Rosalie Hunt has had a longstanding love for three things — China, missions and words.
“I grew up as a child of a missionary in China,” she said, “and I met Bob when I was still in high school. He felt called to serve Chinese people.”
So in 1961, after getting married, the two were appointed through the International Mission Board to move overseas to serve among the Chinese.
“We went to the missions field with two little children, and we ended up over the years in eight countries primarily working with Chinese people,” Hunt said.
Thirty-four years later they found themselves back in Alabama as so-called “retirees,” Hunt said with a laugh.
40 years of writing
But that hasn’t stopped her from telling the story of China — and the story of missions in general. Hunt, a member of First Baptist Church, Guntersville, spends a lot of her time penning books and writing and performing monologues with missions at their core.
She wrote her first work — a missions story book for children — in 1975.
And 40 years later she still hasn’t slowed down.
In 2006 she released “Bless God and Take Courage: The Judson History and Legacy,” a book about the challenging lives of the three women who served alongside missionary Adoniram Judson in Burma. In 2013 she wrote “We’ve a Story to Tell: 125 Years of WMU” for national Woman’s Missionary Union’s (WMU) 125th anniversary celebration.
Passing the legacy down
And now she’s releasing “Her Way: The Remarkable Story of Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend,” the story of a lesser-known WMU pioneer she uncovered when doing the research for the WMU history book (see Hunt’s discovery of Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend).
“I think her story is inspiring,” Hunt said. “We need to pass that legacy down. Our problems aren’t a patch on what she went through, what she endured. We need to keep that legacy going for the next generation.”
In addition to the book, one way she’s brought Hephzibah’s story to life is through a monologue she presents to various missions groups, dressed in character as Hephzibah.
“I did one once that was 25 minutes long — that’s the longest I’ve ever done. That was a challenge. The older I get, the harder it is to memorize,” she said.
In the years before Hephzibah was on Hunt’s radar, she traveled doing monologues as Lottie Moon, a Southern Baptist missionary who gave her life in service to China.
“Lottie and I have been working together for 20 years now,” Hunt said.
She said it’s important to keep the stories of people like Lottie and Hepzibah alive.
Fully invested
“I really believe that the heart of missions is in Baptist churches,” Hunt said. “If we don’t continue to teach that history and legacy to our young people, it could die in one generation. It’s so important to keep them informed and caring.”
That’s why she’s so firmly invested in the work of WMU. Hunt’s connections with WMU have been strong for quite a while. She’s served in different roles over the years, including Alabama WMU president for four years and national WMU recording secretary for five years.
Laurie Register, executive director-treasurer of South Carolina WMU, said Hunt’s sense of and love for history is “important as we look to the future.”
And, she said, Hunt’s ability to capture a story for an audience is amazing.
“I have had a chance to travel with her a little bit as she interviewed people for the book, and her work is fascinating — she has a way with people and with words,” Register said.
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