9 Women, 8 Days, Lots of Luggage

This website is for the team from Seacoast Women in Ministry (SWIM) who traveled together on a mission trip to Panama City, Panama July 8th-16th, 2006. The daily journal was provided by team member Jane Norton. Photos were contributed by Mayra Sterling and Debbie Hopper. It will hopefully also serve as a way for all team members to capture their thoughts about the mission and also for our sisters and brothers in Christ in Panama to share our photos and keep in touch.

To start reading the journal and viewing photos in date order, scroll to the bottom of this page to Day 1 - July 8, 2006.

Gloria a Deos!

Day 8

Unlike the Encounter weekends at Seacoast we sent the women home Friday night but they were to return at 8:30 Saturday morning to complete the Encounter. We began promptly at 10 on Saturday (Panamanian Time!) with a full house of about 70 participants. We presented the Healing from Past Wounds, and Generational Sins talks including testimonies from some of the team before lunch; and began the afternoon with the Betsy leading the participants in a prayer of renouncement and destruction of their spiritual profiles. Griselda invited the unsaved to come to Christ and then we served Communion. Glory, Glory, Glory.

After the final talk on the Holy Spirit we had a time of Prayer and then our favorite part, sharing time. We had many come forward and claim physical healing, spiritual healing and clear vision for their futures. Praise be to God! In spite of us, in spite of the time limits and the small facility, many lives were changed.

Saturday night nine exhausted Seacoast Mission Team members, one very tired Pastor’s wife, the Pastor, his son and Miguel the cat herder, all gathered for a farewell dinner at a restaurant on the causeway. We ate wonderful Panamanian food, stopped for ice cream and toured some of the prettiest parts of Panama.

We were all falling asleep but pastor wanted to spend the last minutes of our visit with us. The panama people are very hospitable. They fed us well, looked out for our every need and blessed us with their total commitment to the Lord
Pastor invited us all back next year and he wants us to bring our husbands. Two team members do not have husbands but Pastor prayed they would by next year! Only time will tell.

Day 7

Friday was spent tweaking our Encounter talks and working out the details of our Encounter presentation. We had to shorten our talks to allow time for translation.

When we arrived at the church Friday night a few participants were already there waiting. We found that the people there don’t mind waiting a while for something to happen. That is good because it seemed that not much starts when we expected it too.

Attendance was good, about 60 participants, more than was expected for Friday night. We gave opening remarks, had an ice breaker and then the Openness and Transparency and Cross talks were given.

One amazing thing was how fast the Panamanian women broke into small groups of eight for table time. They had their chairs moved into circles two minutes after Griselda asked them too. We joked that it would have taken American women 20 minutes to accomplish such a task.

Due to time restriction we skipped table time after the Cross talk and had them come up for prayer. The prayer requests and comments let us know that God had made His point in spite of the cramped conditions, shortened talks and the need for translation!

Day 6

The van arrived to pick us up bright and early Thursday morning. We were getting used to being chauffeured and began wondering how we would handle not having a driver when we returned home. Chris commented that on Monday morning, back in the states, when she left for work she would probably climb in the back seat and wait as we are accustomed to doing now.

Confidence was high as we headed out. Having some experience behind us and knowing a little more about what to expect relieved the tension. We had also made some adjustment in the cast. It was necessary to replace Mary, the paralytic puppet. It was painful for us all but she just wasn’t giving enough to the performance. Even after Jesus healed her from her paralysis she spent lengthy periods of time staring at the ceiling with her mouth open. And we suspect she previously worked in foreign movies because of the delay between when she spoke her lines and when her mouth moved.

We were blessed at the school to be introduced by their English teacher who is a strong Christian and valued our message. She had the children recite a prayer they learned in English and they also showed off how they have learned the English words for the places in their school: Library, computer room etc.



The performance went smoothly and the children seemed to love us, flocking around to get a hug. We began to feel like movie stars.

Thursday afternoon we were rewarded for finishing up on schedule (unheard of in Panama) with a drive to the beach and a dip in the Pacific Ocean.


We had to hurry back for a meeting with the women who had volunteered to be table leaders at our Encounter Weekend.

Day 5

Today was our sightseeing day and we went to see the Panama Canal. Wow! All these trips have been made so wonderful in the 15 passenger van (AIR CONDITIONED!- we are sooo spoiled) driven by their Youth Pastor - Miguel - who has the same humble spirit as Pastor Picota and is quick to make sure that we never wander off anywhere by ourselves. We have given Miguel the unofficial title of Cat Herder. Pastor also got us inside the gates to take photos in front of the Presidents home today.

Wednesday night we had the pleasure to visit small groups again. The team split into two groups to attend two different small groups. The Panamanian people are very hospitable and not afraid of the gospel. They received the five minute teaching each team had prepared with open hearts. We worshipped the Lord together, Praise for Jesus has no language barrier.

Diana, the hostess of one of the small groups was especially ministered to. She works with sexually abused teenagers and was feeling drained by the needs and sadness of the children to the point of considering quitting her job. The teaching reminded her that we are shepherds, the teens are God’s flock and that all the work we do is for the Lord. Praise be to God, the very next day one of the young men gave his life to the lord and Diana’s path, guarding the flock, was confirmed for her.

We received news that the teacher’s strike was over and our presentation at a school the next day was on!

Day 4

Surprise! Our scheduled visits to school today have been cancelled. The teachers are on strike!

We heard some feedback about our performances yesterday and it seems the children got it! When asked what they learned they remembered the stories and couldn’t stop talking about what they saw and heard. Praise God!

Pastor Betsy is now a radio star. The worship leader from Oleo del Goso Church, Dilma, works at a radio station and we were blessed with airtime to discuss our Women’s Encounter Conference that will be held on Friday and Saturday.

Tuesday afternoon we again presented at the Women’s Conference at the Catholic Church. This time we shared the stage with a government agency that taught about child abuse: How to recognize it, how to report it and how it is not acceptable behavior. Our flexible pastor Betsy was able to tweak her talk and use different testimonies to tie the two lessons together. And Griselda, Pastor Picota’s wife concluded with a word about how the lack of Jesus in the abusive homes was the real problem. Then we prayed and every person attending came up for prayer. Gloria a Dios!

Day 3

Today was a victory for our team and for Jesus. Although we did not fully know how we were to deliver our messages – to the children at two different elementary schools and to women at a conference in a Catholic Church – God provided! Our messages were clear and received gladly according to reports we later heard. God provided the equipment and props we needed and guided us through our first presentations for “Zaccheus the Tax Collector” and “The Good Samaritan.” The children loved it and also loved the stickers and us taking photos on our digital cameras - especially when they could see their picture in the viewer afterward! After the skits, Pastor Picota’s wife prayed with the whole assembly and led them in the sinner’s prayer. Many, many heads were bowed and hands raised. Our confidence was much higher for our second presentations at the next school and we were able to improvise with the props we were provided at that location as well and delivered a comprehensive program.

We were all blessed by the hugs we received by the sweet faces of the children.


Our third stop of the day at the woman’s conference delivered just as many blessings. Pastor Betsy delivered a beautiful message about the treasure (the true treasure of a relationship with Jesus) we need to fill our treasure chests instead of the ones we typically seek. Some of the team members gave their testimonies to emphasis what it really means to Know Jesus – not just attend church. This was truly a miracle to be able to deliver a message like this at a Catholic Church in Panama. The Catholic Church views the local Evangelicals as some what of a threat. We had a beautiful time of prayer with many of the women. Even the hostesses we moved by the message.

After some down time (translation – naps!) we headed off to visit two small groups that meet on Monday nights. We were fed a "light” meal: Chicken, clams, rice, plantains and arroz y leche (rice pudding) for dessert.

We sang, prayed and heard a word from the Word from Pastor Betsy. A young man attending the group, Renaldo, gave his life to Jesus. We were all blessed by the way our Panamanian friends worship the Lord candidly and uninhibited.

We visited a second cell group where we celebrated 3 young men who recently gave their lives to the Lord and prayed for the host family whose son was hospitalized in serious condition with eight gunshot wounds. We saw the mother later in the week and found out that he had his third operation on Friday and was expected to return home Sunday. Gloria a Dios!

Day 2

Morning arrived way too soon but proved to be the start of a glorious day. We began by attending service at Oleo del Goso Church. We were all blessed by the presence of the Holy Spirit during praise and worship. What a joy and privilege that was as we sang The Power of His Love while reading the Spanish on the large screen. Pastor Picota played the bongos; his son plays guitar, keyboards and drums. Our hearts were touched by witnessing first hand people of another country, another culture worshipping the SAME GOD we do. It was a huge blessing to be moved by the Spirit when we didn’t even understand the words. Except for Mayra, of course, who was blessed to be worshipping in her native tongue.

Then we received our next blessing when ministering to the children of Oleo del Goso church with crafts, songs, puppets and an acting-out of “Jesus Feeds the 5000.” We were touched by how we were able to really connect with the children without speaking the same language but through the language of Christ’s love. They gave us many touching hugs and ear to ear smiles. One small child, Monica, even declared Betsy her mother; much to the chagrin of her real mother who was standing behind them.

The church members were not in a hurry to leave when the service was over. Many stayed to eat and to participate in discipleship classes and to fellowship. The ladies of the church prepared a home-cooked meal right there at the church. We were fed Panama style potato salad, rice, and meat cooked with lots of cilantro. Muy Bueno!

Back at the hotel we rested and then began planning and adjusting our programs for the next day. We had a delicious Panamanian Dinner at a restaurant in a nearby mall.

Day 1

The SWIM Panama Mission Team arrived at the Charleston Airport excited, nervous and raring to go. We were delighted to have elders from the church and family members gather to encourage us and send us off in prayer. We breezed through customs and security check points and had plenty of time to eat, visit the ladies room and make last minute purchases.

The flight to Atlanta was uneventful. Some read, some slept but most chatted. There was lots of anticipation in the air. We had more time to kill in Atlanta Airport than expected since our flight was delayed for an hour. This became the mode of operation for our whole trip; hurry up and wait.

We had a nice surprise on the plane. It was Ted Green’s 53rd birthday and the flight attendants were in the partying mood. They were pleasant, joking with everyone and did a wonderful job entertaining up as well as serving us.

After a little confusion and a lot of lines at the Panama Airport we finally met Pastor Picota and his wife, Griselda along with Miguel who would serve as our guide, translator, chauffer and advisor for our entire trip. It is amazing how much luggage nine women can carry but they managed to fit all of it and all of us in two vehicles. Good thing one was a fifteen passenger van.

For many of us the drive to the hotel was our first glimpse of Panama. We arrived at the hotel at 12:30 by our watches and 11:30 according to the hotel clocks. The hotel was a Country Inn and Suites and looked exactly how they do in the States and was equipped the same also. We had a pool, exercise room (no one used it) and air conditioning, Praise Be To God! There was a Friday’s attached where we ate many meals.

Although we were dreadfully tired we held a team meeting to pray and plan our activities for the next day before retiring for the night.