August Update 2019

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

Family: In August we celebrated Faith's seventeenth birthday. She received cards, gifts, and prayer from all of us who love her. We also enjoyed delicious homemade cake.

We also baptized Joseph with water into Christ in August, which was a wonderful occasion, following his commitment to Christ on May 5th.

We're also continuing to pray for our shoulders to be healed. Len has seen a doctor at the Veterans Healthcare Center for the painful issue, and the MRI did not show a full rotator cuff tear, but there were other issues noted by the radiologist with the shoulder. We are still not sure what the cause of his problem is, but he is receiving physical therapy and hoping to see a specialist. Jennifer has experienced a significant measure of healing, such that she is not in the pain she was in a year ago and has regained some range of motion in her shoulder, although she does still have limited range of motion.

More photos.    

Ministry: As we continue to administer our discipleship training school (DTS), we'd like to update you on the good things that God is doing with it. By the grace of God, we currently have disciples in six nations including Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Mali, and the United Arab Emirates.

Sister Sherry

One of our students, Sherry from Kenya, has moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to earn a living for her children, whom she left back in Kenya with her parents. As you may recall, she is a single mother, and she has been struggling significantly, so she felt this was necessary in order to provide for her children and make sure they are properly nourished. She is obligated to stay in the UAE for at least six months, and then may remain there for up to two years total. Her new LTG partner from Kenya also joined her in moving to the UAE to work abroad as well. So they will continue to meet together for their Life Transformation Group (LTG) during their time there.

More DTS Testimonies

Two new students in Kenya have enrolled in our DTS. Brother Peter is thirty-eight years old and has been walking with the Lord for twenty-three years since 1996. He has also been baptized with the Holy Spirit. Here is his testimony:

"It was in 16th, February 1996, that was day the first day of the first year in high school. I was taken to a meeting at 9:00 pm after the night prep by one of the older members of the school, only to realise that I was in a Christian meeting. Its then that I gave my life to Christ Jesus my Lord."

Peter in Kenya

Here is the reason why he is enrolling in the DTS: "I would love to be in this programme because of the great  commission of Jesus Christ and the burden that I feel for the lost. Honestly, I am never satisfied that I have not yet fulfilled my purpose in life, and that's why it would be a great honor for me to be empowered to fulfill my destiny."

The second brother named Moses is also from Kenya. He is forty-two years old and has been saved for nine years since 2010. He has also been baptized with the Holy Spirit, and came to the Lord this way:

"I had a conviction within that I needed to receive Jesus as my Lord and personal Savior, and this was due to too much pain and sorrow that I was going through. I understood that it was only through salvation, that I would find rest. It was after this that I made a decision to attend my current church Sunday service, and it was in that service that I requested one of the ushers to tell the Bishop that I want to receive Jesus as my Lord and savior. Precisely, that is how I was led to Jesus."

He gave the following reason for enrolling in our school: "I have a heart for souls and I believe that through this program, I will be empowered to be able to reach as many people as possible." Immediately after enrolling, some circumstances arose in his life that are beyond his control, which he says might preclude him from beginning his training in our DTS. Let's pray the Lord works all things together for his good, so he can train with us.

DTS Photo Album.

John in Nigeria

Len received a praise report from brother John in Nigeria, who is one of our students. He stated:

"Dear brother Len,

I have so many things to testify for the glory of the Lord; in this quarter, I understand clearly the meaning of sin and its consequences, I understand now that several parables of Jesus Christ were pointing to backsliding believers. In this quarter, I came to realize some certain end time events that will surely come to pass. DTS has helped me to understand that Christ was enfolded in the Old Testament and unfolded in the New Testament.

In our Life Transformation Group (LTG), we have a balance of encouraging each other, which is always helping us from been worried. Both of us have a way of encouraging one another in love. The DTS is helping me with basic facts that will streamline my Christian walk. I thank God for DTS and servant Len.

Grace and mercy be upon you and your entire family. Thanks."

He further added:

"There are so many things I have learnt from this training that are helping me now to stand as a believer which only God knows. Within my power, I cannot...count all [of them]. The real truth is that I am blessed from DTS."

Praise the Lord for brother John's testimony of what the Lord is doing in his life.

David in Nigeria

You may remember brother David from Nigeria who was in our DTS while studying in medical school at the University of Jos. He is now in his third year of medical school, which is a major feat by the grace of God. However, he has had to temporarily suspend his DTS training due to the intensity of his medical studies, and plans to finish one of our key DTS academic requirements soon, so that he can advance to his third year of DTS. Meanwhile he continues to meet in a Life Transformation Group (LTG) with two other brothers in medical school who are also former DTS students, whose names are Emeka Christian and Andrew. Their LTG continues to be a source of mutual encouragement for all three of these brothers. Praise the Lord. Please pray that brother David will soon complete the necessary requirements in order to advance to his third year of DTS.

Len received the following praise report from brother Grace in Uganda, who is a pastor there and one of our DTS students:

Grace in Uganda

"Hi brother Len.

I thank God for the DTS opportunity. Whenever  I am faced with a situation that needs the Lord's intervention, when I call upon the Lord's fire, I feel the consuming effect and this has helped me a lot.When reading the Bible and going through my notes, the Lord's fire covers me, speaking in tongues has become a habit and witnessing with power.

I thank God my life is greatly changed!

Blessings"

Praise the Lord for brother Grace's testimony. May it create a hunger in each of us for more of the Lord.

Another pastor from Uganda, brother Tom, who is one of our DTS students currently in his first quarter, wrote in with this testimony:

Tom in Uganda

"I am pastor Tom from Lira-Uganda. When I joined this great institute, my life drastically changed. Mysteries that were hidden from me yet they are in the scriptures were categorically and systematically explained to me in depth. I am so sure that by the end of this course, I shall not be just a learner of the word but a minister of the word. I therefore urge all God's servants to join this program. God bless you."

Praise the Lord for the dramatic change in brother Tom's life through the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

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

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

Resources:  This month we would like to suggest some articles Len has recently written called The Tree of Life as a Type of Christ, The Scapegoat as a Type of Christ, The Sufferings of the Prophets as a Type, The Bronze Serpent as a Type of Christ, and The Black Hole as a Type. Len's latest articles are all available at Old News That's Still Fresh -- August 2019. His entire collection of his most popular blogs are at Writing for the Master.

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

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

1. For allowing us to celebrate Faith's seventeenth birthday.
2. For Joseph's commitment to Christ and water baptism.
3. For the testimonies of what the Lord is doing in the lives of brothers Tom, Grace, and John through the DTS, and what the Lord is doing in the life of David through his LTG at the medical school in Nigeria.
4. For our new students from Kenya, Peter and Moses.
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 Jennifer from chronic pain and limited range of motion in her right arm, and for the Lord to heal Len of the same thing in his left shoulder and arm.
2. For the Lord to heal Faith and Len from eczema.
3. For the Lord to provide for Sherry and her family as she works in the UAE and to bless her and her LTG partner as they continue to meet together there.
4. For the Lord to help brother David complete the necessary academic requirements of our DTS in order to advance to his third year of training. 
5. For the Lord to heal brother Grace in Uganda from a broken arm and other injuries.
6. For the Lord to work all things together for good for brother Moses in Kenya, so that he can begin his studies with us in September as planned.
7. 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. 
8. 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). 
9. For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for us and our ministry.
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

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PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

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