Hey everyone! My name is Lindsey Watson, I am 18 years old and I recently graduated from Campolindo High School in Moraga, CA. For the past 18 years I have lived in the East Bay of San Francisco with my parents, older brother and younger sister. When together my family is almost always having a good time - in fact, our recent hobby is having marshmallow fights! I have spent my life being super involved with sports, and just being a crazy ADHD kid! I homeschooled a bit in elementary school, and went to a private school before attending public high school. I have been connected to a local church for as long as I can remember but my relationship with Jesus really took off when I was in eighth grade. The friendships and experiences that I have had from eighth grade through high school have really shaped me to be the person that I am today.

   I am a fairly outgoing person, especially once I get to know you. I love to goof around and have a good time. I love the outdoors, and go crazy if asked to sit inside all day. I love sports, serious or not. I have competed seriously in both cross country and swimming over the years but I also love a pick-up game of basketball or soccer. I love going to the beach to hang out and surf. I am a pretty spontaneous person and love to do things spur of the moment. I also love to work with kids. Kids fascinate me because of their innocence and transparent personalities.

   During high school I discovered my passion for missions. I have gone on multiple trips to Mexico to build houses and a trip to New Orleans after the hurricane. Although these trips were only a week long, I was able to learn a lot about God, and myself. While talking with someone in New Orleans, I started pondering the idea of taking a year after graduation to go on a mission trip. However, the idea slowly got lost in my brain as college became the popular subject of conversation. I followed my usual pattern of putting my passions aside in order to stay in my comfort zone and do what everyone else was doing. I applied to tons of colleges but found myself feeling very lost when it came to decision time. That was when my mom reminded me that there were other options out there besides college. I immediately started looking on the internet and came upon AIM. I was stoked when I found the program and love everything that it has to offer. But the decision process was still a struggle! At this point in June, I was all set up to attend Azusa Pacific University in the fall, and have my best friend from middle school as my roommate! Weighing out my two options was definitely difficult to do. After tons of prayer I realized that I am a person that always plays it safe. I tend to follow the trend when it comes to making big decisions just because it's comfortable. Seems I have tended to believe that if I do what others do, I won't make a wrong decision. But, ironically, sticking with the path of my peers has often been the wrong path for my wacko self. Now, with my decision to ‘go outside the box', I am sooo excited to follow my true passions and follow God this next year in Africa. I am stoked to see what He has in store for me to learn.