I never married, never had children, but I had the opportunity of being in on the birth of WMU.”
The words were those of Fannie Heck, president of Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) in the late 1800s and early 1900s when WMU was just beginning as an organization.
But the words came alive again for those in attendance at the national WMU meeting June 11–12 through the voice and acting ability of Rosalie Hunt, president of Alabama WMU.
As Heck, Hunt said, “There is nothing more important than teaching our children about missions. Give us the children of today for missions, and we take the world for Christ tomorrow.”
In addition to Heck, Hunt related the tales of Ann Hasseltine Judson, Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong. She described their early days of Southern Baptist and WMU missions work in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The series of missions vignettes — which were presented in each of the meeting’s four general sessions — was based on two books written by Hunt, “The Story of WMU” from the WMU Heritage Series and “Bless God and Take Courage: The Judson History and Legacy.”
Hunt, who is a member of First Baptist Church, Guntersville, told of the struggles and joys of starting the first missions organization for women.
Along with remembering those early days, she challenged today’s Southern Baptist women, charging them to continue missions education for children, support for missions both at home and abroad and to press ahead into the future.
Hunt left the audience with these words: “Go forward.” (TAB)
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