About Us
Meet Jen & Phil
Phil and Jen Snell are a British-Canadian couple who moved to Brazil with their two children in 2012 to serve as full-time missionaries with Xingu Mission.
They came to Brazil ready to serve, but they never imagined how deeply the country, its people, and a new calling would shape their lives.
Today, more than a decade later, their journey has become the story behind Hope Ministries.
Called to Brazil
In 2012, the Snell family moved to Marabá, Pará, in northern Brazil. Their first season was one of learning, learning the Portuguese language, discovering a new culture, and building relationships with the people around them. As they settled into life in Brazil, they fell deeply in love with the country and its people.
After their second year in Marabá, however, both Jen and Phil began to sense that their time there might be coming to an end. They didn't know where they would go or what God might have next for them; they knew they needed to listen.
“I Want to Use You to Do a New Thing”
During a season of prayer and reflection, Jen felt God speaking something that would change the direction of their lives:
“If you’ll trust me, I want to use you to do a new thing.”
Jen didn't know what that “new thing” would be.
There was no clear plan, no detailed map, and no obvious next step.
There was simply an invitation to trust.
And they chose to say yes.
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Called to João Pessoa
As they began looking for what might come next, the national leadership of Vineyard, Association of Churches Brazil, approached them about moving to João Pessoa, a city on Brazil's northeastern coast. Where a group of Vineyard church members from different states was hoping to begin a new church plant there.
After visiting several places, including João Pessoa, both
Jen and Phil felt a clear sense that God was calling them to the city. So they said goodbye to their friends in Marabá and began a new chapter. They packed their belongings and drove more than 2,500 kilometers to João Pessoa in a Volkswagen Kombi, ready to start again.
A Different Path
But things didn't unfold as they had expected. Within two months of their arrival, the group they had planned to plant the church with left the state and returned to their home state. The plan they thought they were following had changed completely.
Yet Jen and Phil remained certain that God had called them to João Pessoa. Even though they no longer knew exactly what that calling would look like, they chose to stay, trust, and wait for God to reveal the next step. They had arrived with a plan. God had something different in mind.
These Are Someone’s Daughters
One evening, while returning home, Jen and Phil noticed women standing on a street corner. On another occasion, they saw several groups of women lining the streets and soon realized that these women were working in prostitution.
As they began to notice them, something changed in their hearts; they no longer saw only women working on the streets. They began to see daughters, families, stories, hopes, dreams, and struggles. They started to wonder about the people behind each woman, her family, her story, and the little girl she once was. One thought stayed with them:
“These are someone’s daughters. Someone’s baby girls.”
Those words became more than an observation. They became a reminder of the dignity and worth of every woman they encountered, and they began to sense that perhaps this was the “new thing” God had been preparing them for.
Just Start
In their search for others already doing this kind of work in Brazil, Jen and Phil discovered Shores of Grace, founded and directed by Nic and Rachel Billman in Recife. Its mission of reaching women and men trapped in prostitution and sharing the love of the Father closely reflected what God was stirring in their own hearts. After sharing their sense of calling with Nic, they were invited to visit Recife.
There, Jen and Phil walked the streets, prayed for those working in prostitution, and experienced firsthand what this kind of ministry could look like. The visit brought the clarity they had been searching for. Returning to João Pessoa, they knew they didn't need to have every detail figured out. They simply needed to start.
On June 12, 2017, Jen and Phil went to the streets where women worked during the day. Before arriving, they placed balloons and copies of the Father's Love Letter at various corners, praying that the women would find them first. A few hours later, they returned and found women reading the letters. Some were crying. Jen and Phil introduced themselves and explained that they had simply come to offer prayer and share the Father's love. That simple act of obedience became the beginning of Hope Ministries.
More Than a Street Ministry
Since that first day, the relationships have continued to grow. Whenever possible and when invited, Jen and Phil visit the women away from the streets, creating opportunities for deeper friendships, trust, prayer, and support. Over time, those relationships have extended beyond the women themselves to their families and, ultimately, to the wider community.
Hope Today
For more than 9 years, Hope Ministries has been walking alongside women and families in Brazil. Through outreach, friendship, prayer, Bible studies, practical support, and community, we seek to create spaces where people feel seen, valued, loved, and reminded that their story is not over.
We believe transformation often begins with a relationship: Someone willing to listen, to walk alongside another person, and to remind them that they are not forgotten. Above all, we believe in the transforming love of Jesus. No one is beyond hope. No story is beyond redemption. No life is beyond restoration.
Be Part of the Story
The story of Hope Ministries began with a simple step of obedience, and today, you can be part of what God is continuing to do. Whether through prayer, volunteering, giving, or simply sharing our story, your support helps us continue walking alongside women and families in Brazil.
There is always room for more hope.