ABOUT FCE
Fundación Camino de EMAÚS
(Emmaus Road Foundation) is a private legal entity, non-profit, constituted in order to facilitate access to formal and non-formal education; promote and support models of integral development; encourage integral spiritual formation as a force for social development; foster relationships and cooperation with related national and international organizations; encourage the learning of English and Spanish languages as a tool for cultural exchange; facilitate the use of appropriate technologies to contribute to the development of Colombia; encourage institutional strengthening through service excellence, and in general, encourage philanthropic activities.
Numbers Speak For Themselves!
Mission
We are the foundation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia, empowering individuals, families and communities as responsible citizens and agents of social change.
Visión
We will be known as catalysts in processes of social transformation through education, evangelism, and diverse serving vocations
Strategic Directions
- Consolidating the educational, evangelistic, and vocational actions of the Foundation.
- Diversifying the funding sources of the Foundation.
- Implementing strategies for communication and visibility of the Foundation.
- Strengthening the administration and structure of the Foundation.
Our Story
The story of Fundacion Camino de Emaus (Emmaus Road Foundation) has unusual beginnings. Fundacion Camino de Emaus Emmaus was born at the crossroads where human tragedy is intersected by the healing grace of God and the empowering solidarity of the Christian community.
While serving a small mission congregation, Trinity Lutheran Church in Edgemont, South Dakota, a sad day in July 1991 Pastor Barbara and Natanael were told their expected son could not survive the pregnancy complications detected by the doctor. They lost their son to death and were devastated by loss and grief.
Their grief was shared with the small congregation and the small Sunday school class of 12 children asked what they could do to lessen such loss. Children were asked to gather pennies so that one poor child in Colombia could attend elementary school. The children got really excited as piggy banks were given to them. Each month children brought their banks full of pennies. By the end of 1991, they had gathered $112.96 and thus provided the fertile seed for what is today Fundacion Camino de Emaus. Such is the amazing potential of humble seeds!
As the unique story of Trinity’s children offering of pennies was shared with family members and friends, other Sunday schools and congregations also started making financial gifts. What started with pennies kept growing, much like the mustard seed story of the Gospel. Besides scholarships and Christian leadership formation, other services were offered including a Meal a Day for Displaced Children, loans for families to purchase their first home, evangelism initiatives and technology projects for schools.
Our name as Fundacion Camino de Emaus comes from the Gospel of Luke where two disheartened disciples walk the Road toward Emmaus after Jesus crucifixion. Overwhelmed by grief and loss, they saw no real hope for the future. As these disheartened disciples keep walking, the presence of the Risen Lord rekindles in them a new-found hope and joy. Amidst their pain and grief, the Risen Lord walks with them, reminds them God’s word and ignites within them the burning fire of compassion and new-found community. By breaking bread with them, the Risen Lord transforms their despair into relentless hope and bold witness.
Fundacion Camino de Emaus passionately believes in the promise and potential of formal education that transforms the whole person and is contextual in nature. Education per se, without spirituality and solid Christian values, important as it is, falls short. Unless the human heart is transformed, “the world will be filled with educated monsters”. Without being fanatical or sectarian, we are passionately committed to formal education with an intentional Christian leadership component.
With joy and thanksgiving, we celebrate that through these past 31 years, hundreds of students have been blessed with scholarships to pursue elementary, secondary and university education. Most students have gone through the whole educational process. Major fields of study include Preschool Education, Elementary Education, Food Services, Environmental Sanitation, Graphic Design, Architecture, Theology, Religious Sciences, Graphic Design, Bilingual Services, Aeronautical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Nursing, Medicine, Systems Engineering, TV & Radio Broadcasting, Logistics & Marketing, Finance & Banking Services, Social Psychology, Marketing & Publicity, Music, Modern Languages, Physical Therapy, Mathematics, Diesel Mechanics, Business Administration, International Business, Chemistry, Biology and many others. Miraculously, what started with a tragedy in the Lizarazo-Wangsness family and with humble pennies in the small town of Edgemont, South Dakota, God continues to grow into the blooming ministry called Fundacion Camino de Emaus! And the mission of God goes on!
As the Foundation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia, we are fully committed and passionate about fresh and new chapters of holistic ministry and joyfully invite our mission companions to continuing being part of God’s empowering and healing mission here in Colombia. Our heartfelt gratitude to the Southeastern Minnesota Synod-ELCA, Companion Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia and Fiscal Agent for Fundacion Camino de Emaus. Together we are “empowering individuals, families, and communities as agents of social change. Soli Deo Gloria! To God alone the glory!