Some go to Spain to enjoy the tourist attractions and the culture, but Bermudian Romel Woolridge is leaving behind her only son and walking away from a relatively comfortable life to fulfil her life?s dream of helping others through doing missionary work.

The 38-year-old devout Christian said she knew from a very young age what she wanted to do. She said: ?I always said that when my son got out of the way that I would do missionary work, but I had no idea where or what kind of missionary work I would do.?

About a year ago someone put her in touch with missionaries working in Spain.

?I corresponded with the head of the missionary effort in Spain for about a year. I then decided to go there on vacation. It was the best decision I have every made.?

She spent two weeks in Spain visiting the various missionaries and finally arrived in the city of Malaga.

?It was a mind-blowing experience. When I got off the train I felt like jumping up and down. I saw cobble-stoned narrow roads and I said to myself, ?My God this looks like St. George?s.? I felt so comfortable, like it was home. I knew this was the place I was supposed to be.?

She received further confirmation that she was in the right place when she met with the Pastor of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church and heard of the work the church was doing to help Columbian prostitutes. ?The Pastor told me that it was a fledgling Church and for the most part the women who attended the church were Columbian prostitutes, some had knowingly gotten involved in prostitution while others were tricked.

?All of them had left that life and some were having problems in their marriages or with their children. Having lived the life of a prostitute many of them were facing all sorts of challenges.?

Ms Woolridge said: ?I could not believe what I was hearing. I had spent the last five years in Bermuda working with high-risk families at the Family Center. I worked with families in need of healing. All I could say to her was, ?I?ll be back.??

She believes her work at the Family Center prepared her for the work she will be doing in Spain.

?I counselled families facing all sorts of issues, ranging from prostitution, child abuse, sexual abuse, alcoholism, and mental illnesses.

?I also facilitated the ?Communities That Cares Project? where we would go into neighbourhoods and empower residents to take ownership of the problems that were specific to their parish.?

She added: ?My primary work as a missionary will be to offer spiritual counselling and healing to the families. I will also spend a great deal of time identifying what resources are available to help these women and their families.?

Ms Woolridge?s 18-year-old son Kanai ? who was part of the maiden crew of the sail-training vessel ? is proud of his mom.

?I am happy for her. She is all excited to go. I am concerned that she is going to be out there without me. I think it will be a good spiritual growth for her and she will touch a lot of people.?

Ms Woolridge is a member of the St. John AME Church in Smith?s Parish and her Pastor, the Reverend Ruth Smith said she believes she will bring spiritual healing to a number of people. ?When people think of missionary work Spain isn?t the first country that comes to mind. But it is more than just the physical condition. She will be dealing with that aspect of things, but she will also administer to the spiritual needs of others and spreading the word of God.? she said. She added: ?It isn?t often that you hear of someone packing up and going to a foreign country to do missionary work. When I think of Romel I like to think of her in the same vein of another Bermudian missionary, Winona Jennings, who left Bermuda thirty years ago to work as a missionary in Liberia.

?I grew up hearing stories of Winona Jennings and I believe Romel is the Winona of today?s generation. I am honoured that my children will grow up hearing stories of Romel Woolridge who packed up and left the comforts of home in the name of doing God?s work.?

When asked how long she would be in Spain, Romel responded: ?I purchased a one-way ticket.?