June 09 - 22, 2022



This summer we are sending a team of 14 GCC Youth and Adults to Panama for a short-term mission trip! While in Panama, our team will work alongside our ministry partners at Palabra de Vida (Word of Life) to share the Gospel and serve local communities. 


Schedule

June 9     Fly to Panama

June 10   Work Day

June 11 - 14   First Camp Group

June 15   Rest Day

June 16 - 19   Second Camp Group

June 20  Embera Village

June 21  Pack up

June 22  Fly home


For updates from the team, please scroll down

DAY 8 - JUNE 16

Hi! So today was a really exciting day! The campers for the first ever English camp arrived today! It was a historical day because Word of Life Panama is now going to do camps like this every year! We started off by greeting all the campers and splitting into cabins and getting to know the kids better. We did a lot of other activities but I think some favorites were Mufa Pufa, which is game time, which was fun because we got to make up chants for our teams, and also pool time because it was a very hot and sunny day! We also heard the first message of the camp last night which was a presentation of the gospel and I think it might have been some of the campers first time ever hearing the gospel message. In my room, we had a short but meaningful discussion about how Jesus came to save us and how you can't lose salvation even if you sin, and even though they were goofing around during the sermon, I think they truly began to understand. God is moving here and it is so fun to see. (Nora)

DAY 6 & 7 - JUNE 14 & 15

DAY 7

Hello all!! Today was our rest day in between Spanish camp and English, so we were able to sleep in because breakfast wasn't until 9am!! After breakfast we had a meeting where we went over Bible verses that we can use to share the gospel with our campers. After the meeting we headed to beach! The weather was perfect for spending the day in the water and under the cabanas! We also ate a delicious lunch at the beach restaurant of fresh fish and fried plantains. After getting nice and crispy at the beach we headed back to camp for dinner. We had a dance party and then played some relay games with the other counselors and helpers. Sadly we lost the games, but we still had a ton of fun. We finished the night with a bonfire, worship, and s'mores!! Today was a great day of rest!(Anna)



DAY 6

Hi everyone! Today was the last day of the Spanish camp, the students left around 9:00am. After saying our goodbyes, we got right to work and started cleaning the camp to prepare for the English camp. When we were done cleaning we had some free time and got to talk more and connect with the other camp counselors. Later in the evening we were all given more details about what to expect for the English camp. Then we met with all the other counselors and Pastor Brian had us do some team building activities. The activities were fun, but they also brought us together as one team instead of an American team and a Panamanian team. To end the night our team planned a midnight swim, where we played nine square in the pool. All in all, it was an excellent opportunity to connect and regroup for the next camp! (Faith)


DAY 5

Hello to everyone back home! Day 5 of our Panamá missions trip started off with a powerful message and some equally powerful worship. After that was some free time, with opportunities to help with the zip line and the campers' time in the pool, with a few of us working on a side project for the camp that Tracy has been pressuring them to complete before we leave (it sounds likely). After that was Aqua Pufa - the water-based grand finale to the competition that had been going on this week. Lots of intense swimming, cannonballs, and belly flops. The last event of the night was the Flip Camp banquet, with great food and a great awards ceremony for the campers. There was a lot of great opportunity to connect with campers and each other at the banquet and throughout the week, and our time here so far has been very good! (Lucas)

DAY 4 - JUNE 12

Today was day 2 of the Spanish camp. The morning began with some worship and a message about the importance of having intentional faith. During this message, one of the big take-aways was the idea that there is nothing greater than having a relationship with Jesus. The campers were given the opportunity to affirm their faith and a group of about 20 campers took that opportunity in front of the entire camp.

The afternoon began with some free time to go to the pool or zip line. Our team had several different responsibilities like life-guarding, manning the zip line, and some even did some digging to help prepare another cabin for air conditioning. Afterwards, the entire camp participated in an event called "Mufa Pufa". During this time, the campers competed in several relay races around the camp until dinner time.

After dinner, we had our evening session. This meeting was a celebration of 30 years of Palabra de Vida and included a video of the history of the camp, as well as all of the future plans for the camp. This time was supposed to end with a bonfire, but the rain had other plans, so after our meeting all of the staff came together to pray for the campers who had given their lives to Christ during the camp, as well as the students who hadn't made that decision yet. Overall, God is doing amazing things at this camp and in the lives of the people here in Panamá! - Megan

DAY 3 - JUNE 11

Today was the first day of the Spanish Camp! The campers arrived after breakfast, after we all had a short meeting as a team about how we were adjusting to being in Panama. Aside from HOT, we all felt God working through the missionaries we were surrounded by, and were excited by the idea of camp beginning that day! We ate breakfast, and joined in groups of English and Spanish speakers to pray for the kids, for us, and for the messages we'd receive. Then the kids arrived! We spent much of the rest of today observing the events of the camp in Spanish, to prepare for our turn in the "drivers seat" for the English camp next week. Some key events were the "division of teams", where campers joined 2 teams to participate in a variety of games. These were a blast to watch, the kids were super energetic when their team won a game, and the energy is always high.


The last event of the day was a review of camp rules, and a message that briefly reviewed the Gospel. A couple of kids, after that message, reaffirmed or confirmed their faith, and the Spanish speaking counselors went with them 1 on 1 to help them pray to accept Christ, and receive small copies of the Gospel of John. Our team watched these interactions closely, since we knew some of us will have the counselor role for English camp. After a very long day, we finally were able to head back to our cabins and get some rest.


That's day 3! Please be praying for the success of our team during English camp, and the kids here at Spanish camp as well as the kids we have yet to meet at English camp. Thank you GCC! This is Caden Sheahan signing off!


DAY 2 - JUNE 10

Today we needed to prepare for the incoming campers. We did everything from clean cabins, to sweeping the pool, to battling scorpions, to changing locks, and even decorating. Believe it or not it was very hot and sunny so we were pretty exhausted after all of that. We got a chance to swim and had some down time in the evening. We got to spend time hearing Tracie and Jon's stories which were really encouraging to us and the work we get to do. We had a really good time talking with the missionaries and were very thankful when we got to pass out at the end of the day.  (Micah)



DAY 1 - JUNE 9

Yesterday was a very long day of travel, but we have arrived safely in Panama! Getting here was not without its fair share of "bumps in the road." First, we ran into some issues checking in for our flight in advance because our airline's online system was down. This wouldn't have been too much of a problem, but we also arrived at the airport a bit later than we wanted to and we all had a mandatory digital health form that we needed to fill out that wouldn't load properly for most of us. It began to really look like we were not going to make it to our flight, but we praise God that He made a way for all 15 of us to get there right as they made the final boarding call. Once on the plane, the pilot informed us that there was a mechanical issue that they needed to work on, so we took off much later than we were supposed to and with most of us feeling a bit uneasy about the fact that the plane might not be working properly. But we landed safely in Panama and not too much later than our original landing time… only to learn that one of our suitcases filled with donations was misplaced. Even still, we were able to fill out a claim for the missing bag and we hope that they will contact us soon if and when it is found. All throughout the day yesterday we saw God's hand at work, making a way forward for us. In big details and in small details, He showed up in mighty ways! We can't wait to see what else He has in store for us throughout our time here in Panama!