From Friendship to Faith: Terry's Journey to Committing His Life to God

His friendship and caregiving to an Adventist friend over many years led to Terry’s decision to commit his life to God and get baptised.  This is his story.

BIBLICAL TEACHING IN SCHOOL

Born into a non-church-going family, I was never christened. The only “Biblical” teaching I ever received was when I started school and attended school assemblies. I played a "bell" in a Christmas play, with Herod telling the wise men to "Go and search diligently for the young child," and quoting, or more likely misquoting, John 1:1-5. All this was during my infant years.

PREPARING FOR TEACHING

I was a bit of a wild teenager with a bad reputation at school, but family life was very good. I had never been very academic, being slow to learn to read and write. This showed through in my low grades at O-levels (some of which were after re-sits) and no A-levels.

At the age of 17 I started at a new school, in the sixth form. With short cut hair, a jacket, shirt and tie, I had a chance to make a new start. All the other pupils had long hair, flairs and flower print shirts, and I was taking O-level re-sits and studying Religious Education (R.E.), Physics and Biology at A-level. The RE teacher, a Reverend, thought I was maybe heading to a life in the clergy.

Towards the end of my last year in the sixth form I did some “work experience” in the lower school, (nowadays Y7 and Y8), and then a stint in a local primary school and realised that maybe teaching would be a good idea.

On failing all my A-levels, I went to work as a trainee draughtsman at the firm where my father worked. I had passed O-level Technical Drawing and decided to re-sit my A-levels at night school, one per year. (The one I did re-sit, I again failed!) During that year, the Reverend RE teacher contacted me to recommend I apply to Teacher Training College for the following year, as all Teacher Training Colleges were going to transition to degree-courses requiring A-levels for entry. I could still get into Teacher Training College with my six O-levels!

This I did, starting a three-year course in the College. I trained at a “country annexe” of the College and did each of my “teaching practices” in country schools.

Towards the end of that course, my Education Tutor told me I should NOT apply to do the one-year degree course! “Better to go out,” she said, “and be a good teacher rather than have a teaching certificate stating B.Ed. failed!” Wise advice, again from someone who knew me.

GOD'S MIRACLE IN GETTING A TEACHING JOB

After completing my teacher training, I faced the daunting task of finding a job. I sent out perhaps a couple of hundred job applications and went for several interviews - all failed. I had, however, sent one covering application to the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools (I.A.P.S.).

One week before terms were due to start, I had a phone call from a Headmaster of a Preparatory School asking if I had a job yet. He invited me to an interview, as his Science teacher had let him down with barely a week’s notice before the start of term. I had the interview to teach Science to children from 8 to 13 years of age, and Maths and English to 8- and 9-year-olds. Three days before term started, I was phoned to ask if I had sorted accommodation. That was the first I knew that I had the job and travelled up on the Monday to be ready to start teaching on the Wednesday! The Head told me this was a temporary job until he could find someone more suitably qualified. So aged 24, for a few more weeks, I was thrown in the deep end to start my teaching career. My father advised me to “get stuck in, work hard and make myself indispensable.”

It was to be a further eight years until the Head found someone more suitable. I was to stay at the school for a further seven years, replacing Science for Craft, Design and Technology (CDT).

THE HELP AND WITNESS OF AN ADVENTIST WORK FRIEND

With the piles of books for marking, spent mostly in the staffroom and evenings doing duty with the school’s boarders. I became good friends with the Y1 teacher whose classroom was next to the staffroom. She happened to be the wife of an Adventist Pastor. In the early days she helped me a great deal with advice and help with some of my marking – and all this on top her own marking and preparations. Bit by bit she told me about Adventism and the total belief in the words of the Bible. I did nothing about it, other than to believe what the Bible stated was true and that Evolution was not true!

MOVING TO ANOTHER SCHOOL

My last two years at that school, I transferred to teaching Y2 and the second year to Y1, parallel to my friend’s class. These two years were my biggest mistake! Oh my, how difficult it was and there was no going back to the older age groups. After that first year of “infants”, I phoned another Preparatory School that I never knew existed and asked if she had any teaching post available. There was nothing, but she told me to try again in a year. I phoned again a year later, whilst teaching Y1, and was invited for an interview for the post of Y6 teacher, the final year at this school. It was a most important year as this was the year, to build on all their previous years of work, to prepare for Senior School exams.

It was a beautiful little country school with small classes and I was offered the post to commence in September of that year. Along with Y6 I was to take all the juniors for CDT, PE, football and going swimming. This school I really loved!

CONTINUED FRIENDSHIP

My Adventist friend from my previous employment was “retired” from her job as she was five years past the retirement age of 60. She moved on to teach a Reception class as the sisters were all ageing, they decided to close down the school one year at a time from the bottom up. My friend stayed on as a Classroom Assistant, working mornings until the school closed. In the afternoons, she would come to the school where I worked to help out as a Classroom Assistant. She, more so than me, had a really dedicated work ethic, which made her invaluable and much loved and respected by everyone she came into contact with.

During all these years I still did nothing towards going to church.

After many years later, I retired from teaching and became the school’s caretaker, working mornings only. Then a year later I was taken on by the school as its full-time Site Manager... and whenever needed, Supply Teacher!

After twelve years, I finally gave up working at the school. My Adventist friend continued going in to school every day, mostly voluntarily and unpaid - but for the love of helping children.

TAKING THE ADVENTIST FRIEND TO CHURCH

That school finally closed down a year later, when she finally retired…aged 86 years! Her husband died two years later, in 2017, and about that time she did not want to drive anymore. As I had no family, I would be her ‘’wheels’’ taking her out shopping etc.

In that time, up until Covid lockdown I would, on Sabbath, drive her to Shrewsbury Seventh-day Adventist Church, drop her off at the door, and go walking along the river or exploring the history of the town, then collect her at the end of the service.

Periodically, one of the church members would invite any of the congregation who wished to go to her home for Sabbath afternoon tea. As there was no other way for my friend to attend, I was invited also. I found all the church members were extremely friendly and I enjoyed these visits.

CAREGIVING TO THE ADVENTIST FRIEND

In July 2020, at the end of the first lockdown, my friend tripped and broke her hip. Her family, whom I didn't know at the time, found out that I knew more about her medication. Since I had no family ties and she needed 24/7 care, and they had work and family ties of their own, I offered to look after her. It was while she was making a very good recovery from surgery, that she was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia.

As she wanted to attend church, when it re-opened after lockdown, I took her. But as she needed a wheelchair to go very far, I decided I had better take her in and attend the church. I became involved in this friendly, lovely church, having been warmly welcomed by all.

During the following years the dementia took its toll and speech, and mobility rapidly decreased, and she eventually came to rest, by her husband, in August 2023 aged 93.

THE BAPTISM DECISION

During the time of taking her to church, I was honoured to be able to attend the baptism of one of the church members. My mind began to run along similar lines, but again I did nothing about it…. that is until after my friend was laid to rest.

Sometime around late September, early October 2023, the church Pastor was taking our Bible Study and was telling about his experience of baptism. Many other members shared their baptismal stories and at the end of the study session I stood up and announced that, hearing all their baptismal stories, I felt that I very much wished to be baptised also.  

Then a date was set for my baptism in November 2023, aged 70 years.

Due to a massive technical problem, on the morning, the baptismal pool was only able to be filled, very slowly, with ‘’cold’’ tap water! At the appointed time, 11:30am, there was only about 5 inches of water, so the Pastor held an impromptu sermon for an hour. There was still about 12 inches of water, only! It was decided, instead of lunch after the baptism, we would have lunch beforehand. At about 2:30pm there was still only about 18-20 inches of water, but it was decided to go ahead. It was very cold and a long way down for the Pastor to submerge this 6’1'', 14 stone man.

John the Baptist, in the wilderness, was baptising in the Jordan River, I was sure it must have been cold at times. Our Lord Jesus was baptised by John in this way, and today many people are baptised outdoors, so nothing too unusual in a ‘’cold’’ baptism.

I am very happy to be, officially, a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.