Hi everyone!

I am finishing up my last semester of college and will graduate one month from tomorrow! Therefore, I have intentionally been trying to focus on school, living in the here and now, and be a good steward of my time here, since I am a student now. So I'm just now blogging :)

I grew up in the small town of Gatesville, NC and graduated from Gates County High School in 2008. I came to college at UNC Wilmington in the fall of '08 and have been pushing through my degree in Accounting. It's the typical track for an accounting student to graduate a semester early and do an internship before starting grad school and sitting for the CPA exam then work in a big accounting firm. However, I am not the typical student on the typical track. I am SO thankful that God orchestrated all the events and paths leading up to this trip and allowed me to graduate early; if I would have majored in something different, I'd be here until May. I'm not sure what I'll do with that degree. Correction, what GOD will do with that degree. I'd love to put ministry and accounting together, like in the non-profit sector, possibly teach at the college level, do mission work and be a stay at home mom for part of my life. I'd love to do some of all of those things. I don't want just one career, or really a career at all. I believe God is preparing my heart for the different ways He will use me for different seasons of life. We'll see.

Family is very important to me. I am so blessed and I am so thankful for their support in this plan to go to Nicaragua. Like everyone, I enjoy spending time with friends. I love playing tennis and running. I enjoy everything about the outdoors. Wilmington is located at the beach.... YES, I go to school at the beach and am so thankful. I've grown up on the water and thoroughly enjoy God's wonderful creation. To think that His love for us and all of the people we encounter is greater than the huge ocean, WOW! I also spend time tutoring people in the lower level accounting courses and enjoy being involved with different things on campus.

I am so grateful for the ministries I've been a part of and for Port City Community Church, my church here in Wilmington. College wouldn't have been all it has been without that place. I volunteer at GrowZone, teaching 4 year olds, and at Overflow, the college ministry. God has placed so many amazing people in my life, some who came and went, others who are still involved day to day. I know completely that coming to college was not soley for the purpose of getting an academic degree; it was for God to capture my heart and soul and mature me in ways I could never imagine. I will never be able describe what the past 3 and a half years have entailed.

I have worked on a farm, pulling yummy cantelopes and watermelons, and picking rotten tomatoes. It's hard work, but it's with my family and it's amazing to watch the sunrise as you walk up and down the rows, picking food that someone will eat. I also babysit for some awesome families that have become like my own family. I have had two accounting internships. I work in the dorms at my school where I check in guests and help the students with whatever's going on. It's a great way to meet freshmen and get to know new people.

I've been on mission trips in the states to Georgia and Kentucky. In the summer of 2010, I studied abroad in Marseille, France. That was an amazing experience. It's hard to describe. While I was there, I felt God pulling my heart towards traveling and doing mission work. I decided it was something I wanted to pursue and began looking into opportunities, knowing He would drop the right one in my lap at the right time. Like I said earlier, graduating this semester early is the perfect opportunity. Last summer, I went on a mission trip to Ecuador. I viewed it as a stepping stone, already knowing I was going to Nicaragua. It was amazing and like you could imagine or know if you've been anywhere, is impossible to describe. God really worked on my heart a lot while I was down there and since I've been back throughout this semester, showing me the areas of my life that I need to surrender and let go of in order to be more fully used by Him.

I cannot wait to meet more amazing people in Nicaragua and experience the culture there. I am looking so foward to getting to know all of you and experiencing God's love in brand new ways. I know it will be a huge step of faith, but there's no place I'd rather be than out on a limb knowing He put me out there.

--Lindsey