Monday, April 14, 2014

April Update 2014

Greetings from warm and sunny North Carolina, where spring has arrived!  We're pleased to share with you what the Lord has been doing in our lives and ministry.

Family: We have been doing well. The first day of spring began with beautiful weather, and it has continued ever since.  We had some periods of seasonal rainfall, but mostly we have had warm, and even hot, summer-like weather.

The children have been enjoying their time playing outdoors in the sun, getting plenty of fresh air.  They've made new friends with an American missionary family based in Thailand that has recently moved in next door to us, and has four children.  They have been exchanging missionary stories with each other and are getting along very well.

Charity had a significant bout recently with asthma, which the Lord healed, and she is fine now.  Faith is dealing with eczema, which we are once again praying for the Lord to heal.

In home school, the children are taking turns each week taking standardized tests, and so far the ones that have taken them have scored well overall.   Christopher scored especially well in spelling and word study skills, which were the subjects where he scored highest, as well as vocabulary.  In fact, his spelling is at a public high school level, even though he is only eight years old. Hope did especially well in language, which was her best subject, as well as listening comprehension.  Of course, there are some areas where they need more work. But praise the Lord they are doing well.
 
More photos.     

We mentioned last month the Russian military movements in Ukraine, and as we have been monitoring this situation, it is hard to get at what is really happening.  There are different media reports, and then there is the truth of the real situation on the ground, but it is obviously very unstable.  This does not bode well for Ukraine and has potential negative implications for Hungary.  We have also been given a report about the recent elections in Hungary, which was very shocking, if it is true. Therefore, we are trying to do our research to find out the truth.

As we publish this newsletter on April 14, 2014, tonight marks the first day of The Blood Moons of 2014 and 2015.  As you know, it begins now on the first day of Passover, and recurs again in October on the first day of Tabernacles.  Then it will be repeated exactly the same way on the first day of those two Jewish Feasts next year.  Those four, consecutive occurrences constitute a tetrad, which has only happened seven times in 2,000 years.  We are excited about the implications of this with regard to our Lord's return.  Regarding prophetic events, an Israeli violinist named Maurice Sklar received a recent prophecy of 21 Events Coming. He gave this prophecy in March, and we suggest you prayerfully discern whether it is from the Lord.

Ministry:  As most of you know, we are currently on furlough, away from the field, praying and seeking the Lord's guidance regarding where to be, and for the provision to fulfill the mission.  Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go” (1 Co 16:16).

This shows that he expected to stay for a while in Corinth, and possibly remain there for the winter.  It also shows that he was desirous of support from the Corinthians, since he said, “you can help me on my journey.” It also shows that he was not sure where he would go next after that, since he said, “Wherever I go.”

This expresses our desire at this time.  We know the Lord is not finished with us, and his calling has not been revoked. But we cannot do it alone, and we need more faith partners who will "help us on our journey, wherever we go."  Len has recently written an article describing the normal ebb and flow of ministry, which helps to describe and explain our current situation.  We hope you will take a few moments to read it at The Ebb and Flow of Ministry for the Lord.

We were very encouraged recently to receive news from one of our faith partners in Connecticut.  While we were traveling through that state last July, we spoke in the home of another couple there that have faithfully  supported us for many years.  They invited a group of people who know us to come and listen to our testimonies from the field.  At the end of our presentation, Len shared about how he uses Life Transformation Groups to make disciples who multiply.  One of the pastors there inquired about it and Len took a few moments to explain it to him further.  Although we didn't know it, that pastor began to implement this approach to discipleship after we left. And we recently heard from our faith partners that there are several people becoming disciples now in that church through Life Transformation Groups that have been formed since our last visit.  Praise the Lord!  To God be the glory!

Please join us in praying for the Lord to open doors of opportunity for us, that we would be fruitful for Christ, and that the Lord would raise up additional partners.  

Resources:  This month we would also like to suggest Len's blogs called, Righteousness by Faith not Law and The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ. Len has also posted some other new articles at Old News That's Still Fresh - April 2014 which we hope you don't miss!  Len's entire collection of his most popular blogs are 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 helping the children with their home school studies and standardized tests.
  2. For healing Charity from her recent bout with asthma.
  3. For the news of people becoming disciples in Connecticut.
Next steps and prayer needs:
  1. For many in Eastern Europe and around the world to be awakened spiritually before it is too late and they perish in their sin.
  2. For the Lord to open new doors of opportunity for ministry for us, and that we would be fruitful.
  3. For the new DMI Infomercial on Youtube and BlogTalkRadio to help raise awareness of this ministry.
  4. For the Lord to further expand the awareness of this ministry throughout the US, and raise up many new faith partners, who will sponsor us.
  5. For our financial blessing.  
Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

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