PANAMA | Rick

When someone asks what a mission trip to Panama is like, my head swirls with such an overwhelming list of moments and experiences, making it extremely difficult to put my feelings into words.  I absolutely love being able to serve alongside David and Marianella Bueno's mission to forgotten and ignored people groups in Panama, whether that be with indigenous Panamanian tribes in remote jungle villages or to the residents of inner-city Panama City.  It is such a privilege to witness their contagious passion for Jesus, to see the fruits of their labor for the Lord, and to know that God allowed you to be a small part of His work in reaching the whole world with the Gospel.

Over a decade ago, we set up a clinic in a remote village that you have to access by boat.  At that time, there were few believers and no church in that village.  But now, through seeds planted by the Buenos, there is a thriving, growing church there, reaching out with the Gospel to its community.  A few years later, in a mountain village, we set up a clinic at a rural school.  One of the children there saw our team and in his heart said, "Some day, I will serve Jesus by being a doctor."  Years have passed, and this child has become a young man who is working hard in school and is now taking the classes necessary so that he can soon begin medical training.  This year, there was a young girl at one of our clinics who received a wordless bracelet (a visual aid that helps to tell the Gospel story) from our child evangelism team.  Afterward, the girl sat down with Marianella and one of her coworkers, Mariella, and they ended up in a deep conversation.  She told them, "My heart is black, and I need Jesus," and she gave her life to Jesus right there.  

This is why we go: to see lives and communities changed by the power of Jesus.  

Pics are of my pharmacy crew this year, a wordless bracelet, and Marianella (left) and Mariella (right) talking to the little girl from the story.

~Rick Conn, Panama 2025