Enduring Times

Raised by a dominating mother who kept Jennifer and her sister on a short leash. They were strict Catholics, dating was out of the question. Jennifer's first show of courage came when she went against her mother's wishes, enrolling in the Carnegie Nursing Academy. The second was when she fell in love with Bill, who worked at her father's bank. When her mother found out about Bill she tried to break them up. They ran away and eloped. When they returned her mother tried to force Jennifer to come home. When she couldn't she screamed, “You'll regret the day you married him.” For five years they have a happy marriage. With a loving husband and three children, Jennifer feels she is the happiest woman alive. Everything changes when suddenly her son dies. Bill has a nervous breakdown, disappears for weeks. When he comes home their life changes to the worse. He no longer wants to work at the bank, and will become a minister of the Faith Healing Church. They will no longer be Catholic and will attend his new church, making very little money. They can no longer use doctors or medicine. Jennifer refuses to go. Bill takes the children to his new Church without her. The children are scared so she goes to his church for the their sake. Secretly she continues to attend the Catholic church. He becomes a minister and later they are sent with their children, to the jungles of Columbia, South America.They are to stay five years, as missionaries. They live in a shack and teach the natives about God and to read and write. She also uses her nursing skill to help the sick natives. Three years later Jennifer becomes pregnant and the chief of the village tells her he is going to honor them. He will take their baby as his own when it is born. Jennifer refuses the offer. He becomes angry and insist it will happen. Jennifer panics, insist on leaving and they take a freighter to Philadelphia. They arrive at the beginning of the Great depression. They have little money, and no place to live. The baby's due in four months. How much more can she endure. They have no money, no job, no place to live. They locate a Faith Healing church who helps them. Bill can't find work, their money runs out, he begs money for food. The baby is born, her breast dry up, there is no money for milk. She continues to sneak off to the catholic church praying to God for help. Food baskets appear on their steps, Bill finds jobs, installing railroad ties, pays a dollar a day. Bill becomes fanatical about his religion and is stressed.. He starts beating the children. Jennifer stops him. Jennifer wants to go to work as a nurse she'll make good money. Bill won't allow it. She gets a job as a private nurse and tells Bill she's cleaning houses. Life get better until Jennifer becomes sick. Bill prays twice a day for God to heal her. Their oldest daughter stays home from school to take care of her while Bill works and goes to church. The man she works for, comes to visit Jennifer to see how she's feeling. When he sees how sick she is he calls an ambulance, takes her to the hospital. She almost dies, but the doctors save her. When Bill finds out she's in the hospital he's furious and wants to take her home. The pastor of his church talks him into letting her stay. Jennifer gets better and when she goes home, tells Bill she will not live under his conditions anymore.