Rosalie Hall Hunt will tell you it was not her intention to be an author: She is a talker, not a writer.
However, God had a different idea. In His time, she would be called to write about men and women who were the forerunners on international missions field and those who supported them. God would allow her to reflect and write about her life as a missionary kid and serving on the missions field with her husband, Bob.
Hunt’s writing experiences go back to when she and her husband, Bob, were missionaries in Taiwan. At least twice a week, she would pull out two sheets of blue carbon paper, place them between three sheets of typing paper, then roll the papers between the platen and feed-roller on her manual typewriter.
Her typed words described her family’s daily experiences, language school, work with students, robberies and many other stories. The letters were mailed to the couple’s parents and her friend, Jamie Faucett.
At the request of Keith Parks, then president of the International Mission Board, Hunt began to write and send what became known as “The China Report,” even though there were no missionaries actually serving in China. The multi-page typed document related personal experiences, living conditions, impressions and other bits of information from the region; she also wrote reports from their other places of service.
A broader audience
Hunt’s spoken and written words continued to touch lives throughout Taiwan as she worked with Chinese churches and WMU groups, wrote teaching plans for her university students, and organized and taught children in Girls in Action, WMU’s missions discipleship group for girls in grades 1–6.
In August 1986, one of Hunt’s articles appeared in Woman’s Missionary Union’s “Royal Service” magazine. In the short piece, “My Missions Vision,” she wrote about her love for the Chinese people. She ended with: “My vision of missions must be daily internalized, and then externalized in the daily walk. ‘Please, God, help each smile, look, touch and word to articulate the message.’”
The history bug
Hunt wrote her first book, a children’s missions study book, in 1975. But the history bug bit during a July 1999 trip to Myanmar (now also known as Burma), where she and Bob were connecting with missionaries and their work in the country. A highlight of the trip was attending a special worship service at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Yangon commemorating the arrival of Adoniram and Ann Judson to Burma 186 years earlier on July 13, 1813.
Paul Johns, then pastor of the church, told attendees, “Judson has passed the torch. Now it is up to us to pass it on again.”
When the Hunts arrived home, Rosalie couldn’t stop talking about their experiences and the Judsons’ legacy. She told her daughter, Alice, and son, Jody, that someone needed to tell the story and write a book. Their response was, “Mom, you tell the story. You are the one who’s been there.”
Rosalie willingly embarked on a writing endeavor that would end up taking six years. The task was monumental. To write historical nonfiction, one must begin with extensive research, including hours of reading at libraries, writing detailed notes, taking pictures and finding old photos, visiting historical sites and doing interviews — all while properly documenting each and every source.
One of her happiest moments while researching that first book, Rosalie recalled, was when she purchased a first edition of James Knowles’ 1829 “Memoir of Mrs. Ann H. Judson.”
In 2006, Hunt’s book on the Judsons was published by Judson Press of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. “Bless God and Take Courage: The Judson History and Legacy” was a reality. It also brought an unexpected opportunity: establishing a foundation that would provide funds for missions endeavors around the globe.
Telling the WMU story
That first book revealed Rosalie’s passion for research, and it opened the door for more writing opportunities. Wanda Lee, then executive director/treasurer of national Woman’s Missionary Union, asked her to write the history of the organization for the celebration of its 125th anniversary in 2013.
Rosalie accepted the assignment, and “We’ve a Story to Tell: 125 Years of WMU” was the result. On the dedication page she wrote, “To Alice Wells Hall (1901–1984), my mother, whose missionary heart exemplified for me all the joy found in ministry through WMU.”
“Our Woman’s Missionary Union story is one of sacrifice, courage, patience and divine intervention in the course of human affairs,” Rosalie writes in the preface. The 37 chapters are “not about a simple chronicle of women having meetings. It is a journey into the minds and hearts of our foremothers. This is our story — the venture of faith that became the largest mission organization for women in the world.”
The book ends with a special section, “Profiles of Missions Pioneers,” listing national WMU presidents and executive directors from 1879 to 2013.
Over the next several years, Rosalie’s research continued. Her next four books were:
- “Her Way: The Remarkable Story of Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend” (2016)
- “The Extraordinary Story of Ann Hasseltine Judson: A Life Beyond Boundaries” (2018)
- “Out of Exile: Fannie Heck & the Rest of the Story” (2019)
- “Guided by Grace: The Kathleen Mallory Story” (2020).
The China series
Over the years the Hunt children heard stories of Rosalie and Bob’s missionary work. Verbal storytelling has its place, but the children encouraged her to write it down. They wanted to see their legacy in a tangible, chronological format.
However, for Rosalie there never seemed to be an opportunity — she was always working on other projects, speaking or serving. She has served terms as Alabama WMU president, national WMU recording secretary and as a board member of the WMU Foundation and The Alabama Baptist/TAB Media Group. She also continues to be active with GAs at her home church, First Baptist Church Guntersville.
But in March 2020, things changed. The COVID-19 pandemic struck, and Bob and Rosalie were required to stay home.
Now was the time to write about her parent’s legacy and her personal missions heritage, as well as the story of her and Bob’s missions work. Boxes of memorabilia were gathered, and containers were emptied in Rosalie’s office, aka the family’s living room. There were letters from her parents, newspaper clippings, articles and thousands of pictures. She sorted everything, even the letters she had sent home, It took nearly a month to read and sort the various items, which included putting them in chronological order, making notes and tagging pictures.
Treasured discovery
One of Rosalie’s treasured discoveries was inside a letter her mother, Alice Wells Hall, had sent her mother in Sumter, South Carolina, about three months after her marriage. In that letter was a sprig of orange blossom from the bouquet carried by Alice on her wedding day, June 29, 1933. Eighty-nine years later, Rosalie was holding that fragile sprig and crying as she thought about her mother and father and their rich missions legacy.
The memories and documents got Rosalie to work at her computer once again. Over the next several months, the manuscript came together. In an interview with The Alabama Baptist, Rosalie said she thought it would be one volume, “6 Yellow Balloons: An MK’s China Story,” published in 2021. But when she realized she wasn’t born until chapter 14, she knew it would take two books. The second, “The Blue Enamel Cup: An MK’s China Legacy,” was released in 2022.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This article is the first in a series reflecting on the legacy of missionary, author and beloved speaker Rosalie Hall Hunt. The daughter of missionaries to China, Rosalie and her husband, Bob, served for 30 years as missionaries in eight Asian countries, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Myanmar. A frequent speaker at churches and conventions, Rosalie brings Baptist history alive, speaking on remarkable figures from the past. She also inspires with her dramatic monologues of Lottie Moon, Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend, Kathleen Mallory, and Ann Judson. She is past president of Alabama Woman’s Missionary Union and was five years national recording secretary of WMU. She has been awarded honorary doctorates from Judson University in Elgin, Illinois, and Judson College. Rosalie and Bob reside in Guntersville. Read part 2, “Rosalie Hall Hunt: The China Series, “6 Yellow Balloons: An MK’s China Story,” tomorrow (Aug. 30). Click here to view a video and read more stories. Learn more about Rosalie and her books at rosaliehallhunt.com.
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