December Update 2018

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!  We're pleased to share with you the wonderful things the Lord has been doing in our lives and ministry.

The Family at Thanksgiving Dinner 2018

Family: In November, we celebrated Thanksgiving together with turkey and fixings, as well as delicious deserts. We had so much to be thankful to God for, and we verbally expressed our thanks to Him together in prayer around the table.

We mentioned last month that we were having numerous issues with the installation of our new central heating and cooling system, that included two system freeze overs, in which the system literally froze up with ice and stopped working properly. At our request they replaced the heat pump under warranty, and took care of most of the other issues, so we trust that we can now put that behind us and move on. We also mentioned last month that we had flooding through a hole in our foundation. By the grace of God, we finally got that repaired. It's nice to have those things behind us now.

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. By the grace of God, we currently have disciples in four nations including Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, and Mali.

Brother Daniel in Nigeria

In November, Len received a comment on his article You Must Be Born Again from a twenty-three year old man named Daniel in Nigeria, who wrote:

"I believe in Jesus, He died for me on the cross of Calvary. I repent from all my sins today. From now on, only Jesus Christ will be my Saviour. I believe." He went on to say, "I actually want to register [for the DTS]; I am interested, [because] I want to know more about coming of Christ and how to preach gospel. Mrs Collete Toure introduced me to it."

He testified how he actually came to know Christ earlier this year: "Actually as I was sleeping one morning, someone was preaching in the street, saying, 'Repent for the kingdom of God is near.' The voice of that person touched my heart. My heart was troubled. I also had a friend that had just gotten saved at that time, and he was preaching to me too. I was afraid of the coming of Jesus Christ, so I called him and explained to him [what was happening]. I told him that I needed Jesus in my life and I was coming to their church. On Sunday we went to church, and after the service I gave my life to Christ. He prayed for [me] and I got baptized."

Praise the Lord that this man has come to know Jesus as His Savior. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and through the preaching of it, the Lord was able to wake this man up both from his natural sleep and especially spiritually. When Len checked with sister Collete, one of our students in Mali, Africa, to find out more from her about how he decided to contact us, she replied humbly:

Sister Collete in Mali

"Dear brother Leonard,

It is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. It all happened like this. In Africa we have what is called Christian Whatsapp groups for evangelization, encouragement, teachings and testimonies, prayers, and all that concerns Christians, preparing us for the Lord's second coming.

I am involved with several groups. It so happens that Daniel is in one of the groups. Due to my contributions, thanks to the vast knowledge on various topics gained from Doulos Training School, [the Lord] enabled me to be an asset to the group.

It was from this forum that Daniel spotted me and wrote to me that he would like to have more knowledge about Christian life and to grow in the spirit. Well, I introduced him to the school, because I know he will gain more and become a good disciple of Christ.

As I said before this was just from God, because I have talked with several brothers and sisters about the school, but none of them has ever shown interest.

I give God all the glory.

Stay blessed.

Sister Collete"

We give all the glory to God for brother Daniel's life and salvation, and the way He used sister Collete to edify and encourage him, as well as to direct him to our training school, where he can learn to become a disciple. He did enroll in our DTS on Thanksgiving Day and stated that his reason for doing so is, "I want to learn more about Jesus Christ, and how to preach the gospel." Praise the Lord.

Afterward Len connected brother Daniel with brother Deji, since they both reside in Lagos, Nigeria. Let's pray that he will learn more about Jesus and how to preach the gospel.

Brother Geoffrey in Kenya

Daniel has since referred two other people to our DTS, brother Joshua in Ghana and brother Geoffrey in Kenya. When Geoffrey applied for enrollment into our DTS in November, he gave the following testimony of his salvation:

"I was led to the Lord after a twelve-year struggle with addiction, by a pastor who was helping me to overcome alcoholism. Initially, and like it is with all addicts, I had tried all I could to get out of a self-destructive, sinful lifestyle. This being my fourth year of being dry, and walking with the Lord, I received a call for serving and reaching out to others who are still burdened with the yoke of addiction. Due to lack of funds, DTS is ideal, as I can pursue the knowledge of God without the limitations that lack of finances can afford. It's also ideal, as through the Life Transformation Group [LTG], something good can be birthed and nurtured into a fellowship that can be fruitful for the Lord."

Praise the Lord for saving Geoffrey and delivering him from alcohol addiction! What a wonderful testimony of God's power! And we're so pleased to be able to offer him the DTS training free of charge, in order to help him grow in his knowledge of God. As you can see from his reason for enrolling and his comments about LTGs, he's already caught our vision of multiplying disciples. Let's pray the Lord helps him grow spiritually and births something good through him that can be nurtured into a fruitful fellowship in Kenya.

More DTS Testimonies

Len received an email from one of our students in Uganda named Grace. He is a pastor who is having challenges paying his rent, so he accepted an invitation from a sister from his church, who offered him and his family a place to stay. He is now there, but facing transportation challenges. He wrote:

Brother Grace in Uganda

"Praise the Lord, dear brother Len. I am staying with my wife and our five children together in this new place. The challenge is to walk to church almost daily for six kilometres [3.7 miles]. My wife Dina is weak, since she has been sickly from her youth. We are praying for transportation and our own house.

Blessings."

Praise the Lord for the provision of a temporary place to stay. Let's pray the Lord would provide brother Grace and his family with their own house and a vehicle to use for transportation.

Len also received an email from another pastor in Uganda who is also in our DTS, named brother Charles. He stated:

"Greetings From Uganda.

Brother Charles in Uganda

I am very grateful that the Lord made it possible for me to be able to join this training program. I would like to let you know that it has not only widened my understanding in the Word of God, but has also helped me apply the word of God in my day-to-day life and made the Pastoral work easier. I am very optimistic that the next courses will be more impactful.

My regards to the family and partners of Doulos Training School. Let them know that every little support they are giving materially, emotionally, spiritually and financially to make God's word available is being recorded and God will reward each person accordingly.

Thank You Very Much For Continuous Service to Empower and disciple Christian leaders.

Pr Charles L Okello"

DTS Photo Album.

Len sent out his monthly edition of Old News That's Still Fresh in December to pastors, elders, and laborers in the harvest in the US, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

In December, he received the following response from sister Collete (pictured above), who receives the Old News That's Still Fresh each month. She wrote:

"Dear brother Leonard,

First may I start by thanking God for keeping us all as students of Doulos [Training] School and our families to enter the month of December. It has been a challenge to most of us, but the grace of God has carried and been sufficient for us.  I especially thank God for your family for the strength and anointing that has sustained you to continue with the school program, as well as the Writing for the Master blog. All glory be to Him alone.

Thank you for the Old News That's Still Fresh - December edition. May the Lord forever replenish those hands and strengthen them to continue serving him.

Forever stay blessed.

Sister Collete"

Brother Deji in Nigeria

As sister Collete mentioned, the DTS training is a challenge for most of our students. This is evidenced by the fact that we have just as many former students, who were once in our training and did not finish, as we do students who are currently enrolled. Sister Collete is now in her second-to-last quarter and is due to finish her training on May 31, 2019. Meanwhile, our very first student, Deji in Nigeria, who began his training with us in August 2015 is now beginning his final quarter, which ends on February 28, 2019. Please pray that the Lord will help all of our students with their training, and especially help sister Collete and brother Deji to complete their training as planned.

Our sister Sherry in Kenya, who is now beginning her third year of DTS training, is encountering some major challenges, as things are "a bit tight," but she is pressing onward and trusting the Lord for a miracle. Let's agree in prayer for her miracle.

Although we are not based overseas any more, we are still missionaries and still need your financial and prayer support of our ministry. Please pray and ask the Father if He would have you give.

Resources:  This month we would like to suggest some articles Len has recently written called Serving Within Your Sphere and Keep Your Lamp Burning. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- December 2018. 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 blessing us with a wonderful Thanksgiving Day celebration together as a family.
2. For helping us finally get the issues with our central heating and cooling system resolved.
3. For helping us get the hole in our foundation repaired.
4. For what the Lord is doing through sister Collete's life there in Africa through the DTS training she has received from us.
5. For the way He brought brother Daniel to Christ earlier this year and leading him to enroll in our DTS.
6. For the testimony of brother Geoffrey's salvation and deliverance from alcohol, and for using brother Daniel to bring him to our DTS.
7. For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings. 
8. For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
9. For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For the Lord to heal Jennifer from chronic pain and limited range of motion in her right arm (adhesive encapsulitis in her shoulder). 
2. For the Lord to heal Len's lower back and sciatic pain.
3. For the Lord to heal Faith and Len from eczema.
4. For the Lord to continue using sister Collete for His glory through the Christian social media groups she participates in.
5. For the Lord to help brother Daniel as he begins his training in our DTS, so that he may learn more about Jesus Christ, and how to preach the gospel.
6. For the Lord to help brother Geoffrey to grow spiritually and birth something good through him that can be nurtured into a fruitful fellowship in Kenya.
7. For the Lord to grant a miracle to our sister Sherry in Kenya.
8. For the Lord to provide brother Grace and his family with their own house and a vehicle to use for transportation.
9. 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. 
10. For the Lord to help all of our DTS students to find LTG partners (another Christian to meet with weekly for discipleship in a Life Transformation Group). 
11. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.

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

Donate Online

November Update 2018

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!  We're pleased to share with you the amazing things the Lord has been doing in our lives and ministry.

Hope on her 18th bithday

Family: In November, we celebrated Hope's eighteenth birthday with delicious, homemade pumpkin cake, cards, gifts, and prayer. A few days later, Hope got out and voted for the first time in the November elections.

Last month we reported that Charity's arm had been injured and she was experiencing pain and numbness. We are pleased to report that it has improved significantly and she returned to work in October after three weeks of leave. While Charity did not pass her first road test on October 18th, she took it again on November 8th and passed! Praise the Lord!

In October we reported that mold was discovered inside our air handler (photos here), which is the main compartment in the basement that supplies air to the entire home. We took a mold sample and sent it for testing. When we received the results back, we found out that the type of mold in our system is not particularly dangerous, but mainly causes allergies, which is what we had been experiencing when we were using the system. We are grateful that we had the system replaced in October, which was a huge and very expensive project. The new system installation was not without many issues and complications. In fact, as we publish this newsletter, the system has completely failed and cannot heat our home. It is 39 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and we are awaiting a service call in four to five hours. We trust that whatever the issue is will be fixed. On a positive note, we are already feeling better since the mold was removed. Praise the Lord.

We also mentioned last month that we had flooding through a hole in our foundation. Unfortunately with all that has been going on with the heating and air system, we still haven't gotten that repaired.

Ken Boone (Mr. Nick) of We Kids Radio

One of our prayer partners for this ministry, who has been a great encouragement to us as a family, and who has helped to pray us through many trials, is now going through a major trial of his own and needs our help. His name is Ken Boone, and he is affectionately known by thousands of people on his We Kids Radio program as Mr. Nick. In November, a wildfire destroyed his home town of Paradise, CA., including Mr. Nick's own home.  By the grace of God, he escaped alive! In order to help him rebuild and get back on his feet so he can continue serving the Lord in his ministry, we have started a Go Fund Me campaign called Help Mr. Nick of We Kids to Rebuild. Please pray for him and his family and consider giving to this emergency fund that we have set up for him.

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. By the grace of God, we currently have twenty disciples in six nations including Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Mali, India, and now Rwanda. Altogether these students speak a total of seventeen different languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, Igbo, Idoma, Hausa, Teso, Yoruba, Bette, French, Kiswahili, Lubukusu, Ngakarimojong, Bambara, Luo and Gishu. All of them speak English.

John in Nigeria

In November, Len received a testimony by email from one of our students in Nigeria named brother John. He stated in part:

"Greetings to you and your family in Christ and my follow brothers in faith. By the grace of the Almighty God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord I thank my God for DTS;  I want to make it as plain as possible to avoid any addition of what I have not achieved yet. My testimony is part of my appreciation to DTS and my sincere gratitude to the Lord's servant in the person of Bro. Len and his family. In fact, through DTS, I have come to the level of understanding of scripture as to what is expected of a disciple. What I have learnt in this series is as important and vital as life to me as it has quickened me spiritually even though I'm still in the process of growth. I can't count my testimonies,but the most significant one is that I am trying hard to keep the Sundays holy by keeping myself off from work of my own that may benefit me...My spirit has become willing to obey...though I'm still in the process of repenting and by the Grace of God, He will perfect it in my life.

DTS has also inspired me to love the undiluted word of God whenever it is preached...I wish to use this opportunity to ask for prayers from the readers and DTS family for myself; please help me and pray to God to perfect His  word in my life and to fulfill His own purpose and plan for me."

Praise the Lord for what He is doing in brother John's life there in Nigeria through his DTS training. Let's pray as he asked us to, that the Lord would help him to obey His Word, perfect His love in Him, and fulfill His plans and purposes for John.

More DTS Testimonies

In October, Len received a couple emails from a pastor in India named Joseph Matcha, who found Len's blogs while browsing the internet. He stated:

Joseph and Sony Matcha in India

"Hello sir,

Greetings in Jesus name. Thank you for your boldness and obedience in bringing the truth from His Word...many are wrongly interpreting the Bible according to their tastes, culture; the Word of God is being compromised.

In this evil age,  I thankful to God for raising His fearless servants who preach boldly in the face of wickedness and crookedness...

I was just browsing [the] internet when I came across your website and I was reading your blogs....as the world is consumed with the prosperity gospel, it is so important for the truth to be known.

I would love to enroll in your [DTS] program, but I have limited internet access, and my ministry is based in villages and rural areas, [to which] I constantly travel to preach gospel.

Please pray for my ministry...I have a burning desire for my people who are perishing in following false gods and goddesses. In India we have 3 million gods. Our ministry is touching people who are ignorant, blind, and are indulged in all evil practices (i. e.. witchcraft, idol worship, sacrifices of animals, and pagan worship).

God bless you sir,  keep continuing, praying for you...

Blessings,

Pastor Joseph Matcha"

Praise the Lord for the way He is touching this Indian pastor on the other side of the world through our ministry. Let's pray that the Lord would help him reach those who are perishing, following false gods and worshiping idols.

Another person commented on Len's article called The Afflictions of the Righteous and said, "Excellent Teaching, Indeed. God Bless You."

Another person commented on his article called What Does the Bible Say About Vaccines?, and said, "Very well written and insightful piece! Thank you for such a wonderful resource. I was injured by vaccines and other pharmaceutical abominations as a child and have since found Christ and have chosen to abstain from vaccinations for our children. My 4 year old is the brightest and healthiest child I know. God made our bodies perfect and our capabilities are miraculous through Christ. God bless you for sharing your wonderful research!"

Praise the Lord for the way He has touched these people's lives through our ministry.

DTS Photo Album.

Deji and Hannah, newlyweds in Nigeria

Last month we reported that two of our students in Nigeria, Deji and Hannah, got married. Since then Len has received more wedding photos from the love birds, which we would like to share with you here at this link.

Len sent out his monthly edition of Old News That's Still Fresh in November to pastors, elders, and laborers in the harvest in the US, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Although we are not based overseas any more, we are still missionaries and still need your financial and prayer support of our ministry. Please pray and ask the Father if He would have you give.

"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 Ironies Between Jesus and Barabbas and There's No One Like the Lord. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- November 2018. 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 allowing us to celebrate Hope's 18th birthday.
2. For helping us get rid of the old, moldy central heating and cooling system and get a new one installed.
3. For helping Charity obtain her driver's license.
4. For the improvement in Charity's arm.
5. For helping our prayer partner Ken Boone ("Mr. Nick") to escape alive from the fire in Paradise.
6. For what the Lord is doing in brother John's life there in Nigeria through his DTS training.
7. For the way He is touching the Indian pastor Joseph Matcha through our ministry. 
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 the Lord to heal Jennifer from chronic pain and limited range of motion in her right arm (adhesive encapsulitis in her shoulder). 
2. For the Lord to heal Len's lower back and sciatic pain.
3. For the Lord to heal Faith and Len from eczema.
4. For the Lord to provide financially for this new central air conditioning system, and help us get all the remaining issues resolved that happened with the installation.
5. For the Lord to help us get the hole in the foundation repaired.
6. For the Lord to help brother John in Nigeria to obey His Word, perfect His love in Him, and fulfill His plans and purposes for him.
7. For the Lord to help Joseph Matcha the Indian pastor to reach those who are perishing, following false gods and worshiping idols.
8. For the Lord to help Ken Boone rebuild following the destruction of his home and home town.
9. 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. 
10. For the Lord to help all of our DTS students to find LTG partners (another Christian to meet with weekly for discipleship in a Life Transformation Group). 
11. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
12. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, 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

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 2018 Update

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!  We're pleased to share with you the amazing things the Lord has been doing in our lives and ministry.

Jennifer on her birthday

Family: In October we celebrated Jennifer's birthday with prayer, cards, gifts, and delicious, homemade apple crisp that the girls made for her. It was ten years ago on her birthday that we arrived on the mission field in Hungary for the first time as a family, and we have already been back in the States for five years now. Time sure flies! We are praying for her healing from some health issues that include severe chronic pain and dysfunction in her body, especially her neck, shoulder, and arm, which has a substantially reduced range of motion, as well as pain in various other places like her wrists and hips. She believes it is coming from her neck and is receiving chiropractic care, but it is not better yet. Please pray for her healing.

Charity is planning to take her road test in order to finally obtain her driver's license on Thursday, October 18th, so we are praying she will pass and trust that she will do so. She has experienced a work-related, repetitive motion injury to her wrist and forearm, which has led to the need for her to take medical leave from her job for a few weeks. We have been praying for the Lord to heal her completely and would appreciate it if you could join us in that. We have finally begun to see some relief for her most recently, and are trusting the Lord to complete what He started. On a separate note, Hope registered to vote for the upcoming elections next month, since she will then be eighteen.

In October during a routine service call on our central air conditioning system, mold was discovered inside the air handler (photos here), which is the main compartment in the basement that supplies air to the entire home. It is covered with white mold inside, and since there are soft materials like insulation inside, it cannot be properly sanitized in a way that would be safe for the family. Based on some tell-tale signs we noticed a year ago, we surmise that the mold began growing in there at that time, following a water leak inside the unit, and we've been breathing it since then.

So we realized that it is a total equipment loss, and we've been having three different companies give us estimates on a new system. It is going to cost us around $16,000, depending on which company we go with. Meanwhile we are without heating and cooling, and we have no way to dehumidify our home. So we are running a space heater meant for a single room, as well as using the oven, in order to try and warm the home.

Two of the companies would not be able to schedule an installation of the new system sooner than the end of October or early November. But one company can do it sooner, possibly within one week after we make our decision to accept their proposal, so we are trying to finalize our decision as quickly as possible. Obviously for a decision this big, we want to be sure and make the right choice, so we have been praying and doing a lot of reading to inform ourselves about the various options. This discovery of mold also explains some chronic health issues that we, especially Len, have been experiencing. Unfortunately we won't be replacing all the ventilation ducts throughout the home, which may also contain mold that was blown into them by the air handler, so we will need the Lord to purify them. Please pray the Lord would provide financially for this new system, give us wisdom to make the best choice, enable us to get it installed as soon as possible, and allow the installation to go very smoothly with no new issues along the way.

While we were dealing with all of this, we also experienced flooding in our basement when the hurricane blew through here. The water outside our garage door and basement door was several inches high, the storm drains were backed up, and the water was pouring into the basement through a hole the size of a nickel in the foundation. Additionally there was water pouring in from under the walls of the foundation in almost all directions (see photos). Once we discovered it, we began using the wet vac to clean up the water, and we managed to make only about five trips outside to empty out the vacuum bucket each time it became filled. It was like bailing water in a boat with a hole in the bottom. Outside the rain was coming down in torrents and was blowing sideways in the strong winds. Then before we could finish the job, we lost our power and had to wait a few hours before we could finish the fairly significant cleanup job once the power was restored. The down side is that we have to repair the hole that is still there; plus we probably have water and possibly mold in the hollow-block foundation in the areas around the basement where seepage occurred. However, we can thank the Lord that it wasn't worse, and we had a good "team-building" experience bailing water together.

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. By the grace of God, we currently have twenty-one disciples in six nations including Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Mali, India, and now Rwanda. Altogether these students speak a total of seventeen different languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, Igbo, Idoma, Hausa, Teso, Yoruba, Darkarchi, Bette, French, Kiswahili, Lubukusu, Ngakarimojong, Bambara, Luo and Gishu. All of them speak English.

Herbert in Uganda

In September after sending our last newsletter with our testimony about how God diverted the hurricane away from us, brother Herbert who is one of our DTS students in Uganda wrote to Len:

"Prayer moves a mountain. God is Power and great. I was touched by your testimony and God's perfection for Hurricane Florence to behave basing on your prayers. This is a life testimony.

May God continue using you to inspire and encourage us. With your encouragement and training I shall never be the same. I am 40 years old now, but I yearn one time to stand before the people and preach His word. God bless you."

Praise the Lord! With the Lord's help and some training, brother Herbert will surely preach the Word. Amen.

We also received an email in September from brother Charles, who is a pastor and one of our students in Uganda. He wrote:

"Praise the Lord brother Leonard.

I hope you are doing well and the family. I am very very sorry that I could not communicate with you for the last few weeks.

Charles in Uganda

I had written an email to you before leaving and I thought it had reached you, but am sorry that it did not go through. I had actually gone to my home village (Country Home) about 215 Kilometers away from where I do ministry work. I had gone to check on the farm and supervise some work there. It's unfortunate that I had no internet connection and there is no electricity to aid the same...You have acted as a good team leader for purposes of accountability.

I would like you to know that I am very grateful for this opportunity to enhance my Bible knowledge and application. I must say that I have been greatly blessed by each of the course units, and when leaving for the village I printed a hard copy of some of the [First Quarter courses], including a few for the Second Quarter -- (Christology I and Foundations II).

I also would like to certify and affirm that I have completed the [First Year First Quarter] coursework."

Praise the Lord that despite his being out in the country without power or internet access, he still managed to finish the DTS coursework for the quarter and begin his second quarter. What a great testimony!

DTS Photo Album.

Len received the following testimony from brother Grace in Uganda, who is a pastor in Kampala:

Grace in Uganda

"Praise the Lord, brother Len! This training has greatly changed my life in that I'm getting to know many things that have been a mystery to me.

First I want to testify of how the Holy Spirit visited me in a dream in a bodily form. He came being accompanied by another very glorious person that looked to be taller than him [apparently an angel], but both were very glorious, very nice looking. Their attire was shining like sun rays; it cannot be equaled with any beauty and cannot be described. The words I heard deep inside me were: 'This is the Holy Spirit.' Both came very close to me, and in the dream I saw the reality of the Holy Spirit together with this other very glorious creature. They were too swift, and this happened just before I had an encounter with a member of [a sect known as] 'The End Time Message,' which falsely claims that Jesus and the Holy Spirit do not exist, since there is only one God (i.e., they deny the Trinity).

Secondly, the Lord's Day has been and continues to be a subject of contention among different groups. I'm in a better standing now, as I fully now know Sunday to be the Lord's Day. Moreover I used to use it for my own pleasure: outings, parties, (various) occasions, shopping, etc. From this teaching about keeping the Sabbath day holy, I have felt much relief. I have no more guilt, and I have peace in my heart as I now honour the Lord's Day fully, according to Scripture. Glory be to the Lord! I will speak about it everywhere. I am receiving more enlightenment from the Lord, as I continue my training with the DTS!

Blessings,

Grace Okurut."

Praise the Lord for the wonderful things He is doing in this pastor's life. As Peter the apostle explained on the day of Pentecost, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." (Ac 2:16-17, NIV). This is that! And the Lord is not only revealing Himself more to brother Grace through this particular dream, but He is also giving him better understanding of what pleases Him, including keeping Sundays holy. While this may seem foreign to many people in the Church today, as brother Grace alluded to, it was well understood and practiced by perhaps most sincere disciples, including many famous Christians, a little over a hundred years ago. We're grateful for the way the Lord is using our DTS training to make a positive impact on brother Grace and the lives of those whom he touches.

Wedding Update

Deji and Hannah as newly weds

In our September update, we reported that our first student Deji in Nigeria, (who began training with us in August 2015 and has only two quarters left of his final year), had set an October 2018 wedding date to marry his fiancée Hannah, who is also a DTS student. We are pleased to announce they did tie the knot on October 12th and 13th with a legal marriage ceremony on the first day and spiritual ceremony the next day (see wedding photos). Here is what they both wrote to us together the day after their wedding:

"Dear Brother Len,

Great things the Lord has done for us! We are married now exactly 3 years [from the day] that our paths crossed. The Lord is so wonderful to us. He provided for our wedding; we saw divine provision that were just right on time. My wife was just telling me today how God used people to donate generously to her parents, and we just give glory to God for His mercies.

I am particularly glad that the Lord granted my wish and gave me a wife with whom I can serve Him, Glory to God!

For me, Hannah, I am grateful to God for directing our path to each other. I am also happy because God that has brought us together will help us to build a CHRISTIAN HOME in Jesus name, AMEN!!!

He has given us a prophetic word that we shall be like Aquila and Priscilla and we are holding on to this. Though we look like a far cry of the picture painted by the Word of God about this couple, we have confidence that He will work in us to will and to do according to His will, finishing the good work He Himself has started and perfecting it.

We both wrote this email. The Lord bless you,

With love in Christ,

Ayodeji and Hannah"

Hallelujah! What a wonderful testimony! The presence of the Lord is upon it. Their wedding photos were lovely, too. Praise the Lord for the way He provided and finally brought them together. The Lord has bound them together as one with cords that cannot be broken, and they are now one flesh (Eph 5:31). He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord, so Deji has found a good thing and the Lord will grant them favor (Pr 18:22). Let's pray that special blessings will come upon them from on high, both now during their honeymoon and afterward as they build a peaceful, loving Christian home together.

More DTS Testimonies

Len sent out his monthly edition of Old News That's Still Fresh in October to pastors, elders, and laborers in the harvest in the US, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Although we are not based overseas any more, we are still missionaries and still need your financial and prayer support of our ministry. Please pray and ask the Father if He would have you give.

"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 David, a Man After God's Own Heart, No Turning Back, Living on Earth as They Do in Heaven, and The Truth About Hillsong. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- October 2018. 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 allowing us to celebrate Jennifer's birthday and giving us a beautiful day for it.
2. For helping us get the water out of our basement and that it wasn't worse.
3. For helping us discover the source of the mold-related chronic illnesses in our home.
4. For providing for brother Deji and sister Hannah, and enabling them to finally get married.
5. For the amazing things that brother Grace has been experiencing through the power of God as he continues with his DTS training.
6. For what the Lord is doing in brother Herbert's life through the DTS training.
7. For the wonderful testimony of brother Charles.
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 the Lord to heal Jennifer from severe chronic pain and limited range of motion in her right arm. 
2. For the Lord to heal Len's lower back and sciatic pain.
3. For the Lord to heal Faith and Len from eczema.
4. For the Lord to provide financially for this new central air conditioning system, give us wisdom to make the best choice, enable us to get it installed as soon as possible, and allow the installation to go very smoothly with no new issues along the way.
5. For the Lord to help us get the hole in the foundation repaired, and that he would remove what appears to be mold on the inside of our foundation in the basement due to long-term water seepage.
6. For the Lord to help Charity pass her driver's license road test on October 18th.
7. For the Lord to release special blessings from on high upon brother Deji and sister Hannah, both now during their honeymoon and afterward as they build a Christian home together, and also that the prophecy about them having a ministry like Priscilla and Aquila would come to pass in the Lord's timing.
8. For the Lord to prepare brother Herbert to preach the Word. 
9. 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. 
10. For the Lord to help all of our DTS students to find LTG partners (another Christian to meet with weekly for discipleship in a Life Transformation Group). 
11. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
12. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, 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

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

September Update 2018

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!  We're pleased to share with you the amazing things the Lord has been doing in our lives and ministry.  

Charity

Family: In August the children finished their summer vacation and resumed their home school studies. Hope is now a senior in high school, Faith is a sophomore, Christopher is in eighth grade, and Joseph is in third. Charity continues to work at Chick-fil-A, and the Lord has blessed her with both a much-needed pay raise and more hours. She recently marked her one year anniversary of working there, and has also been encouraged to become a Trainer, which she is prayerfully considering. Please pray that if it is the Lord's will, she will take advantage of that opportunity.

In September, we learned from the news that a category four hurricane named Florence with a diameter of five hundred miles was heading for our state, and the governor declared a state of emergency in advance of the storm. The weather service was calling it "unprecedented" and our home was in the predicted path that the hurricane was expected to take. The meteorologists were saying it was going to be the storm of a lifetime, which was echoed by President Trump and our governor. So we prayed and asked our praying friends to pray along with us for a dome of protection over us and our property. We spoke to the storm in the name of Jesus Christ and commanded it to turn away. We also forbade it from doing any damage on our property.

Then something amazing happened. The storm diminished in power to a category two hurricane as the wind speeds within it decreased. And instead of heading inland toward us, Hurricane Florence tracked southwestward toward South Carolina. Weather Channel meteorologist Greg Postel said. "I've never seen anything like this."  That's because it's supernatural! By the time it made landfall on the coast it had downgraded to a dangerous Category One hurricane with life-threatening winds. The storm is now expected to make a circuitous route in a hook-like fashion, completely skirting around our region's dome of divine protection (pictured left), weakening to a tropical depression by the time it passes by us, and only dropping about five to eight inches of rain here locally where we live.

As this newsletter is being published, the storm is in progress near the coast of North Carolina, tracking westerly toward South Carolina. Half a million are without electricity and that is expected to rise to as many as three million. Two people have already been reportedly killed. Life threatening, catastrophic flash flooding has been forecast for our state through September 18th as the storm slowly moves through with prolonged torrential rainfall. We are grateful that the Lord has shifted it away from us and we continue to trust Him for protection. If you are interested in tracking it, you can use this Storm Tracker and click the plus sign to the upper left to zoom in.

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. By the grace of God, we currently have twenty-two disciples in six nations including Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Mali, India, and now Rwanda. Altogether these students speak a total of seventeen different languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, Igbo, Idoma, Hausa, Teso, Yoruba, Darkarchi, Bette, French, Kiswahili, Lubukusu, Ngakarimojong, Bambara, Luo and Gishu. All of them speak English.

Jean Baptiste in Rwanda (L) and Charity in Nigeria (R)

One of our previous students in Rwanda, Africa, brother Jean Baptiste, took a hiatus from the DTS for the past several months and earned his Masters of Divinity degree. He resumed his training with us on September 1, and we are very glad to have him back with us. He is a pastor and evangelist, and part of his ministry is making disciples, so it's with pleasure that we reunite together once again. We are also pleased to have sister Charity from Nigeria back with us again, after she took a brief leave to finish her university degree. We extend a warm welcome back to both of them. Praise the Lord!

We are also pleased to report that a new, Spirit-filled, married couple named brother Uchenna and sister Henrietta in Nigeria have enrolled in our DTS, and began their training with us on September 1. Uchenna is 41 years old and tells how he came to know Christ 18 years ago:

"I had a friend some time in 1999, we were both unsaved and fulfilled the lust of flesh then. But I travel away from my friend during Christmas that December. By the time I came back in January 2000, my friend had been converted to Christ, and I had no other option than to join him, [so I] gave my life to Christ to the glory of God."

He said his reason for enrolling is, "I have the zeal to work for God, and I believe I have the call of God upon me. So I need the knowledge to do the work more effectively."

Uchenna and Henrietta in Nigeria

His wife Henrietta is 31 years old and described her salvation experience 11 years ago in January 2007. She says, "I went for a church service and altar call was made I responded to the call and gave my life to God." She states her reason for joining is, "I want to enroll because the Lord gave me a revelation that my blessing is in serving Him through evangelism. And I want to know more of His Word and more of Him because He has been merciful to me and has delivered me."

Praise the Lord for this precious couple. We look forward to serving them over the next three years. Let's pray for Uchenna to obtain the knowledge to do the Lord's work more effectively and fulfill the call of God on his life, and for sister Henrietta to know more of God and His Word, so that she can fulfill her evangelistic calling.

Len corresponded with brother Herbert in Uganda in early September shortly after he began his training with us. He responded, "Please, I have started and it's inspiring not only me but also my wife whom am sharing with about Who is God? God bless you." Praise the Lord!

Len has been in touch with Albin in India, who is in college now studying for his Bachelor's of Business Administration. He is feeling desperate and in need of deliverance. He does not think he sees any good fruit in his life, and he is still doubting his salvation. These are the same things that have plagued him since he came to Christ in April. Please pray for him to have an assurance of his salvation and receive complete deliverance from all evil.

DTS Photo Album.

Joshua Akin in Nigeria

One of our new students, brother Joshua Akin in Nigera, who has just completed his first quarter of training, wrote to us in August:

"Grace, power and mercy be multiplied in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ..

Glory be to God for your life and the ministry and the unquantifiable blessings and invaluable impartation they all have been to many lives and destinies, especially to me.

Firstly, I want to thank God for the divine impartation, knowledge, and spiritual blessings the DTS teachings have been to my life. All the teachings are a rich treasure and have been transforming my life...

I'm trusting God for a deeper and intimate love relationship, His perfect will be done in every area of my life, and divine restoration and recovery of the years and things the devil has stolen in my life.

Finally, I pray that the new quarter will launch every disciple to the fullness of God's presence, power, and glory, and the God of all sufficiency will deal bountifully with you and every disciple in this great commission.

Thanks, sir.

Yours in the faith,

Joshua Akin"

Glory to God for what He is doing in this brother's life through our DTS training. Only the Lord can transform a life. Praise the Lord! Let's agree with brother Joshua as touching those things he is praying for.

Wedding Announcement

Deji and Hannah in Nigeria

We have great news to share with you. Most of you probably recall that our first student Deji in Nigeria, who began training with us in August 2015 and has only two quarters left of his final year, became engaged to his fiancée Hannah in September 2016. They began their premarital counseling in May 2017, and had initially hoped to get married in December of last year. However, due to finances, their wedding has been delayed up until now. Len received an email at the end of August from Deji saying:

"I [would]...like to let you know that a date has been picked for our wedding. The engagement (traditional wedding) and Church wedding shall take place on the 12th and 13th of October this year to the glory of God. The Lord has been providing for us and we also are preparing. I've gotten an apartment and some household necessities. We trust that the Lord will perfect all that He has began to do. I wish that you were present at our wedding but I understand that the distance and cost of traveling would be much. To God be the glory!!!"

Hallelujah!!!! Glory to God. It has been a long wait for this couple, and it is all finally coming to pass. The Lord will really bless them for waiting. Deji realized only after the wedding date was set for October 13, 2018 that he first met Hannah on October 13, 2015, exactly three years to the day. What a divine coincidence, which seems to confirm that it is the Lord's will for them to be married at this particular time! Let's pray for them as they make all the preparations, so that the Lord would fully provide and that this would be a very special wedding celebration for them.

More DTS Testimonies

You may recall that over the past several months we had requested prayer for one of our DTS students named David in Nigeria (pictured below), who was experiencing severe abdominal pain. We had reported several weeks ago during the summer that his symptoms had subsided significantly. However, Len received an email from him in early September saying, "I am now free from the abdominal pain." Praise the Lord that he is finally healed completely. Thank you for joining us in prayer for him.

Len sent out his monthly edition of Old News That's Still Fresh in September to pastors, elders, and laborers in the harvest in the US, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

David in Nigeria and Olugbenga in the United Kingdom

One of our DMI Board members sent Len an email in September to inform us that his wife Hope gave birth to another child on September 9. He wrote:

"Beloved Brother Len,

Grace, mercies and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ abide with you forever, amen.

Hope had a new baby boy on Sunday morning after days of staying in the hospital. Both mother and baby are well. Hope's health has not been looking good, but we thank God for his mercies.

God bless you.

Bro Olugbenga"

Praise the Lord for a healthy baby boy. We agree with brother Olugbenga for the Lord to have mercy on his wife Hope and restore her health.

Although we are not based overseas any more, we are still missionaries and still need your financial and prayer support of our ministry. Please pray and ask the Father if He would have you give.

"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 Authority of the Believer, The Great Shepherd of the Sheep, Belonging to the Lord, Colombian Woman Died, Saw Heaven and Hell, and a special report you don't want to miss on Catholic Priests Molesting Children. Also see Speak to the Storm! Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- September 2018. 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 placing a dome of divine protection around us, weakening the hurricane, and shifting its track southward and westward in a circuitous path around us.
2. For Charity's increase in wages and hours and the opportunity to become a Trainer.
3. For the enrollment of brother Uchenna and sister Henrietta into our DTS. 
4. For helping Jean Baptiste and Charity Bisong to earn their Master's degrees and resume their training with us once again.
5. For the amazing life change that brother Joshua Akin has been experiencing through the power of God as he continues with his DTS training.
6. For the definite plans that Deji and Hannah finally have in place to get married in October and the Lord's provision for it.
7. For completely healing brother David from severe abdominal pain.
8. For the safe delivery of brother Gbenga's new baby boy.
9. For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings. 
10. For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
11. For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For the Lord to heal Len's lower back and sciatic pain.
2. For the Lord to heal Faith and Len from eczema.
3. For the Lord to restore the health of brother Gbenga's wife Hope.
4. For the Lord's will concerning the opportunity for Charity to become a Trainer.
5. For Joshua and all our students to have a deeper and more intimate love relationship, for God's perfect will be done in every area of their lives, and for divine restoration and recovery of the years and things the devil has stolen in their lives.
6. For Uchenna to obtain the knowledge to do the Lord's work more effectively and fulfill the call of God on his life, and for sister Henrietta to know more of God and His Word, so that she can fulfill her evangelistic calling.
7. For the Lord to provide all that brother Deji and sister Hannah need to get married on October 12th and 13th, and for his presence to be upon them. 
8. For the Lord to deliver Albin from evil and give him an assurance of his salvation.
9. 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. 
10. For the Lord to help all of our DTS students to find LTG partners (another Christian to meet with weekly for discipleship in a Life Transformation Group). 
11. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
12. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, 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

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

August Update 2018

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!  We're pleased to share with you the amazing things the Lord has been doing in our lives and ministry.  

Family: In August we celebrated Faith's sixteenth birthday with cake, cards, gifts, and prayer for her. She received a new, mint-colored bicycle, which is her first one since we returned to the States five years ago. It will be nice for her to finally get behind the handlebars once again after so long (see link to album below).

Meanwhile the children are wrapping up the final weeks of summer vacation before they have to return to home school at the end of August.

Len has received further healing in his left knee and it has not been causing him pain lately, although his left knee has been throbbing. He is also presently experiencing a significant measure of relief from the lower back and sciatic pain. Praise the Lord.

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. By the grace of God, we currently have nineteen disciples in five nations including Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Mali, and now India. Altogether these students speak a total of seventeen different languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, Igbo, Idoma, Hausa, Teso, Yoruba, Darkarchi, Bette, French, Kiswahili, Lubukusu, Ngakarimojong, Bambara, Luo and Gishu. All of them speak English.

A new student named brother Herbert in Uganda has enrolled in our DTS, and will begin his training on September 1. He says he came to Christ in 2006 and is enrolling in the DTS to know more about God and His Word. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve him and look forward to doing so over the next three years. He will be starting a Life Transformation Group (LTG) in Kampala with brother Grace, who is already a First Year Second Quarter student and a pastor in that capital city.

Speaking of brother Grace in Uganda, Len received an email from him in July regarding his progress with the training. He wrote:

Herbert (L) and Grace (R) in Uganda

"Hi brother Len,

I am blessed to be part of this training. In this second quarter, a lot is happening as my life is changed through the teachings. Such lessons like Ultimate Accountability, Apostles Creed, The Judgment Seat of Christ, [the] one standard of judgment [for all], the Testimonies of hell and heaven, etc. I have discovered a lot, I may not mention all here, but really my life has turned around!!!!. Glory to Him!

Brother Grace Okurut"

Glory to God for what He is doing in this pastor's life through our DTS training. Only the Lord can change a life. Praise the Lord!

We also received an email in August from brother John, who is one of our students in Nigeria. He stated:

"The Lord has richly blessed me through the DTS. My spiritual life is growing spontaneously from the study of various Christian articles published by our dear brother in the Lord. We have formed an evangelical group to preach the Gospel to other people in our locality, and the Lord is helping to reach them. By Thursday we will be in Abija in Boki Local Government under the auspices of  the Assembles of God church. Catholics and non catholic are invited to hear more about the Word of God. I really thank DTS for enlightening my knowledge to preach and tell others about Christ. The Word of God is becoming clear to me. Thank God for brother Len and his family and my follow students in DTS.

May God bless you all in Jesus Name."

DTS Photo Album.

In August, another DTS student named Stephen from Nigeria sent in the following testimony by email:

Stephen in Nigeria

"Dear Bro Len, ...I write to testify that DTS has helped me with His teachings. I have been corrected by the teachings of the Word I am learning here...I have to change my ways too with the teachings...[It's] so loving of God to give us enough [chances] to miss hell and make home...

DTS is helping me to live by God's Word, and I am very grateful to God for this Sound doctrine being preached in the midst of Prosperity [-focused], earth-bound messages in this age...

God bless you

Regards

Stephen"

Len also received this testimony in August from our student Albin in India, who has been going through a very difficult experience needing deliverance:

"Dear Brother,

Praise the Lord!

Brother, I have two testimonies to share with you. If you wish, you can add them as seems right to you.

Albin in India

First, as I told you I had some discords with God, out of my unbelief, and hence acted foolishly. Now it seems to me, God allowed that for a beautiful reason.

I had been having negative thoughts towards God and lack of faith and unbelief, as a result of demonic oppression. Even after my bad behaviour, God never left me. He was still there in his love with open arms. And reconciled me. In this way, all the negativeness from the enemy that I had been suppressing in myself, came out and I felt much RELIEF. Before, I was not able to see God's love for me clearly and was not able to worship him truly as I was fighting against the negative thoughts the enemy was dropping on me. But now, I'm able to have a better relationship with God.

Although we cannot get our mind around his boundless love, nevertheless, I have a clearer picture of God love for me. As Romans 5:20 says, "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Romans 5:8). "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. "

I give glory to God Almighty for orchestrating my wrong decisions and beliefs about him, into an experience of showing his love for me

Also, by God's grace, this month, I began my college and I got admission in the very college I wanted to be admitted to at the first place.

So praise the Lord God for that, too.

Regards with love,

Albin"

Praise the Lord for the marvelous things the Lord has done for Albin this month! Please pray for him as we continue to stand with him for his deliverance, and he will also need the Lord's special grace as he enters college for the first time.

One of our DTS students in Mali, Africa named Collete wrote to Len near the end of June to let us know that she had accidentally fallen in her bedroom and fractured her thigh. She was told she would need surgery, so she traveled to her home country of Kenya to receive the medical care. At that time she requested prayer for healing, which we have been praying for. Now nearly two months later she emailed us in August with this praise report:

Collete in Mali

"Dear brother Leonard,

The grace and mercy of the Lord be upon you too.  Actually I have been doing very well in the Lord.  I am very grateful to the Most High for what He has just done in my life.  I came to Nairobi a month ago with a fractured femur and the only solution was to undergo a surgery.  The cost was exorbitant (about $7,500) and I had to wait up to September for the specialist.  All this was overwhelming to me since I was in such pain. Besides [that] the doctor had told us to be prepared to lose a lot of blood during the process.  I went to my God in prayers; I cried to Him and told Him His blood on the cross was enough and I did not have to lose even a drop of my blood.  I waited upon the Lord.  Meanwhile not to have the fracture be damaged further we got a nurse to tie a firm plaster around the injured place while we kept on prayers with brothers and sisters in the Lord. I believe that God was able to heal me without the operation.  Last Friday 10th August the plaster was removed and I went for an x-ray and this was the result.

1. There is total hip replacement insitu (i.e., in the normal location)
2. Normal alignment of the hip joint is maintained
3. Joint space and peri-articular fat planes are preserved.
4. The articular margins are smooth and regular
5. Peri-articular soft tissues appear normal.

The doctor could not understand how this healing process had taken place without a surgery.  He did it (my Lord) a miracle! Hallelujah, glory be to his name.  I am now walking with one support and am starting my physiotherapy....I do not have words to express my gratitude.

Stay blessed

Sister Collete"

Hallelujah! Glory to God for this miraculous healing that she has received through prayer. According to the doctor, she received a total hip replacement (as well as other miraculous healing related to her leg and hip) without surgery, which could only be by the hand of the Lord. Please join us in praising God for it and praying for a complete recovery for sister Collete. She is now in her third and final year of DTS, and has continued her studies despite her injury.

We reported last month that our DTS students attending the University of Jos in Plateau State, Nigeria were unable to attend their university classes, since they had been temporarily suspended due to the hostilities and violence from the Muslim Fulani herdsmen who were terrorizing that region. These Fulani herdsmen had actually massacred some villages. The latest report Len received from one of our students there was that there was peace, that classes had been resumed, and they were taking their final exams. Praise the Lord for keeping them all safe in the midst of this dangerous crisis.

Len sent out his monthly edition of Old News That's Still Fresh in August to pastors, elders, and laborers in the harvest in the US, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Although we are not based overseas any more, we are still missionaries and still need your financial and prayer support of our ministry. Please pray and ask the Father if He would have you give.

"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 Walking by Faith, Our God is an Awesome God, and Life by the Spirit, Not Under the Law. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- August 2018. 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 giving Faith a wonderful birthday.
2. For the way He has revealed His love for Albin and lifted him out of a pit. 
3. For the marvelous healing that sister Collete received.
4. For John's ministry of preaching the gospel in Nigeria.
5. For protecting our brethren in Plateau State, Nigeria, especially our DTS students who are attending the University of Jos, and for restoring peace to this area. 
6. For the enrollment of brother Herbert in our DTS. 
7. For the amazing life change that brothers Grace and Stephen have been experiencing through the power of God as they continue with their DTS training.
8. For helping brothers Grace and Herbert in Kampala, Uganda to start a Life Transformation Group (LTG) together.
9. For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings. 
10. For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
11. For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For the Lord to heal Len's lower back and sciatic pain.
2. For the Lord to heal Faith and Len from eczema.
3. For complete healing of sister Collete's leg.
4. For the Lord to bring about a mighty revival among the students at the University of Jos, Nigeria, and to help those who are in our DTS to pass their final exams at the university. 
5. 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. 
6. For the Lord to help Hannah develop herself spiritually so she can be a better, influential believer to the glory of God.
7. For the Lord to help all of our DTS students to find LTG partners (another Christian to meet with weekly for discipleship in a Life Transformation Group). 
8. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
9. 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. 
10. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, 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

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