It's been a while since our last post. The craziness of life can easily overtake you, especially during the process of working towards the transition of moving overseas, but there's so much to share.
Last time I wrote I was still working the night shift in the factory feeling discouragement as that was not where I wanted to be. I was exhausted doing what I could to provide for my family while forging forward in the process of raising support. Recently, I was promoted to the Logistics/Packaging Coordinator which moved me to the day shift. This almost instantly fixed the constant mental haze I was experiencing due to my sleep schedule. This has been a true blessing for our family.
Many of you have probably heard of Joy's back pains and have been praying for her. No... I'm not the pain in her back, well not always. Actually some of it was caused by fluid in a cyst near a bunch of nerves along her spine. Right before Thanksgiving she had it drained. It has been amazing the amount of relief it has given her. Thank you for your prayers. She still has pain and we're still looking for answers but praise the Lord for relief.
During the Thanksgiving holiday we were able to go back home to Iowa to see my side of the family. It was really nice to spend some time back in Iowa after being away for nearly 2 years. We also used the trip as an opportunity to visit the church I grew up in and meet with some of those on the mission board. We are praying about what kind of relationship might possibly be forged.
Over the Christmas break we were so blessed to have the opportunity to take a trip as a family to Haiti. Josiah and Hope had never been out of the country, in an airplane, or to Haiti for that matter. We wanted to visit as a family to see what kind of collaborative perspective we might have together, to see how the kids would handle the cross cultural environment, to visit with the Paulos Group families, and to learn more about the culture of Haiti.
The beginning of the trip started out a bit rough, Hope threw up the night before we left. Then we had an overnight layover in New York and Joy threw up that night. She was such a trooper. In the morning we got on a flight to Santiago after standing in lines for two hours and... her sickness continued. It wasn't a smooth morning for her. Once we got to the D. R. we got a hotel (the Gauthiers and McCormicks insisted on this one) and let her sleep the day and night away, later agreeing it was the right choice. So, while Joy was sleeping, Shane Gauthier and his two boys Gabe and Abraham took the kids and I and showed us around Santiago. We went to McDonalds (Josiah loved this), a grocery store similar to one in the U.S., and the mall.
The next day we piled into the suburban and showed Joy some of the same places and then headed to Fort Liberte, Haiti. Joy wasn't feeling great, but she was doing much better. Once we entered into Haiti, I noticed Josiah was staring out the windows. Haiti is drastically different than the Dominican Republic. I later asked him what he was thinking. He said, "There were so many brown people". He was definitely noticing the differences in Haiti from what he has been used to. He also noticed the people bathing along the river. As is typical for Josiah's heart of compassion, he had great concern for those he saw. On the other hand, Hope didn't really seem to notice much. Though most people noticed her and her auburn hair.
Both of the kids spent a lot of time playing with the other kids out in the yard while donkeys, cows, pigs, horses, and goats passed on through as they were grazing. Josiah thought that was really funny. One night Josiah played soccer with a neighbor boy named Fefe. He had a great time doing that. He told me, "Dad, I'm playing with a Haitian!" It seemed to me that playing soccer with Fefe cemented in his mind that even though Haitians look different and speak a different language they are really no different than us.
One day, all three families took a trip to the "beach". We had to scare away the cows that were resting under the trees at this beach. We ought to name it Bessy Beach! It wasn't the nicest place but the kids enjoyed cooling off and playing in the sand. On the way to this beach we had to travel on some really rocky paths. The 4Runner and Suburban definitely came in handy. As we drove we passed by part of the old sisel plantation. It was the largest plantation in Haiti and employed over 2,000 people. Once the company left, it threw the people in the community into a sleepy depression. Here's a brief Paulos Group video that talks about the effects of this plantation closing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIGUi79ni_k&feature=youtu.be
There was a lot we learned. I spent a lot of time with Matt & Shane discussing the vision and values of the Paulos Group. I learned a lot about the difficulties they come up against and the solutions they have found to be most effective. It was neat to hear about the impact they have had in the community thus far through simple things such as placing their kids in school, becoming fluent in Creole, and daily rubbing shoulders with their neighbors.
We definitely came back encouraged and excited for future ministry with the Paulos Group in Fort Liberte, Haiti as they continue to make huge strides forward. As numbers were crunched we found that we are sitting on approximately 63% of our needed annual support. We still have a ways to go yet trust the Lord is going to provide for us to make it to the field by this summer. Will you consider being part of His provision? If so, you can go online to paulosgroup.org/invest and find Josh & Joy King under personnel. Or you can send a check to:
We definitely came back encouraged and excited for future ministry with the Paulos Group in Fort Liberte, Haiti as they continue to make huge strides forward. As numbers were crunched we found that we are sitting on approximately 63% of our needed annual support. We still have a ways to go yet trust the Lord is going to provide for us to make it to the field by this summer. Will you consider being part of His provision? If so, you can go online to paulosgroup.org/invest and find Josh & Joy King under personnel. Or you can send a check to:
Paulos Group
3170 Airmans Drive
Unit 1085-PALO
Fort Pierce, FL 34946
Please also consider following our blog by email by putting your email address in the location provided on the side of this blog.
In the meantime I'd like to invite you to watch three videos the Paulos Group has put together.
In the meantime I'd like to invite you to watch three videos the Paulos Group has put together.
Grace and Peace
