and so the adventure begins

so, here i sit in a starbucks located two minutes away from the house i grew up in with all the comforts and familiarity that life in the austin, tx area has brought me so far. i am currently 19 years old but in just 10 days i will turn 20.  just two days ago i completed my second year of college at stephen f. austin state university in nacogdoches, tx where i said goodbye to my dorm room, roommate of 2 years, one particularly special person, a collection of wonderful friends, and the school that i love. on may 29th i will be setting off on an adventure that i didn't even know was in my future until 2 short weeks ago.  here's the thing, when God has something for you, it will happen.  i didn't realize how true this was until i started looking into studying abroad. i knew in my heart, i wanted to be in africa if i went anywhere. i have loved africa for years. my heart is drawn to the people and their smiles in a way i can't even explain. i can't stay away, ever since i first went to zambia in 2010. also, that is where the name "chikondi" originated. some of my girls at camp in zambia had a hard time pronouncing my name (lindsay) and so they gave me a zambian name. chikondi means "love" in nyanja (language spoken in lusaka, zambia) and that made me feel special. from there came the idea of looking into study abroad a bit more. i wasn't sure if it was financially feasible but i decided that at the very least, i could ask questions and try to be reasonable. if it was something that was out of my reach, i would give it up. this was my way of trusting the Lord because i often run away with my ideas and forget to be logical. i can't even explain in words what happened from there. things fell into place like i have never seen before. i met with ines, the study abroad coordinator at my university and quickly decided on the university of botswana in gaborone, botswana, africa. for months, i had already been planning on going on a return mission trip zambia for all of june (zambia is the country located right above botswana). after talking it over with my parents, we decided that the only way this would really work is if i could go to the university of botswana in the fall of 2012 due to the fact that i would already be in that part of the world in june through the beginning of july. we would get almost free airfare. for those of you who know how expensive airfare to africa is, you will realize how big of a blessing that is. there were a few other things that made the fall work out much better than the spring as well. the only problem was, was that it was already the end of april when i started figuring all of this out and the university of botwana begins their semester at the end of july. also, i would be leaving the united states at the end of may for zambia and potentially not be coming back in between the mission trip in zambia and school in botswana.  therefore, we had one month to sort out EVERYTHING. this instantly seemed like an impossible task the moment i realized the application deadline had already passed a week earlier to even apply to the program. i went to ines (the study abroad coordinator) and explained my situation. she pulled some strings and convinced ISEP (the study abroad program) to let me apply late but they needed my 12 page application by monday. it was thursday. i frantically began running around campus meeting with all 3 of my advisers, random professors, the academic dean, the registrar and financial aid. ALL of these people had to sign off on different courses and forms that needed approval. i kept praying that if this wasn't what God had for me He would shut the door in my face and make it extremely obvious. time after time i would get a signature or be looking for a professor and turn the corner and they would be standing right there. all sorts of special arrangements and favors have been done for me to be able to do this. to God be the glory. He knew the whole time that this is what He had for me and here i am just living my life being amazed by His blessings. i got the application in by monday by an act of God and just received word this morning that i have been accepted into the program. so here i sit, anticipating the next 6 months of my life living in the place i have always felt called to. i feel so inadequate but He makes me adequate. one of the poorest communities in gaborone is located a mere 9 minutes from the university. another detail that amazes me. the community is called "old naledi" and i can't wait to pour into the people of this area and all over gaborone. pray that i can remain focused on my schoolwork ;)  if you are reading this please pray for me. as much as i am excited, i am nervous. what lays before me is somewhat daunting and i know i will miss my family, friends, school and simplicity of life in the states. i leave in just a short 19 days and just found out today that what i have been hoping would happen actually will be happening. i don't have much time to prepare mentally, emotionally, or logistically but i know that the Lord is working it out and i have nothing to fear. and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. romans 8:28