Missions Blog

Hello!!

Welcome to the first blog post from our 2025 Panama Women's Conference trip! We arrived in Panama on October 1 and have had many adventures so far: visiting Monkey Island and a Wounaan indigenous community located near Gamboa, Panama, before we headed to Campamento Palabra De Vida. 

Before I tell you about what we have been up to, I want to share a God moment. When we landed in Panama, one of the women in our group lost her suitcase because it was not in the overhead compartment where she had put it. In addition, we were also having cell service issues to let the Panama missionaries know we landed. Instead of freaking out, we all came together to pray for peace and patience while navigating a foreign country and running into some bumps.

Shortly after, the suitcase was found, and we ended up befriending one of the airline workers. His name is Ramano and he saw us praying and felt the need to help out a little-- he got us through customs quickly by allowing us to go through a different line and then he got us assistance to move all nine suitcases full of supplies from the baggage claim to the car. Without losing our luggage, we would have never had those blessings, so it is an important reminder to trust in God's plan, even if you don't understand.   

More about our trip: To get to Monkey Island and the Wounaan community, we had to take a boat on the Panama Canal. It was amazing to learn about the history of the area in addition to listening to personal stories from Missionary Traci Delibasich. Traveling across the water was eye-opening in seeing God's creation in full. The nature is so vibrant, and there are animals everywhere. We saw crocodiles, birds, and, of course, the monkeys. We got to get up close to different monkey islands and feed them grapes, oranges, and bananas, but we soon learned that they really wanted the limes. But not to eat them-- they used the limes to clean themselves, which was so interesting. The first monkeys we saw were the Capuchin monkeys, and then we saw the Titi monkeys. I loved the Titi monkeys because they are so small. 

After Monkey Island, we got to visit the San Antonio Wounaan Tribe. We learned their history, which turned out to be a little sad because they are not allowed to hunt like their ancestors did. They now rely on tourists for income because of the regulations on the Panama Canals that no longer allow them to be hunter/gatherers. While there, a few of us bought some handcrafted jewelry to support them, but also to have a souvenir. Before we left, they wanted to show us two dances: the Dance of the Butterfly and the Dance of the Coyote. It was amazing to see these dances and to see some of their clothing. 

After leaving the tribe, we traveled to Campamento Palabra De Vida, Word of Life Camp, on October 2. Some of us reconnected with old friends while others met new ones. It was beautiful to see the camp and what they have to offer for people here. We settled in and then got to work later in the night after dinner (which was delicious). Some of the women volunteers worked together after dinner to pack welcome bags for the women attending the conference later that day. This is also a big shout-out to those who helped us fundraise for this trip. It allowed us to bring supplies for these gifts, along with an activity to do with all the women. It is amazing what God can accomplish! 

Once all the bags were finished and we cleaned up, we headed back to our rooms to get ready for bed after an eventful day. Wake-up call is 7 a.m.!

It has been such a fun and informational two days, and I cannot wait to tell you more about this trip over the next few days!