The Embera Bead Project

02/10/2026

We had a big celebration breakfast this week for Love and Friendship month! But this time we cooked a big southern breakfast for the staff. We had biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon, pancakes, eggs and hash browns. We brought Cracker Barrel to Medellin. They were brave to try some new foods. We exchanged gifts and it was fun to guess who our “amigo secreto” or secret friend was. We are grateful for our staff and all they do!

26/09/2026

This has been one of the hardest weeks we have ever had at Casa Embera. A tragedy struck on Wednesday, and we can’t share details here but one of our 10 year old boys is fighting for his life in ICU on a ventilator. There is a deep heaviness and sadness over us all! Our whole staff and community are feeling it. Please pray with us for this child- that he will be healed and be able to live a normal life! Pray for us and our team as we try to minister to the family and to the kids who were witnesses to the event. Every life is worth so much in God’s eyes! Corporación Sueños y Huellas

23/09/2026

Casa Embera is full of women and kids! But we have one male figure of the house- my husband Travis! We are grateful for him and all the behind the scenes things he does for Casa Embera! He does all the budgeting and grant writing and follow ups and reports! Which requires a lot of work, that no one sees or knows about that keeps things running smoothly! He is always willing to help with broken things around the house or to put up shelves and other handy man needs!! He is our language and culture expert! Who studies and speaks the language well! He is our spiritual leader in word and deed! He also brings a lot of humor as he lovingly gives us all a hard time! Sometimes he has to be our security guard when we go to sketchy places! We are grateful for the positive male figure we have in Travis- who models kindness, wisdom, patience, brotherly love, compassion, and self control! We are so glad Travis is part of our team and we couldn’t do it without him! The indigenous families and kids love Travis! They call him Embera gr**go and love that he eats all their foods and jokes with them in language! And I am especially grateful for him as my partner in this life!! We love you Travis and are so grateful for you! Corporación Sueños y Huellas

21/09/2026

We had an amazing “paseo” or outing yesterday! We took one of our families to visit their daughter and grandson at a local home for young moms! We also got to visit our Coordinators home and eat with her!! She cooked us some amazing burritos and hot chocolate!! We are so grateful to our Coordinator Diana and the work she is doing and the love she shows the Embera families! She goes above and beyond!! It was a joyful time and we are so grateful for this opportunity for this young mom to have a safe place to stay and the opportunity to study!

19/09/2026

Today in Colombia is the Day of Love and Friendship! It’s kind of like Valentine’s Day but better!!! Because it focuses on the love in friendship! For two weeks we have been playing “amigo secreto” with our staff where we drew names and give each other candy treats and try to guess who our secret friend is!! We had a party yesterday with the kids, where we celebrated the day together with songs and activities and remember that Jesus is our best friend who is always there for us! We made friendship brackets and had cake and a special gift from Teacher Wendy! What a special time to celebrate the importance of love and friendship!! Corporación Sueños y Huellas

17/09/2026

16/09/2026

We are grateful for our health care volunteers at Casa Embera! From house visits, to health and hygiene classes, and physical therapy and respiratory therapy! These women are making an impact! Corporación Sueños y Huellas

14/09/2026

There’s an old movie from the 70’s called The Bad News Bears- about an underdog team of kids who come together and become a great team! Everyone loves a story about the underdogs winning and given a chance! That is one thing we LOVE about our new soccer initiative!! These kids are the underdogs of their barrio and city and nation!! It’s exciting to see them given a chance to show what they can do!!! This week at our game against paisa kids- some of the other parents complained because our Embera kids aren’t afraid to get hurt and give it their all!!! They are used to playing barefoot and now they have shoes and socks and uniforms!! They give it their whole heart!! To say they were proud is an understatement! They look at this training and team as a place to belong! Some of the older came with bandaids on their noses and we were so confused! But apparently they had seen professional players with these tape things on their noses to help breathing- so they made their own with bandaids!!! :) We are thankful to those who donated the fabric for the uniforms, who donated money for the shoes and socks and sewing!! It really does take a village! So many different people from Colombians to USA to churches working together to make this happen!! Let’s see what God does through this outreach!!! Corporación Sueños y Huellas Fundacion Viento Fresco

11/09/2026

What an exciting day!!!!! We had our soccer program inauguration with Corporación Sueños y Huellas and airefresco!! The kids arrived super early to Casa Embera! We cut hair, we cleaned feet, we got them all ready to receive their new uniforms and shoes and socks!!! And to say they least they were brimming with pride and excitement!!! We had two teams and two exciting games!! The younger boys one!!!! I will post in my stories them screaming with excitement “ganamos, ganamos”!! We are so grateful to all who are helping support this new program! Corporación Sueños y Huellas Fundacion Viento Fresco