Narrative Summary
Interview with Sue Edmonds by Ashley Drake
I interviewed Sue Edmonds in Nixa, Missouri on April 6, 2014. Sue was born in the
1950’s in St. Louis County. She is currently a homemaker and takes care of things so her
husband Steve can run his business smoothly. She has four children, Gretchen, Jake, Madi, and
Jordan. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Missouri State University and
practiced accounting for about fifteen years. About once every two years, she travels to Germany
to sight-see while her husband goes to an international conference.
Sue practices Christianity, the Baptist denomination. She is very involved in different
ministries and has been for many years. Sue attends South Gate Baptist Church where her son,
Jake, is currently serving as youth and college pastor. She has taught and facilitated many
women’s bible studies as well as for the college group a few times. A couple of months ago, Sue
began teaching eleventh and twelfth grade girls every Sunday morning in the small group hour.
Sue’s religious journey has not always been so wonderful. She got married several years
ago to a man and they had two children together. However, it was an abusive relationship and
even though it was contrary to what she was taught in church and knew what was right, she
decided to divorce him, because she could no longer put up with him anymore and their kids
were starting to get to an age where they would be able to remember bad scenes and a bad
relationship between their parents. When Sue divorced him her church treated her almost like a
leper and she became mad and left the church.
Sue began working again and was working through the struggles of being a single mom
when she met a man named Steve at a bar one night. They got a long great and soon after, they
were dating and then married. However, Steve was not a Christian, he did not really believe in
Missouri State University
Spring 2014
Religious Lives of Ozarks Women
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anything. In the meantime, Sue and Steve became pregnant with their first child together. They
had two children together—bringing her total of kids to four. As the youngest two kids began
growing up and were toddlers, Sue decided she wanted her kids to grow up in church as she did.
She asked Steve if she could bring the kids to church because she wanted to start going to church
again and wanted them to be raised in church, and much to her surprise he was completely fine
with it and said he would come with them. There had been a couple of little things that had
happened and Sue had also been feeling a little tug from God which led to this notion to return to
church. At this point, Sue had been away from the church for five years.
Sue asked her best friend where she should go to church, because the only church she had
ever been was the one she grew up in, the one who had hurt her. Her best friend invited them to
her church and they had a blast there and Sue felt so loved again by the people, and by God.
Over time, Steve became a Christian and started getting involved in the church in deeper ways,
as well as Sue. From here their family became rooted in the church and all of her children
became saved and involved in the church.
One of the most interesting things about Sue is her reason for homeschooling. She felt
that God said He would allow her kids to face bigger trials than most would in the future and
they needed to be homeschooled so they could have more time to be more rooted in their faith
and persevere. One of the most intriguing things about Sue is her passionate love of music, in
spite of not being able to play instruments or carry a tune in a bucket. One of the most inspiring
things about Sue is her ability to care, persevere, and rely completely on God without question.
Even in a time when things are not going well for her, she will still put on a smile and thank God
for His blessings, and go a step further and find someone else to encourage as well. Her drive to
read and learn as well as her dedication to the Lord is truly inspiring.
Missouri State University
Spring 2014
Religious Lives of Ozarks Women