by Ray Norman
Ali paused briefly to gather his thoughts, and then he quietly continued, “Let me tell you what one Christian family did for me.” Ali launched into the story of his encounter with our family when we visited him in the prison, the impact it had made on him, and the assistance we later provided for him to be released and have a fresh opportunity to try to sort out his tangled and disjointed life. Kamal listened spellbound to Ali’s story, and by the time they reached the drop-off point for Ali, Kamal was sure he had heard from God about the direction he was to take.
Kamal began working with another man who had recently moved to Mauritania with his young family and who was already engaged in helping troubled individuals find ways to develop meaningful livelihoods in the Nouakchott area. Some time later, Kamal’s colleague was tragically assassinated on the streets of Nouachott. This was, of course, a huge setback, but with continued encouragement from local authorities, Kamal took over the work and has seen it grow and flourish in the years that have followed.
Kamal went on to say that he and Ali became friends, and for several years they met frequently, often with Kamal providing counsel and assistance to Ali as he struggled to reintegrate into society. He mentioned that Ali continued to have both high and low points in his life as he dealt with his troubled past and his own psychological challenges before passing away in 2012.
“But, Mr. Norman,” Kamal said at last, “I have always wanted you to know what a profound impact you and your family had on Ali and how grateful he always was for what you did for him. God has blessed our ministry in remarkable ways. We are now working in virtually every major city and town in Mauritania, assisting hundreds of broken lives, and much of our work is where it is today because of the testimony of Ali and my encounter with his desire to help others who have traversed the same difficult path as he.” When I got off the phone with Kamal, I called Hannah in her dorm room at Eastern University and told her the story I had just heard. Then I quietly told her that Ali had passed away in 2012. At first there was a long silence on the other end of the line. Then Hannah began to weep. She wept for a long time, as anyone would who had lost someone whom they cared about deeply.
AUTHOR’S NOTE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THE RECOUNTING OF THIS STORY MORE THAN TEN YEARS AFTER THE events has been a unique journey for my family and me. At times it has been heartwarming, but at other times it has been tumultuous, even quite painful – especially when confronted by both our past and continuing frailties and shortcomings. During the events recounted, we were often blind to the bigger picture of all that was happening. And in the midst of the turmoil we simply tried to make it through each day intact, hoping to at least “stumble forward” with each step we took. But as the years progressed we were able to gradually process and piece together the full story recorded in this book. As the pieces came together, we discovered that the way in which we remember and process the events in our lives may often be far more significant than simply the events themselves. Henri Nouwen, in his little book The Living Reminder, framed this so well: “Our memory plays a central role in our sense of being, [and] the events of our lives are probably less important than the form they take in the totality of our story . . . Our first and most spontaneous response to our undesirable memories is to forget them . . . [But] by refusing to face our painful memories we miss the opportunity to change our hearts and grow mature in repentance.” Our hearts have certainly been stretched, changed, and hopefully enlarged. And we have been humbled in the process as we have seen how God’s hand was over it all along. It is my hope that readers will find that the journey of our hearts has also been as faithfully recorded as the events themselves.
As I penned this narrative, I did so hesitantly, feeling neither competent nor worthy of the task. I felt this way for a number of reasons. First, in my heart, I am intimately aware that I am no hero or one endowed with particular spiritual insight or strength, as is the rest of my family – a notion that seems to be rather uncomfortably attached to us when have recounted this story in part or in whole. I have felt this way especially when I compare myself to many other followers of Jesus my own journey has privileged me to intersect with. Secondly, I am a water engineer and an international development practitioner. I am not a theologian or a Muslim scholar. And my experience of writing has largely been in the academic fields and not for the general public. Thirdly, I have written about experiences which occurred while living and working among some of the world’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable people. I do not and cannot write from their perspective, much as I wish or would like to think I could. Rather, I have written from the limited (and disadvantaged) vantage point of a person with incredible privilege in today’s world. I am a white male, a citizen of both the United States and France, and while writing this book I worked as an academic at a respected, private institution of higher learning—an institution that is also beyond the means of most people my life has intersected with.
My primary consolation when wrestling with these conflicted feelings, is that I have had the wonderful privilege of spending much of my lifetime (and its happiest moments) walking alongside—in their farms, homesteads and villages—many who have not had the worldly privileges I have had. This experience has shaped me deeply, especially in my understanding of myself and the gospel. I was also raised by parents who were deeply committed to the cause of Christ in a broken and hurting world, and who always held an abiding love for the poor and disadvantaged, a love that deeply informed most every aspect of their lives, whether during their many years serving as missionaries in Africa, or as a medical doctor and English teacher in the U.S. And, I have had a wonderful, lifelong companion and wife who has shared my own heart for a broken world and has always been there to faithfully remind and prod me to do the “right thing” whether I have felt qualified or not—such as write this book.
I also owe much to my two children, Nathaniel and Hannah, who traversed, with exceptional grace and patience, a veritable kaleidoscope of experiences as their mom and dad dragged them across multiple continents and cultures in their growing-up years. I am also indebted to my sister, Jo Ellen—who prayed faithfully for us during our years abroad and who diligently handled many of our logistics back in the U.S; and to my brother, Russell, who in the midst of his own busy life would on occasion send a word of encouragement my way—encouragement that I would hold on to like a jewel. And to my European in-laws, Pierre and Janet Derchez, who have bravely stepped across the cultural divide these many years and loved and accepted me as one of their own.
In getting to the point of actually writing this story, there are others I am deeply indebted to. My many friends and colleagues at World Vision—Dave Robinson, Rich Stearns, Daniel Ole Shani, Mekonnen Sisay, Larry Probus, Jean-Baptiste Kamate, Torrey Olsen, and Chawkat Moucarry to name only a few who encouraged this endeavor. Dave Robinson’s wise and consistent counsel through the years to “share your important story” has been a huge source of inspiration and encouragement. And I owe especial thanks to Rich Stearns, who more than anyone else, encouraged, prodded and motivated me to actually sit down and put pen to paper. I am also grateful to Messiah College, which provided a rich environment for exchange and reflection, to its leadership who granted me a four-month leave-of-absence to get this work underway, and to my Messiah College colleagues who over the years have encouraged us to share our story more broadly: the late Terry Earhart, Theodore and Cathy Prescott, Michael Cosby and Angela Hare, among others. And elsewhere, there have been other friends and acquaintances who have provided invaluable encouragement and assistance to this endeavor: Dennis Hollinger, Steve Bundy, Joni Eareckson Tada, Stan and Beth Doerr, Mike Leonzo, David Shenk and Lori Zimmerman, especially.
In the early stages of writing I received invaluable editorial guidance and assistance from Becky Kaspareck and Lynne Cosby. My agent, Bill Denzel, shepherded me wisely through the initial phases of putting a book together, and my editors at Thomas Nelson, Webster Younce, Heather Skelton, and Krist
en Parrish provided me with much needed advice and encouragement as they patiently guided me through the final steps.
Lastly, as I penned this story, I wrestled frequently with understanding and articulating the parallel, internal journey of my own heart. In re-crossing this daunting landscape, and in the unpacking of a confusing mix of past memories, emotions, and convictions, I was often compelled to call upon the only one who has been there to accompany me through each step (and misstep) for wisdom and guidance. And it is to him I owe everything: Isa al-Masih (Jesus the Messiah), who has liberally given me all I have yearned for—truth to satisfy my intellect, love to fill my heart, and, always, bright hope for the future.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RAY NORMAN WAS RAISED IN RURAL WEST AFRICA, THE SON OF medical missionaries. After completing his formal education, he worked in Africa and the Middle East for more than fifteen years as a researcher and development specialist in the water and agricultural sectors—serving with Cornell University (Niger), Winrock International (Niger), Sultan Qaboos University (Oman) and the African Development Bank (Côte d’Ivoire and Egypt). During this time his work was focused primarily on the socio-technical interface between traditional societies and water use. In 1999 he joined World Vision International as the national director in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. After serving with World Vision, Ray and his family returned to the United States so their children could complete their education. He served as dean of the School of Science, Engineering, and Health at Messiah College for some twelve years, while continuing to intersect with World Vision in an advisory and consulting capacity. Over the years, he has also worked as a consultant to the US Agency for International Development, the World Bank, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and various international NGOs—largely as an irrigation and water management specialist. He returned to World Vision in 2015 as the director for Faith Leadership for their global Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene programs. He also speaks frequently at both professional conferences and church-related venues on issues of international development, poverty reduction, cross-cultural relations, and Christian witness. Ray holds a PhD in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Cornell University. He is married to Hélène (a French national) and has two grown children, Nathaniel and Hannah. They divide their non-traveling time between the villages of Grantham, Pennsylvania, and Bonningues-les-Ardres in northern France and are members of Living Water Community Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania—an inner-city, multi-ethnic church that works to bring justice and hope to the urban communities it serves.