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

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