"It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:2-3 ESV)
To paraphrase that verse, Isaiah basically says, on the highest of mountains, the Lord will be established and all will flow to it, a place of refuge. They will say, let's go there that we may learn and be renewed.
In March of 2017 we hosted in Brazil a group of 11 people from The Church of the Harvest out of Olathe, Kansas. The Lead Pastor David Frech told us, "We simply want to come serve and help you do what God has called you to do in Brazil." Since we were believing for Sozo Mountain, we planned this week of missions with the team to be in Campos do Jordão, the future home of Sozo Mountain. We had previously come to know only a couple of people in that town. We had no connections, no influence and no name to stand on. Ultimately, during the week of missions we were able to partner with the city hall, department of health, department of education, and various church leaders. We did a medical clinic in an extremely impoverished neighborhood, rennovated an abandoned soccer field installing new synthetic grass, playground equipment, a basketball goal and gazebo. This neighborhood region is home to around 6,000 people. We held an inauguration event to dedicate the soccer field to the community. Despite the pouring rain, the people came. A local children's ballet group even came to perform. Also during this week, we worked with the kids in an elementary school. The principal gave us the entire day with the whole school, about 300 students. Even the parents came for a special meeting we conducted on family-life in context of drugs and alcohol. The town of Campos do Jordão has some of the highest numbers of drug and alcohol abuse in the whole country. After this, the city asked us to go to a local High School. They told us that this high school has one of the highest rates of suicide and drug use and they needed help. When the team shared their life experiences with the teenagers, tears were flowing down as over 250 prayed and gave their lives to Christ. We also held a pastors' conference in a local auditorium. It was a successful event though the local faith community was not working together in unity at the time. Since this meeting, the city pastor's council has been re-established and many things in the city are being accomplished through unity.
Whether it's a person, family or organization their story has come through valleys, deserts and mountains. Along the way, both the challenges and victories we face can detour us or cause us to persevere and pursue our dreams.
Sozo Mountain has a history, a present and a future. We want to share our story with you. To encourage, inspire and to share with you who we are. We want you to be part of it as we invest our time, talents and resources to make a difference in the life of every child and youth we encounter.
It all starts back in the fall of 2012, Débora and I were pastoring All Nations International church which we had started 10 years earlier in Kansas City. We sensed that there was a divine shift coming into our lives, but could not put words to the feelings. In September 2012, Débora and I received an invitation to be part of a group of 100 people that would go spend 5 days with Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke at his Florida offices for evangelism training. Let's just say, we came back different. A blazing fire was imparted into our lives during that week. It was as if the heavens opened and we were being fast tracked to a destination, stepping out of the safety of a boat and taking steps into open water. In March of 2013 over spring break we went to Brazil as a family for two weeks. We were sensing a call, but also seeking some clarity. In those two weeks it became apparent that the Lord wanted us there. It was as if the red sea was parting before us, nudging us to take that step of faith into a journey of what was waiting on the other side.
We came back to Kansas City conflicted between what we were sensing God was calling us to in Brazil and our responsibilities in Kansas as pastors, our business, family and our 3 teenage girls. The Lord began confirming to us, in the strangest of ways, that it was time to move to Brazil. This is just one example of many, on several occasions, complete strangers would say things like, "I'm sorry you don't know me, but when I saw you I had the strongest impression you are going to Brazil."
The instances and variety of ways God was speaking made it evident that we needed to obey what the He was leading us into. We resigned the pastorate of All Nations, sold everything we had, the new house we just purchased the previous year, our 3 cars, and all our belongings. In other words, we became intentionally homeless, selling and getting rid of all our possessions to go to a foreign land, not knowing what would take place.
The first year was full of challenges. It was sooo hot! We lived in a gated community in the countryside and with no air-conditioning in our home, it was incredibly hard to sleep. Even though we lived in a beatiful home, we could not open the windows for night air because they did not have screens to keep out the bugs and mosquitos. During our first 2 months there, the first thing we did in the morning was to sweep up the piles of these little beetles that somehow found their way in. Then the girls would start their homeschooling via internet. In that neighborhood the internet had to be via radio signal, it was never reliable, working randomly without us knowing when or for how long. I often thought to myself, Lord what did I bring my family into?
In that first year in Brazil, we planned and conducted a crusade in the town we lived in. Having assembled all the main denominations together and several independent churches, we saw a great miracle of unity. Throughout the process of the year in planning this event and during the crusade itself, we saw so many thousands come to faith in Christ and many beautiful miraculous healings. The work was hard, we preached 3-5 times a week in various churches throughout the region. We were an unknown family who moved to Brazil and God opened doors we never could have on our own.
In the midst of planning this major crusade during our first year in Brazil back in 2014, it was July and we were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. Débora suggested we go to the mountain town Campos do Jordão, she had once visited as a teenager. We went, and then during an afternoon site-seeing drive through the mountains we came upon a beautiful dog in the middle of the road. The girls insisted we follow it in case it was lost. We followed it onto this amazing hilltop property. The entry gate was open, and we continued following the dog up the driveway. When we parked and got out of the car we noticed the place was well maintained, but It just felt like the property was not lived in.
We started walking around this beautiful place, each of us wondering off our own way. As I walked around, I heard the Lord whisper into my heart saying, "This place is to rescue kids." I thought that was so strange. Débora walked up to me and said, "I feel the Lord is telling me that "This place is set apart for kids." After that, one of our daughters came up and said, "mom, dad, I feel like the Lord just told me "that this place is for children." It felt as if heaven opened on top of that mountain in a real burning bush moment. I got chills and goose bumps over my whole body. The air seemed to be charged with electricity and such a serene presence surrounded us. I asked the Lord why He would bring us to this place and why would He share this information with us? We had never entertained the idea of a children's home nor had we ever talked about it before. This literally caught us completely off guard as we were in the midst of planning a stadium crusade. Lord, "we came to Brazil to preach the Gospel, to share the Good News" I thought. Then I heard the Lord speak into my heart saying, "Preaching is not enough."
A lady started walking toward us from another part of the property. We introduced ourselves and Débora was quick to apologize for coming onto the property, but explained we were following what we thought was a lost dog. The lady said that the dog had appeared recently, but they couldn't find out who it belonged to. We call this the "angel dog." Had this dog not led us to this place, we would have kept on driving. We were honest and bold telling the lady that we had heard in our hearts that this place was to be for children. She began to cry. She explained that she and her husband had been the caretakers of the place for the past 20 years and throughout this time she always felt the desire to help children. She told us the property was for sale, even though there were no for-sale signs and that for the past 7 years it had been vacant. She gladly gave us the contact of the owner's representative.
Several weeks passed, and Débora and I finally got up the courage to call the owner's representative. He insisted that we go back and tour the property and he arranged for the caretakers to show us the place. After this, some time had passed and we began to publicly express our vision and hopes for this place, for Sozo Mountain. Every dream begins with an idea or vision and then becomes a passion and then turns into steps of faith. We had been waiting on my Brazilian residence to be approved so we could file the paperwork to register and gain legal approval for the children's home. We chose the name SOZO, because it means to save, restore and heal. It's literally the same word in the New Testament when Jesus said, "I came to seek and save (SOZO) those which are lost." This is exactly what we felt the Lord wanted to do with the Brazilian children at-risk and orphans. To seek them out and bring restoration and healing into their lives.
Finally, after almost 3 years of waiting, my Brazilian residence was approved. With that our lawyer in Brazil filed our papers and documents to apply for the Sozo Mountain Children's Home project. With that in motion, we contacted the representative whom we spoke with a few years earlier. We traveled to Rio de Janeiro where he lived to meet and talk. The property was still for sale and we later presented an offer for a "lease to purchase." The owner rejected the offer and wanted a cash only sale. Our hearts were saddened. As time continued to pass, we were still taking steps of faith and continued working on the legal documentation.
In 2017 we were visiting a Brazilian church in Kansas City and a Brazilian evangelist Rafael Conrado, whom we had never met was preaching that night. During the prior week, I was contemplating the challenges we had faced concerning Sozo. It's such a huge task and often times we felt like things just weren't progressing. Honestly, I felt discouraged and needed answers. One of my questions to God was "A mountain top, really? Who are we God? We don't have the financial resources for this! How can we claim a mountain top based on faith?"
During that church service the evangelist Rafael Conrado preached out of Isaiah 2. This was an encouraging confirmation. It was an answer to what I was asking the Lord about in my heart.
There was a special meeting at city hall for the city council to meet Débora and I. They asked us "Why are you here spending your money to help people you don't know? These are poor people, what do you want in return?" "We want nothing!", we said, "As Christians we are here to share God's love and heart ,and to make a difference." It was a week that opened the doors of this town to us. We openly shared our plans for Sozo Mountain, and it captured the hearts of many people. At the end of the week the City hosted a special dinner as an appreciation for all that was done by the mission's team. They said it had an impact in every aspect of the community and everyone knew who we were and what was done. Looking back we can see how God used this week to establish good-will and relationships with the town and community that will be home to Sozo Mountain.
On the last day of the mission's week we had made prior arrangements with the property owner's representative for a tour with the team. As we were heading out, they said we weren't allowed on the property, and that the owner didn't want us there. Débora's and my heart sank in embarrasment. Here we were, believing God for Sozo Mountain and the mission's team had come a long ways from Kansas, spending their own money, giving their time and talents to help us fullfill the vision of Sozo Mountain. Not detoured, pastor David led us in a word of encouragement and prayer as we stood outside the main gate of the property, declaring that the promises and Word of the Lord will be fulfilled.
There is something very interesting about this mountain top property. Campos do Jordão is the highest elevated inhabited city in all of Brazil. And this property is the highest elevated residence property in the city. Truly, "a light on the hill, so to speak."
When the "angel dog" led us onto that property and we stood on that mountain top (back in July 2014), Débora asked the Lord, "Why this place? Its too nice!" What the Lord spoke to her heart next was earth shattering. The Lord asked her, "What are you willing to do for your own children? Do you not look to give them the best you can provide? What about this place? How do you feel standing here? The peace and tranquility. Are these children any less than your own children, that they don't deserve a place like this?" At that moment the Lord moved on Débora's heart and revealed His desire to give the best to the ones many have forgotten and see as the least.
When we initially filed the legal documents back in 2016, they told us all looked good and it would come back in a few months. Well, after almost 4 years of delays and them sending the documents back multiple times for changes, we have now finally received approval (August 2020) by the Brazilian government and our Federal tax id number. These past years felt like an eternity as we kept hearing from them that "all is good," only to have the paperwork returned, hearing the same thing over and over again. Had we leased that property in the years prior, we would have been paying for a building we would not have been able to use. God in His timing knows all things. Sometimes we know the destination, but not the timing or the challenges in between. We shared so many times in our newsletters over the years that our approval was assured and it was finally happening, only to experience another technicality and delay. It's not always easy, but we keep pressing on.
During these past years of the process we have continued serving and ministering throughout Brazil. We have come to know and form many great relationships. People in government, business, education, social services, the judicial system, and nationaly respected and established faith leaders. Time has not been wasted, God has used these past years to align us in relationships with key people of influence in Brazil and to prepare us. Truly remarkable! There are so many more details and things beyond this synopsis of the Sozo Mountain Story that are more suited for a book, but in closing I want to share this with you.
In March of 2020 we had just finished 3 days of revival oriented meetings in Brazil and COVID became an international issue. Our niece had come to Brazil to spend several months with us and our daugther, son in law and grandson had also just come a week before. We all got a text on our phones from the U.S. State Department saying that American citizens should return home or risk not being able to return for an undetermined amount of time. Wow, that was unexpected! All of Brazil was shutting down and no meetings or gatherings were being allowed. After a scramble to find a flight, in two days we were all back in Kansas City. We spoke with our lawyer in Brazil, because we had just once again refiled the paperwork that week. He said all government offices were closed and only emergency issues were being attended to for the foreseeable future. Can you imagine it? Our hearts sank, as we had just shared in our newsletter right before COVID hit that they assured us our approval for Sozo Mountain should come anyday now. Surely, timing is in the Lord's hands! This past July 2020, we received word from the lawyer that the legal process was approved and the next step was to get a federal id number, which just came this August of 2020. We are now officially legal and approved for Sozo Mountain!
From that defining moment when the "angel dog" led us onto that mountain property in July of 2014 and we believed the word that the Lord birthed into our hearts, it's been a journey of many discouragements and of many victories. Now we have the victory of legal status and we go onto the next step.
Yes, the property is still for sale. We want you to be part of the Sozo Mountain story. Thank you for taking your time to read through this website. We need benefactors, donors and supporters to come alongside. If your heart is united with us in this cause please connect with us. We look forward to hearing from you.
- Blessings, Michel and Débora Borchardt
Here's a link to the e-newsletter that shows the events of that week. Sozo Mountain Mission's Week March 2017