July 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.  

Charity on her twentieth birthday

Family: In June we celebrated Charity's twentieth birthday with cake, cards, gifts, and prayer for the Lord's blessings on her life. The Lord gave us a beautiful, sunny day for the party. On the morning of her birthday, while she was eating breakfast, a doe stood right outside the kitchen window where she was sitting. That has never happened before. Amazingly, right after the party we had for her in the afternoon, as she was talking with her grandparents on the phone, a doe (perhaps the same one) stood very close to our home in our backyard for a long time. The children took photos of it, which you can find at the link below, along with the party pictures. Enjoy!

In July, Jennifer took the children to a historical site where a Moravian woman told them some of the history of the Moravians. They also got to walk around and see the foundations of structures that were around in the mid 1700s. They saw the foundations from The Single Brothers' House (1755), the Tailor's Shop (1762), and many other places. They also got to see the outside of a log cabin (1834) and the inside of a calf barn. Along the way, they saw a medicine garden, the community garden, and the sleeping hall. Pictures of these are included in the album at the link below.

More photos.    

Ministry: As we continue to administer our discipleship training school (DTS), we'd like to update you on the good things that God is doing with it. By the grace of God, we currently have nineteen disciples in five nations including Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Mali, and now India. Altogether these students speak a total of sixteen different languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, Igbo, Idoma, Hausa, Teso, Yoruba, Darkarchi, Bette, French, Kiswahili, Lubukusu, Ngakarimojong, Bambara and Luo. All of them speak English.

Most of you are probably aware of the volatile situation in Nigeria, since we have reported before that there is hostility toward Christians there and persecution. In June, we received messages from our DTS students there about the terrible bloodshed taking place in Plateau State, where many of our students are attending the University of Jos. Here were a couple of those messages:

Brothers David and Christian in Nigeria

David (pictured left) who is in medical school wrote, "There have been so much unrest and tension in Plateau State. Since Saturday, over 200 people has been killed. Some villages in Barkin Ladi LGA (Local Government Area) were massacred. For about 2 days now, we have not been able to go to school because of the situation.

Praying that the Lord will restore peace in this State.

In Christ."

Meanwhile another medical student named Christian (pictured above) wrote, "Dear Brother Len, I trust your family is fine.  Concerning the present state of Nigeria, [it] is really nothing to write home about. Last Sunday, two villages in Plateau state were attacked by Fulani Herdsmen and over 300 people were killed in cold blood. The contacts of the Security chiefs were all switched off during the attacks and soldiers were even spotted assisting the Islamic herders.

"My school, University of Jos is also situated in a Muslim-dominated part of Plateau state, and going to school has become synonymous with entering a room filled with highly inflammable gas such that the slightest spark might be disastrous. We in this part of the world really need your prayers, Sir."

When Len asked him to clarify what he meant, he stated: "I meant that the campus is situated in one of the most volatile and Muslim-dominated areas such that any spark of violence would put students in danger. We are relatively safe within the confines of the campus walls...However, in recent times, students have been killed on their way to or out of campus, irrespective of the fact that military checkpoints are in close proximity."

We hope you will join us in praying for the safety of our Nigerian brethren.

In July, brother Christian also informed us that he was baptized by water immersion and that he prays for the grace to continue abiding in the Lord's will. Praise the Lord! We congratulate him and pray that he will fulfill that desire.

Sister Hannah in Nigeria

On another note, the fiancée of Deji, one of our new DTS students in Nigeria, has enrolled in our training program. Her name is sister Hannah, and she commented about the impact that the DTS has had on Deji. She said, "I have heard a lot about you. Thank you for giving to the Lord! There was a life that was built up by this DTS (Bro Ayodeji). May God bless you abundantly and I pray that you won't lose you reward here on earth and in heaven." Praise the Lord for what He has accomplished in Deji's life through the training. It has been our pleasure to serve him and watch him grow in the Lord over the past three years.

Hannah shared a brief testimony of how she came to Christ: "Though I was born in a Christian home, this didn't bring deliverance from the power of sin. I still found myself being slave to sin. During a special program in my church for youth, September 2005, I totally surrendered all to Jesus and invited Him into my heart. Since then God has been helping me to please Him." Praise the Lord! She stated her reason for joining is this: "I want to enroll in DTS because I have a strong impression to develop myself spiritually so I can be a better, influential believer to the glory of God." We are pleased to have the chance to serve Hannah over the next three years and look forward to seeing the Lord transform her life.

Please click here to see the full DTS Photo Album.

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

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

"Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." (Ps 115:1)

Resources:  This month we would like to suggest some articles Len has recently written called Walking by Faith, Our God is an Awesome God, and Life by the Spirit, Not Under the Law. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- July 2018. His entire collection of his most popular blogs are at Writing for the Master.

In closing, we have much to praise God for, and many opportunities for you to join us in prayer.

Praise the Lord with us for the many answers to prayer:.

1. For giving Charity a wonderful birthday.
2. For the beautiful field day the Lord gave Jennifer and the children. 
3. For Christian's recent baptism. 
4. For the enrollment of Sister Hannah in our DTS. 
5. For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings. 
6. For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
7. For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For the Lord to heal Len's knee, as well as the lower back and sciatic pain that seems to be coming from his spine.
2. For the Lord to heal Faith and Len from eczema.
3. For the Lord to protect our brethren in Plateau State, Nigeria, especially our DTS students who are attending the University of Jos. For the Lord to restore peace to this area. 
4. For the Lord to bring about a mighty revival among the students at the University of Jos, Nigeria, and to help those who are in our DTS to pass their final exams at the university. 
5. For the Lord to assist us with the administration of the Doulos Training School (DTS), as well as develop through it many disciples who multiply disciples. 
6. For the Lord to help Hannah develop herself spiritually so she can be a better, influential believer to the glory of God.
7. For the Lord to help all of our DTS students to find LTG partners (another Christian to meet with weekly for discipleship in a Life Transformation Group). 
8. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
9. For the Lord to send His angels with Len’s written messages to those who need them, and for an open heaven over them when they receive his messages. 
10. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, and for Him to provide for all our needs -- not only ours personally, but also those of the ministry -- as He releases a financial miracle.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

There are two ways to donate to Doulos Missions International. You may either send a check or money order by mail to:
Doulos Missions International
PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

Donate Online

June 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 a mocking bird laid four eggs in a nest in one of the trees in our garden. The children enjoyed monitoring the progress, watching the eggs hatch one by one, and then seeing the little newborns constantly beg for worms from the mother and father birds. Eventually they witnessed one of them leave the nest and take up position in a nearby evergreen bush. We've included some of the photos in our link below, in case you are interested.

At the end of May and first week of June, they all took their final annual standardized tests as they prepared to wrap up another school year by the grace of God. Charity has also written two new poems called "Greater Things Await" and "Life's Basic Training." They are both posted on Verses to the King at the links provided, if you are interested.

While Len has experienced significant relief lately from lower back and sciatic pain, he is still experiencing knee 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. All things are possible with God.

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 eighteen 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, Ngakarimojong, Bambara and Luo. All of them speak English.

Brother Albin in India

One of our new DTS students is a young man in northern India named Albin, who recently gave his life to the Lord at the end of April after corresponding with Len for a few weeks.

We received an email in April from him stating:

"Dear brother Len,

I have liked reading your articles from beginning and continue the same.

I read your article 'To Sin or Not to Sin', and I'm glad Lord used me as an instrument in helping you write this article. It certainly exposed satan's day-to-day tricks, and I'll keep reading it to remind myself that it is easier 'Not to sin' than 'to sin' once we've been freed of strongholds of satan.

The 'Keys to Prayer' and 'The Disciple's Prayer' articles are really good and I would use [those] to show to the people who pray like the Gentiles and don't know how to pray.

I didn't realise that I was still praying like the Gentiles and that Jesus wanted us to use The Lords prayer to structure our prayers rather than chanting it blindly as it is. It's wonderful how The Lord revealed this simple thing that most people fail to understand.

Keep up the good work .

Praise Lord Jesus.

In Jesus,
Albin"

Praise the Lord! We give God all the glory for using the plain truth explained in these simple articles to help this new believer in India. He also wrote to us afterward in May to say that he attended his first worship service in a Bible preaching church, which the Lord helped him to find and attend, although he got a negative reaction from his family for doing so. Please pray for Albin that he will continue to grow in his faith and make great strides in his walk with Jesus, despite the opposition he encounters from his family. And pray that the Lord will break all the chains of darkness off his life.

Brother Joshua in Nigeria

Another one of our new students is Brother Joshua in Nigeria (pictured left), who was invited by another one of our DTS students. He is a thirty year old man who got saved ten years ago in 2008 and has since been baptized with the Holy Spirit. He said he enrolled in the DTS to "know more about God and to be heavenly minded and earthly useful to live a life sold out to God and humanity." He started his three year journey with us on June 1 and we look forward to assisting him in achieving that noble goal.

Len received the following email from brother Grace in Uganda, one of our DTS students who is a pastor there.

"Praise the Lord! I really thank the Lord Jesus for the training and the first quarter I have completed though faced with some challenges like forming an LTG. Of course, we are praying that the members of our church should adopt the culture of studying God's Word. Most of the churches here have not been discipled, and I believe it is the very reason why our churches are crippled and lagging behind. They pray much, but are lacking when it comes to studying God's Word.This requires your prayerful consideration for our groups here. I praise Him for what so far is being accomplished in our lives and need more of it, as I will try to do my best where I'm supposed to. To Him be the glory, majesty and honour forever more, Amen!
Your humble brother, Grace Okurut."

Brother Charles in Uganda

A pastor in Lira, Uganda named Charles contacted us in June to apply for enrollment in our DTS. He stated: "I would like to appreciate and thank God for the training that has impacted many Pastors around the world. As a Pastor of a local church I recognize the importance of acquiring Bible knowledge so that I can impact my community with the message of our Lord Jesus Christ positively. I am writing to request for an online Bible training program, I came to know about this program from Pastor James Odeke, whom I have worked with for a very long time now. Please help me be the Pastor that Lord wants me to be by equipping me with the necessary skills required. The Ministry I lead is less than one year with a membership of about 200 members."

He shared his testimony of how he was saved in 1993 by stating: "I got born again while in high school. [I was] a member of a very stubborn click of students, who were involved in drinking, smoking and all manner of things that kept us out of school for indiscipline. It was in the Second term while in Senior Two in the night [that] I had a dream that I was preaching to a great multitude of people and among them was part of the student community. They were rejoicing and celebrating the manner at which God was using me in that dream. It's then that I knew the Lord wanted me to be born again. The following day I heard a group of born again students praising the Lord in one of the classrooms. [Through that experience] the Lord convicted me to give my life to him."

Praise the Lord for his wonderful testimony and for subsequently baptizing him with the Holy Spirit. Brother Charles is now the pastor and founder of Champions Miracle Ministries, and began his three-year training with us in June.  Let's pray that the Lord uses the DTS to equip him for works of service, so that he can achieve the vision the Lord has given him and fulfill his calling.

In our last update we mentioned that brother Olugbenga, one of our DMI Board Members who is a pastor in England, traveled to his native land of Nigeria on business in April and May. While it was a productive trip and he was able to meet with one of our DTS students, he contracted typhoid fever and his baby Joel who was with him contracted malaria. So he spent a lot of time caring for the baby and making visits to the hospital for treatments. By the grace of God, Brother Gbenga is doing better now that he is back in the UK. He has finished his treatment and is no longer having stomach pain, but is still feeling really exhausted. He is awaiting results of a blood test to determine if the typhoid has been eliminated. Joel's blood test result shows that there are dead malaria cells, but no live parasites in his system, so thank the Lord for that. The doctor has advised Brother Gbenga to take the boy for a medical examination if he develops fever of any kind in the next six months. As you know, malaria is known to recur, but we are praying that the Lord would miraculously prevent any future recurrence of the disease. Let's remember Brother Gbenga and Joel in our prayers.

Please click here to see the full DTS Photo Album.

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 Against Entropy, Knowing the Lord, Changing the Atmosphere, What Jesus Did Not Do on the Cross, and The Gift of Celibacy. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- June 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 helping all of our children with their standardized final exams.
2. For Brother Olugbenga's successful trip to Nigeria and for the Lord healing him from typhoid, as well as Joel's healing from malaria.
3. For the enrollment of Brother Charles in Uganda and Brother Joshua in Nigera to our DTS.
4. For the wonderful testimony of brother Albin in India.
5. For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings. 
6. For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
7. For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For the Lord to heal Len's knee, as well as the lower back and sciatic pain that seems to be coming from his spine.
2. For the Lord to heal Faith and Len from eczema.
3. For the Lord to heal Brother Olugbenga from exhaustion and miraculously prevent his son Joel from any future recurrence of malaria.
4. For the Lord to provide a good job for Deji and help him and Hannah to get married soon, as well as help him to pastor the campus church.
5. For the Lord to bring about a mighty revival among the students at the University of Jos, Nigeria, and to help those who are in our DTS to pass their final exams at the university. 
6. For the Lord to assist us with the administration of the Doulos Training School (DTS), as well as develop through it many disciples who multiply disciples. 
7. For the Lord to help all of our DTS students to find LTG partners (another Christian to meet with weekly for discipleship in a Life Transformation Group). 
8. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
9. For the Lord to send His angels with Len’s written messages to those who need them, and for an open heaven over them when they receive his messages. 
10. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, and for Him to provide for all our needs -- not only ours personally, but also those of the ministry -- as He releases a financial miracle.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

There are two ways to donate to Doulos Missions International. You may either send a check or money order by mail to:
Doulos Missions International
PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

Donate Online

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:.

1. For helping us to celebrate Christopher's thirteenth birthday
2. For blessing Jennifer and the children with a fun and interesting field trip to an old Moravian village.
3. For the significant measure of healing from abdominal pain that brother David in Nigeria has experienced.
4. For the wonderful testimony of sister Blessing about her father's successful kidney surgery.
5. For saving brother Albin in India and leading him to enroll in our DTS.
6. For the report that brother James in Uganda is teaching the leaders in his church what he is learning in the DTS.
7. For the wonderful testimony of brother Grace in Uganda about what the Lord is doing in his life through the DTS training.
8. 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.
9. For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings. 
10. For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
11. For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For the Lord to heal Len's knee, as well as the lower back and sciatic pain.
2. For the Lord to heal Faith and Len from eczema.
3. For the Lord to heal David at the University of Jos from any remaining abdominal pain.
4. For the Lord to provide a good job for Deji and help him and Hannah to get married soon, as well as help him to pastor the campus church.
5. For the Lord to bring about a mighty revival among the students at the University of Jos, Nigeria. 
6. For the Lord to assist us with the administration of the Doulos Training School (DTS), as well as develop through it many disciples who multiply disciples. 
7. For the Lord to help all of our DTS students to find LTG partners (another Christian to meet with weekly for discipleship in a Life Transformation Group). 
8. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
9. For the Lord to send His angels with Len’s written messages to those who need them, and for an open heaven over them when they receive his messages. 
10. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, including those who would sponsor our students, and for Him to provide for all our needs -- not only ours personally, but also those of the ministry -- as He releases a financial miracle.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

There are two ways to donate to Doulos Missions International. You may either send a check or money order by mail to:
Doulos Missions International
PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

Donate Online

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.    

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 fifteen disciples in four nations including Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, and Mali.

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:.

1. 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.
2. For the opportunity to assist each of our students in becoming disciples of Christ and fulfilling their callings. 
3. For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help administering the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress the students are making.
4. For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For the Lord to heal Len's knee, as well as the lower back and sciatic pain that seems to be coming from his spine.
2. For the Lord to heal Faith and Len from eczema.
3. For the Lord to heal David at the University of Jos from severe abdominal pain.
4. For the Lord to provide a good job for Deji and help him and Hannah to get married soon, as well as help him to pastor the campus church.
5. For the Lord to bring about a mighty revival among the students at the University of Jos, Nigeria. 
6. For the Lord to assist us with the administration of the Doulos Training School (DTS), as well as develop through it many disciples who multiply disciples. 
7. For the Lord to help all of our DTS students to find LTG partners (another Christian to meet with weekly for discipleship in a Life Transformation Group). 
8. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
9. For the Lord to send His angels with Len’s written messages to those who need them, and for an open heaven over them when they receive his messages. 
10. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, including those who would sponsor our students, and for Him to provide for all our needs -- not only ours personally, but also those of the ministry -- as He releases a financial miracle.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

There are two ways to donate to Doulos Missions International. You may either send a check or money order by mail to:
Doulos Missions International
PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

Donate Online

March Update 2018

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

Len on his 52nd birthday

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

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

More photos.    

Ministry:  As we continue to administer our discipleship training school (DTS), we'd like to update you on the good things that God is doing with it.

John in Nigeria

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

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

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

Brother Grace and his wife

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

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

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

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

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

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

Deji and David in Nigeria

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

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

Please click here to see the full DTS Photo Album.

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

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

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

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

"Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." (Ps 115:1)

Resources:  This month we would like to suggest some articles Len has recently written called The Temptation of Christ, God's Amazing Plan for Your Life, God's Way to Greatness, and Faithful in the Little Things. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- March 2018. His entire collection of his most popular blogs are at Writing for the Master.

In closing, we have much to praise God for, and many opportunities for you to join us in prayer.

Praise the Lord with us for the many answers to prayer:.

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

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For the Lord to heal Len's knee, as well as the lower back and sciatic pain that seems to be coming from his spine.
2. For the Lord to heal Faith from eczema on her ankle and neck.
3. For the Lord to heal David at the University of Jos from severe abdominal pain.
4. For the Lord to provide a good job for Deji and help him and Hannah to get married soon, as well as help him to pastor the campus church.
5. For the Lord to bring about a mighty revival among the students at the University of Jos, Nigeria. 
6. For the Lord to assist us with the administration of the Doulos Training School (DTS), as well as develop through it many disciples who multiply disciples. 
7. For the Lord to help all of our DTS students to find LTG partners (another Christian to meet with weekly for discipleship in a Life Transformation Group). 
8. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
9. For the Lord to send His angels with Len’s written messages to those who need them, and for an open heaven over them when they receive his messages. 
10. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, including those who would sponsor our students, and for Him to provide for all our needs -- not only ours personally, but also those of the ministry -- as He releases a financial miracle.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

There are two ways to donate to Doulos Missions International. You may either send a check or money order by mail to:
Doulos Missions International
PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

Donate Online

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:.

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

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For the Lord to heal Len's knee and sciatic pain.
2. For the Lord to heal Faith from eczema on her ankle and neck.
3. For the Lord to bring about a mighty revival among the students at the University of Jos Medical School. 
4. 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. 
5. For the Lord to increase the enrollment in our DTS according to His will.
6. 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.
7. For the Lord to help all of our DTS students to find LTG partners (another Christian to meet with weekly for discipleship in a Life Transformation Group). 
8. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
9. For the Lord to send His angels with Len’s written messages to those who need them, and for an open heaven over them when they receive his messages. 
10. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, including those who would sponsor our students, and for Him to provide for all our needs -- not only ours personally, but also those of the ministry -- as He releases a financial miracle.
11. 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

There are two ways to donate to Doulos Missions International. You may either send a check or money order by mail to:
Doulos Missions International
PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

Donate Online