Meet Camila González

Sharing God’s love in Valparaíso, Chile

My name is Camila González, I am 28 years old and I come from Garuhapé, a small town in Misiones, a province in northeastern Argentina. In March 2024, with great effort and thanks to the help of our good God, I graduated as a Music Teacher, a vocation I happily practice today.

This career has allowed me to be an educator in various institutions, levels, locations, and contexts. In this short time, I have had beautiful experiences, first of all with kindergarten and primary school children. Always with the strong support of the directors of each institution, I participated in forming the first children’s choir in a rural school, directed an orchestral workshop in a city school, and, in general, taught classroom music education—my favorite part of the job.

Something very special to me in this field is my great passion for folklore, which has led me to unite music and dance on many occasions. As part of a ballet school, I performed on several stages across the province and the country, as a dancer and sometimes also as a musician.

However, the heart of my vocation is rooted in a small Lutheran congregation, the one where I was baptized. It was by watching and listening to Silvana, the wife of our pastor at the time, that as a little girl I was filled with the desire to learn how to play those incredible melodies of the liturgy, a great treasure of Christianity.

From that day until now, I keep learning about it, and it goes with me everywhere. I have found myself in different places sharing the sound of our faith made song. Without a doubt, in the most difficult moments, what one remembers most is what they learned as a child. For me, as for many others, it has been the Agnus Dei, the Sanctus, the Offertory… biblical hymns, the living Word of the Lord!

That is why I felt called to be a missionary. Music is of utmost importance in every work of evangelism for those who have not yet heard the good news of salvation, and it catechizes church members day by day, week by week, year by year, until the end of their days. How many times is the only thing grandparents remember the hymns from the hymnal. What a blessing God has granted us! What a most precious gift!

I have had the joy of meeting other missionaries over the years, whom I have listened to and observed, filling me with more and more encouragement. With this in mind, a year ago I began my studies in diaconal ministry through the Extension Diaconate Program (PDE, by its initials in Spanish) of the Concordia Seminary in Argentina. I continue serving at the “Dr. Martín Lutero” parish in Garuhapé in areas of music, children’s groups, youth, and women’s ministry, as a collaborator and workshop leader.

A servant of the Word, music is available for His church. Learning (or re-learning) to use our first instrument, the voice, is the first step to strengthen our beloved heritage. In times of persecution, one can sing. On the way to work, cleaning the house, lulling children to sleep, one can sing. It unites us as brothers and sisters, it allows us to beautifully hear the sweet promises of our Father, it calls us to repentance, it turns our gaze to the Cross of Christ, it comforts us through His Holy Spirit.

That is what I hope for in my work as a missionary: to serve by sharing the joy of this wonderful gift from heaven, reaching every corner of the soul and the Christian life—full of crosses, full of hope.

My challenges

As a missionary at Colegio Luterano “Concordia” and the “Espíritu Santo” Congregation in Valparaíso, Chile, I will carry out the following activities:

• Teach Christian Education classes to students at the preschool and primary school levels (non-restrictive).

• Support the congregation’s pastoral work as needed, especially in Sunday school.

• Collaborate with the music programs of both the school and the church.

• Actively participate in the training opportunities offered by the school and the church (Bible Institute courses, postgraduate studies, etc.).

My Prayer Card

Download my prayer card here