March Update 2018

Greetings 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.

Len on his 52nd birthday

Family: In March we celebrated Len's fifty-second birthday with cake and cards. We also battled the flu as a family in late February and early March. All the children had it pretty badly with fever, but they have all since recovered, and the Lord spared Len and Jennifer.

On another note, Len is still experiencing knee pain, as well as lower back and sciatic pain, so we continue to trust the Lord for a total healing 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.

John in Nigeria

In addition to the students we have in Kenya, Mali, Uganda, and Nigeria, we now have another new student who has enrolled in Nigeria, whose name is John (pictured left). He is married and finishing his degree in Mathematics. He was saved in August 2013 and said he wanted to enroll in the DTS "to become a disciple, to gain insight into God's truth, knowledge, understanding, wisdom and God's instruction." You may recall that we asked you to pray he would obtain a laptop, so that he could enroll in the DTS. Well, unfortunately he was not able to get a laptop, but he didn't let that stop him and plans to use his phone to do the coursework.

Another new student who recently enrolled is brother Grace in Uganda, who is a forty-nine year old pastor there (pictured below). He is the other person who needed a laptop, but enrolled even though he has been unable to get one. He gave an amazing testimony of how the Lord saved him in 1989, which Len has published in an article called The Night the Lord Came into My Hut. It reminds us once again of the terrible oppression the Ugandan people suffered under Idi Amin's brutal regime and crimes against humanity. He stated:

"In 1989, during years of turmoil in our country, I felt a strong need for security and a solution to the endless problems we were going through in our country. As a young boy, [I] went through harassment from people and hostilities; by then even my father, who was a county chief, was helpless and needed help too."

Brother Grace and his wife

"On several occasions I looked for ways to die, but found none. I tried to join [the military] forces, but couldn't, as I longed for peace and security. One night while in my hut, it came to my mind that I have a Creator who cares. I cried tears as I asked the Lord to forgive me from my sins. One night again I had an experience when the Lord came into my hut with lightning, thundering, and much smoke; I nearly died."

"Afterward, I came out and found there was no rain. I prayed to the Lord to forgive me and went to my Protestant church on Sunday. I requested to say something which turned [out] to be a preaching, and for the first time in that church people got saved. We started what we called 'Light Christian Fellowship' before my joining a Pentecostal church."

Praise the Lord for that amazing testimony! He has been receiving Len's monthly edition of Old News That's Still Fresh for years now and says, "I want to enroll on the DTS, as this will help equip me for the work of ministry. I have a mission to accomplish in Jesus' Name." Praise the Lord for what He has done in our brother Grace's life!

In addition to him, a sister in Nigeria named Ruth enrolled in our DTS. She is a student in her twenties at the University of Jos like several of our other students are. She came to know Christ when she was young, and the reason she has enrolled in the DTS is she wants to be directed and coached on becoming like Christ Jesus, because she wants His will to be done in her life. Praise the Lord.

Moreover, another student at a different school in Nigeria named Precious joined. Brother Precious is a twenty-one year old student of Science Laboratory Technology in Delta State University, and while he was born into a Christian home, he consciously confessed Christ in his High School days. He contacted Len stating, "I [would] like to be a member of Doulous Training School. I want to boost my spiritual life. I want to burn for God." The reason he says he is enrolling in the DTS is that "I want to grow spiritually and in my knowledge of God's Word." Thank the Lord for leading Precious to join us.

He, Ruth, and John in Nigeria, as well as Grace in Uganda, all began their first quarter with us at the beginning of March, along with our other new students that we mentioned in our last update, and we look forward to serving them over the next three years. Please pray that their stated desires in enrolling would be fulfilled beyond all they could think or imagine.

Deji and David in Nigeria

We would like to mention that another one of our students, brother Deji, was asked to pastor the campus church he attends, when his pastor relocated. He has been doing that since January. Deji was our very first DTS student, and is now in his Third Year - First Quarter. He is still engaged to be married to Hannah, but they still have not gotten married. They have already completed all the required premarital counseling, but Deji is still in need of a job, and the delay is primarily financial, so let's pray that the Lord will provide for them to get married soon.

Then we heard from our student named David at the University of Jos Medical School that he was diagnosed in 2012 with a hepatic condition, and he has been experiencing severe abdominal pain lately, which is interfering with his studies and training with us. He often cannot afford the medication and plans to go the hospital later in March for an abdominal scan. Please join us in praying for his complete healing.

Please click here to see the full DTS Photo Album.

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

He received a comment on his article called, Avoid Becoming a Corrupted Christian, from one of our DTS students named Grace in Uganda, whom we have already mentioned in this update. He wrote:

"Hi brother Len, I'm so blessed by these teachings! I had not known enough about 'holy fire' until today! I had kept wondering about a dream some old woman dreamt about me few years ago and told my mother to tell me: She saw me walking, engulfed in fire and crying. I became terrified because all I knew about fire is hell. In reality, I have been experiencing terrible trials and testing up to now and wonder if God cares about me. I will spare time ahead to share the details with you and also my calling to the nations. Brother, this training is opening my eyes; I thank God for connecting us!" Glory to God for connecting us with this brother, and for the way He has been touching him through Len's articles. Let's pray the Lord will help him through his fiery trials and testings, and that the Lord will reaffirm His love for Grace.

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 Temptation of Christ, God's Amazing Plan for Your Life, God's Way to Greatness, and Faithful in the Little Things. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- March 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 Len's fifty-second birthday.
2. For healing the children from the flu and sparing Len and Jennifer from being sickened by it.
3. For our four newest DTS students, Precious, Ruth, John, and Grace. 
4. For the Lord providing the ministry opportunity for Deji to pastor his church since January.
5. For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings. 
6. For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
7. 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 knee, as well as the lower back and sciatic pain that seems to be coming from his spine.
2. For the Lord to heal Faith from eczema on her ankle and neck.
3. For the Lord to heal David at the University of Jos from severe abdominal pain.
4. For the Lord to provide a good job for Deji and help him and Hannah to get married soon, as well as help him to pastor the campus church.
5. For the Lord to bring about a mighty revival among the students at the University of Jos, Nigeria. 
6. 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. 
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, 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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Doulos Missions International
PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

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