Dear Friends,

Greetings from Panama!

In the first three months of the year we received ten Volunteers in Mission (VIM) teams that performed a variety of services, including medical work, construction and ministry with children.

At our Community Center in Cienaguita, near the Ngobe-Bugle Indian Reservation, one of the teams not only treated hundreds of people, but also began the training of our first group of community health promoters. Their challenge will be to help their communities to become healthier through the implementation of better public sanitation and improved personal hygiene practices. They will also offer first aid and provide a point of contact to help their communities to access outside medical care when needed.

I was especially pleased with the cooperation we received from the government Health Department. They supplied a doctor that not only treated patients but also was able to refer patients to "get into the system" if they needed follow-up care. Another health worker checked the children and administered all the vaccinations they needed. And yet another worker, a nutrition specialist joined the teaching team and provided the community health promoters-in-training with valuable information about the preparation of nutritional foods that can be grown locally.

At the closing ceremony, the students expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to participate in the course and then asked the team members to pray for God's blessings to enable them to fulfill their commitment to their communities. Afterwards, the students prayed over the teaching team, asking God to bless them and enable them to continue their efforts on behalf of these impoverished rural communities. Though the Ngobe are the poorest of the poor in Panama, the cooperation of church, community and government can bring about lasting improvements and a better life for all.

We continue to make progress in the construction of Camp Cielito which is located about an hour and a half from Panama City. The first five cabins are nearing completion and we are working on the design of the kitchen and dining hall. The entire camp will be wheelchair accessible and will be run according to "green" principles, including the recycling of all waste products. We have also begun an extensive reforestation program as much of the property was previously used as pasture land.

With the help of one of the VIM teams, we organized the first Vacation Bible School (VBS) ever held in the area. We were not sure what kind of response we would get from the children. On the first day 20 children and one mother showed up and enjoyed a varied program of lessons, crafts, games and skits. The next day attendance doubled and by the end of the week we had 90 children and 20 parents participating. When I asked one grandmother what the children thought about the VBS, she responded, "These kids can't sleep at night just thinking about what's going to happen the next day." And on Thursday, the only topic of conversation in the small community was about the big "fiesta" planned to celebrate the end of the week.

In recognition of the fact that Panama is a multi-religious and multi-cultural society, we have been working with the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) to implement an ethics education program for children. The idea is to get all of the religious groups present in Panama to work together for the common good of our children. The proposed ethics education emphasizes values such as tolerance, mutual respect and service to neighbor. Recently a weekend workshop was held with the participation of young people representing Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Bahai faith traditions. In other meetings we have had the participation of Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh leaders as well. In a world in which religion is often seen as a source of division and strife, we feel that such visible cooperation can make a significant contribution in the building of a true culture of peace.

Recently I heard a speaker suggest that instead of asking children what they want to be when they grow up, we should ask them what difference they want to make- not just in the future, but here and now, in their schools, their communities and their own families. That's a question not just for children but one we can all ask ourselves.