize we are a bit behind in the news, so for this post, we will just focus on Christmas in Costa Rica.

Mainly, we just stayed home, played card games, completed one puzzle (that was missing a few pieces) and ate too much food.  We enjoy just being together as a family of four (yes, Joshua joined us this year for Christmas).  But we did manage to leave the house for two special getaways.  One to visit the beach for a day and the other to attend a building dedication event in Cañas Dulces located near the Nicaraguan border.

We always enjoy our stays at Playa Bejuco and our one night there was enough to warm us up and tan our white skins just a bit. 

For the Cañas Dulces trip, we made a quick stop at the Panama Beach near Liberia before enjoying a wonderful evening at the local “hotel” otherwise called the Liberia church floor.  But even that is fun when you are with family.

The dedication of the church building at Cañas Dulces was special, especially for our friends the Nyreen family, who served as missionaries in Costa Rica in the late 1980s and started the church under a mango tree.  We are so happy to know some of those who paved the way for church growth in Costa Rica.

Pastor Omar of the Cañas Dulces Church of the Nazarene

Former missionary Carlos Nyreen who shared some memories of the early days of the church.

The ribbon cutting ceremony in the new sanctuary.

David said a few words on behalf of the teams who worked there to add the addition to the building.  And Pastor Omar was so pleased to have the majority of the previous pastors in attendance that day.  It was quite a celebration.

The New Year has already brought many great moments like the time with the USA Canada delegation (4 days with 53 people) and the Third Wave Youth Conference with 170 in attendance, not to mention the volunteers who worked the event and the 175 youth and leaders who served for the Maximum Mission.  But, that is another blog for another day. 

Our kids find friends wherever they go.

For now, please pray for our kids as they both begin classes once again.  They are both juniors (Joshua in college at MVNU and Kayley in high school at ICS) and the classes are demanding for them both. 

Pray for the trips David has planned for January to Panama and to Liberia.  Pray for the new CALL students (4 people) arriving soon to take Spanish classes and volunteer.  God is good to keep sending students our way. 

Thanks for your prayers and support.  Already we are looking forward to seeing many of you this summer when we are on home assignment in the USA.

Until Next Time.
The Webbs