In Honor of Chilean Missionary, Cecilia Albornoz

“Cecilia Albornoz: her convictions, words, joy and desire to reach the lost will be engraved in our hearts as a constant sound that will last forever.” These are the words of Pastor Jorge Barra, Director of the National Department of Missions (NDM) of Chile, when remembering Cecilia, who died on May 11, 2020 in the city of Temuco, Chile.

In 2008, the Dinamarca Church presented the “Israel Project” and Cecilia as a missionary candidate. On July 1, 2009, Cecilia was sent to Israel by her church and the NDM of Chile in a cooperative agreement with the Alliance World Fellowship (AWF). She served there for more than 11 years.

“I want to express from the bottom of my heart a sincere ‘thank you’ to all those who were part of sending Cecilia to Israel,’ said Rev. Marshal K. Mullinax, Deputy Field Director and Jewish Team Coordinator of the Christian and Missionary Alliance of Israel. “She has been a great collaborator and member of the team and has been an incredible help to us in so many ways. We love her, she is a dear sister in Christ.”

Cecilia was involved with missionary, evangelistic, discipleship, teaching and social management work during her career in countries such as Chile, Portugal, Paraguay and Brazil. She was trained at Temuco Theological Seminary, where she was also an English teacher, and she perfected her English skills at Johnson County University, KS, in the USA. She also studied modules at FATELA (Latin American Theological Faculty) before being sent to Israel.

She returned to Chile in October 2018 due to health problems, and a few days after arriving in the country her father died. She underwent treatment from which she was discharged in 2019 with periodic follow-up afterward.

Cecilia was born on April 28, 1967 and was the youngest of five children born to Nancy Cohen and Vicente Albornoz. Her siblings included Ricardo, Vicente, Jaime and Liliana. Liliana died before she was a year old.

Cecilia’s love for Israel was because the number of believers there is less than two percent. They are a despised and persecuted people that need to know the love of God. It is a strategic base for ministries throughout the Middle East.

Let us pray for the Lord to continue bringing comfort to her family during this time of grief.