This week, hear from Semesters by World Race participant, Devin Helm, as she gives us a glimpse into a week in the life serving and ministering in Panama! Devin and her team have been able to partner with a variety of different ministries – teaching English, serving with a nutrition and food ministry, prayer and intercession, and many more. Check it out!
We now live in the mountains and have been staying in Boquete, Panama! The air is cooler, the nearest beach is 2 hours away, it rains way more, we have neighbors, and there is an actual town we can take a bus to! It’s funny how much you begin to appreciate the little things when you are used to a life without them.
Ministry here has been exciting! I often find myself saying “we are doing it all!” and we really are doing so much here. We have had the opportunity to serve and partner with various ministries around Boquete! So, let’s take a look at a week of ministry in Boquete, Panama!
MONDAY: Mondays are one of the sweetest days of the week here. It’s ADVENTURE DAY! Each week we are blessed to have a day off for pure fun. Lately, we have taken our adventure days to head into downtown Boquete to explore. It is such a beautiful mountain town with decorated houses, mountains that fade into clouds, the yummiest food, and cutest shops!
TUESDAY: On Tuesdays, we have a morning of intercession and prayer, then we do various jobs around the Youth With a Mission (YWAM) base. We clean different rooms, help prepare meals, and tidy up the flower beds. Anything that needs to be done on the base, we do it on Tuesdays!
WEDNESDAY: Wednesdays mean Greenhouse days! Each week, we partner with Global Food Providers, a ministry here in Panama. Dr. Daniel Daves, a man from Texas, brought this ministry to Panama to help work against global food and nutrition poverty. This ministry has many moving parts to it, but it has been such a cool experience to get to work alongside and gain knowledge of things that we normally don’t draw our focus to!
THURSDAY: During the day on Thursday, we get to help on a farm. Then at the end of the day, the workers and their children all gather together for an English lesson. We usually split into a group of adults and children, and it has been such a learning experience for us as well, because before the Race, most of us have never had the opportunity to teach English!
FRIDAY: Fridays are like our “leftover” day. It’s the day that we look at everything we did that week and say “well, what didn’t we do?” So, each Friday looks a bit different! Sometimes, we go into the larger city around us and do morning evangelism! Evangelizing is something that our entire squad is so passionate about, so it has been a great opportunity to have time set aside specifically for spreading the Good News of the Gospel. Or, we visit other ministries around the area. Whatever Fridays bring… it is always a lot of fun!
SATURDAY: On Saturdays, we Sabbath. Everyone mostly does their own thing. Sometimes Sabbaths include a quiet day with the Lord, a hike through His creation, or just a day to be present with the Lord and get things done. Everyone rests differently!
SUNDAY: My favorite day of the week, Sunday! We wake up and get to eat cereal (believe me, this is such a treat to a group of young missionaries) and then we have house church! After that, the rest of the day consists of quality time and fun together!
And there you have it! This is what each week in Boquete, Panama has looked like for us! Ministry here has been exceptionally great and rewarding for us. We have loved seeing the ministries that started here, our time partnering with and supporting them, and to see how they will continue to grow after we leave! We are so inspired by the people here who are so intentional and obedient to follow the Lord’s call. Panama is one of the Lord’s hidden gems, and I can’t wait for more people to see how spiritually and physically beautiful this place actually is.
Are you interested in helping to build sustainable ministry opportunities around the world? Our teams are partnering to bring the Kingdom of God by meeting tangible needs, sharing the love of Christ, and being a light in dark places.
