The TN Team

Dear Friends and Family,

This week we are going to highlight our time with the TN Work and Witness team that was here last week. It was a joy to see them all and to catch up on what is happening in their lives. It is really amazing to think that the Webb family was not supposed to be here in Costa Rica and that this W & W trip was scheduled a year ago. A coincidence? We think not and are again amazed by God’s goodness to give us a small taste of home in our 3^rd month here.

The team worked hard to move a huge, and I mean huge, pile of dirt and debris from the front of the new building. This pile had accumulated over two years of work on this building and had to be shoveled and moved by wheel barrow down the road to the creek area. The team also did some concrete work as they built a retaining wall. In addition, a few of the men pulled wires for the electricity in the building.

It was fun to have some young people on this trip as well. The girls, Chelsea, Shelby and Sarah painted the back gate of the campus in a lovely shade of green that managed to get all over their hands and hair before the day was over. They worked hard and played hard too. Joshua and Kayley enjoyed seeing them and managed to hear all the news about the teens back in TN before the week was over.

We had a lovely final evening out on Friday night at a restaurant that overlooks the city. It was a fun way to wrap up the whole week celebrating their hard work and enjoying the company of so many good friends, old and new. It was a sad farewell, but we look forward to seeing the next TN team, the Pastors’ Team, in a couple of weeks.

We are a bit homesick for TN now, but not enough to leave Costa Rica. One friend said as they were boarding the bus to leave, that he was sorry but he was ready to leave…to which David said, “That’s OK, because we’re ready to stay.”

Please pray for our vehicle situation this week as we still have not gained ownership of the 4-Runner, although we have paid for it. It’s a paperwork matter and without this being solved in the next few days we will not be able to drive the vehicle over the border into Nicaragua. This family trip is important as we must have our passports stamped by next week to remain in country. We may have to take the bus, which is safe and comfortable, but we’d rather have our own vehicle in order to visit work sites in Nicaragua.

Next week is Spring Break so we’ll take a week off from the blog as we’ll be traveling. See you again soon!

The Webb Family

David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley

Tennessee Arrives

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow! It has been a whirlwind since I last had the time to write on the blog. Sorry for the delay, but we’re ready to update you now on the happenings here.

For starters, our home district in TN arrived on Thursday with a work and witness team representing two churches: Woodlawn and Trevecca Community. This is special for us as Woodlawn is our home church and we have good friends at Trevecca Community as well. When you live outside of your country it’s a special thing to see familiar faces. We are enjoying the time together and having a great time working side by side.

On Friday morning David and Shelley left the seminary for a Maximum Mission training event near the area of the Poas volcano which is about an hour and a half north of San Jose. Bernie Slingerland, the Regional Evangelism Coordinator, attended as well and presented trainings on church planting and evangelism strategies. The training was well received and 10 people committed to starting new cell groups/churches in their respective areas of north Costa Rica. It was a great start!

This same training group also shared in the experience of painting a local elementary school and showing the Jesus Film in the evening where more than 10 people accepted Christ and will likely form a new cell group in that community.

David and Shelley returned home on Saturday evening which allowed them to join the TN team for a Sunday church service in a local area. One of the TN team members, Chip, is also a professional guitarist and has played with many famous country singers. He played “How Great Thou Art” for the congregation and by the end everyone was singing along which made for a beautiful combination of Spanish and English.

The kids are doing well with school and activities but the highlight of their week is seeing old friends from Tennessee. They run off the school bus each day up to the “Round House” or to the work site to see who is around to visit. Not every team has youth in attendance, but this team has three: Sarah, Chelsea and Shelby. It’s fun for them to have other young people around.

That’s it for this week. We’ll tell you more about the adventures of the TN team in the next blog. Until then, God bless!

The Webbs

Ministry in Costa Rica

Hello to Everyone!
This weekend was busy with two events we were thrilled to be a part of. The first was in the north district of Costa Rica where David traveled on Sunday. The church is located near the Poas Volcano and is about 1.5 hours from our home in the city. From the Poas church, David traveled with about 100 other people 2 more hours north to evangelize in a community of about 2,000 people that have no evangelical church. The church rented a tour bus to take approximately 100 people to this area.



Although weather was a concern with the thick fog and rain, it didn't stop God's work that day. The church had planned on showing the Jesus Film, but with the rainy conditions this proved impossible. Instead the pastor, Johnny Calvo, preached a message from John 14 and afterwards 2o people came forward to receive Christ as their Savior and give their lives to Him. This "mother church" in Poas will be returning this Sunday to again reach this community with the hopes of starting a new church in a short time.

On the way north through the mountains, David's group stopped at a park for a quick rest before continuing. It was quite unique with these "tree sculptures" as you can see in the photo. They were in all shapes and sizes.



On the same day, Sunday, Shelley attended a training event to prepare for a church plant in April in the area of Rosistel. There were 5 people in attendance from Rosistel and about 15 more from this small local church that has a heart for evangelism and compassion. The group made plans for the upcoming Maximum Mission by dividing the responsibilities for leading this project among all those present. We are looking forward to this event and praying for a new leader to emerge who can devote their time to discipling those who are led to Christ from Rosistel.



Joshua and Kayley are doing well also. This week is special for Kayley as it is dress-up week. For instance, yesterday was pajama day and today was movie/cartoon character day. Kayley went to school looking an alful lot like Mickey Mouse with ears atop her head, face paint on her nose and lots of red and black clothing. Joshua is doing better this afternoon, but is suffering a bit with strep throat. He has not had strep since having his tonsils out a few years ago, but his defenses are probably a bit low with the move and changes we've experienced this year. He will return to school on Friday and once again receive lots of make up work.

That's about it for now. We are so glad to have you all praying for us during this busy time. Thanks for your love and support.
Love you all,
The Webb Family

Productive Week

Dear Friends and Family,
Just to make those of you in Iowa feel a bit jealous, it has been a warm week here in Costa Rica in what we have learned to call "Summer." With highs in the 80s, it has been difficult to remember what a midwest winter is like, but after seeing some pictures on the internet of broken electric poles and snow covered streets, we were reminded and are even more thankful for the beautiful weather here. Hope those of you in Iowa and Illinois have cleared out your driveway by now and that the temps are at least above freezing. The picture above was taken from the soccer field on the seminary campus. When it's not cloudy there is a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.

This soccer/basketball court is in an area called Rosistel in which we will be helping to plant a new church in the month of April. We are excited about the area as there is great need there for a church. There is one small catholic church and no protestant church in a barrio that has approximately 2,000 people. We visited the area along with the District Evangelism Coordinator and his wife who is the pastor of the church that will help this church to get started. The plan is to do ministry projects for three days in the area to kick start the new church and assist in the community. There will be painting, construction, projects in the local school, workshops for women, children's programs and a dental hygiene workshop for kids.

Here you can see Jorge, the District Evangelism Coordinator, Edwin, a young Christian who wants a church in his area, Leyla, who is Jorge's wife and a local pastor, along with the members of Edwin's family. They have agreed to allow the team to use their home during the time of the church plant. They are wonderful folks who want to see better things in their community. Please pray for the area of Rosistel in the next six weeks as the district works to prepare the workers and the barrio for the Maximum Mission.

We are keeping busy making plans for various upcoming trips. We'll be in the North Costa Rica district in mid-March and David may be traveling to Panama near the end of the month. Looking at taking a trip with the family in April in order to renew everyone's visa (this is necessary every 90 days until our paperwork begins the residency process) and in the end of April David will make another trip to Nicaragua. Much work to do and lots of ground to cover.

Prayer Requests: (there are so many I'm not sure where to start!)
Pray for the two Work and Witness teams coming from the great state of TN.
Pray for the health of Kayley as she has been sick with a virus this week.
Pray for the area of Rosistel and the team that will be minstering in that area.
Pray for travel mercies as we'll be on the move much of the time.
Pray for the 8 district superintendents in the countries of Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua as they have heavy responsibilites.

Thanks to our LINKS churches in the Los Angeles District for your support through this year. It's always great to hear from you.

God bless your week as He is blessing ours,

The Webbs,
David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley

Training Week

Hello Friends and Family,

It has been a great week for us as we've spent much time training with regional leaders and learning more and more about our roles. We are feeling a little overwhelmed, but we suppose that is normal with all the changes and new things to learn. Our Spanish is getting better each day as we are forced to use it in all work situations. We took our first road trip this week to visit a District Superintendent in the area of the Poas volcano. It was an accomplishment for us as the roads are not well marked and it's not always easy to find your way. But God helped us and we made it in good time and enjoyed our visit. We also had the opportunity to be a part of two training workshops, which helps to make it more real for us. In time we'll be doing the trainings on our own, but for now we're happy to have the help. Below you can see our friend Benjamin as he presents a workshop on youth evangelism utilizing the evangecube.

The kids were thrilled to have a four day weekend. Some problem with the water pipes got them a day off on Friday and Monday was a planned holiday. We are also enjoying our new home. This week was construction week as the workers moved the glass doors back to their original location separating the living area from the porch/laundry area. Not only does it look better, but we are no longer swatting mosquitos at night or freezing from the chilly air let in by the porch roof. We are thankful for this change that will help our house be our home, just need to hang some pictures and do a little decorating to make it feel more like home.

Below you can see our house. It's the second half of the two story building with the red truck in front. It has three bedrooms upstairs along with a small family room.

The scenery is beautiful and we are enjoying the mountains that surround us on three sides. God makes beautiful sunsets in every country!

God bless your week. Love and miss you all.

The Webb Family