Post Graduate Experiences

In my previous post, we covered the Lord's faithfulness that was evident in Dr. Andrew Stenhouse's Residency. Now in this segment, we'll cover his post graduate experiences of God's faithfulness.

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Len: Welcome to A Willing Heart to Please the Father! This is Len Lacroix, and I'm here tonight on the program with my guest, Dr Andrew Stenhouse, and we're continuing to talk about his life story.

Tonight we're discussing his post-graduate experiences of God's faithfulness. So, Andrew, I want to welcome you to the program, once again.

Dr. Stenhouse: Len, thank you for introducing me! And I would just like to thank everybody that’s listening and bring glory to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Len: So beginning with the [post-graduate] exam, can you talk about that?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, I can. The final year after graduation from medical school is the senior registrar year. And during this, you’re able to take an exam in the Royal College of Australasian Physicians. And this is a prestigious exam and only has a very few people that ever graduate from this.

When I took it at the beginning of that year, I was the senior registrar to the dean of the medical school. And, as part of my duty, I took this exam at that time.

The exam itself consisted of several portions of exam papers, followed by a long patient case and then multiple small, short, questions, and substances that we had to discuss. 

In this exam, twenty people were being examined from both New Zealand and Australia. And at the end of the sessions, only two of us passed out of the twenty. So it only had a ten-percent pass rate. So you could see that it was very, severely judged, and persons had to make no mistakes at all! But then you had to go over and above that, with what you said.

I was the only one from New Zealand to pass, but there was a doctor from Australia that had come over to take the exam, because it was from the Australasian College of Physicians, which is both Australia and New Zealand.

During the exam, the long patient that I had was a patient of some rarity. The Lord had me, during the year, take and read and put into my memory the new, long, difficult cases that were coming up across the world (e.g., in the New England Journal of Medicine).

And it so happened that the patient I had was one of those cases; he was about number fourteen out of twenty cases that I had memorized and taken into account.

The doctor that examined me did not believe that I had not seen the patient before, and he asked me, several hours later, I must have seen the patient before. 

I said, “No, sir, I haven't.”

Then he went, saw the patient; the patient said, “No,” he hadn’t seen me before, although he indicated to the examiner he wished he had.

And it turned out to be an obedience that I had on going through these long cases; one of them was this very patient that I diagnosed correctly. And I give all glory to the Lord…

Len: Wow! That’s amazing!

Dr. Stenhouse: ...because if He had not given me that instruction, then I would never have done that on my own accord.

Len: Yeah! So the exam, now—just so that I understand it--was mainly written, right? So you had the written account of this patient’s long case. Is that correct so far?

Dr. Stenhouse: Well, we had a series of different things. We had long cases that we had to see and examine and short cases that we had to see and examine. And then we had papers to write on subjects we didn't know ahead of time what they were to be.

Len: Okay.

Dr. Stenhouse: And then we had pathological specimens that we had to identify correctly. It was a long and involved examination over several days.

Len: So this patient that had the long case, which was already written up in one of the medical journals that you had been reading each month, they had that person there at the hospital for you to see? I mean, I don't understand that part. Did you actually, at some point, see them or not?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, that was my long-case exam that I had to go in the room with--he and I only--, and I had to examine him, and so forth, and then look at the x-rays that were provided for me.

Len: Okay. And, with the case that was written up in the medical journals, had they yet figured out in the medical journals what the diagnosis was?

Dr. Stenhouse: In the diagnosis part, this had been diagnosed correctly by the doctor that wrote up the patient.

Len: In the journal.

Dr. Stenhouse: That’s right.

Len: So you had read that story, and then when you got this case--you said that the doctor that was overseeing the exam asked the patient if they had seen you before, and they said, “No;” and you hadn’t seen them. But then you did eventually have to see them for the exam piece, right?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes. They asked me to see him, and I correctly made the diagnosis, because it fit exactly the patient that I had seen in the medical journal, several months previously.

Len: Was it actually the same person or just the same kind of case?

Dr. Stenhouse: The same case, not the same person.

Len: Okay, that helps, because I thought it was the same person. So thanks for clarifying that. So that's amazing!

Well the next thing I would like to ask you to talk about--because a moment ago you mentioned being the senior registrar to the dean, but actually I think that was the title when you were at the teaching hospital--you were the senior registrar to the chief professor of medicine.

But this next piece here, you became the chief resident of the dean of the medical school; that was something different, right, from the senior registrar?

Dr. Stenhouse: Being the senior registrar to the dean of the medical school was even higher than being registrar of the chief of medicine. And so it was a promotion, as well, for my final registrar year.

Len: Okay. Was it chief resident or senior resident? What did they call it?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, chief resident or senior resident would be fine—either way.

Len: Yeah, so are there any experiences that you had in that role that you wanted to share?

Dr. Stenhouse: Well one of the things that came up was that the dean's daughter was sick, and I was asked to see her. And I made up a diagnosis, and the dean did not agree with me that this was the correct diagnosis of his daughter.

So we got the professor of surgery to come in, because I said the patient required surgery. And the chief of surgery, who was an older doctor, agreed with me and agreed with the findings on x-ray, that surgery was needed. And so that the dean agreed that we should go ahead with the surgery, and the surgery proved us to be correct.

Really, it points out the fact that the doctor shouldn’t really examine or take a history of his children.

Len: Yeah.

Dr. Stenhouse: Get them to a doctor a doctor that does that.

Len: Yeah. Now what about the Wellcome Research scholarship that you ended up receiving? Do you want to tell us about that?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, one of the things that I was approached to do was to apply for the first New Zealand recipient of a Wellcome Research Fellowship and to do it in experimental virology with the professor in Sheffield, England--the professor of medicine at Sheffield England who was a virologist also.

So this was what we applied for, and what we, by God’s sovereignty, went into. And so this was an interesting time, as well, to do post-graduate degree, to do post-graduate research and to also take the London School of Medicine exam, similar to the Australasian one, only it’s a little more difficult.

Len: Okay, so tell us about the sea voyage to England to go to Sheffield for that work--that research fellowship.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, well it was very interesting on the sea voyage going to England. I was able to go there for two shillings and six pennies if I would be acting as the doctor onboard for the seamen, you know the—

Len: Oh, the crew?

Dr. Stenhouse: The crew.

Len: Not the passengers?

Dr. Stenhouse: They had ten passengers, as well.

Len: Okay. So you were agreeing to be the doctor for everyone on the ship.

Dr. Stenhouse: That’s right.

Len: Okay. And so that's pretty interesting! And was the trip kind of uneventful, or did you have any interesting experiences?

Dr. Stenhouse: No, it wasn't uneventful. Every day I would have an appointment with patients that needed to see me. And this particular day, what happened was that one of the sailors went to work. And when he was at work, they emptied the swimming pool, and he didn't know that. And so, when he got off work, he got his swim-gear on and then dived into the pool that was empty and broke his neck and injured his spinal cord. So I had to manage him medically with a fractured neck and pressure on his spinal cord, which was kind of tricky and difficult. 

And then I had a patient with acute appendicitis, that I had to manage medically, and another patient with a fracture.

And the man who was the captain of the ship told me that he didn't think he could wait for me in Curaçao, which is a port where we stopped to fill up the ship with whatever we used to go across.

Len: The fuel.

Dr. Stenhouse: And I said, “Well we've got to get these in the hospital.” I said, “They can’t wait.”

So we got ambulances lined up, and I took them to the hospital at Curaçao, where they had--this was a Dutch island—a resort thing in the northern part of the South America Peninsula.

Len: Oh!

Dr. Stenhouse: So I got them all safely tucked to in over there and then just got in time back to the ship, where they were filling the ship up with the gasoline. And we took off within the hour of my getting back…

Len: That’s cutting it close.

Dr. Stenhouse: …, because he was wanting to break the record of the time to get half-a-million sheep from New Zealand to England.

Len: So the ship was carrying sheep?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes.

Len: Half-a-million sheep?! 

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, dead sheep.

Len: Oh. Okay. Wow, that's quite a load--quite a bit of cargo there! So how many--do you know how long it took to get there--from New Zealand to England?

Dr. Stenhouse: About thirty days.

Len: Okay. That is pretty fast to go from that part of the world all the way around to England.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes.

Len: So did you end up arriving on time?--or early?

Dr. Stenhouse: No, we arrived on time, and he was quite happy about it. 

And there were one or two days I would be seasick and having to see somebody; and I would be lying down, and the patient would be standing up. So…

Len: Interesting!

Dr. Stenhouse: You just have to run with whatever comes.

Len: Yeah. So when you got to England did you make that phone call to--tell us about the phone call that you made to whoever your contact was over there for the fellowship.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, I made contact with them, and the doctor--that was the manager of that particular job he had, which was identifying people for jobs in London or near London from people who came from overseas -- he called me, and he said, “Dr. Stenhouse, I know you have a fellowship to do two years with the professor in Sheffield,” but he says, “I've got a letter here that I've never seen so much good things said about one person. And I could get you any job in London you wanted to have.”

Len: That’s amazing!

Dr. Stenhouse: So I said, “Well I’d love to meet you.” And so I went and met him, and I told him I wasn’t going to change what had been arranged.

Len: Good.

Dr. Stenhouse: And so that was the end of that; I didn't see him again.

Len: So did you publish any papers for any journals during that time?

Dr. Stenhouse: Well, yes, at the end of the time I was working there, I did patient studies, I did lab studies, and I did isolation studies on new organ cultures of different animals.

And so I isolated different viruses and was able to publish two papers by myself, which is very unusual to do that. 

Len: Which journal was that, Andrew?

Dr. Stenhouse: This was in the British Medical Journal—two separate papers. And, as a result of this, things opened up all over the place if I had wanted them, but I didn't pursue them.

I would just like to reiterate that this may sound like me, but it really is the Father and the Son being so faithful to me and faithful to everybody that opens up their hearts to Him. 

Len: Yeah. Amen.

Well that's a great testimony, Andrew. I think we're going to conclude there for tonight, with your post-graduate experiences. And we can definitely see the hand of the Lord--how he got you through your post-graduate exam and all the way through to the point where you had written those two papers by yourself there in the British Medical Journal.

[Note: See articles 1 and 2 in Medical Articles Published by Dr. Stenhouse.]

So thank you very much for sharing all that on tonight's program!

Dr. Stenhouse: You're so welcome! And I'll pick up there with the post-graduate exam of studies and results at the beginning of the next program.

Len: All right. Until then, thanks very much, and have a good night!

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

Author's note: The next chapter in this story is Experiences with the Lord in England. See the Home page of this blog for more podcasts on the life of Dr. Stenhouse. 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. 

Experiences with the Lord in England

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.

Audio

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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.

Author's note: The next chapter in Dr. Stenhouse's life is his Experiences of God's Protection in Afghanistan. See the Home page of this blog for more podcasts on the life of Dr. Stenhouse. 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. 

Experiences in Afghanistan

In my previous post, we covered Dr. Andrew Stenhouse's Experiences with the Lord in England. Now in this segment, we'll cover his experiences with the Lord in Afghanistan.

Audio

Download the podcast

Len: Welcome to A Willing Heart to Please The Father. This is Len Lacroix, and I'm here tonight with Dr Andrew Stenhouse, my guest, and we're continuing the story of his life, picking it up tonight with his experience in Afghanistan. So, welcome, Andrew, to the program.

Dr. Stenhouse: Thank you, Len. It's lovely to be with you again and give you some more interesting things that happened during my life and under the direction of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Len: Yes. Let's pick it up with the beginning, where you were on assignment to open a medical school there in Afghanistan near the Pakistani border.

Dr. Stenhouse: Well, the way it happened was that I was away from church one day, when they had a visitor from California come in. And this doctor said how they had been looking for an internist to come and take up [the position] as professor of medicine at the new medical school in Afghanistan, bordering near the Pakistani border, because there was not one in that area.

So anyway, when I heard this—and the gentleman himself said that I came to his mind, that I would be just perfect for this. And so, anyway, I visited with the leader of the group, and they felt that this was an answer to their prayer. And so that was how I got introduced to the whole idea and decision from the Lord to go there.

Len: Ok, so this was a church’s venture, correct?

Dr. Stenhouse: Well, it originated in the church, yes.

Len: Yeah, ok. So, then you end up finding yourself in Afghanistan, someplace near the border of Pakistan, and you're there to open up a medical school, right?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, that's right. If I could just say, on the way over there I was in the plane, and we were about to land in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, when they made an announcement that everybody that was visiting would have to pay a fee of $500.

Len: Wow!

Dr. Stenhouse: So I said to the Lord, “Father,” I said, “I don't have $500.”

And He said, “Don’t worry; no worry.” 

So, when he came to me to get the $500, he said, “Oh, Dr. Stenhouse, are you coming to help our people?”

And I said, “Yes, sir.”

And he says, “Well, there will be no charge for you.”

Len: Wow, praise God!

Dr. Stenhouse: I was on the plane, and I was the only one that did not have to pay the $500.

Len: That is amazing! Praise God! So, you made it there; you opened up the school and began the training; and you had some interesting experiences with that--conducting the training in the school. And when you were in the classroom, tell me about what that was like and who you had in the classroom with you to make sure you stayed in line.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes. Well, it was interesting because each morning I would get up early, and--because I had to sort of keep control of the class, which had many different groups in it from Pakistan, from Afghanistan, and also from Iran, I had to keep control of the class which had over a hundred people in it. And so every morning I would get up and outline my teaching, because I wouldn't be using any notes or anything—I had to memorize it. So I memorized the three or four hours of teaching every morning, during the week. And so that was the beginning of each day.

It was interesting because I had to make a decision on who would translate and to what language, and it would depend on the mood that was present in the classroom when I went in there. So, this was a decision I had to make. 

And then, every day that I was teaching, a mullah, which is a Muslim religious leader, would come and sit in the back of the classroom and make sure that I didn't mention anything about my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And he had a sword that he took out of his sheath and was holding in front of him all the time I was teaching.

Len: Ok.

Dr. Stenhouse: Just to remind me.

Len: Yeah, just as a reminder. Ok, so that was very interesting. And then, at some point, there was an exam that you gave to the students; and, tell me about that and what ended up happening with their scores.

Dr. Stenhouse: Well, what happened was that all students had to pass; they had this unwritten rule that nobody, especially a Christian, could fail—[nor] was any student. But what they had done was, on the first two exams, there were two or three people that had failed both of the exams—one that I gave and one that another teacher gave, who came over with the group. And so, they were basically the same students. And so, they boycotted my second exam, which was in dermatology. And I had taken quite a bit of time with them, because the skin is the largest organ in the body and also gets approximately more illnesses than any other [organ]. 

So, anyway, they made it known that I was not to fail anybody for this. So they were boycotting the exam, so they could not be failing in more than one exam. 

Len: So they were trying to manipulate you into passing everyone?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, absolutely. And so I just decided I would just make it easy for everybody and fail everybody because they had just boycotted my exam. And this led to all sorts of problems, as you can imagine.

Len: Oh, yeah! They probably didn't accept that too well.

Dr. Stenhouse: No, that didn't go over real big. And what happened was that this was heard in Kabul by the cousin to the king, who was also a doctor and who, as president of the Kabul’s School of Medicine, failed some students. 

And there was rioting in the streets of Kabul, and the king of Afghanistan did not want any rioting at that time in his city. And so he made it clear that I was not to be involved in this, and if [I was], then I would need to be removed from the country.

Len: But before that happened, wasn’t there an incident that happened in your apartment, or did that come after his edict?

Dr. Stenhouse: And so the cousin of the king heard about it and asked me over for a cup of tea—which I went and had a cup of tea with him—, and he told me about his experience of being in trouble for failing students also. And so he got demoted from the university, to be in charge of the Department of Infectious Disease for the country.

Len: I see. So tell me about what happened in your apartment when God protected you there from harm.

Dr. Stenhouse: Oh, yes. Well, I was given a guard each night in front of my door. And this night, about the same time I went home, there was no guard there. And so I thought, Uh, oh! Something’s on the horizon. 

Len: Yeah.

Dr. Stenhouse: So, I locked all of my three doors to the outside, and then I heard three students breaking in—they broke down two doors—, and then they were coming into my bedroom. And so, when they got to my bedroom door, I looked outside and it was snowing in Kabul, and so it wasn’t really a good idea to try and go out the window. 

Len: Right.

Dr. Stenhouse: And so, anyway, I said, “Okay, Father.” And so, anyway, immediately, when they got to my door, they started yelling and screaming and took off running. And I'm sure my angel from heaven had appeared and taken them away.

Len: Definitely, because if they had made it through two locked doors, it would have been even easier to get through a bedroom door.

Dr. Stenhouse: That's right. So, the next day I went and was walking to the bank through the streets of Kabul, just to wind up my banking stuff, because it was clear that I was no more needed in Afghanistan. And so, anyway, as I was going toward the bank, there was a group of my students there—about ten in front of me, and about ten behind me—and they had hired a pickpocket to see if he could take money out of my pocket. But there was none in it—I never used a pocketbook in the back of my pants. 

So, anyway, he did his best to get it, but he didn’t succeed. And then, I got so angry about it in my spirit, I tried to pick up the pickpocket—and he'd been hired for this purpose—, and I actually threw him about thirty feet—well, I couldn't have thrown him, in my own strength, one foot. 

So, anyway, it was [that] my angel [had] appeared again. And when they saw where this guy fell and went away—he was actually caught by one of the last students in the group—outside, at the end of the group—and into the arms of this guy.

And the pickpocket opened his hands and smiled at me, showing me he didn't have anything. And so, that was the end of that. They just dispersed when they saw that nothing had happened.

Len: Wow! Well, again, I think that was supernatural protection, because—

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes.

Len:—that probably wasn’t your strength throwing him for that distance—you said it was quite a number of feet, right?

Dr. Stenhouse: Oh, nearly thirty feet.

Len: Right. So, that's impossible for a human to do that. So, your angel was, once again, stepping in.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes. So I don't think any of them wanted to hassle with my angel.

Len: So did any of them have any weapons?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes they all had their knives drawn or their hands on the knives. And so it was a tense moment in a sense, but I didn't notice it as such, because I was very conscious of my angel being there and taking care of the person who tried to pick my pocket. When they saw what had happened, they gradually put up their knives and withdrew from the situation.

Len: Praise the Lord! God is awesome! He really protected you. And it really shows how dangerous a situation it was, but the Lord was with you and protected you.

Dr. Stenhouse: Absolutely! He was absolutely there all the time, every time. How great is our God!

Len: Amen.

Dr. Stenhouse: So, anyway, then I went to the U.S Embassy, in the Kabul, and settled in there for about a week till they flew me out one morning. And so that was my time in Afghanistan, briefly. But there were a lot of other interesting things, as you can imagine, happening along the way.

Len: Oh, yeah! So you had to live in the U.S. Embassy for that final week that you were there, for your protection.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes.

Len: And, altogether, you were there for about a year?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, about a year, in all.

Len: Ok. And that was back in the mid ‘60s, right?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes.

Len: Now, didn't you also have another assignment that was simultaneous with your work at the—where you were establishing the hospital in the South—that you were doing up in the north at another hospital, Andrew? 

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, this is absolutely correct. And, what we were doing was I would go up periodically—about once a month. A pilot from the Missionary Aviation [Fellowship] would take me up in his little plane, and that was quite a bit hair-raising at times because of the fact that we would have to--

Len: Strafe the runway?

Dr. Stenhouse:—go over the landing strip and clear off the animals. And then we would go around and land on the landing strip. And we would stop by going up the hill at the side—on the right side. 

So, it was very interesting. And the reason we did that was the hospital itself was a mission-related hospital that required some expertise periodically. And we would take care of the patients at the time.

The other thing that we used that hospital for was we would get students over from the University of Indiana to come over and work with five of our best students from our hospital down near Jalalabad. And this turned out to be very profitable for both groups of students, whether they were from Indianapolis, or whether they were from Jalalabad.

Len: Interesting.

Dr. Stenhouse: So this was the interesting thing—the return to the Kabul when the plane was quite exciting, too. We would have to run down the hill and off the end of the cliff. And we would drop about a thousand feet before we'd get enough horsepower to get the plane up in the air properly.

Len: Wow!

Dr. Stenhouse: And then we would fly down to Kabul and land and then go back to our regular routine. 

Len: Yeah, very good. 

Len: Now, did you have to learn any language when you were there at all, or—you said you just used a translator most of the time.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, I used a translator most of the time. What I would do, Len, is I'd put an outline of the lecture that I was giving that particular time on the board, and I’d write it in English. And there were two or three students there that were excellent students, and they would translate what I was saying in that particular language. And it would be Farsi, or it would be Hindi, or it would be Pakhto [aka Pashto]—you know, there were a variety of languages, but I could tell, and I would always use those language translators because they were so reliable.

Len: Yeah, very interesting. And, you know, I just want to—as we begin to wrap this up—I want to just tie this back in with the fact that you had mentioned in our last segment that, when you were in London, you sensed that you would be a missionary once again, and that was when you began to have the thought of going to Afghanistan—correct?—and so this was the fulfillment of that.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, that's right. I felt in my spirit that I hadn’t finished what the Lord had called me to do. And that makes sense.

Len: Yeah, it makes sense; and that's a very interesting testimony about your Afghanistan experience. So, thanks for sharing that, Andrew, and we're going to wrap this up and conclude this session on that note. So, thank you, and I look forward to our next discussion together.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, and I thank you so much, and I have nothing but love for the people over there, because, you know, they saw a light appear, and they did not like the light.

Len: Yes. Amen. Well, thank you, Andrew, and have a good night. 

Dr. Stenhouse: Thank you, Len. Good night.

Author's note: The next chapter in this series is Divine Healing in US Private Practice. See the Home page of this blog for more podcasts on the life of Dr. Stenhouse. 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. 

Divine Healing in US Private Practice

In my previous post, we covered Dr. Andrew Stenhouse's Experiences in Afghanistan. Now in this segment, we'll cover his experiences of the Lord healing his patients during his private practice in the USA.

Audio

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Len: Welcome to A Willing Heart. This is Len Lacroix, and I'm here again tonight with my guest, Dr. Andrew Stenhouse. And we're going to be talking about his time in the United States, where he had many experiences, one of which is his private practice that he had for thirty years in the United States. So, Andrew, I want to welcome you back to the program.

Dr. Stenhouse: Thank you so much, Len! It's great to be back with you and with our guests that may be listening in.

Len: Yes. So I want to begin by talking about your private practice in the U.S. for thirty years. So first of all, why did you immigrate to the U.S.?

Dr. Stenhouse: Well I think the reason I came back to the U.S. was I have my United States passport…

Len: Right.

Dr. Stenhouse: …and I was born here. And secondly, the two surgical doctors that I was working with in Afghanistan are both Texans and were from the Dallas area. So it was natural for me to continue my relationship with both of them. They were both excellent physicians and surgeons, and we worked very well together. So that was how I came to Texas--was to be close to both of those gentleman.

Len: Yeah. So that's how the Lord led you to Texas, out of all the places you could have picked.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes!

Len:  So initially you went to--was it Tyler, Texas that you started off at but didn't stay there?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, one of the things I did when I came back was take an appointment with the Southwest Medical School in Dallas.* And they had a section of their university at Tyler, Texas; and this was in relationship to, predominately, long-term tuberculosis care.

So I was given this opportunity to join them, which I did and worked with both of the surgeons and with the hospital in Tyler, Texas.

[NOTE: UT Southwestern Medical Center (University of Texas) is one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers.]

Len: And is Tyler in the Dallas area?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, it's east of Dallas.

Len: Ok.

Dr. Stenhouse: And—but it was more of a tuberculosis hospital and a chest-disease hospital.

Len: Ok. And how long did you work in that assignment?

Dr. Stenhouse: Well, with this assignment, I worked approximately one year, while I looked around to see if I could find the one I felt the Lord would be having me do for the rest of my life--and it would be a private practice, I felt in my spirit. And so that was why I made my base there.

Len: Ok. Now you ended up moving from there over to Amarillo, and that ended up being where you settled in. Tell me about how you began your private practice there in Amarillo.

Dr. Stenhouse: Well I was looking for the perfect situation for me and was offered multiple options. One of them was to be the commissioner for health for Texas, but I didn't feel to take that position, even though it was a prestigious position.

And then the next one was to take a position in Lubbock, Texas. And I was thinking about that; and as I looked out the window, I saw a huge dust storm coming towards us. And I said to the lady--I said, “Y'all can get these here?”

She said, “Oh, yes, these dust storms are common in Lubbock.”

And so I took that as a “no” from the Lord, bringing up that dust storm.

So then I came up to Amarillo. And I liked the feel of Amarillo; I felt almost at home here. And I was introduced to an internal medicine doctor, who was very senior, and who was actually looking for an internist to take over his practice. So we met together, and we started working together. And he retired three months after we had been working together.

He was wonderful! He was a wonderful believer. And even when his wife couldn't hold his hand when he was dying, I wouldn't leave his side and took his hand. And he passed into heaven peacefully.

Len:  And so then you ended up at that practice by yourself, right?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, that's correct.

Len: You assumed all of his patients and the whole practice, and you continued on there.

Dr. Stenhouse: That's right, yes. It was it was absolutely wonderful! And I loved the patients, I loved the practice, and I loved the gentleman that I took it from.

Len: Yeah! So from there, what are some of the experiences that you had in private practice?

Dr. Stenhouse: Well I’ll just give one or two. And what I found out, Len, was that I would pray for people, and the Lord would heal them. The Lord would show me what was wrong with them, and then I would heal them.

But then a lot of the healings that were in believers, He would just say to me, “Get them to take communion as a family, or husband and wife take it together.” And when they did that, the healing occurred.

For example, I had a gentleman that came in with a tumor. He was a pastor, and he was sent to me in order to clear him for surgery. And I did that, and I told him that this is what the Lord just showed me for him; and I thought that he should do that because I feel the Lord might heal him without the surgery. And sure enough, he did that--he and his wife—and, when he went to see the surgeon, the surgeon was shocked because there was no mass now.

Len: Wow! Praise God. That's amazing. Well do you have one other that you can share today for this segment?

Dr. Stenhouse: Well one of the other ones was a gentleman I was asked to see, who had back pain and high blood pressure. Well I was just taking care of his blood pressure, and then he came back into the hospital without any pain in his back and in his knee because the Lord had healed him. And they were taking communion in the same way.

And so he had his surgery, and the next morning when I saw him, when I was going to check his blood pressure, he said, “Doc, the pain’s come back!” So the pain that had gone had come back with the surgery.

And he said, “Doc, would you pray for me again?”

I said, “Sure!” So I prayed for him. And when I was in the hospital on that floor later in the day, seeing another patient, he was running around the hospital with his IV pole to support him and saying, “If you want to get rid of your pain, get Dr. Stenhouse to pray for you.”

Len: Amazing!

Dr. Stenhouse: So the surgeons weren’t excited about that.

Len: Yeah! Ha-ha! You could put the surgeons out of business that way.

Dr. Stenhouse: Ha-ha! No, I wouldn't do that. It was the Lord that did it.

Len: So there was also a story about a person who got healed of a large tumor, that you saw in a hospital--I think it was a pastor. Did you want to tell us about that?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes. This is another wonderful healing that occurred. And it was actually the healing the same day I--or the healing that saw the patient for the same day that the gentleman was running around with the pole.

So anyway, I went in to see him. And he had a huge tumor extending outside the left side of his neck, way past his shoulder, and it was growing by about a-half-an-inch every week, in spite of all the treatment they could give him.

Len: Wow!

Dr. Stenhouse: And it was the size of a big melon but it was going further out. And so I saw him and examined him. He was a pastor, too, and he had his wife there, and about six members of his board were also there.

So anyway, I went back to the-- after checking him, I went back to the desk, and I sat there. And I put my head in my hands, and I said, “Lord, help! What am I to do?”

And He said--the Lord spoke to me and said, “If you do these four things, I'll heal him.”

So I said, “Yes, Lord.”

So He told me the first one was not to touch the tumor; number two was to continue seeing the doctors; and number three was, “Tell him how much I love him.” And when he heard that, he fell into my arms.

And the Lord showed me, then, that he had believed the devil's lies about something he may have done or may not have done.

And then the fourth thing was, “If you pray for him, I’ll heal him.” So I told him that.

Len: Praise God!

Dr. Stenhouse: So, I got everybody settled in the room—made sure everybody were believers—and they were. And then I prayed a simple prayer to the Lord. And six weeks later, I get a call from his private doctor, telling me that it was now the size of a small marble.

Len: Wow! Praise the Lord! It went from the size of a large melon, down to the size of a small marble in—six weeks you said?

Dr. Stenhouse: Six to eight weeks, yes.

Len: Wow! Praise the Lord!

Dr. Stenhouse: So, those were two that occurred on the same day.

Len: Yeah.

Dr. Stenhouse: And the other one, of course, was different. But I've had a lot of patients tell me how much they improved—not necessarily with major problems, but with other problems—when they took communion on a daily basis.

Len: So, there was one other healing that we have time for, if you want to share about it today. And that was the person with the hernia that got healed?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, there was a gentleman that came in that had a hernia. And the Lord indicated that he wanted him to do the communion on a daily basis. So I told him that, and I told him I’d pray for him. And I did that, too, and he was healed.

Len: Wow! Praise the Lord! Those are some amazing stories, Andrew. And I really appreciate you sharing all that today about your private practice in Texas that you had for thirty years there in Amarillo. And, now that we're coming to the close of our segment today, I want to thank you very much for being with us on this program, and [I] look forward to our next conversation together when we meet next.

Dr. Stenhouse: Isn’t the Lord, wonderful?

Len: He absolutely is. He’s awesome.

Dr. Stenhouse: Thank you, Len. Goodnight.

Len: Goodnight, Andrew.

Author's note: The next chapter is Dr. Stenhouse's US Medical Practice in the VA Hospital and Hospice. See the Home page of this blog for more podcasts on the life of Dr. Stenhouse. 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. 

US Medical Practice in the Hospital and Hospice

In my previous post, we covered the divine healing that occurred at various times in Dr. Andrew Stenhouse's US Private Practice that he had for thirty years. Now in this segment, we'll cover his experiences practicing medicine at a VA Hospital and in a hospice in the USA.

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Len: Welcome to A Willing Heart. This is Len Lacroix, and I'm here tonight with my guest, Dr. Andrew Stenhouse. 

And we've been discussing on our last program his life in the United States, starting with the private practice that he had in Texas for thirty years. And we're going to pick it up with another part of his life, here in the U.S., tonight. So, Andrew, I want to welcome you back to the program.

Dr. Stenhouse: Thank you, Len. And this is a wonderful section that's going to be coming up, and I want to thank you for the opportunity of doing this. And I would like to just go through these to show what the Lord will do with anybody whose heart is totally and completely given over to him in what they're doing.

Len: Amen! So, Andrew, there was a period in time when you were the medical director for a veterans’ hospital in Texas. Can you tell us about that, please?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, the interesting thing about that was that I love the veterans because of the fact of what the American veterans did, coming to Britain and risking their lives in order to save Britain during World War II. And what they would do, also—they would throw me candy from the cars and tanks and so on, that were going down the road. And so I felt I had a lot of debt to repay.

The interesting thing about that was that the VA tended to have a bad reputation as a care facility or a hospital. And I decided that that was not going to happen in our hospital. So I made sure that the veterans were cared for, that the staff was cared for, and that we would be known as a hospital that cared. And what happened was we became the most improved VA hospital in the nation.

Len: Wow! 

Dr. Stenhouse: And the second thing that happened was that we were in the top five of all of the hospitals in the United States. And that was something of an extreme honor.

And we went over to [the] California area where they were giving away the awards. And the other doctors that were on the top five said to me, “Stenhouse, how did you get into this rarefied atmosphere here?”

And I said, “It's a matter of caring for your patients and for your staff.” And they couldn't understand that.

They said, “What is caring?”

And I said, “You don't know what caring is?”

And they said, “No.”

And I said, “It's not just using the techniques that are available for getting good results. It’s a matter of taking care of people—both the patients, both the staff—and you'll get a good result.”

Len: That's so true. And I think that you're right about the reputation that the VA hospitals have, here in the country. And I’m sure that the caring is something that's probably missing in many of them, but you brought that. And how the Lord turned that all around—it's just amazing—to end up resulting in an award for the hospital.

Dr. Stenhouse: Oh, yes. So, it was a big award.

Len: So, before we conclude, I wanted to ask if you could talk to us a little bit about some important work that you did, Andrew, with the hospice—working in the hospice.

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, I would love to do this because my heart goes out to each patient that we have. And when they're coming in the hospice area, they're near the end of their life. And I love to talk with them and see them and talk to them about their eternal welfare with the Lord and if they have a relationship with the Lord Jesus.

And in this particular situation I had this evening was this gentleman said to me, “Well I don't know how to go about this.”

I said, “Well you know there's a door; and when you open a door you have to go through the door to get through to the other side,” and then I did a little banging on the desk that was there. [Makes knocking sound] Like that. And I told him, I said, “Now you have to open the door yourself, because the Lord is knocking on your door right now. And the thing you have to do is to open the door to the Lord and to invite Him in and to thank Him for the work He did on the cross for you and for me and for everybody that has been born.”

And the next morning I got up early and went in to see him in the hospice area, and he had a big smile on his face. And I said, “Are you keeping the door wide open?”

And he smiled at me and said, “Yes, very wide open.” And that night he passed into eternity.

Len: Wow, that's amazing! Got him just in time.

Dr. Stenhouse: But that's all it takes…

Len: Yes.

Dr. Stenhouse: …is just to have someone that you could talk to just at the right time.

Len: Yeah. We need to let people know, when they're--at any point in their life, but especially at that end point of their life--that they need to repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and they shall be saved.

Dr. Stenhouse: That's exactly correct.

Len: And one of the things that I really like is how you shared that whenever you would see a patient, your heart went out to them. And I think that's not necessarily a characteristic or a trait that all doctors have, necessarily. Because they may have the skills and the knowledge, but they may not have that compassion. 

Dr. Stenhouse: Yeah.

Len: And the Lord—when He called you to be a doctor, He not only gave you the ability to do the technical piece but also to have the heart for the patients.

Dr. Stenhouse: That's exactly right. Every patient that I saw, I think I had that feeling for.

Len:  Is there anything else you want to share about the hospice work? We're almost out of time here.

Dr. Stenhouse: No I think--I think that's all I've got. I could probably dig up lots of things, but those are the things that I felt I needed to share, that the Lord had put on my heart. 

Len: Yeah. Well, Andrew, that's going to conclude our program for tonight as we end our time together. And I want to thank you very much for sharing all these wonderful experiences that you've shared about your time as medical director and your hospice work. So thanks very much for being with us tonight!

Dr. Stenhouse: Oh, it's been wonderful! And I just would like to mention that it wasn't me. All I did was be obedient, Len. And I really feel that if somebody is obedient to the Lord and does what He asks them to do, then He'll fill all the details in, and they won't have to worry at all.

Len: Amen!

Dr. Stenhouse: But the thing about being called to live as a doctor is something that I never even thought of when I was young, but it's one thing I would never have missed in a million years.

Len: Hallelujah! Well we appreciate that. And thank you for all those years of service to the Lord and your calling as a doctor. And we'll look forward to our next program together when we meet next time.

Dr. Stenhouse: Okay, Len, I do too! And blessings to all those that are listening.

Len: Amen. Have a good night!

Dr. Stenhouse: Thank you! Good night, Len!

Author's note: The next chapter in this series is about Dr. Stenhouse's extensive Credentials. See the Home page of this blog for more podcasts on the life of Dr. Stenhouse. 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. 

Credentials

In my previous post, we covered Dr. Andrew Stenhouse's experiences practicing medicine at a VA Hospital and in a hospice in the United States. Now in this segment, we'll cover his extensive credentials.

Audio

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Len: Welcome to A Willing Heart. This is Len Lacroix and I'm back again tonight with Dr. Andrew Stenhouse for our final segment, as we've been discussing his life story, especially his divinely ordained career as a medical doctor. In this podcast, we'll be discussing Dr. Andrew Stenhouse's credentials that he has attained by the grace of God.

He holds multiple academic degrees that he has earned, including a Bachelor of Medical Science (BSc), a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.: an international medical degree equivalent to an M.D. in the U.S. system, also abbreviated as M.B.) from New Zealand, and a Post Graduate Doctorate of Medicine (MD) from New Zealand.

He was also awarded the Wellcome Research Fellowship, along with several prestigious post graduate awards, including Member of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Member of Royal College of Physicians in London, Fellow of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Fellow of the American College of Physicians. 

He is board certified in Oceania as a Member of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (MRACP), and board certified in England as a Member of the Royal College of Physicians in London (MRCP London), and he retired after 55 years in the field of Family Practice and Internal Medicine, having served on multiple continents and islands, including Oceania, Asia, Europe, North America, and Hawaii.

Several articles that he either co-authored or solely authored were published in seven different medical journals, including two of his own articles, published by The British Medical Journal. Some of these articles have received many citations by other authors. 

He has studied several foreign languages including French (this is the one with which he was most proficient), German (he was able to speak it), Latin (which he understood), Rarotongan, Arabic (of which he knew a little), Hebrew (that he began learning), and Fijian.

He also served as President & Chairman of the Board of the ministry I founded called Doulos Missions International from 2007-2015, and is currently one of our board Members. I've known him for around 28 years and it's both my joy and privilege to call him my friend. Andrew, welcome back to the program!

Dr. Stenhouse: Oh, thank you, Len, for that introduction. It's such a wonderful pleasure to be back with you again.

Len: Well, Andrew, all of those credentials of yours are evidence of the excellence with which you served as a medical doctor for 55 years. But much like the apostle Paul said that he counted all his great credentials a loss, you also count all your credentials a loss for the sake of knowing Christ. 

Dr. Stenhouse: That's correct, Len. Knowing Christ is the most important thing in my life to me. 

Len: Amen. You know, the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:7-11:

"But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead." (Php 3:7-11)

Dr. Stenhouse: That is exactly how I feel, Len. My biggest concern in sharing my life story is that I really don’t want anyone to think more highly of me than what they see in me or hear from me. I'm certainly not perfect. My personal life did not measure up to my professional life. Being on-call and working sometimes 24-hour shifts adversely impacted my personal life. All I did was to be obedient. If a person’s obedient to do what the Lord told him to do, Len, then even if the Lord sends him to a war zone, he would be taken care of. Anything good you see in me is Jesus, and all the mistakes are mine.

Len: Amen. Isn't that true for all of us! 

Now you've been walking with the Lord for 80 years since childhood, so you have a little more experience with it than most of us do. 

Dr. Stenhouse: Well I've not always been faithful to Him, but you know, He's always been faithful to me, Len.

Len: That's something that I think all of us can say, too. 

Now when you say you count it all loss, that's not just a concept or a theory for you, it actually happened. A few years ago in 2014, you stopped practicing medicine, not because you wanted to retire, but for health reasons. You had a stroke that wiped out all your medical knowledge from your memory bank, so it was literally all lost. Can you tell us about that and what it was like to have that kind of experience?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, I can, Len. I was no longer able to remember any of my medical knowledge after my stroke, you know, and for a short while I didn't even remember who I was, but that came back, of course. But if I were to see a patient in my office now, I would not be able to treat him medically. The Lord told me that after my stroke that I was not to practice medicine any more, but I could still help people spiritually.

Len: Wow! That's amazing to lose all that knowledge, and I'm sure it was very humbling, too. But the Scripture says that knowledge will pass away, and in this case it certainly did. However, the Lord not only gave you the natural talents and abilities to fulfill your calling as a doctor, but He also gave you an anointing for it that included supernatural gifts of the Spirit such as healing, wisdom, prophecy, and knowledge; and he gave you the heart of compassion that a doctor should have, as well as other vital fruit of the Spirit.

And while you lost all of your medical knowledge, you didn't lose those things that are of the heart and of the Spirit. Those have remained in you to this day.

Dr. Stenhouse: Oh, yes, Len, isn't that wonderful, how the Lord does that? Everything is from Him, through Him, and to Him. And the Lord gives and He takes away, so we should never be prideful of what we know, but realize that all things come from Him and is to be used for His glory. And the things that remain forever are faith, hope, and love.

Len: That's right! Those are the most important things in life that last forever. 

All those letters after your name are quite impressive in the natural, but the fact is that they won't last throughout eternity. I tried writing them all out and it's like an alphabet after your name that takes a couple lines -- MD, M.B.B.S., BSc, MRACP, FRACP, MRCP(UK), LSHTM, FACP. But, you know, the most important letters that you've received are your BWJ from the Lord, like it says in the Bible in Acts 4:13, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

Dr. Stenhouse: You know, Len, that's right. "Being with Jesus" or BWJ--that's what really matters for all of us, Len. And that's my desire for everyone who’s listening or reading my story, that they would repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, so that they would come to know Him personally as their Lord and Savior. For even if one person comes to know Him through my story, then that would be wonderful.

Len: Amen. That's certainly our hope and prayer. 

Would you do the honor of giving the Gospel invitation to our listeners tonight?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, I would love to do that, Len. You know, everybody has been created individually by the Heavenly Father. No two people are the same. Every person has his hair numbered -- not just counted, but numbered -- on their heads. And He sent his Son to the cross to die on the cross in our stead and in our place. And what we need to do is just to realize that His love for us to so great that He would give His only begotten Son on our behalf. So I would just like to invite everybody that is listening just to lay down your life from yourself and give yourself to Jesus and the Father in heaven.

When somebody comes to the Lord, they have to come to the cross, and they have to lay down everything that is theirs, and take up everything that is His, which is glorious and wonderful, and gives him the right to be in eternity with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Len: Absolutely! Amen. Repent and believe the gospel, for the kingdom of God is near. That's our message to everyone, and if anyone would like to pray with us or give his or her life to Jesus, I invite them to contact us through this website, and we will be delighted to do so.

Well, Andrew, it's been a joy to do these podcasts together and hear your testimony, and that concludes our final segment. So I want to thank you very much for sharing your story with us.

Dr. Stenhouse: You know, Len, it's been such a pleasure for me, and I just want to thank you and say God bless to you and your family and to all who may be listening. 

Len: Thank you. God bless you, too. Goodnight 

Dr. Stenhouse: Good night, Len, and good night to all.

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Dr. Andrew C. Stenhouse's credentials (by the grace of God) listed below:

Academic degrees earned

Bachelor of Medical Science (BSc)

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.: an international medical degree equivalent to an M.D. in the U.S. system, also abbreviated as M.B.) from New Zealand

Post Graduate Doctorate of Medicine from New Zealand (MD)

Fellowship awarded 

Wellcome Research Fellowship

Post Graduate Awards

Member of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (MRACP)

Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP)

Member of Royal College of Physicians in London (MRCP London)

Fellow of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (FLSHTM)

Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP)

Board certifications

Australasia: Member of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (MRACP)

England: Member of Royal College of Physicians in London (MRCP London)

Medical Licensure 

Texas State Medical License 1973-2015

Years in practice 

55 years in the field of Family Practice and Internal Medicine, including 30 years in private practice.

Continents and islands served on 

Oceania, Asia, Europe, North America, and Hawaii

Languages

French (most proficient), German (spoken), Latin (understood), Rarotongan, Arabic (a little), Hebrew (began learning), and Fijian.

Published Works

Several medical articles that he either co-authored or solely authored were published in seven different medical journals, including two of his own articles published by the British Medical Journal. (see full list at Medical Articles Published). Some of these articles have received many citations by other authors.

Ministries Served

Doulos Missions International (DMI) President & Chairman of the Board 2007-2015

Current DMI Board Member (2021)

Dr. Andrew C. Stenhouse, MD, M.B.B.S., BSc, MRACP, FRACP, MRCP(UK), LSHTM, FACP.

_________________________

Author's note: Our dear brother Andrew transitioned to his heavenly home in glory on September 15th, 2021 at the age of 87. You can read more about that amazing experience in my article called Homegoing.

See the Home page of this blog for more podcasts on the life of Dr. Stenhouse. 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. 

Homegoing

On Wednesday, September 15th, Dr. Andrew Stenhouse  transitioned into his heavenly home. He was my best friend, a member of the board for Doulos Missions International, the ministry I founded, in which I currently serve, and he had served for several years as the President of the Board.

I would like to share with you some of the interesting things that led up to his homegoing. 

September 11, 2021

On Saturday September 11th, I had a discussion with my family at the dinner table, in which I mentioned that it may just be best for Andrew to go home be with the Lord at this time, because of the present circumstances in our world. I think I mentioned to them, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” This comes from the passage in Revelation that says:

"Then I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'"

“'Yes,' says the Spirit, 'they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.'” (Rev 14:13)

We knew that he was ill, but did not know for sure that this would be the time when the Lord would take him home. 

September 12, 2021

The passage of Scripture that my daughters read the following morning of Sunday, September 12th seemed to confirm our discussion the previous night at dinner. It was the following passage from Isaiah that they read: 

“The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.” (Isa 57:1-2)

Although they all read that passage individually and separately during their own quiet time with the Lord, as part of the portion of Scripture they had all agreed in advance to read that week, at least two of them sensed when they read those verses that it confirmed what we had been discussing the previous night at dinner about the Lord taking Andrew home to be with Him.

September 14, 2021

Andrew's daughter called me at 8:33 PM and let me speak very briefly to Andrew, who was in his hospital bed having a “cognitive moment”. I told him that we are believing God for a miraculous healing, if it is the Lord’s will to do so, but that this may be the time when he must soon go to be with the Lord. After she took the phone back, she said that he said, “Thank you.” I responded “That’s great.” And she told him what I said.

She then told me that she had been seeing golden specks like glitter appearing on his face that would come, and then at other times they would seem to fade.  But they would come and go. I said, “It’s supernatural. It's something heavenly.” And she agreed. It was truly the glory of God appearing upon him in a visible way. The Scripture describes what was happening to him, how his unveiled face was reflecting the Lord's glory, as he was being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory:

"And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2Co 3:18)

A few moments later, I texted her, telling her to read out loud to him 2 Cor 5:1-10 (NIV), and she did so. It says:

“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2Co 5:1-10)

September 15th, 2021- Yom Kippur

Nearly twenty-four hours later, I got a text from his daughter at 7:40 PM EDT that said, “Len, Daddy just transitioned into his heavenly home.” I prayed and committed his spirit into the Father's hands. The Hebrew Day of Atonement known as Yom Kippur had just begun on that very same evening.

Only a few brief moments later, as I was driving in the car with my boys to pick up my daughter at work, we played the above Scripture passage from 2 Cor 5:1-10 on my audio iBible. And as I was imagining what Andrew might have been thinking when his daughter read it to him the night before on his death bed, I felt the presence of the Lord upon me. Praise the Lord! That was further confirmation for me that he was now in glory, and that what that passage assures us will happen when the righteous die had now happened to my dear brother Andrew. He is now in his eternal house in heaven not built by human hands. He is now clothed with his heavenly dwelling. What was mortal has been swallowed up by life. He had a willing heart to please the Father while he was in the body, and now he is away from the body and at home with the Lord, but I'm sure his goal is still to please the Father.

He was probably the most godly person I have ever known. He was a man of prayer who, during his retirement years, spent many hours each day in prayer, a significant part of that time interceding for the needs of others. He had a heart for souls, especially the lost. He would take the Lord's Supper daily. He was also perhaps the most generous person I have ever known, whether it was tipping the help, paying for a conference, giving an offering, or supporting a missionary. He would sometimes prepare to write a check to someone, and the Lord would tell him to add another zero on the end of the number he had in mind, which he would obediently do. He cheerfully gave so much that at the end of his medical career, he lived in a modest home, not in a great big, luxurious mansion. And later when it became necessary for health reasons, he lived humbly in a one-bedroom apartment in senior housing. He did not store up treasures for himself on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, but rather in heaven where neither moth nor rust corrupt. Now he has received his eternal reward that God prepared for him and wears a crown that will never fade away.

Here is the tribute made to him in his home town's local news. 

_________________________

Author's note: Our dear brother Andrew transitioned to his heavenly home in glory on September 15th, 2021 at the age of 87. This post, written on October 5, 2021, has been back dated to March 5th, in order for it to appear at the end of the series of posts, where it should be. See the Home page of this blog for more podcasts on the life of Dr. Stenhouse. 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.