Thiago and Lia Dantas

Deep within the dense, expansive Amazon River basin, communities live in remote villages only accessible by boat. Their simple way of life has remained intact as their interactions with other parts of the world are minimal. But this also means access to proper medical care and the
gospel is almost nonexistent.

Since she was 15 years old, Lia Dantas has felt called to serve the unreached in remote riverside communities along the Amazon River. Lia, a midwife nurse and a graduate of Western Theological Seminary, and her husband Thiago Dantas, a trained lawyer and also a graduate of Western Theological Seminary, are natives of Manaus, Brazil. In partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Manaus (IPM) in Brazil, Thiago and Lia serve as missionary liaisons between churches in the U.S. and communities in Brazil to plant churches, train Brazilian missionaries, and reach people along the Amazon River with Christ’s love and hope through medical mission boats.