Our Missionaries
Our missionaries are normal people from all walks of life who have dedicated their lives to serving and following Jesus wherever He calls them. Want to meet them? Check out our Missionary Directory.
Thiago and Denise Gonsales
Missionaries to Brazil Central Caldas Novas
Ministry Description
Thiago serves in the area of Maintenance, The Word of Life Quartet, Day Camps and A better Neighborhood.
Denise serves in the area of music and the Word of Life Quartet.
About Thiago
I had the privilege of being born into a Christian home. My mother always led and encouraged me to love the Word of God and to be a faithful servant of the Lord. I accepted Christ as personal savior at a Church Camp during Carnaval weekend. There was a time when I fell away from the Lord in my teen years, but at the age of 19, I attended a year of EMME, a Ministry of Word Life Brazil. It was an unforgettable year where I had many experiences of sharing the Gospel and it changed my life. Two years later, I married my best friend and childhood crush, Denise. In 2002, our first son was born, Thiago, and in 2009, our son Nicholas was born.
We came in contact with Word of Life Caldas Novas in 2008, and the Lord spoke to our hearts at that time about full time ministry. In 2012, we returned to visit once again and the Lord once again put the burden in our hearts for missions. At that time, we spoke to the ministry director about our desire to serve and returned home with the commitment to pray for one year about serving with Word of Life. In 2013, we moved to Word of Life in Caldas Novas, and together with our belongings, the certainty that we were in the center of the Lords will for our lives. We have been serving with Word of Life Brasil since July 2013, joyful and thankful for being a part of this wonderful ministry.
About Denise
I was born in a Christian home. I was always very involved in church, especially in the area of music. At 12 years old we had an Evangelistic Activity at my church, where they showed a movie outdoors and that night I made a decision before Christ and accepted Him as my only sufficient savior. That same year I got baptized. At seventeen years old, I got my degree in piano and began studying to become a music teacher. I had the privilege of af participating in the EMME group (School of Music and Ministry, Word of Life) in 2001. It was a year I will never forget; a wonderful year full of experiences doing evangelism. In 2002, I married my childhood friend. God gave me the privilege of living a wonderful childhood and teen years in church, together with my future husband. We now have two sons, Thiago and Nicolas, who are a great blessing in our lives. We first came in contact with Word of Life In Caldas Novas, Brazil, in 2008. We absolutely loved the ministry here. God began working on our hearts about serving Him in fulltime missions, meanwhile we continued working in our secular jobs (I was a music teacher and Thiago worked at the Nestle factory) Time went by and the desire in our hearts did not diminish. In 2012, we returned to Word of Life Caldas Novas as guests for a week in the conference season and returned home, asking the Lord to confirm His will for our lives. One year later, in July 2013, we moved to Word of Life Caldas Novas to assume our ministry rolls. Since then, we rejoice in knowing the Lord has brought us here and sustained us every day.
Life Verse
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.