Thursday, February 14, 2013

February Update 2013

Greetings from the land of the Magyar people!  We’re delighted to give you another update on what the Lord is doing here in Eastern Europe.

Celebrating four years
Family: In January and February, the Lord continued to give Charity, Hope, and Christopher more poems, which they really enjoy writing. They wrote several, and we posted the best ones online, including "America, Turn Back to God" (see here), "Overflowing Blessings" (see here), "Sheep and the Goats" (see here) and "Use Your Talents" (see here).  Their blog, called "Verses to the King" has already received nearly 2,000 page views from some fifteen countries.

In February, we celebrated our sixteenth wedding anniversary and Joseph's fourth birthday. 

Ministry: Last month we mentioned the poor lady with cancer, named Elizabeth, who gave her life to Christ.  In January, during one of our visits to see her and her mother, she testified that the tumor on her neck is getting smaller, and it is no longer causing her any pain like it had been.  However, she said that the tumor on her right abdomen seemed to be growing and the pain from it was keeping her from sleeping.  Even maximum doses of powerful morphine were not enough to stop the pain.  So we laid hands on and prayed for her.  Afterward she said that the Lord had taken the pain away.  Praise the Lord!  Please agree with us in prayer for a complete healing. Her mother also testified that she has not felt any rheumatoid arthritic pain in her back for two weeks, since immediately after she received prayer.  Hallelujah!  Give God all the praise!

Erzsébet, Jennifer, and Len
Shortly after we arrived at Elizabeth's home, Gábor showed up with his wife, Kriszti, so that she could give Elizabeth a haircut.  They were a few hours late for a scheduled cut, but it coincided perfectly with our visit. After singing some worship songs, Len spoke about the baptism with the Holy Spirit.  Afterward, all four Hungarians in the room received the Holy Spirit!  Elizabeth wept and shook when she did, and said later that she felt like she was not even sitting in her seat.  Her mother said that she never found it so easy to speak in another language.  She felt like she could just fly away.  And Kriszti said she felt so happy inside when she received the Holy Spirit.  Praise the Lord! God is so good.

Even Gábor received the Holy Spirit, and earlier during his visit there, he had received a call from his pastor at the Baptist church, named Géza.  Géza called to tell him that they would be having a sending service to commission Gábor and another brother to plant the new church in Tököl that he and Kriszti had started in their home with four other couples from that town.  They will be having their first public meeting at the end of February in a rented building, and we have been invited.  Please pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on that first meeting.  Gábor said he plans to invite Len to preach at a future meeting there.

When we left the home of the Elizabeths, everyone felt that the Lord had arranged for Gábor to come when we were there, so that Len would have a translator to share this important message. They were all filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit, praising and thanking God for the great things He had done.

We would also like to mention that ever since these ladies gave their lives to Jesus, Gábor has been helping to make them into disciples.  So this is another second generation of disciples here, in addition to the ones David V. is producing. Praise the Lord that the little garden here is beginning to multiply.

In February, Elizabeth was admitted to the hospital by ambulance, because there were two liters of water in her right lung that were suffocating her.  That has been resolved, but they have not released her from the hospital. She is back on chemotherapy, which has been extremely torturous for her to undergo. However, the tumors are visibly shrinking.  She was put into a private room, and usually has no other visitors, since her only family is her mother and son, who live too far away. We would appreciate your continued prayers for her.

A couple of men have contacted Len through the internet, asking for help. They are backslidden and want to return to God, but do not believe any more in His mercy for them.  Len has been writing to them to encourage them and point them back to Jesus.  One of them is named Darryl in the US and the other is Denis N in Russia.  Denis had been saved and received the Holy Spirit, but then he went back into the world.  As a result of his sin, he lost his mind and was committed to an institution. He has since been released, but is plagued by terrifying thoughts and feels he is hopeless. He does not feel he can repent. Please pray for him to repent and receive the Lord's mercy and forgiveness.

Edith, Andrew, Len, and Jennifer
We mentioned previously that a Hungarian, medical doctor named Endre ("Andrew") surrendered his life to the Lord, inviting Jesus into his heart.  We have been helping to locate a good church for him to attend in his hometown in Hungary, as well as in England, where he works two weeks at a time each month.  Unfortunately we have no news to report, since he has not been in touch with us.

Gábor has been for follow up visits with the doctors, regarding his kidney.  He has not had any symptoms since he was healed, but the doctors are not taking any chances.  They are planning surgery, based on the images taken prior to his healing.  They say it is a cyst, which must be removed, and the two months it would take to get another image is too long.  They want to operate within the next three weeks without even doing a needle biopsy, which they claim could damage his kidney or produce a false negative result.  Gábor needs wisdom from the Lord at this time to know how to proceed, and that is what we're praying for him.  No weapon that is formed against him shall prosper.

Kriszti and Gábor
Jennifer continues to visit with and build relationship with Rita, the poor, gypsy lady we mentioned last time, as well as her boyfriend.

We count it a joy and a privilege to serve the Lord here in this place that was once (not all that long ago) held captive behind the Soviet communist, iron curtain for fifty years.

Resources:  This month we would also like to encourage you to read  a message about "The New Wine" (see here); a poem that Charity also wrote, called "The Meaning of Life" (see here); Other inspiring, new poems written by our children include "Overflowing Blessings" (see here) and "The Sheep and the Goats" (see here).

As always, Len's entire collection of most popular blogs are at "Writing for the Master" (see here).  We welcome your comments on this newsletter, so feel free to leave those below.

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:
"Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." (Ps 115:1)
  1. For giving sixteen wonderful years of marriage, and four years of life to Joseph.
  2. For the faith of Erzsébet ("Elizabeth") in the midst of her trials.
  3. For baptizing Elizabeth, her mother, Gábor and Kriszti in the Holy Spirit.
  4. For inspiring our children with more poems that are blessing others.
  5. For the open doors of ministry on other continents.
Next steps and prayer needs:
  1. For the Lord to pour out his Spirit on the new church opening in Tököl, and cause it to grow.
  2. For the Lord to reveal Himself to all the non believers in Hungary, whom we have touched, especially Rita the poor, gypsy lady. 
  3. For the Lord to give us wisdom and understanding to know His will in each situation we go through.
  4. For Erzsébet ("Elizabeth") to be completely healed of cancer, and her son István ("Steven") to be saved.
  5. For "Andrew" to grow in his new relationship with Jesus, and for his wife Edith, and daughters to come to Christ also.
  6. For the Lord to further expand the awareness of this ministry throughout the US, Europe, and England, and raise up many new partners.
  7. For the Lord to continue to multiply disciples through Dávid V. and the others in his church. 
  8. For the outpouring of His Holy Spirit here in Diosd to continue to ripple all across Hungary and Eastern Europe.
  9. For the Lord to powerfully anoint and help Len as he meets with pastors, elders, and disciples here in Hungary this winter.
  10. For our financial blessing.  
Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with 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

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