November Update 2016

Greetings from 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 early October, Faith and Charity found out from Charity's pen pal that their essays, which they had written on the topic of sibling relationships, had been published in the fall issue of the King's Blooming Rose (KBR) magazine.

In November, we celebrated Hope's sweet sixteenth birthday. Jennifer baked a delicious, homemade, pumpkin crisp for her. She received some thoughtful birthday cards and several gifts. We also prayed over her, blessing her in this next coming year of her life. ​

In November, Charity also had her oral surgery to remove her four wisdom teeth. They were deeply impacted below the level of the jawbone, so we are very thankful to the Lord that the operation was successful and that her recovery has gone very well.

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.

One of our newest students is a young man in Kenya named Solomon, who came to Christ three years ago. He said, "I got born again after receiving a strong conviction from the Holy Ghost. I was so frustrated and unhappy, which I guess...was occasioned by the dreams I used to have of an angel forcing me to surrender my life to Jesus. Eventually one day in our Christian union service in high school, immediately after the sermon, the preacher led me and others in the words of confession and that was how I subscribed myself into life of salvation." Praise the Lord!

Solomon will begin our three-year training program on December 1st. He said, "I want to enroll in the DTS so that I may learn the mysteries of salvation and Christian teaching which will help me in my walk with Christ." Pray that his training with us will accomplish those goals and bear good fruit that will last.

Sister Sherri in Kenya

Another one of our students named Sherri, who moved back to Kenya from Lebanon a few months ago, has finally found a job to support herself and her son. It is a sales position and she is doing well with it. This is a major answer to prayer, which you have been a part of. As you probably recall, we have been requesting prayer for the Lord's provision of a job for her in our newsletters since she returned to her country last spring. Praise the Lord!

Elsewhere in Nigeria, another student named Deji testified in November to some answers to prayer with regard to his obtaining parental consent to begin courtship with a young lady in his church named Hannah. You may recall in our last newsletter, we reported that Len wrote an article called Finding a Marriage Partner, in response to his request for advice on that topic. Deji says that both sets of parents have given their written consent, so that he and Hannah can now begin their courtship. He had felt led to pursue her after seeking the Lord and receiving definite confirmations. Once he asked her to enter into the relationship and she prayed about it, she also received confirmation from the Lord*. He wrote:

"Dear brother Len, I want to bless the name of the Lord for making the Introduction/Parental consent program a success; my parents and my fiancee's parents have given their consents to our relationship. Praise the Lord!"

Brother Deji in Nigeria

He explained that in Nigeria, the parental consent/introduction is a two-day event or program. The intending groom visits the intending bride's family with gifts to make his intentions known, while the intending bride visits the groom's family on the second day.

He continued, "I also want to bless the name of the Lord for miraculously providing for the program; 24 hours before the program I didn't have a dime, but the Lord provided. In my own wisdom, what He provided won't be enough to meet my need and I was tempted not to honor the Lord with my tithe but by the grace of God I took out my tithe and committed the rest to the Lord. Guess what sir... The rest was enough to meet all my need, help someone with some money and even have left over! It was like the issue of two loaves of bread and five fishes that feed five thousand people. Praise the Lord. In Christ, Deji." Praise the Lord that Deji and Hannah have taken these godly steps toward courtship and received parental consent to move forward.

We also received a praise report in November from another one of our DTS students named Collete in Mali, who wrote:

Sister Collete in Mali

"Dear brother Leonard, I have several testimonies, but I will talk about my daughter Mariam. Here is the testimony: Mariam being from a Muslim background received Christ 4 years ago. After awhile she backslided and got worse. She became very rebellious and impossible to manage."

"Since I started the training [in the DTS], one of my focus prayers was for God to re-arrest her soul. It took prayers and fasting. As I am writing this she is my faithful prayer mate and my [Life Transformation Group] LTG partner. All glory be to the Lord. Remain blessed. Sister Collete." Praise the Lord for what He has done in her daughter Mariam's life.

Finally, another DTS student in Liberia named Tilia has successfully started a Life Transformation Group (LTG), and that is moving forward, so praise the Lord for that, too. There have been so many answers to prayer!

"Lord, You establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished You have done for us." (Is 26:12)

Note: This newsletter initially stated incorrectly that Deji's fiancee heard the audible voice of God. That is what he initially said she told him, but after publishing this newsletter, he said that when he spoke to her about it she clarified that she heard the inner voice of God, not the audible voice.

Resources:  This month we would like to suggest some articles Len has recently written called Seeking Glory from God, Loving Deeply, and Christ the Beginning. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh - November 2016. His 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 the birthday Hope enjoyed with the family. 
2. For the new sales job that Sherri has begun working at in Kenya and that she is doing well with it.
3. For Charity's successful oral surgery and recovery with no infection, dry sockets, or other complications.
4. For the salvation testimony of Solomon in Kenya and his desire to train for discipleship in our DTS.
5. For the parental consent for courtship that Deji and Hannah received, and the Lord's provision for it. 
6. For the radical change the Lord has brought about in Collete's daughter Mariam and that Collete has been able to start an LTG with her. 
7. For helping Tilia in Liberia to start an LTG.
8. For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings. 
9. For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
10. For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For Solomon's DTS training to enable him to learn more about salvation and other Christian truths, and bear good fruit that will last.
2. For the Lord to help all of our DTS students to find LTG partners, particularly Jean Baptiste, David L., Mary, Willie, Emmanuel, Deji, and Nickeshia.
3. For the Lord to assist us with the administration of the Doulos Training School (DTS), as well as develop through it many disciples who multiply disciples.
4. For the Lord to water the seeds we have planted and bring conviction for guilt with regard to sin, righteousness, and the coming judgment in the hearts of those in whom we have planted seeds in our own community, as well as those who oppose us here.
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 heal Len from chronic abdominal and lower back pain, and sciatic trouble.
8. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, including those who would sponsor our students, and for Him to provide for all our needs -- not only ours personally, but also those of the ministry -- as He releases a financial miracle.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

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