In my previous post, we covered Dr. Andrew Stenhouse's Post Graduate Experiences of God's Faithfulness. Now in this segment, we'll cover his experiences with the Lord in England.
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Len: Welcome to A Willing Heart to Please the Father. This is Len Lacroix, and I'm back again tonight with my guest, Dr. Andrew Stenhouse; and we're continuing the series of his life story.
So, Andrew, I want to welcome you back to the program.
Dr. Stenhouse: Thank you, Len. I so appreciate it, and I love being with you on this program.
Len: And we love having you. And we are going to be talking tonight—first of all, last session we spoke about the post-graduate experiences of God's faithfulness and your sea voyage to England.
So if folks didn't hear that podcast, they should go back and listen to that one. It's a very interesting one. But, it brought us to the point where you arrived in England, and we want to pick it up there and talk about your post-graduate exam in England.
Dr. Stenhouse: Okay, Len. Well, thank you so much. And one of the things that people who want to proceed in medicine do is to obtain post-graduate diplomas and certificates and memberships in different societies. And the one in London is very prestigious throughout the world. It’s called the Royal College of Physicians. And we had a high standard in Australia and New Zealand, but they even have a higher standard in London, I think.
And the first thing I'd like to say is that I went down to London and took the exam; and there were fifty people who were going to pass the exam. And there were over a thousand taking it. And so, it is very competitive.
Len: Yes.
Dr. Stenhouse: And there was a doctor from Oxford who was going around introducing himself from Oxford, and all the people from all over the world were supposed to be impressed by this. And he was trying to get them all on edge before the exam started, on the day that I was taking it. And he came to me, and he said, “What's your name?”
And I said, “It doesn't matter, because I'm the one that's going to pass.” And sure enough, I didn't see him again after that.
So anyway... But that was it; and the exam was very strict, very difficult, but somehow the Lord made it easy for me. When He wants me do something, He always shows up and shows me what to do.
And so anyway, this was an exam similar to that that I took in New Zealand.
Len: And how long did it take you?
Dr. Stenhouse: They take the whole day. And the first thing is you do exam papers, and then they present you with short cases of patients similar to the ones in New Zealand. And you are given an EKG and so on--or a photograph of a cardiogram or a photograph of a radiology picture--and asked to comment on that.
And then after the short cases and those things, you go into a room with a patient who has got a complicated problem. And so, there were two professors from all different parts of Britain that come over there and examine you on your interview with the person.
Len. Okay.
Dr Stenhouse: And I went in the room, and I saw this gentleman there; and as soon as I saw him, I knew what was wrong with him--the Lord showed me what was wrong with him. And so, it was fairly easy-going after that, and [I] managed to pass the exam.
Len: So, that's wonderful! Now, they actually--you have a live patient, that they have you see--with a real case.
Dr. Stenhouse: All of them I’ve never seen before, but the Lord showed me what was wrong with this man. And it was very amazing to me.
Len: Yeah, it is amazing!
Dr. Stenhouse: So anyway, that was that exam, and I passed that.
Len: And you said that fifty people were expected to pass out of one thousand? Is that correct?
Dr. Stenhouse: Over a thousand. I don’t know how many there were.
Len: So that would be--if it was a thousand, that’d be five percent. And you know how many ended up passing?
Dr. Stenhouse: Only fifty.
Len: Fifty, yeah.
Dr. Stenhouse: I don’t know who they were, of course, because they were from different parts of the world.
Len: Right. Okay…So, now I'd like to have us talk next about your research that you did at the Tropical Medicine School in England.
Dr. Stenhouse: Okay, well the Tropical Medicine School was known throughout the world for excellence and all diseases of the tropics.
And there was a professor there that we both wanted to work with each other. And so, we started off doing virus experiments. And well, I talked to him about the Lord. And, I’m not sure, I told him I knew one day I was going to be a missionary again for the Lord. And it was this time in London, also, that I felt led to go to Afghanistan.
Len: Right; and we'll be talking about that in our next segment. Now, tell me about that time when you got the direction from the Lord about your U.S. citizenship.
Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, that's interesting. I was coming back from lunch, one day, and walking through a large, public park in London, on my way back to the Tropical Medicine School. And I was just minding my own business, walking after lunch, and I heard the voice of the Lord say to me, “Look to your right.”
And so I looked to the right, and there was the U.S. Embassy; and I had never noticed it before.
And the Lord said to me, “Where you were born is important to me.”
And so I said, “Lord, you want me to go there?”
And I saw him nod as it were and, “Yes.”
So I did a quick ninety-degrees to the right and walked into the Embassy and talked to a lady there who was very helpful.
And she said, “All I need, Dr. Stenhouse, is your birth certificate.”
So I called up to my mom and dad, and they sent a copy of it down to me. And I gave it to the lady in London, in the Embassy.
And it so happened that the day I was there, they were having an introduction of many people into the U.S citizenship. And so she said, “Dr. Stenhouse, just get on the end of the line, and it'll save you coming back.”
And there I was at the end of the line, taking the oath of allegiance to the United States of America.
Len: Wow!
Dr. Stenhouse: On the very day that I happened to be there, they were doing that. So, the Lord just looks out for you when you just do what He says.
Len: He does. And, for those who didn't listen to the first segment, you were born in Detroit, Michigan here in the U.S. and spent the first few years of your life in Detroit, before your family moved back to England.
So, they always give a child who's born in the U.S—or any country-- I think, when you turn eighteen, typically, then you have the opportunity, if you want to become a citizen of that country. So, how old do you think you were at that point?
Dr. Stenhouse: At that point I was probably around twenty-six; I’m not sure.
Len: Okay. Good. Well, I think that's an excellent testimony. And we're going to wrap this session up today on your experiences in England. So, I want to thank you very much for joining us tonight, Andrew.
Dr. Stenhouse: Well, it's been a great pleasure to be able to be with you. Even as short a time as we have together, it's wonderful because Lord just goes ahead of me.
Len: Yeah, amen. And, we’ll look forward to our next talk together, Andrew. And until then, have a good night.
Dr. Stenhouse: You too, Len and thank you; and blessings to you all and to everybody that listens.
Len: Thank you. God bless you, too.
Dr. Stenhouse: Thank you.
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?"
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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.
