Mark, whose home church is Woodstock, Oxfordshire, grew up in Suffolk. He studied at the University of Sheffield and worked with homeless people in Leeds before going to Bristol Baptist College for ministerial training. He was accepted by BMS for church-based social work and started work in Brazil in 1993. Mark was based in Fortaleza, Ceará, north east Brazil, and was involved in community work.

In June 1994 he married Suzana, whom he met while she was studying English in the UK. Suzana comes from Brazil. A nurse, she specialised in intensive care before working in Israel at a Christian conference centre. On her return to Brazil she worked as a nurse but also taught English in the local Bible school. After their marriage Suzana joined Mark working in Ceará.

From 1993 to 2000 they were based in Genibaú, on the edge of the city, founding a church and working with community health. From 2000 to 2005 they worked with the Alliance Baptist Church, developing church-based community projects in the city and in two interior towns.

Suzana has done further specialised study in community family health. During 2005/06 Mark undertook a Masters at Spurgeon's College and then from 2006 to 2009 they took up responsibility for developing church-based social mission projects in the Baptist churches across the state of Ceará.

In January 2010 they began new work, taking on responsibility for the Social Action Department of the Brazilian Baptist Convention (CBB) based in Rio de Janeiro. Suzana also co-ordinates an after-school project called Space-to-Fly, present in several churches around Brazil. In September 2011 Mark became BMS World Mission Team leader for Latin America.

Mark's interests are classical music (he plays the trombone) and sport. They both like walking and travelling to places off the beaten track. Suzana enjoys discovering and replicating unusual dishes from around the world.

If you would like to support Mark & Suzana via Direct Debit through our 24:7 Partners scheme, please click the sign up button on the right*. To support Mark & Suzana through other means call our donation hotline on 01235 517641.

* In the unlikely event of designated donations exceeding the amount that can be used for that purpose, BMS World Mission reserves the right to use such donations to support other related ministries.