Nick Strong

I went across the street from Dollar General one day after work to grab some lunch, only to run into Lisa Fish. I know Lisa because she was formerly a missionary in Bolivia, but is now in Uganda working at Heritage International School. She sat down with me and asked me if I knew what God could do with me in Uganda. I obliged to listen to her even though I knew that I was not interested. What she shared with me over the next hour was surprisingly interesting to me but I did not think too much about it.

That weekend I went down to Asbury College to be with the missionary kids down there and I randomly ran into Larry and Joy McPherson. They came up to me and said, “You must be a Strong?” Not having any idea who they were I said yes and a conversation was started from there. Before the conversation was over they asked me if I had ever considered going to Uganda. I laughed it off but still did not think too much of it.

That night at the WGM Global Café which is a mission’s worship/prayer service down at Asbury, Uncle John Muehleisen gave a challenge specifically to guys to go further than your father did and to give you life to the movement of Jesus Christ across this world, specifically in Africa. I began to see a pattern here and a path that was maybe being paved before me but I did not know how ready I was to walk down it. I wrestled with God all the way home. On the ride home by myself, I cried, laughed, questioned, and wondered what in the world God was up too.

By the time I got home, through prayer and seeking the counsel of my dear sister, I decided to e-mail Uncle Jon Mayo to ask him what we could do with my life in Uganda if I gave it to him for a year or two. And so, here I am, four months later on this path of pursuing what God has for me. Little did I know that dreaming God-sized dreams for myself would take me to Uganda, Africa but I am so glad that it is taking me that there. Now 5 weeks out, my mind and my heart are filled with joy, peace, fear, nervousness, and a deep satisfaction knowing that though this is a tough road to walk down I am walking down it with my creator and my God.

As I look back over the past year of my life I find that I have been involved in many things. I finished my last semester at IWU in April and shortly after that I gained the brother that I have never had. As my sister and new brother left in one car for their honeymoon, I left in one of my own for the airport. I led a group of 9 people to Kenya, Africa on a mission’s trip through WGM. We worked out with John and Vera Steury in Maasai Land.

After coming back from that trip I took my last summer course at IWU and graduated in August. For the past 6 months I have been working at the new Dollar General Distribution Center here in Marion and I also worked at the Grace House. The Grace House is a Christian run house for recovering addicts. I was stretched in many ways and I really learned many things about a way of life that I have never had much contact with. I am grateful for those two jobs that I have had because it they have opened my eyes again and in a new way to what life is like without the hope that we have in knowing Jesus Christ.

I also got the chance to coach my first soccer team. Two days before I left for Kenya I was informed that I had been named the new head coach of the Oak Hill Boys Soccer Program. I thoroughly enjoyed coaching those boys and it by the end of the season, I finally felt like chemistry was developing between the team and I. We ended the season with a tough loss in overtime but were encouraged with the great potential for next season. Little did I know that there won’t be a next season for me and that team because Uganda is right around the corner.