De-Mystifying Mr. Nimmon
Updated: Sep 28
Mr. Nimmon grew up a mile off the paved road in a rural farming area in Walnut Bottom, Pennsylvania. His father worked for Purina, an animal feed company, and his mom worked part time as a cleaning lady for their church. When he was little, he enjoyed playing in the woods behind his parents house. Mr. Nimmon graduated high school from Big Spring High. This background prepared him well for a desire to move overseas.
Mr. Nimmon enjoys what he calls “introverted hobbies.” He likes active outdoor activities like biking and hiking or other things that will wear him out. He also likes to read and explore life outside of his typical context. When he lived in Ireland, he liked to go for early morning walks on the beach. In Burundi and Kenya he would go for walks or bike rides daily in the “natural countryside.”
Though Mr. Nimmon is most well known for being a teacher, this is not his first career. He has an appreciation for the visual arts, and after graduating college with a Bachelors in Social Science, Mr. Nimmon opened his own photography studio with his wife and took mostly wedding photos. As the rise of iPhones sidelined professional photography, Mr. Nimmon took his love of the arts overseas. He helped to run an arts ministry in Ireland for a short period of time before returning to the States. It was at this time Mr. Nimmon turned to teaching.
Mr. Nimmon has taught mostly middle school and high school, but also taught kindergarten math at one point. He continued his education at this point as well, getting two Masters degrees, one in education and one in military history. His first overseas teaching experience was in Kibuye, Burundi. Here he taught Middle School English and History, as well as some elementary History. This was also where be taught kindergarten math for a brief period of time. With little gas, electricity, water, and other resources, Mr. Nimmon loved getting creative in both his personal and professional life. From handwriting worksheets to eating cold rice and beans in the dark, he always found ways to make sure things got done. One of his favourite stories where he got to be creative with teaching is when a 40 foot container was delivered to the compound in Burundi. At the time, his class was learning about the pyramids, and each brick used in the pyramids was about the same size and weight as the container. Mr. Nimmon took his class outside to watch a group of guys carry the container across the compound. “It was great for visual learning and representation,” he said.
However, living overseas was never a part of his life plan. His background and childhood gave him the desire to explore other cultures and areas. Eventually, God called him away from his photography business and into overseas ministry, and his openness to God allowed him to accept this calling.
Today, Mr. Nimmon says that he would love to visit the Shetland Islands or maybe Chile. He wants to see the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains; the beginning of a long list of places he would love to see and learn more about. Mr Nimmon says tenth grade is his favourite grade to teach, and he enjoys the modern world history class. Mr. Nimmon became a teacher because he wants “to guide young minds into academic and spiritual maturity.”
