December Update 2011

As you take time to celebrate and be together with your families back in the States, we would like to give you a brief personal update on our family here on the mission field.

Len, Maria, Sandor, Dora, & Jennifer at Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving we had some wonderful, Christ-centered fellowship with our guests here at our home.  We invited Sandor, pastor of the Erd church, along with his wife, Maria, as well as their daughter Dora and son Mate. Each of us took time to share with each other about what we were thankful to God for.  We felt that something of eternal value happened that day.  They also were very blessed to celebrate their first Thanksgiving with us.  Maria was so impacted by the experience that said she would like to bring this holiday to Hungary.

Looking back over this year, we have much to be thankful for.  One highlight was the way the Lord used Len to begin laying the foundation in the church in Erd, Hungary, and to bring reconciliation to a situation that was causing much pain and damage. We also rejoice as we see how God is using the Internet to help us connect with leaders and disciples who are seeking God around the world.  Thousands of people in over 108 nations on six continents are accessing our teachings.  Then there were the opportunities to share Jesus with people who had never heard the gospel before, including two businessmen of influence.  We also distributed food and blankets to the homeless and prayed for them.  At the end of November, Len began to provide leadership training to a group of nine Christian leaders, who are co-laboring with a Hungarian leader we know, named Sándor.

Hope, Charity, Joseph, Faith, & Christopher

Please pray that the Lord will open effectual doors of ministry for us in Eastern Europe during 2012, and that He will provide for every need.

We pray that this coming New Year will be full of the Lord's good blessings of health, peace, and plentiful provision upon your life.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

Love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

There are two ways to donate to Doulos Missions International. You may either send a check or money order by mail to:
Doulos Missions International
PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

Donate Online

November Update 2011

Greetings from Hungary!  We’re enjoying the brisk, cool air here, and the brilliant fall colors.  Hopefully you are doing the same wherever you are. It’s time for another update on what the Lord is doing.

Family:  Unfortunately we received some very shocking and saddening news recently. On November 15th, the youngest son of one of our US home-church elders and DMI board member, Owen Carey, was killed in a car accident in Campton, NH.  Owen’s son, Sam was only 26 years old.  He had been playing basketball in Canada, and was on his way back to Manchester, NH.  We wept together here in Hungary over the tragic news of Sam’s death, and prayed as a family together for the Carey’s.

Owen and Esther were in FL about to go on a gift cruise they had recently received for their 40th anniversary.  Instead they returned to NH for Sam’s funeral.  Here is an article about Sam.  Please keep Owen and Esther Carey and their family in your prayers this week, as the Spirit of our Lord Jesus leads you.

Hope celebrating her 11th birthday

Here in Hungary, we celebrated Jennifer’s birthday in October and Hope’s birthday in November. The children are enjoying their weekly home school coop.  With the dietary changes we’ve made, we’ve noticed an improvement in Faith’s scalp.  But it is not completely healed yet.
 

Jennifer has also experienced a healing from sinus headaches that had been bothering her for a long time.  And Charity has experienced a significant improvement in her breathing, and had no asthma symptoms, even after stopping her medication for several days.  Praise the Lord! Joseph has had a rash on his face for about two months now that is not going away, so we’re praying for the Lord to heal it.

One day in November, as we were leaving our neighborhood to take Charity to her orthodontist appointment, the van started to sputter. There was a lack of power when Len stepped on the gas, and he thought it could be a clog in the fuel system.  Len didn’t want to take a chance riding so far on the highway when the vehicle was so unstable.  So he called our mechanic, but he wasn’t available.  So we prayed and asked the Lord for a miracle. Afterward we thanked the Lord for it and declared by faith that we would make it to the orthodontist and back safely without car trouble.  And we did!  There were absolutely no more problems after that.  All of us experienced God’s miraculous power through this incident.  Praise the Lord. 

Ministry:  Len continues to meet with Greg for discipleship, as well as with Barnabas, Ferenc, and Tamás.

Ferenc

It’s been fun and rewarding watching Ferenc implement in his job the things Len is teaching him.  And Len was encouraged to hear Tamas asking him more questions about the Lord without Len bringing up the topic. Unfortunately does not want to seek the Lord right now, because it is so different from anything he is now experiencing and he feels like he has plenty of time to do so later, if he wants to.  Pray that both of these men would seek to know Jesus.  And please pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Hungary and all of Europe.  Without this it would not be possible to see any significant advance of the gospel here.

Greg’s company recently went through a merger and he lost his job.  So Len is helping him with his resume and employment search.  He is traveling as far as the UK in search of employment.  Pray that the Lord guides him to a career opportunity that will allow him to be the most effective testimony he can be to the greatness of Jesus Christ.

Greg

His father Zsolt’s back seems to have finally healed up quite well.  This was confirmed with an MRI and by the fact that he drove the family in their car for two hours to visit his parents.  Then he drove back later.  Praise the Lord! His pancreas is still a concern, and a matter for prayer.

Greg and his band were recently invited to speak to a group of young people in Budapest at the Golgotha Church between the ages of ten and fourteen.  Although each of the band members prayed separately about what to share, their individual messages for the young people all tied together around the same topic.  Greg shared with them about the fact that God has a unique purpose for each of their lives and that they need to discover it, so they can fulfill it like King David did during his generation.  The band got great feedback from the leader of these young people that they were unusually attentive and interested in what Greg and his companions had to say.  Praise the Lord!

Administrative Needs:  Regarding our plans for Len’s trip to the US this winter, we are still waiting and watching for open doors. 

Resources:  Len has recently written a blog on Biblical Health and Wellness.  One of the posts is called “Checking Your Heart.” It’s about how your heart attitude relates to enjoying an abundant, healthy life. He also wrote one called “The Power of God to Heal” to encourage your faith for yourself or your loved ones who need healing.  If you would like to read any others he has written, you can find them at “Writing for the Master.”

In closing, we have much to praise God for, and many opportunities for you to join us in prayer.

Praise the Lord with us for the many answers to prayer:

1. For our overall health and wellness.
2. For healing Jennifer of sinus headaches and Charity of asthma.
3. For the wonderful birthday celebrations we had for Hope and Jennifer.
4. For miraculously fixing the problem with our van.
5. For the good report that Greg’s father, Zsolt’s back is healed.
6. For the impact that Greg’s band made for the Lord among the young people at Golgotha Church.
7. For the additional questions about the Lord that Tamas has asked.

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For comfort, strength, and peace for Owen and Esther Carey and their family.
2. For His continued protection over the whole family, especially the children.
3. For the Lord to guide Greg to a professional opportunity where he can be an effective witness for Christ. 
4. For the Lord to water the seeds Greg and his band planted among the youth at Golgotha Church.
5. For Greg’s father, Zsolt to be healed in his pancreas.
6. For Ferenc and Tamás to seek to know Jesus.
7. For an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Hungary and all of Europe. 
8. For healing for Joseph’s facial rash and Faith’s scalp seborrhea. 
9. For divine appointments wherever we go.  Pray that the Lord would help us make key connections with people all along the way, develop relationships and be a blessing. 
10. For our financial blessing.  That the Lord would continue to raise up partners to help us with special gifts and monthly partners, so that we will be able to focus on the ministry in Eastern Europe and accomplish all that He has put in our hearts to do.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

Love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

There are two ways to donate to Doulos Missions International. You may either send a check or money order by mail to:
Doulos Missions International
PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

Donate Online

October Update 2011

Greetings from Hungary! It’s time for another update on our progress.

It's been a beautiful autumn here with cooler temperatures and sunshine. This month marks the beginning of our fourth year in Eastern Europe.    As we celebrate this anniversary, we praise God for sustaining us and bringing forth fruit.  We also thank our partners, whose faithfulness in giving to God has made our work here possible.

Family:  The children are enjoying a weekly home school coop where they meet with other home schoolers in the area once a week for classes.  It is also a great time for Jennifer to have some fellowship with other home school mothers.

Faith has been experiencing a flare up of seborrhea dermatitis on her scalp, which we have been treating with prayer, a strict candida diet, coconut oil, and frequent washes with a homemade antifungal solution. Since we started the antifungal solution and the anti-fungal candida diet, we have seen some improvement.  Please pray for the Lord to heal her. 

Charity has experienced asthma, as well as lockjaw and other symptoms of TMJ syndrome.  We’ve been praying for her and trusting God to heal her.

Len and Jennifer were able to take a holiday for one night, using rewards points.  It was a relaxing and refreshing time together.  Our translator, Dora (pictured above), watched the children for us while we were away.

Ministry:  At the end of September, Len traveled to Bucharest, Romania to build a relationship with Ioan, a pastor and denominational leader there.  It was a very rough, fifteen-hour train ride.

In Bucharest, Ioan, pronounced "yo-AHN," introduced Len to several other leaders, with whom Len began to establish relationships. These included a pastor in Ploisti, named Gigi, pronounced "JEE-jee" (pictured below).  In addition to his oversight at the church there, he is the director of ethnic ministries for the AoG denoination in Romania.  Another man in Ploisti, whom Len met was Mihail, pronounced "MEE-hi" (pictured below). He manages a Christian radio station, called S.O.S.  Len was part of the station’s sixteenth anniversary celebration, and gave a word of encouragement to him and the church in Ploisti about their important ministry of broadcasting the gospel over the Romanian airwaves.

Ioan, Gigi with his wife, Mihail, Georgeta, Bogdan & Ioana in Ploisti

One person in particular that the Lord connected Len with was a man named Călin (pictured below), whom Len stayed with in Bucharest.  He was assigned by Ioan to be Len's host. While Ioan introduced Călin as a pastor, Călin insists that he is not a pastor, but simply a servant of the Lord.  He is a true man of God. During their time together, they built an enduring friendship and are praying about opportunities the Lord has in store for them in the future.

Len with Călin in Bucharest

Len also preached the Word at Grace Church in Bucharest, where Ioan serves as pastor.  He received some good feedback about the message afterward.

During Len’s time there, Ioan was also hosting a secular group of public school educators from Finland, with whom he is conducting an educational project.  Len had an opportunity to be a witness for the glory of Jesus to these precious people.

On the train, returning from Romania, Len also shared Jesus with a man on the train, named Meil, who is a Jew from Tel Aviv, Israel.  It was a seed planted.  Please pray for Meil to hear and believe the Word of God for what it really is.

We mentioned in our last newsletter that Len loaned the Jesus Film to Ferenc. After watching it in Hungarian, Ferenc had a whole page of questions for Len about it.  It took an hour and a half to go through all of his questions.  And in doing so, Len had the chance to completely share Jesus with him.  Ferenc has been searching the Scriptures to see for himself what they mean.  He is very open and tender to the gospel, but has not yet surrendered his life to Jesus. Please pray that he will do so soon.

Tamás

Len has also shared the film with Tamás (pictured right), and discussed it with him afterward. He had an excellent opportunity to share Jesus with him.  It was another seed planted.  Please pray for Tamás to come to know Christ.


Of course, Len continues to meet with Greg for discipleship, as well as with Barnabás. In addition, Len continues to encourage over forty servant leaders in Eastern Europe and North Africa via the web with things the Lord has been stirring in his heart.  And he's been getting very good feedback on that.

Administrative Needs: We have been making plans for Len to make a trip to the US this fall.  We thought November and December would be the best months to go.  But we are still waiting and watching for open doors.  If you know of a church that would be interested in having him come and share about our ministry, please let us know as soon as possible.

Resources:  Len has recently written a blog called “One Thing”. It’s about where our focus must be placed, and the heart attitude we need, in order to live a simple, happy life. He also wrote one called “Success in God’s Eyes” that discusses keys to godly success, as seen in the lives of some of God’s prophets, who appeared in man's eyes to fail. If you would like to read any others he has written, you can find them at “Writing for the Master.”

In closing, we have much to praise God for, and many opportunities for you to join us in prayer. 

Praise the Lord with us for the many answers to prayer:

1. For our overall health and wellness.
2. For the progress we are making in treating Faith's sebborhea, finally understanding the cause and discovering the proper treatment.
3. For blessing us with a relaxing time away together without the children.
4. For the opportunity to share the gospel with Tamás, Ferenc, and Meil, and the seeds that were planted.
5. For the openness of Ferenc to the gospel.
6. For a safe and healthy trip to Bucharest.
7. For the new relationships Len has established in Romania, especially with Călin, Mihail, and Gigi.

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For the Lord to heal Faith from sebborhea and the underlying yeast infection.
2. For the Lord to heal Charity from asthma, as well as lockjaw and the underlying TMJ problems.
3. For Greg to grow in his walk with the Lord and continue to multiply.
4. For the Lord to reveal Himself to Ferenc and Tamás, the businessmen Len has been training.
5. For the Lord to work in the heart of Meil, the Jewish man with whom Len shared the gospel.
6. For specific direction and open doors concerning Len's possible US trip this fall.
7. For divine appointments wherever we go.  Pray that the Lord would help us make key connections with people all along the way, develop relationships and be a blessing. 
8. For our financial blessing.  That the Lord would continue to raise up partners to help us with special gifts and monthly partners, so that we will be able to focus on the ministry in Eastern Europe and accomplish all that He has put in our hearts to do.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

Love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

There are two ways to donate to Doulos Missions International. You may either send a check or money order by mail or you may donate securely online using e-check or major credit card. 

You may send your tax-deductible check or money order made payable to Doulos Missions International to the following address:

Doulos Missions International
PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

Donate Online

September Update 2011

Greetings from Hungary! It’s time for another update on our progress. 

We’re enjoying a summer-like September with lots of blue skies and sunshine, which is normal for Hungary at this time of year.

Family: The children resumed home school at the beginning of September, so Jennifer is back to teaching. Christopher is in first grade now, but already reads proficiently at a second grade level. He’s been faithful about reading through the gospel of John during the summer break.

Faith has experienced a flare up of seborrhea dermatitis on her scalp, which we have been treating with prayer, dietary changes, moisturizers, and frequent washes. We’re seeing a progressive healing take place, and she is doing much better! It's amazing. Please pray for the Lord to completely heal her.

Len has spent a lot of time at the dentist and that has been going well.  He still needs a lot more work done, including a couple crowns. 

We recently watched the movie, called “Candle in the Dark,” about the life of William Carey, which was excellent. He said, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” His motto was: Begin with prayer, asking God to do great things in your own life and in the lives of others. Then act on those prayers, attempting great things for God as you expect great things from Him. He taught that in order to reach other countries for Christ, we must cooperate, get ourselves organized and plan strategically for these ventures. It was a big encouragement for us in our work here. We’re so grateful for each of you who have chosen to cooperate with us in reaching the nations of Eastern Europe for Christ.

In the summertime in Hungary, everything moves at a very slow pace. Most people are away on vacations, some lasting for as long as four to six weeks. So during the lull, we decided to take a day trip to Lake Balaton (pictured above) in August for the national holiday known as Saint Stephen’s Day. Each year on August 19, everything shuts down for the weekend in honor of the country’s first king. And Lake Balaton is perhaps the largest lake in Europe. People come from all over Europe to visit this area.

It was our first time there, after living here for three years! People kept telling us we should visit it, so we finally did. The day started off well when we got a 90% discount on train tickets, instead of the expected 50% discount. So we paid only fifteen dollars for the whole family to take a two and a half hour train ride! It was a "large family" discount, and really beat driving the van there, burning up all that fuel. It was very beautiful at the lake, and the children got to dip there feet in the water.

Altogether, we spent six hours there in a scenic little town called Tihány. We ran out of time at Lake Balaton and had to rush to get dinner. Without our van, we were on foot, and had to rush to catch some dinner. We ended up at a fast food stand, where we ate burgers, fries and gyros.

In our rush to get back to the train station, so we wouldn't miss our train back to Budapest, we were out of good options. We ended up on an open-air, street trolley on wheels. The driver told us it would only take 10 minutes to get us to within 600 meters of the train station and we could walk from there. But he headed right into a major rain and thunderstorm. As it turned out, he dumped us off far from the train station. The crazy part was that he went right by the train station and didn't stop to drop us off, even though he knew we needed to go there. He then proceeded to meander around town farther and farther away from the train station, and further and further into the dark storm. We ended up stranded at a grocery store in the rain, minutes before our train was scheduled to leave, and no way to get there.

Thankfully we found a young man who spoke English, who got his friend to call a taxi for us. Two taxis came to pick us up at the grocery store in the rain, and then got stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. They pulled some rather unsafe maneuvers, passing, and cutting through gas stations, braking hard once to avoid an accident. Thank God we made it safely to the train station without getting soaked or injured, and caught our train back to Budapest!

Ministry: With most others away on vacation during these past weeks, we have had very little opportunity to meet together. But Len has continued to meet with Greg (pictured below) for discipleship, as well Ferenc (“FER’-ens”) and Tamás (“TAW’-mush”).

Greg

Len also met with Sándor to mediate a contentious matter, and the Lord worked everything out for good. Peace has been restored in that situation, and there is complete reconciliation between the people involved.

The pastor’s daughter, Dora, who is in her mid-twenties, is Len’s translator. You can imagine what a difficult task it was for her to translate in this impartial mediator role for Len in such an emotionally heated situation. Recently, after the Lord resolved this contentious situation within the church, she was speaking to Len about it. She was giving God the glory with such joy and happiness. He asked her if she would put what she said to him into a brief, written testimony that we could share in our newsletter. She gladly agreed to do so and wrote, “Approximately two months ago, a division occurred in the church between one brother and the pastor. Exactly at that time, Len and his family started to come to our church. I felt it was a godly timing. Len saw the seriousness of the issue, and the Lord put on his heart to help us to resolve it. I felt from the beginning that it must be from the Lord, because this could not stay like this among Christians.”

She recounted how she felt in the final meeting Len held with the people involved. “Finally, in the last meeting, which took place, everything turned upside down. During the meeting, I felt the presence of the Lord, and I got so much joy and peace during the whole meeting. In the beginning it seemed impossible to resolve this issue, so for me to see those people speaking without bitterness and pain was a miracle for me. God was working in their hearts. During that meeting, there was forgiveness and reconciliation, and the Lord was there, confirming everything. At the end of the meeting, we all acknowledged that the Lord was leading Len in this situation, and we were so thankful for his obedience to God.”

She then described the reaction in the church meeting, when Sándor announced to everyone what had happened. She said, “Last Saturday, my father announced in the church that they are reconciled, and that this couple is welcome once again in the church. People were shocked in a good way by hearing this news. You could tell that everyone was happy about the news. Everyone was happy, and it felt like a burden was taken away. One lady even said, ‘Finally! This is from the Lord!’ I'm so thankful that the Lord had His way in their lives and in the church.” Praise the Lord! Please join us in giving God the praise for what He has done in the lives of these precious people.

Tamás

We mentioned in our last newsletter that Len loaned the Jesus Film to Ferenc. After watching it in English, he commented, “It is a great film, but at the end it made me sad. Why are people so cruel that kill such a true person? I think life and love should be honored by us.” But he only understood about half of it, so Len found a Hungarian version of the film for him to watch. After he watches it with his wife in their mother tongue, he and Len plan to discuss it. Please pray that the Lord will speak to them through this powerful film, and that the discussion Len has with Ferenc afterward will be used by the Holy Spirit to lead him to Christ.

Len has also shared the film with Tamás (pictured above), and is looking forward to discussing it with him after he watches it.

Zsofi and Barnabás with their son, Miklos

We also mentioned last time that Len met a worship leader at a Baptist church named Barnabás (pictured above). He and Len had been praying about possible training. Len has since begun training Barnabás. The first meeting went very well, and Barnabás had good feedback about it.

Greg’s father, Zsolt, with 
his granddaughter

Len met with David, whom he discipled during our first two years in Hungary.  He is doing very well, attending a university, and engaged to a lovely young lady, named Kati, who loves the Lord.  He is serving the Lord in numerous ways, including worship, preaching, sharing Jesus, and making disciples.  Pray that he will continue to bear much fruit for Christ.

Last month we mentioned that Greg’s father, named Zsolt (pictured to the left), was recovering from back surgery, and some of his muscles weren’t yet working like they should.  Although he still has pain, he has returned to work as a medical doctor, seeing ninety patients a day.  Additionally, while his back is still healing, he has just learned that his pancreas is not functioning.  This is very serious.  Thank you for your prayers for Zsolt.

Administrative Needs: You may have noticed that we're trying out a new blog and format for our newsletter.  The Jesus Reigns site will remain online, as well as the Doulos Missions International site.  If this works out well, we may continue to post our newsletters here.  Feel free to give us your feedback.

We have been making plans for Len to make a trip to the US this fall. Currently it looks as though November and December are the best months to go. But we are prayerfully seeking to be led by the Lord, and watching for open doors. If you know of a church that would be interested in having him come and share about our ministry, please let us know as soon as possible.

Resources: We hope you'll take a moment to check out the side bar of this blog, where you'll find a number of resources including a video, a link to the official DMI website, newsletter archives, how to connect with us on Facebook, and a slideshow featuring the people in Eastern Europe whose lives we have touched, as well as our board and US staff.  You can also subscribe to this blog, in order to receive notifications when it is updated.

Len has recently written a blog called “Candle in the Dark”.  It is about William Carey (1761 – 1834), the father of modern missions, who went to India as a missionary with his wife and children. Through his sacrifice, faith, endurance, and love, he has become an inspiration to us all. Len has also written one called “Hiding Place” about Corrie Ten Boom, who spent time in a prison camp for hiding Jews from the Nazis.  Both of these blogs will encourage you in your walk with God. If you would like to read these or any others he has written, you can find them at “Writing for the Master.”  Additionally, you can now view our past newsletters online here.

In closing, we have much to praise God for, and many opportunities for you to join us in prayer.

Praise the Lord with us for the many answers to prayer:

1. For our overall health and wellness.
2. For the progressive healing of Faith’s scalp.
3. For the way Len’s dental care has been going so far.
4. For blessing us with a relaxing day off as a family in August at the lake.
5. For the good feedback from Barnabás following his first meeting with Len.
6. For the way the Lord brought about reconciliation in the Erd church.
7. For the fruitfulness in David's life.
8. For the good response from Ferenc after viewing the Jesus Film in English.
9. For the good report that Greg’s father, Zsolt, is back to work and healing.

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For complete healing for Faith’s scalp.
2. For Greg and David to grow in his walk with the Lord and continue to multiply. 
3. For Greg’s father, Zsolt to recover completely from back surgery and pancreatic dysfunction.
4. For the Lord to reveal Himself to Ferenc and Tamás, the businessmen Len has been training, so that they would come to know Jesus personally.
5. For the Lord’s help in training Barnabás.
6. For divine direction regarding opportunities to help the pastor in Romania, named Dr. Ceuta.
7. For the Lord to continued to anoint us and lay the foundation in the Erd church. 
8. For divine appointments wherever we go.  Pray that the Lord would help us make key connections with people all along the way, develop relationships and be a blessing. 
9. For our financial blessing.  That the Lord would continue to raise up partners to help us with special gifts and monthly partners, so that we will be able to focus on the ministry in Eastern Europe and accomplish all that He has put in our hearts to do.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

Love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

There are two ways to donate to Doulos Missions International. You may either send a check or money order by mail or you may donate securely online using e-check or major credit card. 
You may send your tax-deductible check or money order made payable to Doulos Missions International to the following address:

Doulos Missions International
PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526
Donate Online