DMI Newsletter

Monday, May 14, 2018

May 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.

Family: In May we celebrated Christopher's thirteenth birthday with prayer, cake, gifts, and cards. He is now officially a teen. One of the gifts he received was a new mountain bike, as well as a set of binoculars. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to celebrate another year of his life.

Also on one beautiful sunny day in May, Jennifer took the children for a field trip locally in the historic district of a nearby village here that was once the southern province for the Moravian Christians immigrating to America from Germany. They saw a few historic artifacts and two buildings from the eighteenth century, including a Moravian Church that is still in use, as well as an old farm house from that period. They also walked on some trails through the woods to a creek that once provided water to that village. The fields they saw were once part of the original agricultural parcels farmed by the eighteenth century residents. See the link below for photos of the trip.

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. Faith is still experiencing eczema and so is Len, from which we are continuing to pray for healing. The Lord is faithful and He will do it.

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 sixteen disciples in five nations including Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Mali, and now India. Altogether these students speak a total of sixteen different languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, Igbo, Idoma, Hausa, Teso, Yoruba, Darkarchi, Bette, French, Kiswahili, Lubukusu, Bambara and Luo. All of them speak English.

Brother Albin in India

A young man in northern India named Albin gave his life to the Lord at the end of April after corresponding with Len for a few weeks, and also enrolled in our DTS. He is from Uttar Predesh (UP), which is located in the northern part of India, just south of Nepal, and is the most populated state in India. If it were its own country, it would be one of the top ten most populated countries in the world. Only 0.13% of the population has been recorded as Christians there! Of those, half are Catholic, so it is a very dark place spiritually. In fact, UP is the strategic center of heathen worship and practice in India. Around 80% are Hindu and 19% are Muslim. Safety for women is also an issue. In 2016, UP was on record for having the most murders and rape cases in the country. In fact, it has the highest number of crimes overall among any state in India. Moreover, about 40% of the population there lives below the poverty line. If ever there was a place that truly needs the gospel, it is Uttar Predesh.

After Albin had prayed to invite Jesus into his heart, he wrote in part:

"Dear Len,

Thank you so much for helping me and putting up with me. And thanks to Lord Jesus for the same.

I really felt a few changes and feel something more has been added to me. It's like my sixth sense is activated.

Also, thanks for the admission to the discipleship program. And I too look forward to this Journey.

Stay blessed,

Albin"

In a subsequent email, he stated, "Most of all thanks to the Lord for [connecting] me [with] you and then helping me through you to be born again. All glory to God." Praise the Lord for saving Albin's soul and bringing him into the kingdom of God. We look forward to continuing to serve him as a disciple in our DTS. He will be starting his DTS training when the next quarter begins in just two weeks on June 1st. Please pray that the Lord will set him free from every chain of darkness that remains in his life.

Brother Grace in Uganda

One our DTS students named Grace in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, who is a pastor there shared a wonderful testimony with us via email in May. The following excerpts are taken from two emails he wrote:

"Praise the Lord, my dear brother Len! I want to thank God for what He is doing through this training! I'm one of God's children who is really zealous for God's work. Pray with me that I may fulfill what the Lord has called me for before I go back home.

This training is opening my eyes to know and understand more about God just like Aquila and Priscilla explained God's way to Apollos more accurately. This training counts to me and is a gift more than whatever any one could offer to me. I say in my soul I need more of God, His Word, ways, power etc.

There are quite many things to testify of this training, but just...to mention a few: The study of the bodily forms of God the Father,the Son, and the Holy Spirit has greatly touched and inspired me! It's as if in me has been put a new mind to understand the things of God and the old has gone! Today when studying about the baptism in the Holy Spirit and reading through the testimonies of the bodily form of the Holy Spirit and the teaching, I'm over zealous and need more of the Holy Spirit experience.

I recall an instance in my early days [after] conversion when one of our renowned evangelists here...one day was invited to minister in an Anglican church not far from our home. While ministering, the people outside -- both believers and non believers -- saw a dove fly into the church where this brother was ministering at that moment. Immediately [when] the dove entered, there was much noise heard in the church of the evidence of speaking in tongues. That was the first of its kind in that church that started revival in that church. I thank God and I have understood the teaching. It is really great and there is quite a lot I would share if time and space would allow.

Brother Len, thanks for the opportunity, and I'm sure my ministry will never be the same again -- more so, my personal life that has been touched through the training...I count it a blessing to be part of what the Lord is doing through it! Since the training started I totally feel free, relieved, joyous!
There were also things which were a mystery to me [previously]. I thank God for [the] enlightenment [I have received]; more so, it has helped me to master the Bible and I preach with much confidence.

Reading about the 'presence of the Lord ' has changed my life as I often encounter His presence. Sometimes when reading the word, meditating, praying, or singing, I break down with tears and feel much of the Holy Spirit upon me. I have much to share, but generally my life is changed as I'm more conscious about the end times because of this training, so God bless, brother Len and others.

Blessings,
Brother Grace Okurut"

Praise the Lord for that wonderful testimony of how God is transforming brother Grace through the discipleship he is receiving.

James in Uganda teaching the DTS courses to other pastors

Another one of our DTS students James, in Lira, Uganda, who is a pastor located about five-hours drive from brother Grace, has been teaching the other pastors in his church what he is learning in his training with us during his first quarter. He wrote to Len in May to express his appreciation for what he is learning, and to let us know he is imparting it to others. He remarked that he wished he had met Len before he began his ministry. Praise the Lord. As the apostle Paul said to Timothy, "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others." (2 Tim 2:2).

We received an email in April from one of our DTS students in Nigeria named Blessing with a praise report about her father. She stated:

"Good day sir,

It's been a while... I hope and believe you are doing fine.. I want to specially thank the Lord for a very successful surgery on my Daddy (for kidney stone) although he is still recovering.

Eze Blessing"

Praise the Lord for getting her father successfully through surgery. We pray in Jesus' name that he will make a full recovery.

Please click here to see the full DTS Photo Album.

Another one of our students in Nigeria that we asked you to pray for recently is David, who is attending medical school at the University of Jos. He had been having severe abdominal pain. In the latest update he gave to Len he said the intensity and frequency of the pain has subsided, but not been completely eliminated. Praise the Lord for some progress as we continue to pray for his complete healing.

One of our Board members, brother Olugbenga "Gbenga" Oladejo, who is a British pastor, is currently abroad on a trip to Nigeria. Although he is there on business, he has met with one of our DTS students Deji in Lagos and reports that he is doing well in the Lord. Praise the Lord! We hope you will join us in praying for the Lord to provide gainful employment for Deji and enable him to get married soon.

Len sent out his monthly edition of Old News That's Still Fresh in May 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 Multiplying Your Talents, To Sin or Not to Sin, and Keys to Prayer. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- May 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:.

For helping us to celebrate Christopher's thirteenth birthday
For blessing Jennifer and the children with a fun and interesting field trip to an old Moravian village.
For the significant measure of healing from abdominal pain that brother David in Nigeria has experienced.
For the wonderful testimony of sister Blessing about her father's successful kidney surgery.
For saving brother Albin in India and leading him to enroll in our DTS.
For the report that brother James in Uganda is teaching the leaders in his church what he is learning in the DTS.
For the wonderful testimony of brother Grace in Uganda about what the Lord is doing in his life through the DTS training.
For enabling brother Gbenga from our DMI Board to meet with brother Deji in Nigeria and the good report that Deji is doing well in the Lord.
For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings.
For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

For the Lord to heal Len's knee, as well as the lower back and sciatic pain.
For the Lord to heal Faith and Len from eczema.
For the Lord to heal David at the University of Jos from any remaining abdominal pain.
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.
For the Lord to bring about a mighty revival among the students at the University of Jos, Nigeria.
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.
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).
For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
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.
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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Saturday, April 14, 2018

April 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.

Family: The family is doing well by the grace of God, but not without our challenges that the Lord is helping us through.

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. Faith is still experiencing eczema and so is Len, from which we are continuing to pray for healing. The Lord is faithful and He will do it.

More photos.

One of our students named Grace, who is a pastor in Uganda, wrote to us the following testimony in April:

"Hi, Praise the Lord! I want to give thanks to God and to DTS for giving me the opportunity to be their student! There is quite a great change in my life from the time I started taking on the course. Topics like the 'Bodily Form of God' and 'By Faith Alone' which has been appearing as a contradiction with the message of James of Faith and works. I'm learning the truth of God through DTS which has been a mystery for long. I have also noticed the element of uncompromising message and the boldness exhibited in this teaching (Acts 4:29), I'm so encouraged and enriched by the Word!

Grace and his wife Dina

I also thank God because the training is preparing me for the Day of the Lord through the many testimonies about heaven and hell from the various brethren around the globe. My prayer life is improving as I pray and fast every week. I'm devouring the Bible and become very sensitive to sin.

Since I started the training, my wife and our five children are part of it once in a while and this has left our family not the same. I have many other friends I share these teachings with and I'm confident by the time I'm done with it, my life and ministry will never be the same again.

I remember telling brother Len that my training would be inconvenienced by lack of a laptop. Brother Len prayed with me and it didn't take long, two sisters bought for me a smart phone; I now use it for my training and for the propagation of the gospel. Hallelujah! This training is turning my life around and will say more as we continue. God bless DTS and the Lord's Name be glorified.

Blessings,
Grace Okurut
Uganda."

We do praise the Lord for that amazing testimony from brother Grace. Hallelujah!

Another one of our DTS students named John who lives in Nigera wrote the following testimony in April:

John in Nigeria

"Dear brother Len,

I must confess to you that DTS has transformed my life tremendously to live a purpose-driven life in Christ and for Christ. I am awake a bit spiritually, because through the DTS many hard questions I always battle with have been answered. Though I have not been able to form an LTG, I am working on that. DTS is transforming my life already through awaking me to stand for the Lord.

I have learnt so many things from the articles I am studying. My spiritual wilderness is changing through DTS. I learnt that God demands high standard from me, and I believe that as I will be progressing in the DTS, the programme would expand my capacity in Christ and awake the giant in me, which is Christ the righteous. My testimony is that my life is changing from self mentality to Christ mentality and I am progressing sequentially and gradually in the Word of God through the DTS. Thanks."

Again, we praise the Lord and give Him all the glory for what He is doing in brother John's life.

Deji in Nigeria

Brother Deji in Nigeria graduated three years ago with his Master's degree in Agriculture, specializing in Soil Science, and he is still unable to find gainful employment. This is a great need in his life, and it has been causing a long delay in his and Hannah's marriage plans. They have been waiting patiently for about a year and a half now. Let's pray for the Lord to provide for them.

Please click here to see the full DTS Photo Album.

Len sent out his monthly edition of Old News That's Still Fresh in April 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 Having the Love of God in Your Heart, From Religion to Relationship, and The Baptism of Christ. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- April 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:.

For the wonderful testimonies of brother Grace in Uganda and brother John in Nigeria of how the Lord is transforming their lives through His Word and the training they are receiving.
For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings.
For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

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.
For the Lord to heal Faith and Len from eczema.
For the Lord to heal David at the University of Jos from severe abdominal pain.
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.
For the Lord to bring about a mighty revival among the students at the University of Jos, Nigeria.
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.
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).
For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
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.
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

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

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:.

For allowing us to celebrate Len's fifty-second birthday.
For healing the children from the flu and sparing Len and Jennifer from being sickened by it.
For our four newest DTS students, Precious, Ruth, John, and Grace.
For the Lord providing the ministry opportunity for Deji to pastor his church since January.
For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings.
For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

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.
For the Lord to heal Faith from eczema on her ankle and neck.
For the Lord to heal David at the University of Jos from severe abdominal pain.
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.
For the Lord to bring about a mighty revival among the students at the University of Jos, Nigeria.
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.
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).
For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
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.
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

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

February 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.

Family: In February we celebrated Joseph's ninth birthday with cake, cards, and gifts. On the same day as Joseph's birthday, it was also Len's thirty-second spiritual birthday. And during the previous week, we celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary and received some very lovely, thoughtful cards from the children.

Faith continues to practice playing her guitar, and has even put to music one of Charity's poems called Take Me Away, which is actually quite a beautiful worship song. She has experienced a lot of improvement in her eczema, too, so praise the Lord for that. But she still presently has to keep moisturizing it twice a day.

On another note, since discontinuing physical therapy, and doing only home exercises, Len is experiencing some improvement in his left knee, 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.

Christian in Nigeria

In addition to the students we have in Kenya, Mali, and Nigeria, we now have three more new students who have enrolled -- two in Nigeria, and one in Uganda. They will be starting their first quarter with us on March 1st.

The two new students in Nigeria are brothers Andrew and Chisom. They are classmates of two other existing students of ours, who are in medical school at the University of Jos, David O. and Christian (pictured left), whom we will be highlighting in this month's newsletter. Here is an email that Christian sent to Len in January:

"Good morning sir,

Andrew as well as David are my classmates at school, we're close friends too. We are all 2nd-year Medical Students at University of Jos. It was actually David who introduced me to DTS after I spoke to him about my search for a Well-built spiritual life.

We also spoke to a couple of our mates about DTS.

Myself, David and Andrew have started our own LTG...

Sir I must say, your articles and site are giving a better definition to my spiritual life. Thank you Sir

Yours,
Christian."

Then he wrote to Len in February saying, "I, Andrew and David met today for our LTG and it was an awesome hour listening to each other and admonishing one another...we read the whole book of Matthew for the week." Praise the Lord for their progress!

The Lord has also been helping Christian learn to play the keyboard, and the recordings he sent to us of some hymns he played sounded good. Here is a testimony he shared in February after being in our DTS only since December 1st:

"I want to appreciate God Almighty for Creating a thirst in me. To be honest, I have become more concerned about the things of God than I ever used to be.

A few months back, even after making a resolve to serve God, I would often dose off whenever I pick up my Bible to study. However, with the help of the LTG I belong to, my study of the Word of God has been moved to a new and higher level. As a matter of fact, the Bible keeps me awake and alert whenever I am worn out from studying anatomy or Physiology. It just keeps on getting more interesting even as my knowledge of the Faith Increases.

I thank God for you, Brother Len, for yielding yourself as a tool in the Hand of the Almighty God. Your articles have been a source of rich and balanced Spiritual Diet for me. I get to learn new and very basic things which 'modern day Christianity' would have swept under the rug. Thank you sir.

"Take a step towards God and He would take a Giant Leap towards you" my Pastor (at my local church) would always say. I have tested and found this to be true. Ever since I joined DTS, I made a personal resolve to draw close to God and God has never left me on my own. Each time I spend money out of Love, I see God replenishing me in unusual ways - Divine Providence.
I see God answering all of my Prayers according to His will. I feel God's presence in everything I do even as He has helped me to quickly pick up basic piano skills.

God has really been faithful and I trace it back to the day I signed up for DTS.

Yours,
Christian."

Praise the Lord! To God be the glory. In light of all the students from the University of Jos Medical School that are enrolled in our DTS, we are trusting the Lord for a mighty revival on that campus. Please pray with us to that end.

James in Uganda

Besides the recent enrollment of Christian's classmates Andrew and Chisom into our DTS, a pastor named James Odeke in Uganda has enrolled as well, and he will also begin his training with us on March 1. While serving in the Ugandan police force in 1993, he got saved at a crusade. Afterward he was baptized immediately, and worked in the local church for ten years. Later when he moved to another town, he served as a deacon and then later as pastor, where he continues to serve to this day. When asked why he wants to enroll in the DTS he states, "I need to get more knowledge in the Bible to be a good pastor in spiritual issues, in order to help others know Christ." We look forward to serving Brother James, as well as our other new students during the next three years.

Meanwhile, three other prospective students have expressed a desire to enroll in our DTS for the next quarter beginning on March 1st. Their names are Femeca in the United States, John in Nigeria, and Grace, a pastor in Uganda. John and Grace are both trusting the Lord for a laptop, in order to conduct their studies with us. Please pray they will each receive a laptop and be able to enroll in our DTS by March.

Stephen in Nigeria

Another one of our students in Nigeria named Stephen (pictured left) wrote in an email to Len in February:

"Bro Len,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I want to thank God for the opportunity to get to know DTS. The teachings are sound doctrine. Am especially blessed by all the teaching, I can feel the inspiration of God upon each of them. Most especially I was challenged by Few Will Be Saved. It open my eyes to the recurring pattern of few being saved and I felt a need to share it with members of our church where we prayed and seek to do all we can in our capacity to enlist among the few that will be saved in this generation.

These are sound teachings which are not taught in our churches today again. It has also grants me opportunity to know more of the scriptures.

Thank you for this opportunity. God bless you.

Yours in Christ,

Stephen"

Len sent out his monthly edition of Old News That's Still Fresh in February to pastors, elders, and laborers in the harvest in the US, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Southeast Asia. One of the articles in this latest edition is somewhat of a commentary on the book of Malachi, called Escaping from Dead Religion.

A wonderful door of opportunity has opened for Len to serve short-term overseas, which we believe is from the Lord. We are praying for the financial provision for it and the Lord's timing, as well as the Lord's message when he goes there, and the demonstration of the Spirit's power. We would so appreciate it if you would join us in prayer for this matter.

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 that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Cor 3:5-6).

Resources: This month we would like to suggest some articles Len has recently written called Escaping from Dead Religion, A Word to the Wise and Learned, The Messenger of the Covenant, and Ten Myths Jews Believe About Messiah. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- February 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:.

For allowing us to celebrate Joseph's ninth birthday.
For the improvement in Len's knee.
For our three newest DTS students.
For the progress in Christian's LTG group.
For the way the Lord is helping Christian with his keyboard lessons, as well as the way He is moving in his life.
For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings.
For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

For the Lord to heal Len's knee and sciatic pain.
For the Lord to heal Faith from eczema on her ankle and neck.
For the Lord to bring about a mighty revival among the students at the University of Jos Medical School.
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.
For the Lord to increase the enrollment in our DTS according to His will.
For the Lord to help John in Nigeria and Grace in Uganda to each receive a laptop, and enroll in our DTS for the coming quarter in March.
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).
For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
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.
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.
For the Lord to guide and provide for Len to walk through the open door for ministry overseas.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

Monday, January 15, 2018

January 2018 Update

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.

Family: In December Jennifer gave the children a week off from home school, including New Years Day. Meanwhile Faith continues to practice on her new guitar. After seeing a dermatologist and using topical medication, she is also experiencing a measure of relief from eczema that has bothered her for a number of years, especially on her ankle. But she would like to receive a complete healing from the Lord from this condition without the need to constantly apply medications. Please join us in prayer for that.

Charity was awarded a certificate of achievement as one of the top ten employees at Chick-fil-A who exemplified the kind of person they want to have on their team. The award was given to team members who exhibited certain outstanding qualities that her leaders look for in their team. They chose her as one of those who has demonstrated the most professional and personal development. All the glory goes to God for the award. Meanwhile she is not really getting enough hours there unfortunately, so she picked up a second part-time job at a nearby pizza parlor, where she now works in addition to her job at Chick-fil-A. It would be ideal for her to have one full-time job, which would be the ultimate goal, but for now at least she is getting experience with these her first two jobs, so we are thankful.

She also continues with her driver's ed lessons out on the road with Jennifer, usually driving herself back and forth to work. She hopes to have her driver's license by March, so we are praying she will accomplish that goal.

She also wrote a couple of poems recently. The first one called My Grace Was There, is about the help that God gives to those who find themselves in life's "slough of despond" that John Bunyan wrote about in his classic allegory Pilgrim's Progress. The "slough of despond" is a swamp that Bunyan's main character Christian falls into, which symbolizes a state of hopeless depression that many Christians encounter during their pilgrimage. The second poem she wrote called A Thousand Little Gifts is about contentment. We hope you enjoy them both!

Hope was notified last fall that she won First Place in a national contest hosted by a ministry called King's Blooming Rose, known simply as KBR. The contest from April to June was to see who could memorize the most Christian hymns in their entirety. Hope really put a lot of effort into it and memorized sixty one hymns! Praise the Lord. She received a twenty-five dollar gift certificate to KBR as her prize.

On another note, after six weeks of physical therapy, Len is still experiencing pain in his left knee, so we continue to trust the Lord for a total healing for him. Meanwhile he has purchased some equipment that will enable him to exercise it further at home until the Lord releases the complete healing.

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. Currently we have nine disciples in four nations including Nigeria, Kenya, Mali, and Rwanda.

One of our students Collete in Mali, wrote to Len in January with the following praise report:

"Dear brother Leonard, The new year started well, I hope yours too.

I just want thank God for the year 2017. He was my strength all throughout. At 62 years old I feel like 20 years younger. I was able to finish my course work on time despite some few challenges. All glory be to his name.

Secondly I want to thank Him for what he did to my three daughters. Zenabou and Aisha are twins. Zena got a permanent status in the UN just after six months as a temporary worker. It has never been heard of before. This was the hand of the Lord.

Aisha her twin who is in Canada applied for a special master's program in the University of York in Toronto. 300 students applied from all over Canada. She was among 30 selected with an offer of full government scholarship. Only the hand of God could do this.

Mariam my last born resigned from her job last January. Mariam is an interior architect. She started her own company. Initially things seemed not to be doing well, but by June 2017 God opened the windows of heaven for her that by October one client contacted her and she was surprised how the person got her contact. The answer "I checked on google for interior architects in Mali and your name came up." God made her shine above others after only 6 months of operation. Mariam is my LTG partner.

All the above are the doings of the Lord and they are marvellous in our eyes. Thank you, Jesus, for all.

Thank you once more, brother Leonard, for the support and encouragement.

Remain blessed. Sister Collete"

Two other prospective students have expressed a desire to enroll in our DTS for the next quarter beginning on March 1st. Their names are John in Nigeria and Grace, a pastor in Uganda. They are both trusting the Lord for a needed laptop, so they can conduct their studies with us. Please pray they will each receive a laptop and be able to enroll in our DTS by March.

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

We mentioned last month a sister in distress named Leanne in England, who contacted us for help in December. She sent us a praise report in December after we corresponded with her and put her in touch with brother Olugbenga Oladejo. She stated: "Dear Len,...We have been feeling much more positive after both your emails and Pastor Gbenga’s phone call. God bless you." Praise the Lord! Please continue to pray that the Lord would deliver her from evil.

A wonderful door of opportunity has opened for Len to serve short-term overseas, which we believe is from the Lord. We are praying for the financial provision for it and the Lord's timing, as well as the Lord's message when he goes there, and the demonstration of the Spirit's power. We would so appreciate it if you would join us in prayer for this matter.

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 that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Cor 3:5-6).

Resources: This month we would like to suggest some articles Len has recently written called The Past Defeat and Present Threat of AI, The Practice of Abiding, and Spiritual Do-It-Yourself. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- January 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:

For the recognition that Charity received from her employer, for helping her get a second job, and for the two poems He helped her write.
For helping Faith continue to learn to play her guitar.
For the progress with Len's knee.
For enabling Hope to memorize all those sacred hymns.
For the wonderful testimony of our sister Collete in Mali for helping her to complete her coursework last quarter despite some challenges, and for the marvelous things the Lord has done for her daughters Zenabou, Aisha, and Miriam.
For the two prospective students who have expressed a desire to enroll in our DTS.
For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings.
For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

For the Lord to heal Len's knee and sciatic pain.
For the Lord to heal Faith from eczema on her ankle and neck.
For the Lord to supernaturally anoint Faith to play the guitar skillfully in worship.
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.
For the Lord to increase the enrollment in our DTS according to His will.
For the Lord to help John in Nigeria and Grace in Uganda to each receive a laptop, and enroll in our DTS for the coming quarter in March.
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).
For the Lord to deliver Leanne in England from evil.
For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
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.
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.
For the Lord to guide and provide for Len to walk through the open door for ministry overseas.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

Friday, December 15, 2017

December 2017 Update

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.

Family: In November we celebrated Thanksgiving with a great feast that we began and ended by giving thanks to God for His many blessings in our lives.

We also enjoyed peak fall foliage here in North Carolina, which you can see a bit of in our photos at the link below.

Len continues to go through physical therapy for his knee, and has experienced a measure of healing as the level of pain and the problems with the knee have diminished but still not disappeared. Thanks for your prayers for him.

At the end of November, the Lord blessed Faith with a new, acoustic guitar, which she has since been learning to play. She has been diligent to practice playing it regularly and is doing very well with it. In fact, she can already play one worship song on it. Pray that she will become skilled on the stringed instrument for worship.

Christopher is also continuing to learn to play the keyboard. If anyone has a keyboard-lesson DVD that uses worship music to teach how to play the keyboard, and you would be willing to let him borrow it, please let us know.

Charity obtained a temporary driver's permit this fall and has been taking driving lessons with Jennifer in our van. So far that has been going well. Thank the Lord for that. She hopes to get her license within the next three months before her permit expires.

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. Currently we have eleven disciples in six nations including Nigeria, Kenya, United Kingdom, Mali, Liberia, and Rwanda, four of those people have just enrolled for the current new quarter that began on December 1st.

One of our new students is Nwaburu Emeka Christian from Nigeria, who is twenty years old. You can call him Christian. He was raised in a Christian family and got saved three years ago during an altar call at a service. He contacted Len in November to say, "I want to be enrolled in your training school, Sir." So Len suggested he pray about it first, and then submit an application if he felt led by the Lord to do so.

Christian in Nigeria

He replied: "Thank you, Sir. I have been praying about this Sir, long before a friend told me about DTS. Getting to know about DTS is on its own an answer to my prayers. I have prayed and I am sure that its God's will for me to join DTS. I pray my application is accepted, Sir." He states that his reason for enrolling is "So that I can grow in Christ and be better equipped to lead others to Christ and to render acceptable service to God."

Later after he was accepted into the DTS he wrote: "Its an honour to learn from you, Sir. Thank you for accepting me into DTS. I pray that God gives me the grace I need not only to understand but to practice His Word, so that I will become that 'Approved worker' in His Vineyard."

We also enrolled another student from Nigeria, who is an eighteen-year old female named Blessing. She described her 2015 salvation experience this way:

"During my secondary school days, I did attend summer lessons, and my teacher was a pastor . So on one of my lesson days, we had a discussion about me and that created an avenue. He presented the good news to me, not that it was the first time I heard it, but I guess it was presented in a different way, or God had decided that was my turn." Praise the Lord.

She has had a strong desire to enroll in the DTS, because it will provide her with the discipleship training she needs and foster daily Bible study and fellowship. We look forward to the privilege of assisting her with her training.

Another new student has enrolled in our DTS in Rwanda, Africa. His name is André Hakizimana, a forty-eight year old pastor. In his application, he gave a wonderful testimony of his conversion to Christ in 2001. He said:

"Before I received Jesus as my Savior, I was a very [big] sinner, tired. I had not the hope. After I met a servant of God, he preached to me in John 1:12 and Apoc. (Revelation) 3.20. I trusted to receive Jesus as my King and my Savior. I called Jesus to come in my heart to guide me. Since that date I am feeling well in my life, filled with the joy and hope of my future life, because I have eternal life."

He stated, "I want to enroll in the DTS, because I need to have a knowledge enough to proclaim the good news all over the world." Praise the Lord for this brother's salvation, as well as his desire to be trained for worldwide gospel ministry and the privilege to help fulfill that need for him. We believe that by God's grace he will go forth to multiply disciples of Jesus Christ.

In our last newsletter, we mistakenly reported that one of our new students in Nigeria, whose name is Stephen Ayodele Benjamin, was about to complete a degree in Mathematics. Len caught the error later, as that information is true of a prospective student who has not yet enrolled. The fact is that Stephen already earned his degree ten years ago in 2007, which was in Agricultural Economics. We just want to make that correction for the record.

We mentioned to you a few months ago that Deji in Nigeria, who was our first DTS student and has been training with us since September 2015, was hoping to get married to his fiancé Hannah on December 2. For those of you who were wondering, he has not yet managed to do so. Deji who has a Master's degree in Agriculture is also searching for a job. Would you join us in praying Deji and Hannah will be able to get married soon and that he would find a good job?

As you know, we have six DTS students in Nigeria, where the persecution level there is classified as "very high" by Open Doors. And Nigeria ranks close to the top of the watch list for persecuted countries, ranking at number 12 on the global watch list of Open Door USA with number 1 being North Korea (extreme persecution). I'm sure you are all aware of our friend, brother Michael Sambo's angelic escape from Boko Haram terrorists, which I have written about previously. The current situation in Nigeria is dire. About half of the 170 million people in Nigeria are Muslim, and the Christians are experiencing intense persecution from their Muslim neighbors. They are victims of all kinds of pranks, gimmicks and evil atrocities committed against Christians and humanity by them. For more information on persecution in Nigeria and how to pray, please see this link.

Regarding persecution, one of our DTS students lives in Mali, which is a dark, vast, spiritual wasteland with over thirteen million people in sixty-two people groups, sixty percent of which are unreached with the gospel, according to Operation World. The country is almost entirely Muslim and there are very few Christians there. Only 0.7 percent of the population are evangelicals. Our DTS student is being a witness for Christ there in the capital. The student's name and photo are withheld for security reasons. Please pray the Lord will use her for His glory and make her a light.

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.

A sister in distress named Leanne in England contacted us for help in December, and we were able to minister to her through prayer and counseling. She replied, "Dear Len, Thank you so much for replying so quickly and for your heartfelt words. What you’ve said has been really comforting and we are both really grateful...I also want to say that I am enjoying reading your blogs. I found them hard-hitting at first, but it has made me realize that I need to be more obedient and God deserves more than I am giving Him. Yours with thanks. Leanne"

Brother Olugbenga Oladejo

We were also able to refer her to a pastor in England who serves on our board, Olugbenga Oladejo, who offered to further assist her. Praise the Lord! Please pray that the Lord would deliver her from evil, as well as her husband Paul and her son Seb.

A wonderful door of opportunity has opened for Len to serve short-term overseas, which we believe is from the Lord. We are praying for the financial provision for it and the Lord's timing, as well as the Lord's message when he goes there, and the demonstration of the Spirit's power. We would so appreciate it if you would join us in prayer for this matter.

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 that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Cor 3:5-6).

Resources: This month we would like to suggest some articles Len has recently written called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God and Walking in Truth, Righteousness, and Holiness. He has also posted two of Charity's latest poems, My Grace Was There and A Thousand Little Gifts. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- December 2017. 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:

For enabling us to celebrate Thanksgiving together.
For blessing Faith with a new guitar and helping her begin to learn to play it.
For Charity's driver's permit and progress with her driving lessons thus far.
For the progress with Len's knee.
For our latest DTS enrollees, Christian, Blessing, and Andre'.
For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings.
For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.
For the words of encouragement we have received from the people being touched.

Next steps and prayer needs:

For the Lord to heal Len's knee and sciatic pain.
For the Lord to supernaturally anoint Faith to play the guitar skillfully in worship, and Christopher with the keyboard
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.
For the Lord to increase the enrollment in our DTS according to His will.
For the Lord to help Christian, Blessing, and Andre' as they embark on their three-year journey in our DTS. Pray that the Lord would use our lives and training to meet and exceed the expectations they have for the DTS.
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).
For the Lord to deliver Paul, Leanne, and Seb in England from evil.
For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
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.
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.
For the Lord to guide and provide for Len to walk through the open door for ministry overseas.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with love from all of us,

The Lacroixs