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, north east Brazil, and was involved in work in the favelas.
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 the Geniba favela.
From 1993 to 2000 they were based in Geniba, 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 recently done further specialised study in community family health. During 2007/8 Mark undertook a Masters at Spurgeon's College and upon their return to Brazil they took up responsibility for developing church-based social mission projects in the Baptist churches across the state of Ceara.
After returning to the UK in the summer of 2009 to to seek God's guidance, they went back to Brazil in January 2010. Once there they began new work, taking on responsibility for the Social Action Department of the Brazilian Baptist Convention (CBB) based in Rio de Janeiro.
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.
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