“Each night, we would gather with the entire village, have a worship service with songs, and spread the word of our Lord through Bible stories,” reflected Gunner Davis ‘26, on his recent quest to serve remote villages in Panama. “It was an enlightening experience getting to know the people that lived in this remote village, who had no contact with the outside world a majority of the time.”
Last August, Davis went on his first mission trip to a remote part of Panama to serve the villagers there. He learned about the opportunity to go on this week-long trip to Central America when the International Mission Board (IMB) visited his Southern Baptist church. His church promotes mission trips as an opportunity to serve God while spreading His word. Davis was both excited and fearful as he traveled from Ohio to Panama on August 24.
“Being on this mission trip taught me to put my fears aside to spread the Word of God,” said Davis. “I knew this mission was bigger than me being scared. It was more important that we showed these people the Word of God and explained how he can impact their everyday lives while helping them out.”
The first challenge Davis and his party faced was getting to the destination where their mission work would take place. After a series of flights to Central America, they landed in Panama City and took a 5-hour van ride as far as they could across the country until there was no road left. There, they had to wait on a dock for their boat.
“We set out on a three-hour boat ride to Jaque, a remote village on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Panama,” said Davis. “We did most of our work in Jaque, but on the third day, we went an hour away to a neighboring village called Cocolita.”
When they arrived in Jaque, they met the local people. In the mornings, Davis and his party would go on “prayer walks,” where they would walk around the village for an hour or so and pray for everyone they met. They also helped the locals with their daily tasks. They taught them how to make knives to help enrich their daily lives.
According to Davis, another challenge his group faced was the language barrier. Everyone in the village spoke Spanish, a language no one in his party spoke. He was grateful for their IMB guides, who helped by translating for them. This experience allowed Davis to learn some common Spanish phrases.
A personal challenge for Davis was speaking in front of crowds, but he admits that part of a mission trip is being out of one’s comfort zone while being an instrument of the Lord.
“Public speaking has always been something I have struggled with,” said Davis. “With the help of our Lord and lots of praying, I was able to get over this fear sooner than I could’ve imagined.”
Leaving the village at the end of the mission trip was one of the most complex parts of this experience for Davis and his group because of the strong relationships with the villagers. He felt sad but reflective as he and his mother traveled back home. He thought about the blessings of living in a remote Panama village versus the blessings of living the life of an American teen.
“This experience has changed my perspective on how we live here in the United States,” said Davis. “We don’t appreciate how easy we have it here. The people in the village have close to nothing, and they make the most of it. They have beliefs down there that we here would think are crazy, but it is just how they live. It has made me more grateful for what I have and helped me realize that life here isn’t as hard as we make it.”
“Gunner is a faithful young man,” stated Jenna Legg, interim director of ministry and service who has been working with Davis on retreats and service since his return. “So when I learned that he went on a mission trip with his church, I was not surprised. CJ is proud how he freely gave of his time and talent to serve those less fortunate. I know he did so because of his love for God.”