Recent Developments and a Trip to Haiti

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:

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LBtHRVZM94&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esn6iIa0Tt8&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIGUi79ni_k&feature=youtu.be

Grace and Peace

The King Family
jking@paulosgroup.org
330-922-8219

What would I do for the kingdom of God?  I wish I could say with absolute certainty I would do anything.  I would be bold, relentless, and radical and nothing would stop me from serving the King in whatever capacity He called me to.  But sometimes I wonder, is there a phychological line I've drawn in the sand.  A line that I've never verbalized but still know is there?  Would I run the risk of being imprisoned, martyred, how about made fun of, or possibly losing my job in order to stand up for my Savior Jesus Christ?  If God told me to sell all my possessions and give the proceeds to the poor like he did the rich young ruler, would I do it?  What if he wanted me to give up my son like he asked of Abraham?  Could I endure being the modern day Daniel, Shadrach, Mechach, Abednego, John, Peter, or Paul?
After telling people of our plans to go to Haiti we've received a variety of different responses.  People immediately think about the poverty and the struggle to endure such circumstances.  A couple of responses that continue to come up are, "Wow, that's amazing" or "I could never do that".  It's in these responses that there is encouragement, because we are doing what God has called us to do even though it may be difficult. 
But if enduring difficulties to prove our dedication to following Christ is the goal, we've completely missed the mark.
In Matthew 9 Jesus quotes a passage in Hosea ,"I desire compassion and not sacrifice."  In Matthew 22 Jesus declares that the greatest commandment we could ever follow is to fully love God in heart, soul, and mind.  The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as we do ourselves.  The rest of the law is established upon these two.  1 Corinthians 13 says, "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove moutnains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."

The better question seems to be, will I have compassion?  Will I display the love of Christ no matter where I am?  It doesn't take going to Haiti to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, unless that is what He has called you to do.  What it takes is compassion and the putting on of love.

My family and I plan on moving to Haiti to bring compassion and love to a hurting people.  We will be using the venues of developing the community through building infrastructure and sound affordable homes in a process that will restore dignity to an inpoverished community.  Opporunities for evangelism and discipleship are already presenting themselves in amazing ways.

If you would like to learn more about what we'll be doing you can check out Paulos Group on Facebook or go to paulosgroup.org. 
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

Joy's Testimony

Some of you may know that I grew up going to Grace Bible Church in Elmhurst.  My heart for missions began there.  I can remember anticipating missions week every year and being in total awe of the missionaries that came to speak.  I loved to hear about how God was using them.

Recently Christ has taken me down the path of becoming a missionary in Haiti.  Christ has walked along side me every step of the way in making this decision with my family. 

From the moment we began to consider the possibility of being part of a team of missionaries in Fort Liberté to our actual decision to go took approximately 8 months.  So, this decision did not come lightly.  There was a lot of prayer and teaching from the Lord, that brought us to this point.  I have no doubt this is where He is leading us.

Even though I have always been sensitive towards missions the Lord had a lot of teaching and molding to do in my life before I heeded His call to go.  Deep down I knew He was leading us to Haiti, however I had some concerns as to why I couldn’t make the actual decision to go.

My human mind couldn’t grasp the Spirit revealing to me that my excuses or concerns were worldly, made up, ideas that society has created.  For instance, we find our stability in our jobs, our community, our homes, our finances, our safety, etc.  But really, the Lord is the one who is allowing us to stay where we are in these areas and its solely by His grace.  At anytime, our jobs can be lost, our homes can be lost, and our finances found in disarray.

We tend to forget the Lord is sovereign over every aspect of our life.  So true stability is solely in Christ.

From a Godly standpoint, these excuses or concerns I had did not inline with Christ being completely sovereign over all.  I knew I had to be wise and discerning with this decision, so I needed the Lord every step of the way.   If I am digging my toes in the ground, knowing where I am to be, yet refusing because of my comfortable, “stable”, safe life, I will not feel peace.  Romans 8:6 says, “The mind set on the flesh is death, the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.”  As we speak, I feel great peace from the Lord.  And have truly come to understand the meaning of stability.

I later visited Haiti to have some of my questions answered.  Safety was one big concern I had and the other was the culture and environment.  Could I handle these?  My questions were answered within the 3rd or 4th day of visiting.  Fort Liberté is quite safe and welcoming to foreigners.  And with an adjustment period, I feel, we can handle the life there.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t dangers, however, I have to remind myself that I am inline with the Lord’s will for us and I do not want to be anywhere else.

After the Lord spent some time working in me, I could wisely decide this would be the path for our family.  I have never been closer to the Lord than I am today and it is because He has been teaching and guiding me every step of the way in this process.  Does this mean fears don’t creep up?  No It means I go to the Lord with my concern and wait for His response and as I read and study His word, pray, and seek wise counsel from others I know He will answer.

I am excited to go.  I look forward to ministry in Haiti.  When I visited Haiti and met with the Haitian people I felt, “in my element”, as though I was born to do this.  One thing I hope to do in Forte Liberte is find Deaf Haitians.  As some of you know I went to school to be an Interpeter for Deaf people, so I hope to be used in this area there.

I do pray, everyday for my kids.  I know there will be some difficult transitional moments for them as well as us and that is why we need believers in Christ to come alongside our family and be committed to praying for us.  As we all know, it is easy to set our minds on this life instead of Christ.  This is my biggest fear, losing sight of Christ through difficult times.  So, I welcome your prayer for us because it is most needed! 

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.