Teen Years

In my previous post, we covered Dr. Andrew Stenhouse's Later Childhood. Now in this segment, we'll cover his teen years, when he moved from Scotland to New Zealand and chose a career path.

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Len: Welcome! This is Len Lacroix, and I'm here tonight, joined by my guest, Dr. Andrew Stenhouse, and we have been talking about his life story. The first two segments, we covered his early childhood and later childhood. And if you haven't listened to those already, let me encourage you to go back and listen to them, because they are very interesting, and I think they'll really be a blessing to you. 

But tonight we're going to be talking about his teen years, and so you're in for a real treat tonight, as we talk about that segment of his life. So, Andrew, I want to welcome you back to the program.

Dr. Stenhouse: Thank you, Len. It is so lovely to be back with you this evening, again, and to bring the next introduction of what's been happening in my life. This covers the years from when I was thirteen through seventeen. 

And, during this time, we made a transition as a family from Scotland to New Zealand. And the decisions I had to make--or challenges, really, that I had to make regarding my further schooling and further choice of a ministry, or rather a choice of what I would like to do for the rest of my life…

Len: Why don't we start with some experiences that you'd like to share that happened during that period, before we go into your move from Scotland to New Zealand. Are there any experiences that you remember from that period that you want to talk about that happened before the move?

Dr. Stenhouse: I think the main thing that happened was my father was exhausted from his continual work for many years during World War II. And he had his mother living in New Zealand, and he was from New Zealand, and my mother also had a mother in New Zealand, so it was a natural thing for them to consider going over there and to get some peace from the terrible time during World War II.

Len: Ok, I thought that your parents were from Scotland, so I didn't know they were originally from New Zealand.

Dr. Stenhouse: Oh no, they had...Oh, I'm sorry! They had relatives in New Zealand, I should say.

Len: Ok. So thank you for clarifying that. And so your father had been--was he in charge of all the steel for the war in England?

Dr. Stenhouse: The war effort. 

Len: So they had called him over from the US to England, because he had been working for General Motors, and then they called him over there. And that's what you were talking about, couple of programs ago, about how he had to go to England to help with the war effort. He was in charge of all the steel there, and then that really exhausted him. 

So then you all moved from England to--or from Scotland, rather, I'm sorry, to New Zealand. Right?

[Note: His father initially moved from Detroit, Michigan, USA to England to work for General Motors (GM) in London. However, when the war began, he was put in charge of the steel for all of Great Britain for the war effort. That included springs, planes, tanks, and everything else made of steel. That required him to travel to all the steel plants in the countryside and to London every day, which was exhausting.]

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, we went from Scotland -- from England to Scotland, and from Scotland to New Zealand. And my father had relatives over there, which made it quite smooth to make that trip.

Len: Yeah, sure. Is there anything you want to talk about with respect to the actual move that you made?

Dr. Stenhouse: No, not really, except that it was a bit traumatic for me going from one college to another college with different programs and different outlines for students and, of course, different times. 

(Flashback to Scotland): When we arrived in Scotland, where there were a lot of things going on over the water, there were planes crashing into each other--pushing and getting things taken care of in the air. Because across from where we were staying in New Zealand...in Scotland, excuse me, there was a loch (lake) called the Holy Loch, The Holy Loch. And the submarines were being produced in the Holy Loch, and Germany was anxious to get rid of them, and so that was a trauma for us. 

But our trip from Scotland to New Zealand was very interesting. I did well in the Scotland school and actually got a medal in mathematics, which surprised everybody. And then we were moving over to New Zealand. 

During the trip to New Zealand, the interesting thing on that trip was going through the Suez Canal. And going through Suez Canal, my father had written a thesis for a master’s degree at the University of London on “The Source of Water for Israel”. 

And so he had written this, and I had helped him with the mapping, and so on, of the charts. And he felt that I would be a natural to do this sort of thing in New Zealand. So this is what I started off on. I went to school there for a year or so and then went into university, in Wellington, in New Zealand…

Len: (cross talk) Now, when you went to the university....

Dr. Stenhouse: ...and started in geological survey as a follow-up to my father's master's degree from University of London 

Len: Ok, so when you went to the university, how old were you? Were you younger than, normally, children would be going into the university?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, I was sixteen. I couldn't go earlier than sixteen. I was sixteen when I went to university, and you were able to go there, then. 

Len: Wow! That’s pretty young to be going into university! Was that unusual, in that era? 

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, it was a little unusual. And it allowed me to go during the day and work after hours as a helper in a restaurant. So that was what I did to help make some money for us all.

Len: Ok. Now did you say that you did any--because of the help you gave your dad on the map work for his thesis--did you spend any time working on mapping, as like any kind of studies in that area, at all, or any work in that area? 

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, when I was fifteen, I worked in a mapping department and lands and survey department and took exams on my mapping there and passed those. And then I moved over from the mapping section to the geology section.

Len: Ok. So, when you were on your trip through the Suez Canal, how did that tie in with his thesis--his master's thesis on water supply for Israel?

Dr. Stenhouse: Well, my father did that for a master's degree in University of London and forwarded it over to there. But I told him, when we were on the trip to New Zealand, I said, "Dad, you need to get off this boat and go to Israel and see where these things are-- we mapped out are." 

And he said--Dad said to me, "No, I'm so sorry, I'm not able to do that. I'm not able to do that." 

Len: Yeah. So now talk to me a little bit about the decision that he wanted you to make on deciding about which career you would pursue. So take it from the beginning where--what you started off thinking you were going to do, or what he was recommending.

Dr. Stenhouse: I went home one holiday, when--just before I was sixteen, to northern New Zealand where my father was working (at this time, he was working as a teacher). And we spent about two weeks going through all of the various things I thought I could work in, and we never reached anything other than the possibility of being a geologist. And that was why I came back and entered geological survey, as a cartographer, and took it up as a career at the university by taking on geology as a major. 

Len: I see. Because there was one point at which your father—you had said that he had artistic skills and thought that you would do well in art--in the art field.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, well the reason for that was that I helped him out with his mapping, very well, and he thought it was a natural thing for me to do. 

Len: And so, before, when you had told me about the geological studies, I never really thought of the cartography aspect--the mapping aspect of geological studies; I more or less thought of the study of the rocks themselves, you know. 

Dr. Stenhouse: No. I got that from being in the classes.

Len: Yeah! So you entered into geological studies at what school in New Zealand?

Dr. Stenhouse: At the Wellington University in Wellington, New Zealand.

Len: Is that in the southern part or the northern part of New Zealand?

Dr. Stenhouse: That's in the middle of the southern part of the North Island. So that's where I was. 

Len: Yeah, interesting! Well, that kind of brings us to the conclusion of this podcast, talking about your teen years. And it's very interesting to see how you made that decision on which career path to pursue. And it's also easy to see why you’d pick that, because of the natural talent that you had with the mapping--or cartography, as you called it.

But what we're going to see in the next segment is how God redirected you into the career path that He wanted you in. And it's going to be very interesting for our listeners to tune in for that one, because--or listen to that one, I should say--because it really shows how, you know, in Proverbs 16:9, it tells us that, "In a man's heart he plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." And so you had planned your course, but we're going to find out in the next segment how God redirected your steps. 

Dr. Stenhouse: Ok, Len. That sounds good!

Len: So I want to thank you very much for sharing that today and for being on the program, and I look forward to our next chat together, Andrew.

Dr. Stenhouse: Thank you, Len! Thank you so much!

Len: You're welcome.

Author's Note: The next post in this series is Called to Be a Doctor. You can find the Home page of this blog at this link. You can find my most popular blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.  

Called to Be a Doctor

This is an interview with Dr. Andrew Stenhouse, former president of Doulos Missions International, as he tells how he heard the audible voice of the Lord calling him to be a medical doctor at the age of 17. (Note: This was originally recorded in August 2016).

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Len: I wanted to ask you, Andrew, if you could please tell me that part about -- go back to the beginning where you first received your call. You had been a geology student, but then a female friend invited you to church, and while you were sitting there in church with her, you told me one time that you heard God speak to you in an audible voice and called you to be a doctor. So pick it up with the friend inviting you and go from there with that piece where you were in the church and how you heard from God.

Dr. Stenhouse: Well, this was a worship service. And I loved that and loved to go. And then during the preaching part, I heard the audible voice of God speak to me on the right side of my body. And I said to the young lady Ruth, “Did you hear somebody talk?”

She said, “Shush, Andrew. You don’t talk in church.”

I said, “I know.”

And then the next thing that happened was, it was the audible voice of God telling me I was going to be a doctor. And then nothing happened for a few minutes, and then suddenly, my whole body started to shake like a rag doll and it interfered with the service. And I suddenly said, “This is my Creator doing this,” and I started talking to God and telling Him how I hated the war in London during World War II and the bombs and blood and guts and people not coming back to school. And the one thing I didn’t want to do was be a doctor. So I kept on talking and the shaking got worse and worse. So I had to stop, thinking I might physically die. And so the next thing that happened was that I stopped talking, the shaking stopped, and then the voice spoke to me, not from my right side, but from the lower left side of my body.

And it’s as though the Holy Spirit or God was surrounding me, and said, “You will be a doctor.” It was a command.

And I said, “Yes, Lord, I will be a doctor.”

And that was how I got in, and from then on nothing else mattered in my life. My interests -- I immediately resigned from geology courses and also the Geological Survey where I was working. I was about seventeen at that time.

Len: Wow!

Dr. Stenhouse: And I changed islands, went to the south island, and took up pre-med at that time. None of the courses had I taken in the past. I had taken languages and geology mainly, and mathematics. And here I was doing courses that people have been trained for all their lives.

Len: Wow! Now you said the south island…what country was that?

Dr. Stenhouse: That’s New Zealand.

Len: Okay, so this all happened in New Zealand. And it was a lady named Ruth, a sister in Christ named Ruth that invited you to church.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes.

Len: Now when you were in that service, two things I want to know about it, if you can tell me. Do you remember what the -- when God first told you to be a doctor, how He said it to you? Not that it really matters, but do you remember what words He used when He said it the first time on your right side?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, as far as I remember, “You are to be a doctor.” “You are going to be a doctor,” or something like that.

Len: Yeah. Now the other thing I wanted to know was, when you say it disrupted the service, did you have pretty much a lot of people now with their attention focused on you?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, and everybody was moving away, as far as I know. And I left the service at that point after the whole thing was over. I didn’t stay in the service, because I couldn’t focus on anything else.

Len: Yeah, so people probably thought you were kind of strange.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, very strange. And I had actually been brought up very strictly and didn’t realize that God would do that.

Len: Yeah, I mean, you would never have done anything like that on your own.

Dr. Stenhouse: Oh, no! Absolutely not! And everybody that I would tell it to thought I was nuts, you know.

Editor's Comments

This is truly an amazing testimony of how God called a man to serve Him as a medical doctor. One thing you need to learn from this is that you need to listen to the Lord's voice. It's extremely important. The voice of the Lord changes your outlook, especially when He shakes you like a rag doll like He did with Dr. Stenhouse. In order to hear the Lord's voice, you need to be less involved in distractions. You need to remove them from your life, such as texting.

Only eternity will tell all that the Lord actually did through this humble servant of His during those fifty-five years of medical practice. I know that there were miraculous healings that took place, the gospel was proclaimed to the sick and dying, and people were introduced to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Dr. Stenhouse served in many different capacities over those five decades. That included working for the US Navy in a medical school that he helped to establish in Afghanistan. It also included having his own Family Medical practice in Texas in the United States for a number of years, later serving as a Professor of Medicine for Texas Tech in Amarillo, Texas, as well as working at the Veterans' Administration Hospital there. Toward the end of his career, he spent a great deal of time working in a hospice caring for those who were dying, which was something he thoroughly enjoyed.

He is a model for other Christians who practice medicine, demonstrating how to serve patients not only from a physical and medical perspective, but also from a supernatural and spiritual one, so that their bodies might be healed and their souls saved.

Andrew loves the Lord with all His heart, and I have always known him to be a kind, loving, compassionate, generous person, who cares about people. When I asked him around 2007 to serve as the president for our ministry, Doulos Missions International, he humbly accepted it, feeling he was unworthy for such a task. Yet he served in that role for seven years, until he officially resigned in August 2014. He had actually tried to resign one year before that, due to his health, but agreed at my request to serve longer to help fulfill the need we had at that time. That was after he had retired from medicine, which he would not have done if it had not been for his health issues. He loved his profession, and put his heart into it. His resignation from our ministry's board of directors occurred one year after we had returned from the mission field of Eastern Europe to the United States.

During the time that he served as our ministry's president and chairman of the board, he was a tremendous blessing to us. Countless times he has been for us a source of godly counsel and wisdom from the Lord. He has upheld us in prayer, too. He always has and still does maintain his practice of asking the Father and hearing the Lord's voice, even though it may be the still small voice of the Holy Spirit in his heart, and not the audible voice of God like he heard so long ago in that church. Now in his 80's, he still continues to have two-way conversations with the Father.

If you are a Christian medical doctor, I hope that this testimony has encouraged you, as well as edified and guided you to serve the Lord with such honor, integrity, love, and compassion for people. I hope it has encouraged you to be bold and pray for the sick, trusting the Lord to heal them, as well as share the gospel with your patients and lead them to the Savior. You have a tremendous platform and a position of influence, so use it for the Lord.

If you are a Christian medical student or someone who is considering the medical profession, may this testimony be an encouragement to you, too, to hear the Lord's voice, whether audible or in your heart. Being a medical doctor is a calling, so you need to be sure it is your calling from God before you proceed down that path. Seek Him diligently in prayer and He will direct you. As the proverbs say:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." (Pr 3:5-6, NASB).

"In a man's heart he plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." (Pr 16:9).

God has had a plan for everyone since before the foundation of the world. Your life is foreordained. God has included you in His wonderful unfolding plan, but He will not violate your own free will. You can either choose to partner with Him by doing His will, as brother Stenhouse did, and experience the joy and excitement of doing so, or you can do your own will and forfeit all that, as well as eternal life. It's your choice.

Author's note: See the Home page of this blog for more podcasts on the life of Dr. Stenhouse. The next post is about his Medical Studies.

A more complete interview about his calling into medicine can be found here at The Voice That Changed Everything and the podcast at this link. You may access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master. Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.