Video

Please take a few minutes and watch the video posted on the side bar to the right.  It's a brief video sharing our plans of going to Haiti.  We hope you enjoy it.

http://youtu.be/mR_uEKXB7jE

The Story of God's Leading in the King Family

During the fall of 2009 I was on my way to a men's retreat in southern Ohio.  As I was traveling alone I was listening to Moody Radio.  A man was speaking about how the Lord had led him out of the comfortable position he was in and into a ministry of uncertainty.  It wasn't until this man took this step of faith that the Lord made Himself "big" in this man's life.  As I was listening to this I felt the Spirit speaking to me.  God had already shown me His Word, but in these moments He used It to begin revealing His plan for me.  There I was, an associate pastor, enjoying the ministry, living in a community we really enjoyed and loved.  But maybe this wasn't where God wanted me.  I had been wondering what was next for me in regards to ministry, but I thought I was asking that in regards to me staying at my current church.  The Lord was moving in me to do something I hadn't really considered.  After I arrived at the retreat, I stored these thoughts in my mind as I knew they were significant, but not sure why. 
A couple of months later I realized my time to move on from my current church ministry had come.  The Lord couldn't have made this any clearer.  Following Him in faith I submitted my resignation without knowing what would be next.  Resigning without another job in place was something that required faith and trust in Him to provide, for my family.  This isn't something I would encourage others to do, but in our situation, it was the only option.  It was absolutely amazing and humbling to see how the Lord provided for our financial needs in the next year.  I was able to find a job, Joy was able to increase her workload, the Lord led people to be financially generous with our family, and somehow all of our bills were, and have been, paid and on time.  As a person who often tries to bring rational thought into life's circumstances, I must admit that there isn't a way to explain this last year other than to say God was at work.
It was soon after my resignation that the Lord began to reveal where He was leading us.  On January 12th, 2010 a devastating earthquake hit Port au Prince, Haiti.  The devastation was massive.  You probably can recall what you saw on the news.  Buildings were decimated, bodies lined the streets, children became homeless and lost their parents, people were dying, the hospitals were filled, horrible living conditions were established in tent cities, and cholera broke out.  These people were in a lot of need.  I had compassion on these people, but my heart wasn't pulled in the direction of purely humanitarian work.  I knew of a missionary friend who was in Haiti so I contacted him.  He shared with me that the best way to help the region is through long-term investment and for people to join them in ministry on the field in Fort Liberte.  This perked my attention.  I continued to have phone and email conversations for quite some time with him about his vision for ministry in Haiti.  During this time I watched as the Lord continued to pull me in that direction.  It really was a surprise to me. 
I continued to interview with churches and continued to send out my resume.  For some reason I wasn't finding a ministry that I believed the Lord was calling me to.  One church I ended up visiting.  This was a really good church and I could have done well there, but I just didn't feel right about it.  It's obvious now that this was because the Lord had different plans for me. 
I realized I needed to visit Haiti so that the Lord could give me a yes or no in regards to if He wanted me to serve there.  It turned out that I had an airline ticket in my name that I could use.  I visited in May of 2010 and on the way home I came to the conclusion God was calling me there.  But I knew Joy would need to come to the same conclusion for herself.  So I never told her what I thought.  On my way home, the airline had overbooked the flight and were offering vouchers for those who would forgo their seats.  I got $400 which helped Joy pay for her ticket when she went in July.  When she left I was thinking about the other options on the table for us because I didn't believe she would come back sharing my conclusion.  When she returned, she shocked me, she said she believed the Lord was calling us to Haiti.  We agreed that the two of us needed to spend some time praying about this together.  As we prayed, we became more and more convinced that this was what He wanted of us.  Amongst many other conversations, reading God's Word, and continued prayer, we made the decision together that we were going to Haiti. 
We continue to look forward to the day that we will be there on the field, doing the ministry the Lord has called us to.  If you would like to partner with us by praying for us or financially supporting us we encourage you to email us at jking@paulosgroup.org. 
You can support us by going to:
www.paulosgroup.org/help/financially/ and go to the Personnel categories and select Josh and Joy King. 
Or you can send a check through the US Postal Service or your online banking to: 
Paulos Group
3170 Airmans Drive
Unit 1085-PALO
Fort Pierce, FL 34946

Leaving a great community

Right now my family and I live in a home and neighborhood that we absolutely love, Cuyahoga Falls, OH.  Josiah, now 6, was born in Elmhurst, IL when we lived in a small garden apartment, but we moved here when he was only 8 months old.  Hope, now 4, was born while living here.  So naturally this is the only place they've ever known as home.  Our neighborhood is full of kids that Josiah and Hope are friends with.  Every chance they get to go outside and play, that's exactly what they are doing.  Often times you will find a group of 8-10 kids playing kick the can or kickball in our backyard. 

Joy and I have built great friendships with most of our neighbors.  As a neighborhood we've put together numerous block parties, attended parties together, shared a neighborhood tool shed, and helped each other out in many different ways.  We're living in a great community. 

We've always felt like we've lived modestly, but must admit it has still been comfortable.  We haven't been able to do everything with our home that we would have liked to, but have still been able to do what was needed and a little more.  We haven't always been able to take the vacations and spend the money that some can, but we've been able to enjoy each other and the time we have together doing the things we do together.

If you like where you live and have found it to be a place you can call home, why would you leave?

My family and I have decided to leave the place we love.  We will be leaving and going somewhere that will be completely different than where we are now.  We will be moving to Fort Liberte, Haiti.  This is where you say "WHOOAA!"  A pretty drastic change huh?  After sharing this with one person he said to me, "That's a pretty difficult place huh?"  Most people are shocked and immediately have a ton of questions flood their minds questioning the wisdom of such a decision.  Trust me, we've had the same questions ourselves.  What about your kids?  What about the poverty?  What about your health?  ETC. ETC.

So why would we leave Cuyahoga Falls, OH for Fort Liberte, Haiti?  There is a very simple but very complex answer.  We are moving because God has called us to minister to the people of Fort Liberte, Haiti.

I look forward to unpacking the complexity of this decision and explaining the Lord's calling on our lives in future blogs as well as sharing with you our progress.  I look forward to what this future holds and I invite you to come along this journey with us by staying posted.