Before there was a Woman's Missionary Union, there was Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend, a determined and courageous woman who transcended the societal constraints of the antebellum South to found a missionary society that would become the model for hundreds of others to follow. Hephzibah, mistress of a large plantation on South Carolina's Edisto Island, gave birth to fifteen children. Her passion was missions, and in order to fund missions and to found a church, Hephzibah and her beloved servant Bella started a baking business. Force of character and a profound sense of justice were the hallmarks of Hephzibah's life. This is her remarkable story.