Language School - Once Again!

Hello Friends and Family,

Today was our first day back to language school after a break of a little more than two months. We have enjoyed our time this summer, but realize we have much more to learn to be effective in our work. When we left the school at the end of May, it was almost time for another exam, so guess what??? That is what we get to start with....reviewing for the Grado E exam. Bummer!

We requested our same teachers, but knew the chances were slim since they have taken on new students during their busy summer schedule. Shelley beat the odds and her teacher, Ana, was available as Ana completed her time with another student last week. David is sad that Dora already had committed to working with another student, but is now excited to learn under the guide of Edgar, pictured below with David.
Shelley and Ana standing near their table at CSA.

Last weekend, we took some time on Saturday to visit the Guatemalan City Zoo. It was fun to see all the animals, but our favorite was this elephant who just walked back and work on the edge of the wall. He would get to the end, turn around and do it again! He seemed to be enjoying himself and getting some exercise at the same time! It was a perfect day to visit the zoo since the temperature was about 75 degrees, sunny and beautiful.


The kids are enjoying their last week of freedom. School starts on Monday (the 21st) for them. Kayley will be in 3rd grade and Joshua in 7th. They have their school supplies, brought from the states by David's mom and sister. Notebooks, folders and the like are much more expensive here, so those good ol' WalMart supplies will do us for this semester. Thanks, family!

It is hard to believe we have lived here now for 7 1/2 months! The time has flown. We recently bought our airline tickets to travel home to Iowa in December. Also, we have tickets now to fly from here in Guatemala to Costa Rica, to our new home, on January 4th. But, there is much to learn before that time. Which reminds me, I better get back to my studying!

God bless you this week. Thanks for visiting our site and thinking of us!

The Webbs 

Vacation with Family - Highlights

Dear Everyone!

I haven't yet shared what a great time we had with David's mom and sister a little more than a week ago. We were due for a vacation and some relaxation. Although we were busy and going most of the time, it was a wonderful time together seeing many things unique to Guatemala. After spending the first day in Antigua enjoying shopping and eating, we prayed for good weather and chance to view the beautiful area of Lake Atitlan. Just about to board the boat for a ride across the lake.

Lake Atitlan is about 2 1/2 hours drive from our home in the capital. And although it was a bit cloudy when we left the house, by the time we arrived it was beautiful. We took a boat ride of about 20 minutes across the Lake to village where we saw the sights and shopped a bit. It is difficult to explain the beauty of the lake, volcanoes and mountains together. Unbelievable!
The view from our lunch site.

We ate lunch at a hotel restaurant and after viewing the beauty for a bit longer, we decided we needed to head back to the city. On Sunday we attended a church plant in an area called Colinas de Minerva. The church is just getting started, so it was an interesting and enjoyable experience for David's mom and sister to be a part of this humble service.


Sunday night we ate out at one of the most famous restaurants in Guatemala City, El Portal del Angel. This restaurant overlooks the entire city. We arrived at 5:45 p.m. and had the opportunity to watch the sun set over the city until finally all was bright lights. Magnificent!
Beautiful view of Guatemala City before darkness set in, taken from our table in El Portal del Angel.

Of course, we managed to do a lot of visiting, eating and even card playing while our family was here. Good memories all around! Looking forward to their next visit in Costa Rica!

This week was spent studying Spanish, ordering airline tickets for Christmas, learning about the reqirements for Costa Rican residency (hard enough in English, but nearly impossible to understand in Spanish!) and spending time with the kids. Only one more week before Mom and Dad return to language school so we're trying to spend some quality time with Joshua and Kayley before heading off to Antigua each day once again.

God bless you this week. Thanks for visiting our site!
David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley 

Webb Page Newsletter

Dear Friends and Family,
Since not everyone has been able to view the newsletter that I recently sent out by email, we decided to just post it here so everyone can view it. Sorry for the inconvenience.



The Webb Page
Volume II, Number 5 July 2006

The “Winter” in Review

It’s nearly impossible to share with you all what the last two months have been like for us. After five months of language school, we were more than ready to be back in ministry mode once again. Here are a few highlights of these two months of ministry.

If you want to see pictures and more detailed info on these events, visit our website at www.thewebbspage.blogspot.com


COM Event
It all started with a great weekend of training for those Latin Americans who feel a call to full time mission service. There were forty people in attendance for this informative weekend retreat. It will be exciting to see how and where God leads these special people.

Youth In Mission (YIM) Team
We joined with Scott and Emily Armstrong and the five Youth in Mission students to minister for the summer. The first week was intensive training in using the Jesus Film, showing the Evangecube and learning and leading the VBS program among other things.

Immediately after training, we began to put it all into practice in three different communities. We served as clowns, puppeteers and soundmen. We even were able to show the World Cup on a large screen and share testimonies during half time.
The Youth in Mission Team along with the Webb family. YIM: Hannah, Kelsey, Alina and Kristin.

Mexico and El Salvador
While the children attended a youth camp in Guatemala, David and Shelley joined Scott Armstrong and the YIM team for a short trip to Mexico. We ministered in two different churches and visited some areas that are potential spots for new church plants.

Two days after returning from Mexico, we headed to El Salvador, this time with our whole family. This was a great chance to see a Maximum Mission team in action and to make it even more exciting, the church team was from Kansas City Central, so we had the opportunity to visit with lots of friends. There were many ways to minister there, including cleaning a park and working in the medical clinic. After two days, we needed to return to Guatemala to meet up with the team from Michigan.

Maximum Mission in Guatemala
A team of forty (10 adults and 30 students) arrived in late June for a one week stay. During this time, two new churches were planted. It was amazing to see how much work got done when so many joined together for the effort. In addition, two youth from the team feel God is leading them to full time ministry as a missionary.

Here are a few stats from this one week of ministry with the team from Michigan:

▪We mixed 40 bags of cement with 11 square meters of gravel and 13 square meters of sand – ALL BY HAND! We poured a brand new sidewalk.

▪We hung 27 sheets of corrugated sheet metal which resulted in 2 new roofs and 2 new rooms! (We also bought materials for the construction of 1 other classroom).

▪We laid 700 concrete blocks and finished 3 walls, as well as constructing a new one.
▪We handed out 600 stuffed animals in 10 minutes and now more people are aware of the Nazarene churches in their community.
▪We ministered to over 1850 children in VBS and loved on even more.
▪61 people accepted the Lord through evangelistic efforts.
▪WITH GOD’S HELP, WE PLANTED 2 NEW CHURCHES!

One Heart, Many Hands
After the Michigan team boarded their plane for home, we once again set out for Mexico, this time for the first event of its kind outside the United States: Un Corazón, Muchas Manos. There were 250 that participated in this one week work event. It was exhausting, hot and worth every bead of sweat to see the good that came of it all. It was a privilege to be a part of this multicultural team. We made many new friends from the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Our Future
The Webb family returns to their respective schools on August 21st. We feel our language skills have grown markedly this summer with daily practice and challenges, but there is more to learn.

We have been informed by our Regional Director, Dr. Saenz, that our assignment has changed. Instead of going to Mexico, as previously planned, we will be going to Costa Rica. This change has shocked us a bit, but we are ready to do whatever God calls us to. David will be Coordinator of Nazarene Youth International (NYI in English or JNI in Spanish) for MAC South along with assisting with Work and Witness teams from time to time, while Shelley will be working with finances for MAC South. (MAC South includes Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua).

Please pray with us as we begin to adjust to these new changes and new positions. We know on our own we cannot do these jobs well, but with His help, everything is possible.

Our Appreciation
Thank you to all who have prayed for us during these first six months in Guatemala. We are blessed to be here, serving God. We would not be here doing what God has asked without your support, both financially and in prayer. May God bless you over and over for your faithfulness.

La Familia Webb
David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley 

Christmas in July!

Dear Family and Friends,
We have had an exciting time with Grandma Webb and Aunt Tina who arrived safely last evening. It is like Christmas for us as they brought an entire suitcase filled with goodies for our family. Everything from brown sugar and chocolate chips to some new tennis shoes and wonderful Iowa State University apparel. WOW! What fun to see family and share some precious time together. We are blessed.


Kayley, Aunt Tina, Joshua (in new ISU gear thanks to Uncle Charlie) and Grandma Webb

We enjoyed a slow paced morning and then headed off to Antigua where we enjoyed some time shopping and eating. Much bartering was done and some good prices secured for items such as jade jewelry, Guatemalan purses and even toys. We are looking forward to a fun weekend. Our plans are to head to Lake Atitlan in the morning, but if the fog and clouds remain heavy, we may delay that trip until Monday. We want to be able to see all of the beauty at the Lake.

Also, today (28th) is David and Shelley's 16th anniversary so we have even more reason to celebrate. We are excited to see what the next 16 years bring. It will likely be an adventure!

This is a great opportunity for us to take a few days vacation as we've not had a vacation day (except for national holidays) since taking 2 days in February. We are glad for the break and especially to be able to spend it with family.

God bless you all this week. Until next time...

David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley 

One Heart, Many Hands

Hello Everyone!

We have arrived back in Guatemala safe and sound after a fun, tiring, exciting and busy week in Chiapas Mexico. We encountered many obstacles to our arrival, including a problem at the border with the vehicles, but God made a way for us. We arrived one day later than planned, but in time for the event called Un Corazón, Muchas Manos (One Heart, Many Hands). Many of you will recognize this event as it occurs every four years along with the Nazarene General Convention, but this was the first event of its kind outside the United States. There were 250 participants including about 90 Americans/Canadians.
Shelley helping with the Children's program in the park.

We worked for four long days in construction, evangelism, children’s ministries, medical clinics and compassionate ministries. David and Joshua’s group built a new soccer/basketball court in a local community. Shelley and Kayley’s group cleaned two parks, painted the bottom section of trees (more than we could count) and replaced the outside of a humble home with “laminex” (kind of a thick corrugated paper). The days were long. Most nights we would return to the hotels at 10 or 11 pm. But the last night was the latest. The services ended at 1:15 a.m. Let’s just say, the kids were worn out!
All three of the 8 year olds slept through a loud exciting service at 11pm.

Probably the most rewarding part of it all was witnessing two cultures come together for the good of a community. We all made many new Mexican and American friends in a short span of time. (A special hello to our new friends in Orlando, Virginia and Springfield, MO)

Just three of our new friends from the area of Chiapas, Mexico.

Coming home was an adventure as well. Since our missionary friend Emily had to leave the event early, we were a bit concerned getting out of the country with the vehicle that was in her name. But, since Emily is not a common name in Central America, the border official assumed that David must be Emily and handed him the paperwork. Needless to say, we were thrilled with the results and were able to proceed through the border with no problems. Thank God!

We are glad to be back “home” in Guatemala City since the temperature is probably 20 degrees cooler here with much less humidity. This is a welcome relief. We are looking forward to this week as our schedule will be a bit slower.

The Youth in Mission team left early this morning. We already miss the girls. They have become a special part of our lives during these six weeks of ministry. We had a special “goodbye” meal last night to wish them well in their future endeavors and to thank them for their service in Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador this summer. I feel confident we have not seen the last of these talented girls on the mission field…they’ll be back.

Kelsey, Kristin, Yuri, Elena and Hannah (with Kayley trying to get into the picture!)

Pray with us this week as we are learning more about our future assignment. We’ll let you all know when we know more.

Have a great week! Until next time...
La Familia Webb