Our vision is to create a place set apart, teaching the life changing truths of the gospel, while using sustainable energy and lifestyle practices.  We seek to promote the gospel through education, community development , and hosting others from around the world.  Providing a place of ministry, as well as a place of respite and restoration are two primary goals.

YWAM Bocas Del Toro is located on Isla Bastimentos.  It is in an archipelago of islands only accessible by boat.  Without roads,  the ocean is in the  front yard and the rainforest envelopes the area.  It is strategically located among the indigenous Ngobe peoples  and only twenty minutes from Isla Colon which is a destination for backpackers, surfers, and adventure seekers from around the world.We are located on the edge of the Bastimentos National Marine Park in an area known as Bahia Honda.  It is in this environment that a multitude of ministry opportunities abound.

Bocas del Toro province includes the archipelago that stretches about 100 kilometers from Boca del Drago in the west to Isla Escudo de Veraguas in the east. The province of Bocas del Toro has plenty of spectacular natural beauty, such as the Caribbean side of the enormous Parque Internacional la Amistad and the wetlands of San San Pondsack. Lucky hikers, at least those who venture far up into the mainland forests, may encounter endangered mammals such as Baird’s tapir. All five species of cats found on the isthmus, including jaguars, are hanging on in the most remote reaches of the forest, but the chance of coming across one is slim. The forests are also still home to indigenous peoples trying to hold onto their culture and ancestral lands. This includes the little-known Naso, who welcome visitors to a unique ecotourist project on the edge of their communities up the Rio Teribe.

The People

The people help make Bocas special. More ethnicities and nationalities are represented on the islands than anywhere in the country outside of Panama City. And one is more likely to hear English spoken here than anywhere in the country, period. The islands have long been home to the Ngöbe-Buglé, as well as the descendents of Afro-Caribbean immigrants from the English-speaking islands of Jamaica, San Andrés, and Providencia, many of whom came down to work on the region’s enormous banana plantations. Most of the hotels and restaurants on the islands are owned by Europeans and North Americans.