The Webb Page Newsletter April 2008

The Webb Page

Volume IV, Number 1 April 2008

The months of January – April have been busy ones

for the Webb family.

Read on to learn more…

Teams and More Teams

We always love to have teams visit the field and we had a wonderful time making plans and hosting 3 teams already this year.

In January a team from Coshocton, Ohio visited Costa Rica to help the seminary with the construction of a laundry facility for students as well as many other jobs. They planted trees, installed closet units and refinished doors, just to name a few. They were a pleasure to work with and we are excited to see them again in the summer of 2009 when we return to the USA for home assignment.

In February, David joined a team to work in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. This is the area that was hit by the hurricane (which David happened to experience) in fall of 2007. The team arrived from Grandview, WA to help with Jesus Film and other evangelism tools in order to start some new cell groups in the area. Some people in Puerto speak Spanish, but many more speak Miskitu. Many people heard the story of Jesus through the Jesus Film in their own language for the very first time and many accepted Christ and are now attending local cell groups for discipleship.

David with a prison inmate in Puerto after he received his haircut from the team members. This ministry was very effective and impacted the lives of many.

In March a team arrived to Panama Central from Sutter Creek, CA. This group was comprised of mostly youth who had a hunger and desire to share the gospel and work really hard. This trip was longer than most with 12 days in all and normally groups get tired and begin to complain – just a bit – after so long, but this group never complained once and lived in very rustic conditions. They were troopers and we are already excited for this group to return in spring of 2009 to Panama.

Not only are we excited about the work the team did in Panama but we have heard excellent reports of how the teens are now using the concepts they learned to reach their own community back home by starting a Spanish children’s group in a local apartment complex and by helping a local homeless man get back on his feet. Now that’s what mission is all about!

The Sutter’s Creek Youth mixing cement…hard work!

Child Development Centers – Panama

Finally, in March, Shelley had the opportunity to visit the 4 Child Development Centers located in Central Panama. Each of these centers is helped by Compassionate Ministries through the Child Sponsorship Program. These centers are each unique and different but all serve the children of their community through feeding programs, educational assistance and spiritual growth programs.

Some children in the preschool in La Pesa Child Development Center.

Did you know there are more than 10,000 children sponsored through the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Sponsorship Program. Here in MAC South we have almost 450 children who receive assistance each month to continue their education. If you are interested in sponsoring a child, just go to this web address: www.ncm.org and click on Child Sponsorship.

Praise and Worship time with the children in San Jose/Puerto Caimito.

For Shelley, who sees the children’s names each month on reports, it was quite an experience to meet the children face to face. Equally important was the opportunity to speak with the leaders and know them in a more personal way. They work so hard to help these children and receive nothing in return except the love of the children and the blessing of the Lord. They are sacrificial givers.

Maximum Missions across MAC South

We have been excited to see a stronger emphasis on church growth and planting in the three countries in the last few months. Each district has plans to plant new churches through the implementation of Maximum Mission in the next few weeks and months.

MM can take many forms, but in every MM the purpose is to touch the community by serving in a tangible way so that the people can see the love of Christ. When people see this love and care, they can’t help but wonder why someone is helping them in their community. This starts some great discussions and gives opportunities to minister to adults, young people and children. Many new cell groups are being started and it is our hope that these groups will one day be thriving churches.

I love this picture. I can see the excitement and enthusiasm on each face as they are about to share the good news of Jesus with the community.

The strongest example of the use of MM is being demonstrated this month of April. The district is taking on a HUGE challenge of planting 23 new church cell groups in this one month. They are working hard, especially on the weekends, to reach out to the communities. God has already done great things through their efforts as more than 250 decided to follow Jesus in the first weekend alone. Although some had doubts as to the success of this type of ministry, after seeing the miraculous results, no one doubts what God can do through those who reach out to others in love.

Family News

From the end of March until now, we’ve not had much family time as David has been traveling. But we are excited for May to arrive as we hope to find a more days together as a family. Kayley enjoys making signs for Daddy to welcome him home from trips but she has now asked for permission to just leave the sign hanging on the front door all the time since Daddy has been gone a bit too much for her liking! We are looking forward to a few days together, along with the other missionaries from MAC South, in El Salvador at the end of this month. This retreat is coming at just the right time!

Joshua continues to grow taller and is enjoying playing both basketball and drums. Kayley is excited for school to get out so she has some more free time and less homework. We will be including the children in on all the summer ministry projects so they will stay very busy.

Upcoming Events

First of all, Kayley would like you to know she is turning “double-digits” on May 3^rd as she celebrates her 10^th birthday. She will turn ten while on our trip to El Salvador. Not many kids can say they turned 7 in the USA, 8 in Guatemala, 9 in Costa Rica and 10 in El Salvador! WOW!!!

Kayley on Easter afternoon after receiving some goodies.

Another event in May that will be exciting is the arrival of a team from West Virginia to work here on the large building that is under construction. We are especially excited as Pastor Casey Shorr and Rhonda will be with this team.

We are working hard to have everything prepared for the largest team we will host this year. The 45 member team from Monroe, Michigan will be with us for one week in July. We will be planting two new churches in the San Jose area with the help of all the local leaders and church planters. It will be exciting!!!

OUR THANKS

First we want to thank our LINKS district in Los Angeles for being such a great support system for us since fall of 2005. We have learned we will be switching districts later this year and wanted to say a special thanks to you all! We hope to stay in communication and someday visit LA!

God bless you all and thank you so much for your prayers during these busy months. God is doing great things and we are privileged to be a part of what He is doing here in MAC South.

Until next time,

The Webb Family

David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley

Panama Maximum Mission with CA Team

Hello Everyone,

David returned from a great trip to Panama with a youth team from Sutter Creek, California. It was a great 10 days with this enthusiastic and very flexible group of youth and leaders.

The team joined with the local church leaders to minister in two areas of La Chorrera which is located west of Panama City. The first area is called Portrero Grande and the team assisted this church by adding roof to the new structure. The photo below is the current church where they have been meeting for services and activities. The second photo is the new structure which now has a roof to protect from sun and rain.



Of course, the team managed to find some time for fun too and had a great time playing soccer and football with the local youth. We also had a special time at the river one afternoon.



Concrete work is always everyone's favorite and this team spent their fair share of time and sweat making a floor for a building as well. We had a special celebration service Wednesday night as this was the first service under the new roof.


The team also spent much time working with the children of the community. The team came prepared with the VBS program and skits to music and both were very effective and ministered to the community. This program was held at a near by local school. The team also spent time helping clean at the school that morning.


The team also spent time in the community of La Milagrosa which has no prominent evangelical churches. The big projects there were the painting of the public pre-school and putting up the new water tank. We showed the Jesus Film there that evening. This is a community with many problems including drugs, gangs, and prostitution. However our goal was to come in with community service and evangelism to help launch a new cell group. It is interesting that the name La Milagrosa means The Miraculous...please pray for God's presence to be seen in this community in a special way and for Hermana Flor, the new cell group leader here.


As always, thanks for your prayers as we praise God for His many blessings for our teams and for us in travel and ministry. It is incredible and impossible to describe how strong the testimony of the Holy Spirit is when a US group that doesnt speak a lot of Spanish and a Panamanian group that doesnt speak a lot of English develop such strong bonds in such a short time. However, it makes it easy to remember that our God is not limited by anything, including our language and when we are serving Christ, though language and culture may differ, the Holy Spirit brings a unity that is unlike anything the world knows. Our God is a great God. Thanks Sutter Creek for your love and your friendship, you will be remembered in Panama!

Love in Christ,
David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley Webb

Easter in Latin America

Easter Morning 2008 just before church

Hello Everyone,

One week ago we celebrated Easter. It was a wonderful time of celebration with our local congregation who celebrated a Sunday morning breakfast of eggs, rice and beans, bread and coffee. Here is our Pastor enjoying her meal.



After church, the Easter bunny visited the kids and brought them each a basket with some goodies. They enjoyed the sweets and the small gifts.




Over the weekend, we spent a few hours with our Methodist missionary friends. The kids colored eggs and had egg/spoon races.




It was lots of fun for them to celebrate in such an American way. At home we had a few egg hunts in the house with sweets and coins inside the eggs to add to the excitement of the search.

It has been another week without David as he has been in Panama working with a Maximum Mission team from California. He checks in regularly and everything is going well for the team and the leaders. This is Sunday and Shelley will leave in an hour to pick up David at the airport. We are planning on a nice evening together as a family. David will leave again on Thursday for Nicaragua to attend some Maximum Missions there. The district of Central Nicaragua has the goal of planting 23 new cell groups/churches in the month of April. WOW!!!




We hope you had a blessed Easter with your friends and family. Until next week,

The Webb Family

Playa Chiquita and San Jose/Puerto Caimito

Hello All,
Last week we gave you an update on two of the Child Development Centers in Panama. This week we'll finish the tour by showing you Playa Chiquita (Little Beach) and San Jose in Playa Caimito.

The work in Playa Chiquita was started when some faithful Nazarene leaders learned that there were many people living in a trash dump near this beach.
The trash dump near the beach. Photo taken from school grounds with zoom lens.

This all began 4 years ago and thanks to the work of these passionate leaders in the church and the local government (who didn't realize there were people living in the dump until the leaders showed them), there is now a school, a church and a Child Development Center, and the people no longer need to live in the dump.


The new church/Child Development Center in Playa Chiquita.

The leaders chose to name this center "Luz de Esperanza" or "Light of Hope." God's light is shining in Playa Chiquita. In 2007, through Nazarene Compasionate Ministries donations, a water tank was built to hold and supply water to the center. While visiting the site, we spent much time taking photos of children who are not yet sponsored but who are attending the activities of the Child Development Center. This Center has 48 children sponsored already with more to follow soon.


One of the children of Playa Chiquita standing on the school grounds with a view of the new church and Child Development Center in the background.


A view of the beach/ocean from the school.

The Center has plans for a working farm to begin later this year. The community will work the land to produce crops to feed the families and to sell for profit as well as raise animals for milk, meat and to sell. Here is an example of a crop they will grow. This plant is called yuca and you eat the root of the plant after the plant reaches about 5 feet in height. It will great to watch this project move forward to assist the community.


Pulling up the yuca plants.

The San Jose Child Development Center is located near Puerto (Port) Caimito and to reach the community you must walk across two rickety bridges.
A view of the beach at Puerto Caimito.


One of the swinging wooden slat bridges.

It is quite isolated and not a safe place to live as it often floods and makes living conditions very difficult. Most people earn a living by fishing or collecting clams.


Two fishermen repairing their nets.

The Center is the only church in this part of the community and many of the children have an opportunity to hear the Word of God through this work.


The children of San Jose Puerto Caimito singing praise songs.

The day Shelley visited happened to fall on the celebration day of the first day of school. They children in the sponsorship program received new backpacks for the school year. We shared a meal of rice and beans and enjoyed visiting with the children. One little boy in particular, without shoes and with dirt head to toe, stood outside the center. We invited him in but he would not enter. When we ate, after much asking, he finally agreed to take a plate and ate it up in a minute. He was obviously very hungry. We learned later that his mother forbids him to enter a church and so he is too scared to enter but the Center tries to feed him when he shows up since it is likely his only nutrition of the day.


Two of the girls at San Jose who chose to wear their new backpacks while eating their rice! Too cute!

I am so impressed by the work of the leaders of the Child Development Centers in Panama. Please pray for them and their work with the children in their areas.

After two very long, hot days of traveling Shelley returned to cool San Jose very thankful for the opportunity to see the children whose names she sees in reports each month and to meet the leaders of the centers to thank them and encourage them.


A view from the air of a port along the Panama/Costa Rica Atlantic coast. Look at all those ships! Amazing!

When Shelley returned from her trip, David began his preparations to leave once again. He is now in Panama with an evangelism team from California. The team will be working in two communities not too far from all the Child Development Centers. Pray for their work this next week.

On a personal note, Kayley would like all to know that she decided to cut her long hair. Now her curls fall around her shoulders and she is soooo cute. (Of course, as her mother, I may be a bit prejudiced!)



May you have a blessed Easter! We will be celebrating with a special breakfast at the church of Gallo Pinto (rice and beans) and eggs. We are looking forward to that!

God bless you all,
Shelley, David
Joshua and Kayley

La Pesa and Espave de Chame - Children's Centers

Hello Everyone!

Shelley finally had the opportunity to visit the Child Development Centers in Panama this week. It was a great trip and here are some highlights of the visits to La Pesa and Espave de Chame. (Next week we'll share some more about some other centers.)

Shelley flew from San Jose to Panama City on Monday afternoon and began touring the area on Tuesday. The view of the city from the plane was incredible!



On Tuesday, the District Superintendent, Shelley and a few other leaders traveled to La Pesa, and area located west of the capital. Like many rural locations in Central America, it was not possible to drive all the way. We had to park a distance from the community. The good news is that the small bridge you see here has just been completed so now you can walk on dry ground! It is hard to believe now that it is dry season, but in rainy season it is not possible to cross this river so the bridge is a BIG deal for this community.



The church consists of two buildings: the sanctuary and a small school building. It is located in rolling, lush green hills. Beautiful!



This Child Development Center has a preschool for the poorest children in the community and also a weekly program to assist in education, nutrition and spiritual development of school aged children. At this moment there are 38 children sponsored by good people like you who send a little each month to help these children. Here are some of the preschool children during the first week of classes. The school year is March-November.



Here are a few of the older boys who have been attending the church and the Child Development Center for two years.



After spending some time meeting with the leaders at La Pesa, we traveled on to Espave de Chame which is located further west of the Panama City. This community is located on a busy highway.

This Child Development Center has a new church building to meet in, thanks to the assistance of a Work and Witness Team from the Mid-Atlantic District. With a roof over their heads, the children can learn in a better environment. Here are a few of the children from Espave during prayer time in their new building.



The people of Espave earn a meager living by making "carbon" or coal. It is not a rock type of coal. The process involves transporting wood to the site, burning it for many days (I can't imagine that type of work in the Panama heat!) and then sacking the burnt wood chips for sale.


One sack sells for about $3.00.

This is not much when you consider the expense of transporting the wood and the labor involved in burning it. The other main occupation is clam collecting since this community is located in walking distance to the Pacific coast.

This Center also provides assistance in education, nutrition and spiritual growth to the children. Here the children are waiting for a hot meal.



Currently there are 32 children sponsored through Child Sponsorship in Espave de Chame and more are added each month. The leader of the Center reviews the schoolwork of the children and assists those who are in need. This little girl got a 5 - the top score in Panama schools and she wanted to show off her good grade.



I am very proud of the leaders of each center, who by the way, are all female pastors. They are so good with the kids and completely dedicated to their work. They do a lot with a little and never give up.

So it was a good week here in MAC South. After returning at the end of the week, we had a surprise flood in our storage building and spent most of today (Saturday) sorting through wet books and papers deciding what we could save. But God helped us in that the most important things, like Bibles, were off the floor and were dry. And, we really need to clean out that storage area anyway and now we have no other option!

You can pray for David as he will be taking a team from California to Panama from the 20th - 30th of March. We'll miss him on Easter Sunday, but know he's doing good church planting work there.

God bless your Holy Week!

The Webb Family
P.S. If you would like to sponsor a child from one of the Child Development Centers, you can find photos and information about children who are waiting for sponsors at www.ncm.org.