Sign-In
Cart
A Missionary Widow: The Enduring Power of Faith and Love
Paperback
Historical FiguresGeneral ChristianityRelationships
Publisher: ABC Cannon Imprints
Published: Mar 10 2026
Pages: 200
Weight: 0.81
Height: 0.54 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
During the time of the draft imposed after the Korean War, Pete and Suzanne met each other and fell in love. Pete wanted to serve a mission for his church before marriage but couldn't apply because the government's quota had already been met in the local congregation. The couple decided to get married before Pete went off to boot camp. A week before the marriage, an unexpected offer to serve a mission came. The couple counseled with church leaders and then under their guidance proceeded with their wedding. After several other twists, Pete received a call to the North Central States mission a few weeks after they were married. Pete left for a two-year mission just two and one half months later. Suzanne was left at home to go to college, work to support Pete, and plan for her own mission call to come. That mission call never came because of her age; rather she volunteered in multiple capacities to help in her community. This book uses Pete's journal and personal history along with Suzanne's long letters to chronicle the amazing story of how the couple deepened their love and commitment to each other while serving and helping others at an incredible pace.
Pete witnessed miracles including the healing of a baby from dangerous seizures, finding a woman who was praying for a minister to come right after her husband died, being healed from poisoning, having a dream of how to butcher a pig for a family whose father had just died, and other inexplicable coincidences. He had chances to play his trombone, participate in an Indian horsetail dance, use his theatrical talents, and think of creative and fun ways to share the missionary message. He also became gravely ill, warded off evil spirits, almost lost his eyesight, survived a dog attack, and recovered from a serious reaction to penicillin. The challenges and triumphs built friendships, facilitated his missionary work, and strengthened his commitment to Suzanne.
While he was gone, Suzanne stayed extremely busy directing youth theatre programs, dancing, singing, and going to school. She wrote to her favorite aunt, Now that Pete's gone, I'm going to take dancing and music lessons again, along with participating in plays. I shall keep on working and going to school. I'm going to try to go to the temple every other week. If I do all this, I won't have much time to think about missing Pete. Her aunt complimented her for having the wisdom of the ages which would help her be all the more charming wife when he came back. Suzanne's growth and maturity through service and her desire to support her husband in every way possible are evident in her letters. Since phone calls were very expensive her sometimes 20-page handwritten letters gave important historical insights of the culture and world at the time. She discussed the essence of opposition, revelation, raising children, and spiritual realizations in her letters. Suzanne took her supportive role seriously. She could tell when Pete was down and wrote to cheer him up. Hey, get your chin up off the ground and look around. You'd be surprised how brightly the sun is shining.
Most importantly this story explores love, and nurturing love during separation. A few letters ago you asked me what my definition of love was. Simply, I could say it is a great affection and desire to be with and near the person who is loved. On scientific theory I would say it is a form of magnetic attraction. On a religious level, I would say it is one of God's greatest gifts to men, designed to make men brothers, bring about peace in the world, and combine the purposes of man and woman in order to bring souls into this world to prove themselves. Man is that he might have joy and God's greatest instrument to provide joy is love. When I think of Pete Black, I feel and know love.
Also from
Cannon, Anna Lea
Also in
Historical Figures
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich
Metaxas, Eric
Hardcover
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich
Metaxas, Eric
Paperback
The Rise of Thomas Cromwell: Power and Politics in the Reign of Henry VIII, 1485-1534
Everett, Michael
Paperback
The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution
Wegman, Jesse
Hardcover
The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel: Romanovs, Revolutionaries, and the Forgotten Titan Who Fueled the World
Brunt, Douglas
Hardcover
America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick
Crawford, Bob
Hardcover
One Man in: The Explosive Firsthand Account of the Lone Special-Ops Commando Who Fought Off a Major Terrorist Attack in Kenya
Craighead, Christian
Hardcover
Thomas Jefferson Survives: American Independence in His Time and Ours
Onuf, Peter S.
Cogliano, Francis D.
Hardcover
A Librarian's War: The Man Who Fought World War II with Books and Brought the Joy of Reading to Millions
Manning, Molly Guptill
Hardcover
Operation Sparrow: The Incredible True Story of the Spies Who Tricked Hitler and Won the War
Bell, Jason
Hardcover
Rebel of the Regency: The Scandalous Saga of Caroline of Brunswick, Britain's Queen Without a Crown
Foster, Ann
Hardcover
The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom
Sherrill, John
Boom, Corrie Ten
Paperback
Cicero's Tongue: The Life of Rome's Greatest Orator and the End of the Republic
Edwards, Catharine
Hardcover
Solo and Together: Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, an Enigmatic Life and Marriage
Hansen, James R.
Hardcover
The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany
Strauss, Gwen
Paperback
Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race from Louis XIV to Thomas Jefferson
Curran, Andrew S.
Hardcover
A Thousand Shall Fall: The Electrifying Story of a Soldier and His Family Who Dared to Practice Their Faith in Hitler's Germany
Mundy, Susi Hasel
Paperback
Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook
Bourdain, Anthony
Paperback
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Kendi, Ibram X.
Paperback
The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I
Brunt, Douglas
Paperback
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
Winchester, Simon
Paperback
The Confessions of Samuel Pepys: Private Revelations from Britain's Most Famed Diarist
de la Bédoyère, Guy
Hardcover
The Forsaken Founder: Gouverneur Morris, the Unsung Patriot Who Wrote the Constitution, Stood Up to Slavery, and Survived the Reign of Terror
Greenberger, Scott S.
Hardcover
Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High
Beals, Melba Pattillo
Paperback
The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America
Rosen, Jeffrey
Paperback
American Prometheus (Pulitzer Prize Winner): The Inspiration for the Major Motion Picture Oppenheimer
Bird, Kai
Sherwin, Martin J.
Paperback
The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It
Mazzeo, Tilar J.
Paperback
The First Fascist: The Sensational Life and Dark Legacy of the Marquis de Morès
Luzzatto, Sergio
Hardcover
The Man Behind the Cane: Preston Brooks, Political Violence, and the Road to the Civil War
Quigley, Paul
Hardcover
The Power Broker (Pulitzer Prize Winner): Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Caro, Robert A.
Hardcover
Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection
Faber, Toby
Paperback
The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
Kiernan, Denise
Paperback
No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II
Goodwin, Doris Kearns
Paperback
The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War
Molloy, J. T.
Donohue, John Chick
Paperback
The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man
Von Drehle, David
Paperback
A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid
Gobodo-Madikizela, Pumla
Paperback
Miracles in American History, Volume Two: Amazing Faith That Shaped the Nation: Adapted from William J. Federer's American Minute [With 2 Paperbacks]
Federer, Susie
Federer, William J.
Paperback
Master of the Senate (Pulitzer Prize Winner): The Years of Lyndon Johnson III
Caro, Robert A.
Paperback
Tomboy Bride, 50th Anniversary Edition: One Woman's Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West
Backus, Harriet Fish
Paperback
The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century
Harrington, Joel F.
Paperback