A Glimpse of Heaven: Panama Mission Trip Recap
“This feels like a little glimpse of heaven.”
“I feel more joyful here.”
“God is doing something powerful in this place.”
Those were just a few comments team member said during our recent trip to Panama with Hearts Cry Children’s Ministry. It was a trip full of contrasts. On one hand, we saw beauty and modern development—walking the old Spanish district and visiting the Panama Canal. On the other hand, we encountered deep need at two very different orphanages.
We spent one day at Tocumen, a government-run orphanage, playing soccer with the kids and providing lunch for everyone there. It felt like we were bringing joy into a place that doesn’t always get to see it.
Then we spent several days at Casa Providencia—the only special needs orphanage in Panama, run by Hearts Cry. And joy was already overflowing there. We held potato sack races, jumped in the ball pit, made cookies, and laughed until we were breathless. It was joyful, holy chaos.
But we didn’t just come to share our lives with these children—we came to serve those who serve them every day. The caregivers at Casa are there week in and week out, pouring out their lives in love. At Casa, we treated the staff to a special lunch and helped with some much-needed work projects—cleaning windows, scraping off old paint, and doing the kind of behind-the-scenes work that keeps the place running.
Our hope going into the trip was simple: to get a glimpse of what God is doing in Panama through Hearts Cry. And that’s exactly what we experienced.
There’s a verse painted on the wall at Casa Providencia, Micah 4:6-7
In that day, declares the Lord, I will assemble the lame
and gather those who have been driven away
and those whom I have afflicted;
and the lame I will make the remnant,
and those who were cast off, a strong nation;
and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
from this time forth and forevermore.
I’d like to share a moment that illustrated this beautifully. One afternoon, we took a walk through the Espinar neighborhood around Casa. Most orphanages in Panama might have 10 staff for the whole building. Casa has two full-time caregivers for every single child. That kind of care is rare—and it shows.
As we walked through the streets—blowing bubbles, pushing children in wheelchairs, laughing and smiling—something beautiful happened. Over sixty of us moved together like a joyful parade. Neighbors came to their windows, waved, honked, and took photos. You could feel the community leaning in. Watching. Wondering.
That’s the vision of Hearts Cry—to give the world a glimpse of what a strong nation looks like when God builds it. Not through power or wealth, but through His presence with the forgotten, the overlooked, and the vulnerable.
God is moving in Panama—and we got to witness it firsthand. For one sacred week, we caught a glimpse of His kingdom breaking in. We have a global God, and His heart beats for the outcast.
Our next trip is already on the calendar: March 29–April 3. I’d love for you to come. Mark the dates. Make space in your life. And come experience this foretaste of heaven for yourself.
