Preparing to Come – Panama

Please come to all campus and school events “prayed up” and with an attitude of faith, fully expecting that God will show up! Your personal attendance, punctuality and full attention at all campus and school events are very important.  

The Island of Isle Colon in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama is known for its casual atmosphere and warm climate. God calls us to a lifestyle of purity within our hearts and in the way we ‘outwardly’ live our lives. Let’s together go the extra mile to make sure we present ourselves with modesty and in a loving way regardless of our cultural grids by taking the more conservative road to keep from offending not only those from other cultures and backgrounds but also to represent ourselves, YWAM Ships and the Lord in an honoring way.

General: Dress code should always be modest. We realize this means different things to different cultures so we ask that during business hours or while events are being held, please wear footwear, avoid short shorts, spaghetti strap tops for girls, displaying undergarments, and guys please wear a shirt with a sleeve.

These are not only YWAM values but we believe it is on the heart of God for us to live our life pleasing to Him, loving and preferring others and loving ourselves.

We believe in marriage and want to be a community that supports the development of healthy relationships. What better place for two people who love God and are called to missions to “find” each other?! However, the development of any relationship—whether romance or friendship—should not divert an individual from growth or separate people from the community. All relationships should be built on openness, inclusion, integrity and purity.  

For the sake of respecting each other’s private space, cultural sensitivity, and so that our “good is not evil spoken of,” we ask that single men do not enter single women’s rooms and vice versa. 

Jesus called us to refuse to allow any form of immorality in our midst (Revelation

2:18-29). Immorality is any sexual activity that is outside the heterosexual marriage covenant, whether physical, verbal or technological (Internet), etc. (Romans 1:18-27) If you find yourself struggling in any of these areas, please confide in your school, department or ministry leader, or another godly leader on campus that you respect so that he/she can help create a process of support and accountability for you. Our commitment to purity is strengthened when we have solidarity as a spiritual family in our unified stand for holiness.

All YWAM Ships students should be addiction-free and refrain from engaging in any behavior that is illegal, harmful to their bodies, or damaging to the discipleship process of others. If you find yourself struggling in any of these areas, again, please confide in your school, department or ministry leader, or another godly leader on campus so that he/she can help create a process of support and accountability for you. 

Smoking, consumption of alcohol and all illegal drugs are prohibited at Outpost Panama.

In the Bible, there are some standards for conduct that are “absolute.”  Refraining from being drunk is one of those absolutes.  However, the drinking of alcohol in moderation is not so clear-cut.  Jesus turned the water into wine, not grape juice…but God also commanded John the Baptist not to drink wine.  

Romans 14 addresses areas of “cultural sins” that are relative to the values we received through our families, cultures, denominations, etc.  We want to appeal to you to take the most conservative view regarding alcohol, in order not to stumble or to cause others to stumble.  Whatever your personal convictions—and we do not judge those—we request that there be no drinking of alcohol in any YWAM facility or at any YWAM school, department or ministry event, whether on or off campus.

Please do not encourage anyone from a non-drinking background to take even one drink.  You may not know their family history regarding alcoholism or what it could cost them within their cultural or denominational background.  Rather, do everything possible to help everyone succeed in their walk with God and enter into their full spiritual inheritance. 

NOTE:

All DTS trainees are not to drink alcohol during the entire length of their lectures & outreach.

Please check with your airline for limitations before you pack. Bring only essential items and if possible collapsable baggage as there are limitations to storage/space.

Bocas del Torro is generally a humid island. Evening temperatures year-round range from 65-82 F (18–27 C). Daytime temperatures are higher. 

YWAM Outpost Panama housing is dormitory style. All single trainees are housed in dorm rooms. Families and Married Couples are given their own room.

We encourage you to bring a laptop or other wireless device.  The responsibility for the security of personal items is yours, so please be prepared to be prudent with all personal items of value.

Three meals are provided daily- you may want to budget for snacks and personal items.

Mondays through Fridays are focused on lectures, work duties, and other class activities. Weekends are generally free with the exception of projects that may be assigned by your course leader.

Make sure you have a valid passport for at least 12 months from the time you arrive. Please bring your passports with you.

On arrival you must show a return ticket to your home country where your passport was issued (no longer then 180 days out) and you must show proof of solvency of $500. Solvency may be shown with cash or a same day receipt from an ATM machine or a combination of the two.

Please mark that you are a tourist or leisure and will be residing at:

Isle Bastementos, Bocas Del Toro

YWAM Outpost: green roof house next to Red Frog Marina

+ 507.6353.8471 (Holly)

+ 507.6386.2950

[email protected]