Panama: OM Panama helps clean up after recent riots

Becky Barends

The people of Volcán, Panama, are still trying to make sense of the violence that recently took place on the square of their usually-quiet mountain village. With the recent riots that followed the indigenous protesting against the government, downtown Volcán was left virtually in pieces.

OM Panama, who calls Volcán home, quickly responded to the great need of the town by sending the six participants in their mission exposure programme to help clean up and re-paint the police station, which had been vandalised, looted and burned by the riotous crowds during the protests.

The Mission Extreme participants had been ministering in the Comarca, a remote indigenous area, when the protests took place. They were evacuated from the area for safety.

But now, with these young people back in Volcán, the leadership of OM Panama realised that they could do a lot to help clean up the village.  

The group spent the day scrubbing the burned walls of the police station and painting the outside. Though the work is different than what the team originally had planned, they recognise that God has a plan for everything.     

Please pray for the village of Volcán as they pick up the pieces of the vandalism. Pray that OM’s presence during the clean-up effort will be a blessing to the community and a light for the entire country.

Credit: Becky Barends
© 2012 OM International