Concepción de Cañazas, Veraguas (Panama), 09/29/2024, Sr. Vanessa Villalobos y Emilianeth Ortega, student of the Carmen Conte Lombardo Institute - Churuquita Chuiquita Community.- From September 26 to 29, Sisters Bertha Atencio, Elisia Perez, Virgelina Gil, and Vanessa Villalobos, accompanied by 8 young people from the Carmen Conte Lombardo Institute, Churuquita Chuiquita Community, and 4 young people from the Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission Center, El Bale community, traveled to the community of Concepción de Cañazas, in the province of Veraguas, Republic of Panama.

This mission was organized with the objective of accompanying and strengthening the faith life of this rural community, and also as part of the vocational pastoral process for young people in Panama. We share the testimony of one of the young participants: “Going on this mission brought me an incredible sense of satisfaction, both spiritually and personally, as I never imagined experiencing such incomparable, unique, and unrepeatable moments.

Love for what you do can break any type of barrier that comes your way.

Upon arriving in the community of La Concepción de Cañazas, I had many expectations about what I might experience, expectations that were completely exceeded as the days went by. We arrived on a Friday afternoon with incredible excitement, full of energy and curiosity to begin our experience as missionaries. Along the way to the community, we saw children heading to their homes after finishing their school day. Those same children returned to their small school (where we stayed for the three days of the mission), eager to find out what was happening and why there was a group of girls with some sisters in their community. More children arrived, and that very day, with those children, we had our first mission. We divided into groups and visited different homes throughout the community. In each one, we were welcomed with such joy, and you could truly see the happiness at the long-awaited arrival of the missionaries.

Saturday brought more incredible experiences. In the morning, it was our turn to teach the young children and teenagers; personally, I was nervous because, honestly, I didn’t know how to work with young children. But I felt God’s voice telling me, ‘you know what? I will put you to the test,’ and that’s exactly what happened. I was assigned to work with the very young ones, children aged 0 to 4 years. It was one of the best experiences God has allowed me to have, because despite my fear and not knowing how to teach them, I managed to bring out my creativity and think of ways to capture the children's attention so they could learn. Undoubtedly, more than us teaching them, we learned from them because you could see in their little faces that they were so happy, even with the little they have. They are not used to luxuries, comforts, or technology; they were happy simply playing in the rain or with small spinning tops made by their parents or grandparents. In the afternoon, we visited some homes with another companion and one of the sisters, including the teacher’s home, where I realized that love for your profession leads you to make great sacrifices, as she walked nearly an hour each day, crossing three rivers to reach the school and fulfill her mission as a teacher and catechist.

At the end of the mission, I returned to my family with so many experiences and lessons; we completely left our comfort zones; we experienced so many new things, from sleeping on the floor with only a sheet and small blankets to cover us from the cold, to eating rice and sardines every day, just like most people there. We learned that you don’t need much to be happy and that love for what you do can break any type of barrier that comes your way. At the end of this mission, each one of us felt our spirit renewed and filled with so much joy that, if we were called to a future mission, we would say YES without a second thought.”