Image not found or type unknown Bocas Del Toro Mission DOMINGO RAMOS SANJUR Domingo Ramos Sanjur, B.A. in Theology (Adventist University of Central America, Alajuela, Costa Rica), is the president of Bocas del Toro Mission. Previously, he was a pastor and area coordinator in Bocas del Toro. He is married to Ruth Luciano and has three children. Bocas del Toro Mission is an administrative unit of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Panama. It is a part of Panama Union Mission in the Inter-American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. Territory and Statistics Bocas del Toro is a province of Panama with Bocas del Toro as its capital city. As of 2018, it had an area of 45,843.90 km2 and a population of 170,320 inhabitants.1 It shares borders with the Caribbean Sea to the north, the province of Chiriquí to the south, the indigenous region of Ngöbe Buglé to the east and southeast, the province of Limón in Costa Rica to the west and northwest, and the province of Puntarenas in Costa Rica to the southwest. Bocas del Toro Mission has 30 churches, 4,272 members, and a population of 127,414. Its offices are on Avenida 17 de Abril in El Empalme, Changuinola, Bocas del Toro, Panama. Its territory includes the Bocas del Toro province and the Nio Cribo region, which itself includes Kankintú and Kusapín. It is a part of Panama Union Mission of the Inter- American Division.2 Bocas del Toro Mission also has 28 groups, two schools, one high school, three ordained ministers, and six licensed ministers as of 2018. Origins of Church Work in Mission Territory Bocas del Toro was the first place in the Republic of Panama to receive the Adventist message through Pastor Frank Hutchins. He worked as a pastor, colporteur, and dentist throughout the Caribbean coast of Central America. He was called by the General Conference to work as a missionary and to establish churches. The wide scope of work included all the Central American countries, Panama, and some South American countries. In 1897, in Honduras, Pastor Hutchins built a ship which he named the “Herald.” It was a small sailboat that could carry 35 tons of cargo. It had accommodations for its passengers and plenty of space for books and other publications. With this ship, Hutchins periodically visited small congregations along the coasts of Central America, including Bocas del Toro. In 1901, the Herald was sold in Bocas del Toro, and the money was used to buy a smaller boat named “The Messenger,” which was famous for sailing through storms, including thunderstorms. For this reason, the locals and Hutchins called it “The King of Storms.”3 Later, Dr. John Eccles and his wife, Martha, arrived in Bocas del Toro to work with Pastor Hutchins. The medical missionary work produced positive results. On the afternoon of the last Sabbath of 1901, in concluding a week of prayer, four people were baptized. With these new believers, they established a group named Isla Bastimento, which became the first congregation in the Isthmus of Panama. Dr. Eccles worked for a short time, passing away on February 2, 1902, at age 52. Hutchins officiated his funeral, and his remains were placed at Macca Hill Cemetery, Bocas del Toro. In that time, Bocas del Toro and the entire territory of Panama belonged to Colombia. Amidst political conflicts between liberals and conservatives in Colombia, Pastor Hutchins and his wife, Cora Ella, continued to sell the book Palabras de Vida del Gran Maestro, extract teeth, and baptize believers.4 These were very difficult years as conditions were precarious; however, they were persistent in their missionary efforts. Six months after Dr. Eccles’s death, on July 22, Pastor Hutchins fell ill. As the disease did not subside, a doctor from the United Fruit Company hospital was asked to help; after examination, the diagnosis was dysentery. Although every measure was taken to help him, his body was already too weak. He could not recover and died on August 4, 1902, at age 33. His last words were “May His will be done.” In the absence of an Adventist pastor, the funeral ceremony was performed by a Baptist pastor named Notman. Once again, the mourners made the short boat trip across the bay to Macca Hill Cemetery. In 2000, the tombs of Dr. John Eccles and Pastor Frank Hutchins were removed as the cemetery site became a tourist port for yachts. In 2005, a group of Adventist brethren from Bocas del Toro rescued the tombstones and took them to the Bastimentos Island Adventist Church, where they are now.5 The work that Frank Hutchins and Dr. Eccles began in 1901 in Bocas del Toro was continued under the supervision of I. G. Knight and his wife, Carrie, who arrived in Bocas del Toro seven months after Pastor Frank Hutchins’s death. In 1906, West Caribbean Conference was organized with Pastor H. C. Goodrich as president. Its territory included the areas of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and some of the Colombian islands. Bocas del Toro had been the base of operations for Frank Hutchins, and now, thanks to its geographical position, it became the base of operations for the new organization. A house in Isla Colón was purchased to serve as West Caribbean Conference’s administrative headquarters. It also purchased properties in Isla Colón, Almirante, and other places to be registered under the conference’s name.6 The seed continued to grow, and the Adventist message was successful in El Teribe, a community of indigenous people in the region, where a church was organized in the 1920s. The Adventist Church was also successful in the Rio Chiriquí area. Adventist schools were also established and functioned even before the government opened official schools. Unfortunately, the schools needed missionary teachers, and, because none arrived, they had to close for lack of personnel and financial resources. In 1955, Sister Clotilde Williams, a merchant traveling from Colón to Changuinola, began her missionary work in Empalme by spreading the Word of God to the Reid Gayle family. As the end of the year approached, seven people were baptized. On January 17, 1960, Pastor Ricardo Cargill led an evangelistic campaign, and nine more were baptized. On June 10, 1961, the brethren that met at Finca #4 and those that met at Empalme convened at Finca #4 to organize a church of 36 members. Pastor R. R. Drachenberg, president of Panama Conference, was the main speaker. Brother Sandino Vanhorn was appointed secretary of the new church. Brother Nish gave a historical account of how and when the church was started. Over the years, education began to take shape and grow. In 1988, the Escuela de Almirante was opened with a major donation from the Olson Peckover family. These missionaries donated the capital to purchase the land and for construction. With that money, five classrooms were built. Pastor Francisco Hines oversaw the project and, with help from the brethren, contributed to the construction of the school. For many years, the children of the community learned not only academics but also about the existence and love of God at this school. Unfortunately, the school had to close. It reopened under the administration of Pastor Braulio Concepción as president of West Panama Conference, who prompted its reconstruction and reopening in March 2012.7 In 1992, with the missionary vision of Pastor Carlos Saldaña, the Escuela Adventista Bilingüe de Changuinola was opened. In its beginnings, it was a school annexed to the Escuela de Almirante. Its first director was June Martínez. For some years, this school worked in the classrooms of the Iglesia de Finca #12. In April 1997, due to the increase in enrollment, the school had to move to a new building in the community of San San. This building had been constructed by Maranatha. In 2008, two district pastors oversaw all the congregations in the area. After starting the process of planting new churches, 23 new congregations were established. From 2009 to 2015, five new pastoral districts were opened: Empalme, Isla Colón, Chiriquí Grande, Guabito, and El Silencio. All this was possible thanks to the financial support from West Panama Conference.8 In 2009, an effort was made to secure a radio station to spread the gospel through this new form of media with guidance from Mr. Víctor Caballero, legal representative of Visión Global Radio.9 After much prayer, the search gave fruit: The radio station, Imagen Estéreo – 97.9 FM, was purchased on September 15, 2009, for $280,000 USD. New equipment was purchased, and the company also acquired its own land to locate the transmission point at Cerro Ojo de Agua.10 Events that Led to Organization of Bocas del Toro Mission The membership of the Adventist Church in Bocas del Toro was growing, and more attention needed to be given to the members there. On March 14, 2010, a change of status session was held at the Hotel Bambito to change West Panama Mission into West Panama Conference. Pastors and leaders from the churches in Bocas del Toro requested this new administration to establish a new local field to more quickly develop the Adventist work in Bocas del Toro. This was registered in the commission of plans and recommendations as a delegate-voted project.11 In the 2014 session in David, a city in Chiriquí, the Bocas del Toro delegates reiterated their desire to establish a new mission. The rest of the delegates unanimously expressed their support and voted to request an organization of this new field to be carried out within the coming four-year term.12 The process of establishing the new Bocas del Toro mission field was accelerated with the establishment of Panama Union Mission in 2015 and with President José De Gracia’s vision to establish new local fields.