Narrative Summary
Interview with Nelda Smith by Erica Larson
Nelda Smith is a beautiful woman inside and out. I have the privilege to have her as one
of three mentors. I started meeting with Nelda when the spring semester of 2012 was ending. I
immediately could just feel her love for the Lord burst from her heart. I always wanted to learn
her testimony. When I learned our largest class assignment was to record a woman’s testimony
who has had a religious influence on the Ozarks, Nelda was the perfect person for me to
interview.
Nelda was born and raised in Panama and fell in love with Steven, who was serving in
the U.S. army. They met at an early age and immediately were married; however their marriage
was anything but a fairy tale. Nelda shared with me how neither of them were Christians and
they had an open marriage because neither one of them respected or even knew what God’s
design of marriage should be. Nelda sobbed during our interview explaining how she suffered
the consequences of her actions and got an abortion because she did not want to have a child
from a different man. I knew Nelda still held felt sadness from this but immediately was able to
pick herself up and explain that was her old self and she is not the same person anymore because
she has been transformed by Christ.
Nelda also told me about how much of an impact her two daughters had on her life and
how she wished she could have been a better example for her daughters since she did not become
a Christian until she was in her forties. She shared what it was like for her to go through her
spiritual change. She mentioned how hard it was to be a Christian and have a husband who was
not one until several years later. She shared several stories where she and her husband had
conflicts over their beliefs. I cannot imagine the pain and frustration she must have went through,
trying to be patient while doing so.
What I loved most about hearing her testimony was to see how far she has come.
Looking at how the two love each other so much now, no one would have ever guessed they had
any problems with their marriage. It is encouraging to me to see how they were able to forgive
and love each other as they do now. I loved seeing the joy on her face as she retold her life story
and transformation of not only her own but her husband’s and daughters’ transformations as
well. It is really cool to see how this woman could go from being at a point of absolute despair to
the point she is now.
The most interesting thing about this woman is how she was able to change drastically
through her faith in Christ became an entirely new person. The most intriguing thing to me is
how much joy she has. The most inspiring thing about Nelda is her attitude about life and God.
She truly gives everything up to God and sets a great example for me about what submitting your
life to Christ looks like. She has inspired me to pursue God more and to be in the Word and in
prayer more often. She has been an active member at Second Baptist and always wants to help in
any way she can. She has a strong passion in encouraging others, teaching God’s Word, and
ministering to women and youth. Her testimony is amazing to me because she went through so
many hardships, yet has an abounding amount of joy. I have been able to see that her faith is not
all talk; she is always living a life that is mission driven and every chance she has to give- she
gives all that she has.
I have learned a lot from this petite, loving, Godly woman. Despite coming from a
different background than me, Nelda has so much that I can learn from. It was difficult to
transcribe her interview because she speaks very fast and has an accent from her Panamanian
heritage; however, Nelda’s story is amazing. I love being the person who has the privilege to
share it for this project.