Josiah Reynaldo Rios, worshipper, rapper, soup connoisseur, lyricist, pet-rat whisperer, cartoonist and arm Wrestler, left us to permanently hang out with Jesus on September 26, 2021.

 

Josiah’s dynamic personality made life more awesome for anyone privileged to know him. At home, Josiah started every morning at the kitchen table reading his overused & tattered Bible. He always made sure he read it FIRST, even before breakfast. He read the book of Proverbs over 21 times and internalized it so well that he got himself outta trouble one day by telling his dad, “…a fool always loses his temper…(Prov 29:11) so…don’t get mad, Pa.” 

He didn’t get grounded that day. 

 

Josiah, like any kid, took on chores at home. Unlike any kid, he didn’t complain (much) about them. Josiah wanted to make a difference wherever he was and would rise to any challenge with grit. His parents were not pleased he rose to the challenge of getting to the top bunk on his brother’s dare: but they were pleased he rose to the challenge of learning to cook. At 16, Josiah had finally given up a long time habit of pocketing donations of string cheese from school buddies for more mature delicacies like Sushi, snails, crickets, seafood, salad and making his own vegetable soups. If trying his soup, inspect for live insects first: he added those for crunch. He was heard telling his grandpa “insects taste better than bacon. Mmmmmm. Mmmmm”.  

 

While some might shiver at Josiah’s adventurous taste buds, others laughed. Those who loved him called it fearlessness & a thirst for action & excitement. He dreamed of getting on the show Fear Factor saying he  would win all the money because “I would Bash all those bugs on one plate!”

Josiah had a competitive and ambitious character. He focused on working hard for straight A’s. One might think he’d say he loved school because he worked so hard at it. Coulda’ fooled his parents as the response to the question of “How was school today” was always: “boring.”  If it was so boring, why did all his teachers say he was a pleasure to have in class? And why did Josiah get picked to babysit the class dragon? And why did he work so well on his own Initiative to do his homework? Must be because as kind, patient and hardworking as Josiah was, he also wanted to remind his parents he was still a typical teenager. 

And as a teenager, Josiah played sports on the Rolling Cubs basketball team. He said with a smirk, “I guess this makes me a Jock now, eh?” Josiah could also be found on tiktok a little “too” much and he always wanted to “look fresh.” He had a fashion sense as bold as a lion. He would be rockin’ checkered shoes, plaid pants, bling chains and bandanas all at once and with great pride. And when mom and dad said no, he decided to pierce his own ear anyway. His parents were so amazed at his fearless pain threshold that they forgot to be upset at him for doing it without permission. 

 

Josiah often loved to surprise people with his incredible strength by challenging them to an arm wrestling match. Little did they suspect, he was gettin’ buff at home by asking to bench the cat, the dog and any of his five siblings, Shaniah (22) Alondrah (20) Thalia (20) Jonah(16) and Noah (7).

 

In his spare time, Josiah loved to go to his grandpa’s house to go bike riding, play foosball, go off- roading and search the wild for tarantulas and scorpions. When not in school or at grandpas, he asked about ministry.  Josiah loved to raise his hands in worship, serve and feed the homeless. He was passionate about reaching the lost and hitting the streets to share the love of Jesus.  

 

He used his creativity to write his own music and has several published Christian hip hop songs under the name young JaHseH. He performed on stage with his brother in Kingdom League and it was His dream to revolutionize the music industry for God: to change perverted music into life-giving music.  

 

Josiah excelled at anything he put his mind and hands to: even as an informal artist, laughing at his own work when he sketched renditions of his his dad as a gorilla. His laughter still rings in our ears. 

 

Josiah could be heard behind closed doors at home, working his vocal cords or watching veterinary channels on YouTube.   Josiah’s love for ministry almost matched his love for animals. He was a great pet-rat daddy to his girls Bambi & Pepper.  His dream was to have a domestic and Exotic animal rescue called Noah’s Arch and hoped to one day get a special needs dog so they can have “matching wheelchairs”. 

 

Josiah recently spent time in Nebraska with family, giving piggy-back rides to his nieces & nephews, going on adventures with his aunts & uncles and having a blast with his best bud Uriah.

 

Talented. Loving. Generous. Self controlled. Kind. Patient. Fearless. Bold. Adventurous. Strong. Consistent. Fun loving. Funny.

Josiah was dynamic and dynamically loved. He loved God and always exemplified the fruits of the spirit.  The family is a bit jealous that he beat them to heaven… and they  can’t wait to see him walking, running and worshiping Jesus. The family is absolutely confident and assured in their salvation in Christ that they will make it to heaven and will be with Christ and Josiah again. 

And when that time comes for you, the question is, will you see him again? 

Josiah’s waiting with Jesus.

 

“For God so loved the world….that He gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16