Later Childhood

We began this series with my previous post on the Early Childhood of Dr. Andrew Stenhouse. In this post, you can listen to the podcast of my interview with him about his later childhood and read the transcript below as you listen. 

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Len: This is Len Lacroix, and I'm here tonight with Dr. Andrew Stenhouse, and we're going to be talking about his later childhood experiences tonight. So I want to welcome you back, Andrew, to the program. 

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes…

Len: So when you were back in England, being raised there, any other things that you want to talk about, about your Christian upbringing or about any of the wartime experiences?

Dr. Stenhouse: Wartime was a miserable time. Then we were evacuated next to Scotland, where my grandparents lived—my grandmothers. And with this going on, the train that we went on was being bombed. And I tried to reassure my mother and sister that it was going to be all right, that Jesus was going to take care of us. And sure enough, nothing happened to the carriage or to the engine or the train. We got through all right from London to Scotland. 

And I was able to go up and down corridor of this long carriage and tell people, “It's going to be all right. Jesus is with us. He’ll take care of us.” That was the way we did and getting into Glasgow. 

Len: Yeah, very interesting 

Dr. Stenhouse: When I went to school, we would see planes from Germany and planes from England and Scotland, fighting each other as we were going to school… 

Len: Wow. 

Dr. Stenhouse: …Over the waters of the west coast of Scotland. And so, it was quite interesting, and not very nice to see. 

Len: Right. 

Dr. Stenhouse: Ships being bombed and planes falling into the water. And at the time we—it was difficult for me to understand what was going on, in a way. But I was very close to the Lord. He was very close to me, and it was just a joy to do anything in regard to serving Him or in any way pleasing Him. And during this time, we were offered the opportunity to win a Bible by memorizing Psalm 1 and Psalm 145; and a wonderful Jewish gentleman said he would give us a Bible when we were able to do this. And so anyway, being a bit of a bad guy, in a way—no, not a bad guy, but  a guy that wants to do things in a hurry, I went into the bathroom for the Sunday school class and started to learn Psalm 1. So, I can really remember Psalm 1 well. And so, Psalm 145 was a little more difficult and took me several weeks to learn that. And as a result of that, my mother got my Bible. I got a Bible and I gave it to her, and she used it as her favorite Bible for the rest of her life.  

Len: Wow! 

Can you share about how you came to know the Lord?

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, I’d like to share that. To me, it was a very special thing when I came to know the Lord. It was really earlier in my life that I had a love for Him and a trust in Him and a faith in Him that couldn’t be explained on a natural means. And so, when I came to know the Lord, I didn't get baptized until I was a little later, but then I realized the importance of being baptized, and that was what I did. And, it was such—I can still remember the details of my baptism. It seems to me that a baptism for some is a most important part of their salvation. 

Len: Definitely. 

Dr. Stenhouse: Not that you won't be saved if you don't get baptized, but if you are disobedient to the Lord about baptism, it seems to hold back your religion or relationship with the Father. 

Len: Yeah, it does. So, was it like a baptismal fount or outside in like a lake or river that you were baptized?

Dr. Stenhouse: I was baptized in the church. 

Len: Inside the church?

Dr. Stenhouse: And it was not outside. And I was totally immersed in the water, and came up and felt quite different. It was something very special. 

Len: Yeah, and like you said, there's nothing more important than an individual having a relationship with the Lord. And so…

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes.

Len: So, I really wanted to hear more about that part of your life. Now, you wanted to contrast this with how things are in the world today. Can you say a little bit about that-- about the contrast between having a relationship with the Lord and the way things are in the world and how it's at enmity with the Lord? 

Dr. Stenhouse: Yes, you know, today as you look around the world, the world is not in any way relating itself to the Heavenly Father or to our Creator or our Redeemer or the Holy Spirit. 

Len: Right. 

Dr. Stenhouse: And this is different than it was even fifty, sixty years ago when I was baptized. And my concern today is for everybody to have a relationship, not with religion, but with the Heavenly Father and with His Son the Lord Jesus Christ

Len: Yes. 

Dr. Stenhouse: …And to come into a knowledge of the Holy Spirit through the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Len: Excellent. 

Dr. Stenhouse: So this is the reason really why I would like to just explain a little bit about my life and about the way the Father takes care of us, Jesus takes care of us, and the Holy Spirit takes care of us all through our lives, no matter what we do. We’re not perfect, but if we have a desire to please Him, then that’s what He wants. 

Len: That's right. And I want to ask you about that--if you have a favorite hymn, and that story about your favorite hymn in Sunday school. Can you talk about that a little bit?

Dr. Stenhouse: Well, yes, I was asked during a Sunday school class that we had by a visiting preacher. And he said, "Any of you kids got a favorite hymn?" And of course, I put up my hand and said, "Yes, sir! Yes, sir, I do! ‘There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.’” And so, we were able to sing that hymn; and I just felt so lovely about the Father and about Jesus shedding His blood for us all.

Len: Hallelujah. Well, that is excellent, and that's going to conclude our second segment on your later childhood, and I want to thank you for sharing these things with me tonight and with our audience, and I look forward to our next talk together, when we talk about your teen years. So until then, thank you very much. And, have a good night, Andrew. 

Dr. Stenhouse: You too, Len. Thank you. I hope it was okay.   

Author's Note: The next post in this series is Teen Years. You may find the other posts in this series on the Home page. 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?"

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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.