March Update 2019

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.

Family: In March, we celebrated Len's fifty-third birthday with gifts, cards, prayer, and a special, homemade cake. Hope has been applying for jobs, but hasn't yet found one. She is looking for something part time, very close to where we live, so that she can work a few days a week until she graduates from high school in June. Please pray the Lord would provide just the right job for her in His will.

Jennifer never did receive a consultation with an orthopedic surgeon, regarding possibly a surgical procedure to address the problem with her right shoulder being painfully stiff and immobile. We applied for financial aid with the healthcare provider and nobody ever contacted her about that to let us know if we were approved to receive assistance, despite the fact that she has followed up numerous times with them to find out the status of our application.

Len has been having symptoms of a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder, so we're praying for the Lord to heal that, as well as the continued sciatic pain and eczema that he's been experiencing.

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 five nations including Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, India, and Mali.

Brother Deji and sister Hannah in Nigeria

In March, brother Deji graduated from our DTS after completing his entire three years of training in our challenging program. That was truly a major accomplishment. The Lord graciously provided for a special presentation of his official Certificate of Completion and transcript by one of our board members, Brother Olugbenga Oladejo (pictured below), a pastor from the UK who just happened to be on a short-term trip to Nigeria at the time. Brother Olugbenga had not intentionally planned to be there for brother Deji's graduation, but the Lord orchestrated it that way. Brother Olugbenga conducted a service where numerous people were present, including brother Deji's father. We were also able to participate by phone in that special occasion to worship together and pray for Deji. Moreover, brother Dave Wenrich, the President of Doulos Missions International and pastor of Boston Harbor Community Church, was also able to join us on the call and pray for brother Deji. We are grateful that he could do so, since we had not given him any advance notice.

What a blessing it was to see the Lord bring forth the first fruits of our DTS! Deji was our first student to enroll in 2015 and is the first one to graduate. It's amazing to think that it all began when Len was on his knees in his prayer closet in 2015 and heard "Doulos University." That was how the Lord initially led him to establish the DTS.

Here is brother Deji's amazing testimony of how he and brother Gbenga connected on his graduation day for the ceremony in which he was awarded his certificate of completion:

"We were suppose to meet at the airport at a particular time. I was on field working with my father on a construction site outside Lagos State. I was thinking of the stress of having to find my way to the airport, the stress on my wife who had challenges with her health that day, and how to go to the bank in order to have cash for our transport fare. My father and I left the construction site and decided to go the the office of the man who was going to construct the aluminum window for the project he was supervising. On getting to the man's office, my father went in to negotiate with the man and I was in the car parked outside wishing that he finishes with the man on time so that I can make the airport in time. I was in this state of mind in the car when I saw a vehicle approaching. It eventually turned out to be Brother Gbenga's vehicle and I had to wave it down. We both did not think, in our widest imagination that we could find each other in that place. He had come to inspect his own construction site in that area before he leaves for the UK, and God just connected us right there in Shimawa. This divine connection eased his journey back to the airport, saved me a lot of stress and money, and gave us an opportunity to have my father's presence in the ceremony, sir. It pleased Pastor Gbenga so well because, trying to get the time and space to do the ceremony in the airport could be a challenge and the Lord took away these challenges. Glory to God."

Brother Olugbenga "Gbenga" Oladejo

Praise the Lord! What an amazing testimony of the way the Lord did the impossible and brought these two brothers together in a most unusual, supernatural way! Since brother Gbenga has returned to the UK he has been sick with fever, so we are praying for his healing.

Len spoke with brother Deji in February and learned how the Lord has been giving clear direction to him and his wife Hannah in answer to our prayers and yours. He said that he had spoken to his mentor in Nigeria, who is an evangelist, who has traveled to Liberia on ministry trips, preaching the gospel. As a result, there is a congregation in Liberia that needs a pastor. The evangelist and his team have been praying for the Lord to provide a couple, whom they could send to Liberia to pastor this flock. Deji's immediate response was to ask, "Why can't I go?"

So he began praying about this and asked sister Hannah to pray about it, too. She was not really interested or enthusiastic about moving out of the country, but she prayed about it. Then one day they decided to fast and pray together for the Lord's direction. While they were praying, they felt led to the book of 1 Samuel 3:21, which says the Lord "revealed himself to Samuel through his Word." They interpreted this verse of Scripture to mean that the Lord would speak to them through His Word. Hannah felt in her heart while they were discussing this to go and read about Abraham, although she didn't tell Deji, and then she decided to start from Genesis 12:1.

They went into the church auditorium to pray, where he found a spot at the back and she went to the front; and there they sought the Lord for direction individually. The Lord initially led him to read Genesis 17 and then eventually Genesis 12 about the call of Abraham. When he read the words, "Go from your country," it seemed to jump out at him, because he had never realized the Lord told Abraham to leave his country. He always thought the Lord said something like, "Leave your land." He felt the Lord was speaking to him about leaving his country as a missionary, but during his quiet time he did not tell his wife about this experience or what he felt the Lord was saying through it.

While he was spending time with the Lord in prayer and the Word, he heard Hannah let out some kind of shout at one point. Later he asked her about her experience and what the Lord spoke to her. She said the Lord led her to read Genesis 12 about the call of Abraham, and when she read the words, "Go from your country," it seemed to jump out at her. She felt that through this the Lord was speaking to her to leave her country in His service. They felt this was a wonderful confirmation that it was the Lord's will for them to go through this open door of ministry opportunity in Liberia.

After Deji's call with Len, he emailed him to say, "I already spoke with the Evangelist, and he said that the church will [officially] invite us after the [government] election period currently ongoing in Nigeria. We will be presented to the church elders and the final decision will be made then. According to him, after the church approval, then we can start preparation for the trip, which will be scheduled for the month of July."

Len was able to connect Deji with some contacts he knows in Liberia, including a missionary from Sierre Leone, who is the West Africa Director for Every Home for Christ, who is based in Ghana but also works in Liberia. This brother used to live in Liberia and has helped many other Nigerian missionaries who have gone to Liberia. So he said he would be glad to help brother Deji and sister Hannah in any way he can.

Presently they are not completely certain it is His will for them to go to Liberia, and they have received counsel from others in Nigeria who care about them that they should ask the Lord to confirm it to them. Len recommended they take a short term reconnaissance trip together to Liberia to spy out the land and watch for the Lord to confirm His will or redirect them someplace else.

We would also like to include here brother Deji's testimony upon completion of the DTS:

"I want to thank the Lord for seeing me through the DTS. The Lord has definitely equipped me with sound doctrine through the DTS. This helped in ministering to others around me and in the church. All the coursework had relevance to our everyday life. I also thank the Lord that through the Discipleship of Brother Len and Sister Jennifer in DTS, the Lord has answered a lot of questions and guided me in the way to go in my walk with him. DTS for me is much more than just the reading of those scriptures and the coursework, it's a life; learning to follow the Master. DTS gave me an opportunity to really experience and have an understanding of what true fellowship is. At a time during my second year, I thought of dropping out of DTS but the Lord gave me grace to continue until the end. I have been enlightened, edified and equipped through DTS and many suppressed truths of the Lord's ways have been revealed to me through the coursework. All glory to God for the great things he has done in my life.

One important thing that I learnt in DTS that I will take everywhere that the Lord takes me is Life Transformation Groups (LTG). I wish that we could reduce the number of services we have in churches today and replace some of these services with LTGs. I've identified it as a good method of multiplying disciples, and by the grace of God, I plan to utilise it wherever I find myself.

The Lord bless you sir,

Deji"

Praise the Lord for the marvelous work He is doing in brother Deji's life and for helping him complete all of his DTS training with us. Please pray with us that he and his lovely wife Hannah would hear clearly from the Lord, so that they may know the Lord's will for their lives and do it.

More DTS Testimonies

Joseph in Nigeria (L) and Richard in Uganda (R)

In March, we had four new students enroll in our DTS, two of whom we have already mentioned to you in our January update. The third person is Joseph, a thirty-three year old brother from Lagos, Nigeria. He testified how he came to the Lord in 2003 at age seventeen: "I gave my life to Christ in my early days in high school. Then we do have school fellowship named FCS (Fellowship of the Christian Students). Then I joined the brethren to attend the FCS camping [event]. It was really a blessed period for me." He said he is enrolling in the DTS "To know more about Christ, His kingdom and what it takes to be His disciple."

The fourth new student is a 45-year old pastor in Uganda named Richard, who was referred to us by another one of our students there named James. He shared with us the following testimony of how he came to Christ in 1989: "I got saved in the late 1989. My life had much challenge with demonic torment, and it’s only church that gave me relief and total deliverance in Christ. I am baptized, am married with three good daughters all grown up. I studied [in a] secular [school] and [was] later called into ministry in 1997. Since then I [have] served in Pastoral ministry in [the] Evangelical Healing Centre Ministry with much desire of raising and sending workers who are fully equipped; so I love training to acquire relevant knowledge for the work of the Lord."

He has enrolled in the DTS in order "To be able to understand well the Word of God and teach it to leaders and raise many in this generation." He says, "I desire a ministry of the learned while teaching the Word of God, so I want to be a student of the Bible."

Let's pray the Lord will really bless Richard, along with all of our students as they seek to know Christ more and become His disciples.

Grace in Uganda

Len received the following email from Grace, who is one of our DTS students that pastors a church in Uganda. He stated:

"Praise the Lord, my brother. My life continues to be changed through this course. This First Year Fourth Quarter has been a blessing in such a way that I am able to know the top ten topics Jesus taught. At least now I am blessed and careful with the topics I teach as the Bible says teachers will be judged with greater strictness. I now teach the Word with confidence; glory be to Him!

Thanks,

Brother Grace Okurut"

Praise the Lord for the growth our brother is experiencing in his life and ministry. We give all the glory to God.

DTS Photo Album.

In March, Len received an email from brother Charles in Uganda that said:

Brother Charles, pastor in Uganda

"Praise the Lord, bro Leonard,

Thank you for the great work your are doing in empowering leaders. Am sorry I was quite busy in the mission field and I was not able to send this mail. I had actually not yet finished the last two course units by the 27th, but I made sure that I finished [by the 28th, in order] to start on time with the rest of the team. I am grateful to the Lord for giving me the grace this far. Am also glad to let you know that I have started an LTG group.

Thank you for your efforts. My regards to the family, ministry support team, our sponsors and well wishers. Looking forward another great time in the presence of God."

Praise the Lord for the progress that brother Charles is making with his DTS training, while simultaneously carrying out his ministry there in Uganda.

Brother David in Nigeria advised Len in March that the university lecturers' strike has been suspended, so classes have been resumed. He and our other DTS students at the University of Jos were finally able to take their exams in March. We are thankful to God for answering our prayers for the strike to end.

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 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.

Resources:  This month we would like to suggest some articles Len has recently written called The Flesh vs the Spirit, Only What's Done for Christ Will Last, The Mysteries of the Faith, and What Do You Mean By "Luck"? Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- March 2019. 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 Len with fifty-three years of life and allowing us to celebrate his birthday together.
2. For helping Brother Deji complete his three years of DTS training with us and for providing for Brother Olugbenga to be present there in person to present him with his Certificate of Completion. For enabling brother Dave Wenrich to join us for that momentous occasion.
3. For the testimony of brother Charles that the Lord has given him the grace thus far in his DTS training, and that he has now started an LTG (a weekly meeting with another brother for discipleship called a Life Transformation Group). 
4. For helping brother Grace in Uganda to preach the Word with boldness and confidence.
5. For the testimonies of brother Joseph in Nigeria and Richard in Uganda, and that the Lord has brought them into our school.
6. For ending the lecturers' strike and allowing the students to take their long-awaited final exams.
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.
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 lead Brother Deji concerning the next step for his life and enable him and his wife Hannah to hear clearly from the Lord about that.
5. For the Lord to provide a part time job for Hope close by our home.
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 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

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