Mark Nelson has been a missionary to Brazil since 1991. he and his Brazilian wife, Jeane, have one child, Jonathan. During Mark's first trip to Brazil in 1988, as he arrived at the airport, he noticed some boys begging and shining shoes to make a living. He was touched by the situation of the street kids and wanted to help. During the first 10 years of residency in Brazil, he worked with 3 different organizations that work with street kids, touching the lives of more than 150 street kids. In 2001, he began "Geração Esperança" which focuses on the complete transformation of the lives of the poor, destitute and rejected people of society, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.