Our Story
Let us introduce ourselves...
We are Vanessa and Felipe Menezes Nunes! I, Vanessa, am Canadian and I was born and raised in B.C., Canada by Brazilian parents. Felipe is Brazilian born in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais. In 2017, after I had been living in Brazil for 2 years, I finished High School and had the desire to go to Bible school. After looking into my options all around the world, Word of Life Missionary Institute in the Amazon region of Brazil really jumped out to me and I felt led to go there as a student for a year. Felipe was just graduating from University at around this time and getting his degree in Accounting. During his University years the Lord saved Him, even after being raised in a Christian family his entire life. In God´s perfect plan, Felipe's last year of University he also felt called to Bible school and started considering full-time ministry. We ended up meeting in Bible school in the Amazon and studying in the same class.
In the process of learning and growing at Bible school, the Lord confirmed in both of us the desire to go into full-time ministry. During our last year of seminary, we took a missions trip with our class to the Amazon River, and it was there that we began to feel the Lord’s call on our lives in a very real way. As we spent time in the region, we became aware of the immense spiritual and practical needs that exist in that part of Brazil. We saw many opportunities and projects that the mission organization was involved in, but we also recognized how much more could be done with additional workers. During the trip we were able to connect with some of the local people there, both missionaries and members of the community, which only grew our compassion towards the people. Alongside that, we both felt that our gifts and abilities could be used to serve there. The Lord truly began to place a deep burden on our hearts to go. In 2021, after graduating from Bible school, we got married. Since then, we have been serving in full-time ministry together and preparing ourselves to work on the Amazon River.
Our Ministry
We are missionaries with an organization called SEARA Mission, a branch of Word of Life located in the heart of the Amazon. SEARA focuses on reaching isolated Riverside villages, through evangelism, discipleship, church planting, and providing medical and dental care. Our work will be with the training front of the mission, equipping those who have heard and believed in the Gospel to become leaders in their churches and villages, with the potential to be sent as missionaries and church planters. SEARA has empowered many of these locals to effectively reach their own communities, and we are excited to contribute to this impactful ministry! Our plans are to move there and transition into this new ministry in August, 2026.
SEARA Mission's philosophy is that the most effective leadership for a church along the Amazon River are the local people. There is no better way to teach the riverside natives about the Bible in their own context, culture and language than for the native people to reach their own. We wholeheartedly have this same belief and we dream of seeing many healthy churches planted along the Amazon River with local riverside people leading, teaching, counseling and pastoring. Over the past 20 years, SEARA has worked in many different ways to evangelize, disciple, serve, and train the Riverside people so that the name of Jesus may be made known in the Amazon. Our ministry will be to come alongside this ongoing work and serve in the training department. We will be focusing on biblical training that equips believers to be more effective leaders in their own communities and churches. To do this we focus mainly on these two programs: the Floating Seminary and the TLC (Community Leader Training) programs. We will provide biblical studies, targeted leadership training, and practical skills, while also intentionally mentoring those who participate in these programs. Our goal is to see the churches along the Amazon River strong with devoted leaders who teach the Word faithfully and serve with Christlike hearts.
We are focused on partnering with local churches in remote Riverside villages of the Amazon to disciple and equip local leaders through two key programs: the Floating Seminary, which provides theological training to potential missionaries, and TLC (Riverside Village Leadership Training), which offers foundational theology to all believers to help them grow in their faith and serve more effectively. In both programs, we are actively involved in coordinating, teaching, and mentoring to foster deeper spiritual growth and leadership. Additionally, throughout the year, we will serve in evangelistic camps, translate for English-speaking medical groups, and participate in large community events, further supporting both the spiritual and practical needs of these villages.
Current Projects and Fundraising Goals
If there is one things we've learned during this missionary journey it is that we cannot go to the mission field alone. We need faithful people to hold the rope for us in prayer and financial support in order to make our mission possible! Below we will share where we are with our current support goal and current giving projects:
Amazon Boat Project
The reality in the Amazon jungle is that life and ministry are only possible with boats. Boats are the main means of transportation between riverside villages which have no roads connecting them. We are in need of a boat that will give us the ability to travel along the rivers with both freedom and agility. We are inviting people to give a one-time donation to this purpose and to help us reach our goal. For this project our goal is to raise $22, 000 for this purpose in order to purchase a used boat and motor.
Monthly Support
Our monthly support is for the everyday needs of both living and working in the jungle. These costs cover things such as transportation, food, healthcare, fuel, maintenance for both the home and vehicles and other expenses we expect to have. We are looking for people who would like to partner with us in this missions and be a part of our support team with a monthly giving commitment. Our goal is $4000 monthly to cover all of these needs listed above.
(A detailed breakdown of our monthly support costs is available below for those interested)
Thank you to all of you who have partnered with us in many ways and have committed to going to the Amazon with us. May the Lord continue to bless you greatly! You are a gift to us! If you would like to give or become a prayer partner please feel free to reach out! We would love to have you along with us on this journey! To subscribe to our newsletter scroll to the end of the webpage.
Contacts Email: vanessaandfelipemissions@gmail.com WhatsApp Vanessa: +55 11 9 3414 8411 WhatsApp Felipe: +55 34 9 9193 2701 Instagram: @themenezesfamily
Contacts and Socials
We believe that the ministry that the Lord calls us to do is not to be done on our own but as a church, keeping in view unity and fulfilling the great commission together! We would like to invite you to come alongside us in this ministry and to be a part of what God is doing in the Amazon. Here are our contacts if you would like to further learn about what we do, how you can get involved or simply reach out:
Contacts Email: vanessaandfelipemissions@gmail.com WhatsApp Vanessa: +55 11 9 3414 8411 WhatsApp Felipe: +55 34 99193 2701 Instagram: @themenezesfamily (Instagram link down below)
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Give
If you would like to give a one-time donation, or would like to know more about our projects or ministry, please contact us for more information or click below to go to our giving pages! If you would like to become a monthly supporter we would also love to have you as a part of our team. Thank you for coming alongside us on this mission, God bless!
To give in Canada please contact us for more information!
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