Women in Spanish Baptist churches gained greater opportunities to be involved in ministry, thanks to Alabama’s Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU).
Partnering with Union Femenina Misionera Bautista (the women’s group in Spain), Alabama’s WMU found opportunities to help the Spanish women’s group financially and through encouragement. The two groups also shared experiences with their children’s homes and retirement homes.
Blandina Ronsano, former president of Union Femenina, who served during the partnership, said, “The partnership has been very positive.”
She thanks Beverly Miller, executive director of Alabama’s WMU, for “having the courage to be involved.”
“To know the sisters of Alabama has been like a gold coin,” Ronsano said. “The quality of the sisters, their love, their help has been appreciated tremendously.”
Alabama’s WMU made it possible for women of the Canary Islands, which are located about 700 miles southwest of Spain, to go to the national Union Femenina convention.
“Anytime there is a convention, it costs a lot for them to come because they have to fly,” Ronsano said. “But the Alabama WMU sent an offering specifically for the women of the Canary Islands to provide for their travel to the national convention.”
They also provided money for Ronsano to travel to the seven islands and visit the local people. These trips normally came out of Ronsano’s own money.
Another offering provided for other leaders of the Union Feminina to visit churches across Spain. “The offering was given so the directors of the national leadership could go and encourage the groups in those churches that needed encouraging,” Ronsano said.
The Spanish women plan to use some of the money remaining from the WMU offerings for leadership training, Ronsano said. “This will help with the first phase of leadership training,” she said.
Ronsano, who visited Alabama twice during the partnership, was excited to have Alabamians as part of the program for the 50th anniversary of the Union Feminina in Santjugat and for the national convention in Denia.
About 1,300 women participate in the 80 Union Feminina groups throughout Spain, Ronsano noted. And all of those women were affected in some way by Alabama Baptists.
“On a national level, all of the ladies were affected because the sisters from Alabama participated on a national level,” she said. “But the sisters from Alabama also participated on a regional level as well by making it possible for sisters to participate in the regional meetings that they had,” she said. “This allowed those who couldn’t do it to go.”
“What WMU has done for missions in Spain has been incredible,” Ronsano said. “This has encouraged me greatly to be included. It has been wonderful.”
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