Ever wondered what your life’s purpose is? That one thing that gives fulfillment to your life? Many people spend years searching for their life’s purpose because of the challenging process.
Some people assume their purpose and satisfaction will be gained from making a lot of money, starting a family, or achieving status in society.
Nelson John Muhire, the team leader of The Collective UG, also a youth ministry believes that one cannot find their life’s purpose unless they interact and socialize with others.
The Audio engineer said in their first EP done and produced by youths, some were surprised by the results of interacting with other people.
“Most of the youths learned the skills but what they gained most was the community interaction. One of the guys said he realized that he had been lonely for a long time. And that was deep because I've come to appreciate that life requires someone to see people. Everyone exists to serve others. If you're lonely, purpose can be very elusive,” he said.
He stated that someone cannot fully explore their potential until they connect with others including friends and the community.
The Collective UG team’s central objective is to help young people, especially those under 25, discover their Godly-given purpose in life.
Muhire founded the team after trying to discover his purpose at 21 years old in vain.
At the time, he was trying a pursue a career as a civil engineer more stressing is he belonged to a family of engineers, from his dad to the youngest of his four brothers.
“I went to University, studied Civil Engineering, flanked out,” he narrated to Crystal Newman during the Groove Cafe Show.
“I was never bad at physics or Math, but the engineering refused. I’d revise, and discuss but results always came out otherwise and I went through a phase where I thought that I had no value. Much as I was talented in music, there didn't seem to be any opportunities available,” he recalled.
One day during a Church youth camp, he recalled stumbling into his aunt and a guest from Kenya to whom he was asked to greet and introduce himself. “So I greeted him and the guest asked what I did. At that point, I was at a confusing stage in my life because I’d essentially dropped out. I did not want to lie that I was a student because I was no longer one.” he narrated.
After a long pause, his aunt excitedly told him to tell the guest what he did at the moment, she happily told the guest that Muhire played the guitar.
“I’d never heard that before, being described as a person who plays the guitar as something I do, and it was the first time it dawned on me that I was good at playing the guitar,” he recalled.
At this point, he went on to practice, making music in his room with borrowed equipment from his home church. He fell in love with music, utilized the internet to find articles about music, and created a CD burn.
His friend came across it and insisted that it should rock the airwaves. He received praises that for some reason he thought weren't realistic. Slowly, he gained the confidence that he was capable of producing good music. In 2009 he flew to Australia for an Audio Engineering course.
Before returning to Uganda in 2011, he prayed about his next steps. He received confirmation from two different people who asserted that God had given them a word to tell Muhire to mentor young people in his home country, sharing his skills, knowledge, and experience to help others find their purpose in life.
“In the short time I've helped young people to get invested in their lives, I cannot describe how much purpose and satisfaction I've found. It's so satisfying to help someone get out of a dark place and find hope again,” he said.
The musician and music producer has served in churches such as All Saints Cathedral, Watoto Church, and Worship Harvest. He has worked with multiple gospel artists like CtrlAD, Kimera, Ruyonga, Price Love, Sanyu, Jesse Muyonjo, the Watoto Children's Choir, and The current team leader Collective UG.
The Groove Cafe with Crystal Newman airs every Weekday from 4-5 pm on RX Radio.
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