April Update 2016

Greetings from sunny North Carolina in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!  We're pleased to share with you what the Lord has been doing in our lives and ministry.

Family: In April we continued with home school. A few of us have been battling sinus colds, sore throats, and coughs. Right now Christopher and Joseph are recovering, Jennifer is nearly finished with it, and Charity is just starting. We are praying for the Lord to bring healing to each one.

More photos.    

Ministry:  As we continue to administer our discipleship training school (DTS), we'd like to update you on the good things that God is doing with it.

We mentioned last month that in March, one of our board members, Olugbenga (Gbenga) Oladejo, a pastor in England, met with one of our DTS students in Lagos, Nigeria. Brother Gbenga, who is a native of Nigeria, was in that country for over a month for both business and ministry. He experienced many hardships and difficulties during his trip, but the Lord delivered him through them all. In fact, he said he nearly lost his driver, but Jesus took control. He is back home safely in England now with his family once again. We would like to share with you some excerpts from his trip report:

"Beloved Brother Len,
Grace, peace and mercies of our Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied unto you, amen.

I was glad that I obeyed the Lord to visit Nigeria. Nigeria has changed since the last I visited. Things have gone really bad. Spiritually, Nigeria is dying because many people have departed from the Lord and His holiness. What I saw in Nigeria was darkness ruling in churches with many abominations among Christians. First, I noticed ungodly dressings to Sunday services in most churches. Pastors are not bothered about ungodly dresses or holiness. Rather they are preoccupied with making money and getting self recognition...I felt really sad and sorrowful. Pastors have also become prideful and flamboyant as they display riches among the poor."

"There is massive unemployment among young people and Christian youth are included. Many are university graduates and have no jobs for many years after graduation. Many are just wandering about looking for what to do. Armed Robbers are many and Christians are praying daily for work. Many even beg for food."

"I am very grateful for all your prayers for me and the trip. I thank Jesus Christ for escaping armed robbery attack. The robbers cut the bars and possibly used chemicals to make [the other] three men in the house to fall asleep while they robbed. My house was the last house they robbed before they were caught. In the morning, I gathered people to pray for God's mercies for them. A few days after robbery they were caught by the police. They have arrested about 22 people who were part of the gang. I have notified the police that I am not interested in pressing charges against them but they refused to let them go because they have robbed seven other houses. The sad news is that I understand that the police are planning to kill three of the robbers without trials, because they think they are notorious. This is what people are saying and I don't know if that is true or going to happen. I have prayed for all of them and asked the Lord not to let them die."

"There are more updates coming. God bless you. Brother Gbenga."

Praise the Lord for protecting brother Gbenga through all of this and bringing him back home safely. We praise the Lord also for giving him the heart of Jesus for his enemies. This is consistent with the kind of character he has demonstrated since we have known him. Not only does he love the brethren, but he also loves his enemies. Glory to God. We are thankful to have him on our board.

The three DTS students in Lagos, Nigeria continue to meet together for discipleship. They are also prayerfully considering employment with Brother Gbenga, doing sales and marketing of his new product. In England he has built a software system called SAMS that will facilitate schools in Africa with the administration of their programs. Not only will this fill a great need for the private schools in Nigeria and other developing African nations, but it will also provide employment for Christians who market and sell the product to schools there. Praise the Lord for giving brother Gbenga the wisdom to develop this product. Let's prayerfully support the three brothers in Lagos, as they seek the Lord for direction and take steps of faith to generate much-needed income.

Sherry in Lebanon is prepared to return in May with her son to their home country of Kenya, Africa, following a long-term employment contract she is about to complete successfully in the Middle East. She will be very glad to be back home, and is eager to begin a Christian reading room ministry where she hopes to have Bibles and other edifying Christian literature for the people in her village to come and read.

Dina in England has found an LTG partner to meet with for discipleship. Praise the Lord for that, because the LTG is a critical component of our program. Her LTG buddy will also be applying for enrollment in the DTS for the next quarter that begins in June. Dina has also shared about the DTS with her pastor, Bamidele, who has since applied for enrollment and been accepted for next quarter.  So by the grace of God, the school continues to experience the slow and steady growth of the kingdom. To God be all the glory.

We continue to minister to the DTS students, as they have needs, and to others whom the Lord brings to us for help from various places around the world, often with very serious and urgent needs. One of them was a lady named Michelle, who identified herself as a newborn Christian, who reached out to us for help getting her many questions answered. Afterward, she said, "Thank you thank you thank you!  I am really blessed to have been led to your website.  Thank you for responding so quickly." Praise the Lord. Please pray for her as Jennifer follows up with her by phone to provide counseling and guidance to help her become a disciple.

We continue to see traffic to Len's blogs from all over the world, and on some blogs the traffic is quite heavy as usual. But one encouraging observation we would like to share is that this week the number-one nation visiting Len's blog about making disciples, called "Be Fruitful and Multiply," is a restricted, Arab nation in the Middle East. That nation happens to be about 92% Muslim, and Christians there are under strict surveillance, including where they go on the internet. Even meeting together in homes for worship is forbidden. Those caught doing so can be severely punished with beatings and imprisonment. The number-one articles they are reading on that particular blog right now are Being a Witness for Christ, Multiplication, and The Sin of Silence. Praise the Lord for that! This is just one example of how this ministry is reaching unreached people for Christ with the gospel.

"Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." (Ps 115:1)

Resources:  This month we would like to suggest some articles Len has recently written called The End Time Plagues, Wars and Rumors of Wars, The Land Mourns in the Last Days, and Thy Kingdom Come. All of Len's latest articles are available at Old News That's Still Fresh - April 2016. 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 protecting brother Gbenga on his Nigeria trip and the new product he has built that will bless others.
2. For enabling Dina in England to find an LTG partner to meet with for discipleship.
3. For the acceptance into the DTS of brother Bamidele, the pastor in England who will begin next quarter.
4. For enabling us to be non-residential missionaries conducting Special Ministries.
5. For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
6. For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.
7. For the words of encouragement we have received from the people being touched. 

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For the Lord to heal Len from lower spine and sciatic trouble, causing chronic pain. 
2. For the Lord to assist us with the administration of the Doulos Training School (DTS), as well as develop through it many disciples who make disciples, resulting in multiplication for His glory. And for the Lord to help each one of them to find an LTG partner to meet with for discipleship, which is crucial.
3. For the Lord to help Jennifer as she disciples Michelle and that He would bring about spiritual growth in this woman's life, as she seeks the Lord.
4. For the Lord to place military people in our path who are ready for the gospel, and who will later be used by the Lord to reach many others for Christ here and in the uttermost parts of the earth.
5. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
6. For the Lord to send His angels with Len’s written messages to those who need them, and for an open heaven over them when they receive his messages. 
7. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, including those who would sponsors our students, and to provide for all our needs -- not only ours personally, but also those of the ministry. For the Lord to provide the necessary financial miracles for us, so that this important ministry may continue.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

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PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

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