Nick Strong

- Driving on the left side of the road is not hard, shifting on the left is not hard, but remembering to get in the car on the right side is a killer

- You have to choose between having gecko poop and no ants/bugs or having ants/bugs and no gecko poop

- Leaving the trash in the trash can for more than 4 days brings gnats, ants, and maggots

- Ugandans are all about relationships, nothing can be done until proper greetings have taken place

- Risking it and drinking the tap water can have ruff consequences

- Hitting a person or boda-boda (motorcycle) causes a mob to form and want to get revenge (I have not experienced this yet personally)

- Enjoy driving your vehicle today cause by tomorrow it will be in the shop

- I need some guys to come be volunteers cause there is just not enough testosterone here with all these females

- The best possible thing to eat for breakfast is a “rolex” (chapati and fried egg wrapped up together) - delicious

- 15 months is a long time but I know God has me here for a reason and I will see you again either on this continent, your continent, or the second tree on the left past the “Pearly Gates”, but I miss you dearly and would love to see you in Africa over the course of the next year.

- My God is faithful even when I am doubtful

- I serve a big God who wants all of me and not only what I feel comfortable giving Him

- Prayer works

These Are The Things I Have Been Learning So Far…

We are in the thick of it trying to plan and prepare for retreat.  It seems as if everyday there is something else to be done or some other detail to think about.  (And you know how I like details.) 

We are just seeking God for what he would have for us on retreat.  Tonight I met with Lacey for a couple of hours trying to coordinate our sessions and just sharing with each other what it is that God is laying on our hearts. 

We are connecting with 3 people that don’t work at the school and who actually are from a different mission (EMI).  Together we form a team; a team just wanting to be used by God to make a difference in the lives of the young people of Heritage International School. 

We will leave Saturday morning for Jinja which is about 3 hours away.  The mouth of the Nile River flowing out of Lake Victoria is in Jinja.   We will be staying at a resort for two nights and will be traveling back on Monday. 

Below I have listed the names and responsibilities of the leaders going to retreat.  Please pray for us as we prepare and then as we go.

1. Lisa Fish - Overall Coordinator
2. Jeremy - EMI - Games
3. Zach - EMI - Games      
4. Jill - EMI - Games                         
5. Francis - Music Leader 
6. Hannah Johnson - Lisa Right Hand Man/Woman  
7. Lacey Mackey - Speaking Sessions 1 and 3
8. Nick Strong - Speaking Sessions 2 and 4 / Little Drummer Boy for Worship

Thank you for your prayers they do not go unnoticed or unfelt.

“Pictures will be coming soon I promise”

Well I am here and well. 

I was one hour from arriving in Uganda when all of the sudden I became very scared and distraught. 

What have I done?  Where am I?  I have definitely made a mistake and is it too late to go home?

Those were some of the questions that were popping into my mind.  Scared out of my mind I walked off of the plane and into the world of the unknown.  Lisa Fish picked me up and I haven’t stopped going from there.

Prayer Meeting, soccer practice, teaching Bible classes and PE classes, planning Games Day (similar to FunFest for all you Bolivians), taking pictures at the swim meet for the yearbook, planning spiritual retreat for the school, dinners with missionaries, lying awake in my bed for 2 hours every morning because of jetlag, and learning the language of Luganda have been many of the things occupying my time so far. 

I am so grateful to be here.  This has come about so quickly in the last 5 months but on the other side of the coin I feel like I have been on this endeavour for months.  Last night the WGM Uganda field had prayer meeting and it was a great time of sharing praises and prayers requests and also just being together.  I felt last night like I was a part of a team for the first time when we were all together.

Please pray for Retreat as Lisa Fish and I will be playing a huge role in planning and running it.  It is coming up next weekend and the Junior High and High School students are all attending.

I am excited to hear from you soon.  You can either e-mail me at nick.strong@wgmuganda.org or you can comment on the blog here.  I will hopefully post again