The 15 members of the First United Methodist Church’s mission team returned Oct. 20 after a nine-day mission trip to Panama.

Our destination was the remote village of Rio Luis, located high up in the central mountainous district. First it was a four-hour drive west on the Pan American highway from Panama City. Then it was three more hours always going upward through the beautiful dense tropical forests of Santa Fe National Park to our destination.

The team provided both medical and vision clinics for the week. The peoples that were served were the indigenous Indians of that area. Some had walked five to six hours to be treated by the Norte Americanos. The village of Rio Luis, like many villages in this area, has neither electricity or running water.

Many medical issues were treated. One woman with bilateral pneumonia living on the Caribbean coast had taken a boat, a bus, a river ferry, and a kind of local taxi to reach us. The doctors initiated antibiotic treatment and then referred the patient to hospital three hours away for more intensive care.

The FUMC medical clinic treated 374 patients and dispensed 1,300 medicines. One unusual diagnosis that was made by the medical team was called leishmaniasis, caused by a sand fly bite resulting in severe skin ulcers. The vision team saw 119 patients and dispensed 148 pair of glasses including prescription (Lions Club) and reading glasses. Six out of the eight translators, provided by the teams on the ground coordinator, “Mission Panama, were Peace Corps workers who were an absolute delight to work with.

The day before returning home, the team visited old Panama City and the Panama Canal. The team already has plans to return next year during the first week of Oak Ridge schools’ fall break. Team members included Jim Michel, leader; Bob and Maxine Schultz, Jenny Caughman, Mary Palmer, Nawras Baban, Steve and Ellen Kennel, Marilyn Watkins, Deena Jenkins, Denny Siemsen, David and Betty Lou Alspaugh, and Steve and Lois Withrow.