where are they now? by Neil Gililland Find out more about the Free Will Baptist International Missions at www.fwbgo.com.   Learn more about the country of Cotê d' Ivoire where the Richards ministered for many years.

Where Are They Now is the first in a series of articles that chronicles the current status of former missionaries. Look for additional articles in upcoming issues of ONE Magazine.

Photo: Norman and Bessie in Agnibilekrou, Cotê d' Ivoire, West Africa.

Norman and Bessie Richards

 “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” won the Grammy for song of the year in 1963. For Norman and Bessie Richards, it was the year they gave their hearts to each other and to a lifetime of ministry in the name of Christ.

Their journey began in the small Arkansas town of Searcy, the “city where thousands live as millions wish they could.” Answering God’s call meant Norman and Bessie had to leave their city of thousands to reach a world where millions live without the gospel of Jesus Christ. Their journey paused in Nashville, Tennessee, (FWBBC); Columbia, South Carolina, (CIU); Paris, France; Lausanne, Switzerland; and, finally, Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. There, along the eastern border of Côte d’Ivoire, they left their hearts in the name of the Holy One in the town of Agnibilekrou and the surrounding villages.

Year after year they poured themselves into the lives of the Ivorian people. With tender, loving hearts they raised two sons, Gene and Randal (pictured at right in 1977), on the African continent among their adopted people. After more than 25 years of service, health challenges made it impossible for them to continue their ministry in the tropics.

The easiest path would have taken them back to Searcy or near one of their sons. But for Norman and Bessie, the easiest path was never an option. Their journey led them from Ivory Coast to six years in Slidell, Louisiana, under the auspices of Free Will Baptist Home Missions.

Where are they now?  What happened to the cute couple from Searcy? Their journey has taken them around the world and back…not to Searcy, but to Nashville, Tennessee. Norman, to no one’s surprise, is again pouring his life into the lives of people as the Minister of Senior Adults and Pastoral Care at Donelson FWB Church. Bessie serves alongside Norman and has been an integral piece of Donelson’s children’s ministry. Their passion for the millions who have not heard continues as they coordinate an ESL (English as a second language) ministry to immigrants.

I suppose I need not mention, they are also grandpa and grandma to four grandchildren.
Frank Sinatra may have left his heart in San Francisco, but Norman and Bessie Richards continue to leave their hearts around the world. Searcy can be proud, and so are we.

Neil Gilliland serves as Director of Member Care for IM.