Teen Years

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

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Covering the years from thirteen through seventeen, Andrew Stenhouse’s teenage years brought monumental transitions—taking him halfway across the globe from the wartime trials of Scotland to the peaceful expanses of New Zealand.

The move was prompted by sheer exhaustion. Following years of relentless wartime labor overseeing all British steel production for the war effort—managing materials for tanks, planes, and springs while traveling constantly between London and the countryside—Andrew's father was deeply fatigued. Because the family had relatives living in New Zealand, the region offered a natural and welcoming haven to escape the lingering trauma of World War II.

The journey to their new home was an adventure in itself, taking the family by ship through the Suez Canal. The voyage held special significance for Andrew's father, who had previously earned a master’s degree from the University of London with a thesis titled "The Source of Water for Israel." Andrew had actively assisted his father with the charts and mapping for the project. Looking out at the landscape during their travels, a young Andrew even urged his father to disembark and see the lands they had mapped firsthand, though his father declined, noting it wasn't possible at the time.

Upon arriving in New Zealand, the family settled into a new chapter. Academically gifted, Andrew had done exceptionally well in Scotland, earning a surprise medal in mathematics. However, the transition between different educational systems and college programs was a distinct challenge for a teenager.

Before diving fully into higher education, Andrew's natural artistic and technical strengths shone early. At age fifteen, he worked in the government's lands and survey department within the mapping section, successfully passing his professional mapping exams. Because of this background—and because his father possessed strong artistic talents and recognized Andrew's gift for cartography—geology felt like a natural trajectory.

Just before turning sixteen, Andrew spent two weeks during a holiday visiting his father, who was then working as a teacher in northern New Zealand. Together, they carefully evaluated various career possibilities. With no other direction quite fitting as well, they settled on geology.

True to his exceptional intellect and drive, Andrew entered Wellington University in Wellington, New Zealand, at just sixteen years old—an unusual age for university admission at the time. To help support his family and pay his way, he attended classes by day and worked after hours as a kitchen helper in a restaurant.

He threw himself wholeheartedly into his studies, majoring in geology as a direct follow-up to his father’s academic work. Yet, as well-laid as these academic plans were, young Andrew was about to experience a profound spiritual pivot. Though he had carefully mapped out his course in cartography and the earth sciences, the Heavenly Father had an entirely different, unexpected calling in store for his future.

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

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

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

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

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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.