Former global personnel Magui Guimarães died February 27, 2026. She was 67.
Maria Margarida Dias de Ornelas was born June 1, 1958. When she was twenty-two, she agreed to visit her mother’s church in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, “to get her off my back.” Describing herself as basically agnostic, Magui was so moved when she heard about Christ’s love that she went forward and confessed her faith.
She studied architecture at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, earning her degree in 1982.
She married Wainer Guimarães on January 26, 1985.
The couple joined the Covenant the following year and served together in pastoral ministry at Grace Covenant Church in Spring Valley, California. They helped plant Bridge Covenant Church in Riverbank, California, in 1998, where they served until they joined Covenant World Mission (now Serve Globally) in 2006.
They became the Covenant’s first project missionaries (global personnel) to Brazil. The family served in Rio de Janeiro, where they focused on community transformation and humanitarian and social justice. They served in that capacity for seven years.
“Magui possessed a quiet elegance, a royal charisma that simply was, illuminating everything just by being there,” Wainer wrote in an email after she died.
Magui is survived by her husband of 41 years, Wainer, and their sons, Daniel and Peter. Memorial services were held on March 1, 2026, at Christ Church in the Botafogo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro; at Grace Covenant Church in Spring Valley on April 4–5; and The Bridge Covenant Church on March 28–29.
Peace be to her memory.
