My Trip 2 Italy

Sorry for taking so long to post these pictures and videos from my trip. Anyway, I had a great time and learned so many new things! I tried to take pictures of almost everything so you can sorta experience the trip too:

Vatican City and The Sistine Chapel

On the 1st day of the trip, we visited the Vatican City museums and the Sistine Chapel

FACTS: The Vatican Muesli (museums) were founded by Pope Julius II, in 1506. Multiple galleries of classical and Renaissance art masterpieces, plus the Sistine Chapel frescoes are held in these museums.

The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope, in Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna, the chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored it between 1477 and 1480 (from Wikipedia). This was my favorite place because it was so breathtaking!
FUN FACT: The Pope forced Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel. It took him 12 years to finish the creation. Unfortunately, he became temporarily paralyzed and colorblind because of this.

Here are some pictures of my very 1st day in Rome, Italy!

Rome has such beautiful architecture.

 

Italy has a lot of waterfalls and the water is drinkable.

 

Statues in the Vatican Muesli.

This building used to be a theater for Roman Citizens.

 The Coliseum

The Coliseum was an amphitheater, or a large staduim that was held for public meetings, sporting events, exhibitions during the first century (70-80 AD). Thousands of Roman citizens would come and watch Gladiators fight each other and even exotic animals. This place was very popular! Here is a video below of what it looks like inside:

Me and my mom outside the Coliseum

Me inside the Coliseum

Look how BIG the arches are!

The Arch of Titus.

Loved this spectacular green door!

A random, but beautiful Italian small town.

Capri

Capri is a beautiful tiny island that is next to Italy. This was my favorite place because it was so tranquil and stunning! Here are some pictures and videos to prove it, LOL!

My group and I on a boat in Capri!

     

View of the the city in Capri.

Another pic of me.

View on top of the City in Capri.

Me in Capri!

This looks like it came out of a postcard!

Viewing God's creations in Capri. 

Pompeii

Pompeii was a very interesting but sad place. If you don't know anything about Pompeii click this link:  Historic Info About Pompeii. Anyway here is a video inside the city of Pompeii. 

 

Other Pictures

Here are some other pictures and videos that really don't fit into the other sections!

Average Italian Dinner:
1. Simple Salad
2. Pasta (their pasta is more firm than ours) 
3. Gelato (wish this stuff was more popular in America, it was sooo good!)

View from our hotel room @ night.  

                                                         View from our hotel in the morning.

Tomorrow I will blog my trip to Greece! 

-Gracelyn Lives

Perseverance = Patience

In four more days my mother and I will be getting on a 11 hour flight to Rome, Italy. I am so excited and extremely grateful that the Heavenly Father allowed this amazing opportunity to happen for us. This was always a dream, but I never thought it could come into reality. That was until I learned that perseverance = patience. This obstacle was not easy, and it much harder than it looked. You are probably wondering : Where is Gracelyn going with this? Just keeping reading and I will explain (well write it actually LOL!) Ahem... my mother and I heard about this awesome experience in a kmail (email for my school) and we realized that this could be an amazing adventure. I remember setting the idea aside in my brain thinking: It would be so cool to go to Greece and Italy! But can it really happen?. I soon started to doubt the whole idea and move on. But then when I went to the movie theather with my mom she got an email from the people who told us about the trip. Soon we prayed asking God to do his will silently while the movie was about to start. My mother whispered to me "Remember we can do all things through Christ because he gave us strength (Philippians 4:13)." After she gave me that prophetic message I soon removed all the doubt from my heart and started working towards the goal.
This is how I understood that perseverance = patience. But before I explain let's read the their definitions. Perseverance means steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success and patience means to wait without getting discouraged or upset. Okay now let's move on. It took a lot of perseverance to fund raise for our trip. Honestly, I do not like asking others for money so frequently I wanted to just quit. But my mother and God kept pushing me and reminded me about the goal. We signed up for this opportunity about 9 months ago and it took a whole lot of patience. Perseverance takes patience because you have to wait AND keeping working towards the goal. My mother and I had to raise the money, but also wait. Here is an brief example:

Kendra wants new Ugg boots but they cost $200 and she's broke. She is determined to reach her goal, so she starts a babysitting business and charges $10 an hour. She can only work on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings so it will take a little longer to conquer the obstacle, but Kendra has patience and is willing to wait to get the shoes. Often she would get tempted to spend her money on other things but fortunately she kept her eye on the prize. By the next month, Kendra had enough money to buy the boots! 

Meaningful Questions:
How did Kendra buy the shoes?
Did Kendra give up even though the goal looked too difficult?
Did Kendra get distracted because the goal looked too far away?

Once I personally answered those questions I realized that perseveance and patience went together. Because you need perseverance to not give up and you need patience to not get distracted! I know now that I have to work to conquer the obstacle but I also have to wait for it!

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV

*I challenge you to choose a goal, work for it, and wait for it!*

-Gracelyn Lives

#HelpGraceGet2Greece please check out my website: http://gracelyn47.wix.com/greeceitalytrip  or donate to my school website: https://personal.eftours.com/secure/make-donation.aspx?poid=DBE569FD&utm_medium=web&utm_source=paxsecure&utm_campaign=fundraising

 Also, please donate so I can go to Greece and Italy this month. My goal is to get 10 people to donate $10 by June 14th! Will you please donate?

Greece in 2 Weeks!

The Parthenon

I cannot believe I will be in Greece in two weeks! It feels just like yesterday when my mother and I were praying to God asking for guidance about this trip. This seriously feels like a dream come true! I always imagined vising the beautiful country, but I never thought I would actually get to see it at my age. I want to thank everyone who donated and prayed for this to happen. During this experience I learned that I couldn't give up and that I needed to trust God. At first, I had trouble staying committed to my dream and sometimes I would get discouraged. But then I realized that this was in God's hands and he is in control. Also, I will be posting a lot of pictures, pictures, and maybe a little vlogging (video blogging), so it will feel like you are experiencing this trip with me! If you guys want to see anything specifically while I am on the trip just comment below!

This is for the NEW readers who don't know anything about my trip --->  This year I transferred to Georgia Cyber Academy for high school. Honestly, it has been a challenging experience originally, but now I am liking it. Anyway, the cool part about Georgia Cyber Academy is that my Honors World History is visiting Greece and Italy this summer! I am very excited because this will be my first "out of the country" trip.We will be gone for 10 days visiting historic monuments, eating foreign foods, and going a cruise from Rome, Italy to Athens, Greece!! 

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

10 Things I Am Looking Forward To 
1. Flying on a plane for the 1st time
2. Getting my passport stamped
3. Visiting the Parthenon
4. Going on the cruise from Rome to Athens
5. Eating actual and original Italian pizza  
6. Creating friendships w/ peers
7.  Hearing citizens speak Italian
8. Taking a lot of pictures
9. Learning from this experience
10. Transferring $ to euros   

I want to thank everyone again for donating towards my trip! I did NOT forget about you! ;) I also want to thank God and my mother for pushing me to stay on task and not give up! Prepare for bunch of pictures and videos LOL! If you have any questions feel free to comment below! 

Gondolas in Italy

-Gracelyn Lives

#HelpGraceGet2Greece please check out my website: http://gracelyn47.wix.com/greeceitalytrip  or donate to my school website: https://personal.eftours.com/secure/make-donation.aspx?poid=DBE569FD&utm_medium=web&utm_source=paxsecure&utm_campaign=fundraising

 Also, please donate so I can go to Greece and Italy next month. My goal is to get 10 people to donate $10 by June 5th! Will you please donate?

Rome, Italy

Athens, Greece

 

Working on My Self-Discipline

This week I learned the importance of self-discipline. Before I go any further I want to explain the definition of the word, self-discipline. It means the ability to control one's feelings and overcome one's weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it. Honestly, I have been struggling in this factor. Just last week, I sadly decided to go on Instagram instead of attending a help session for Spanish. Instead of calling people asking for donations toward my trip to Greece and Italy; I would read a book. My mother still tells me to this day,"Work first then play." But it is easier said than done.

Yesterday, I was supposed to be washing the dishes, but I got distracted by texting my friend.  If I focused on finishing my chores, I wouldn't get into trouble. It is very easy to do tasks that we enjoy, like creeping on a social media, than doing something we don't enjoy; like studying for a future exam. "Work while you work, play while you play - this is a basic rule of repressive self-discipline". -Theodor Adorno. In order to reach our goals we have to have self-discipline. Otherwise, our dreams would not become reality.

Here's an analogy; my sister would eat all the foods she didn't like first during dinner. For an example, she would eat her vegetables and then eat all the foods she enjoyed later. I feel that is an awesome act of self-discipline! I'm going to complete the difficult, less enjoyable tasks so I can get them over with. That way I can relax or play, which will allow me to have less stress and not feel guilt for playing when I should be working.

*I challenge you to work on your self-discipline. Do not decide to watch television when you know you have to exercise. Just do it! Get it over with! Then you can relax without feeling guilty. :)*

"The only discipline that lasts is self-discipline." -Bum Phillips

- Gracelyn Lives

#HelpGraceGet2Greece please check out my website: http://gracelyn47.wix.com/greeceitalytrip  
 Also, please donate so I can go to Greece and Italy this summer. My goal is to get 50 people to donate $25 by December 31st! Will you please donate?

The Fear of Failing

Being afraid of failing only leads to failure. If I am afraid to ask for something or try something new, I will ultimately fail because I never did it. Our society has a misunderstanding of failure, thinking if I try something and I lose then that is considered a failure. But we have it all mixed up. Failure is when you are afraid to go ahead and do it! In order to be successful I can not be afraid to fail. This week I learned Romans 8:37 "Know in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." This means that I can win and NEVER fail with Jesus Christ's help, because I am more than a conqueror! And you can too!

*I challenge YOU to do something that you are afraid of doing!*


- Gracelyn Lives

#HelpGraceGet2Greece please check out my website: http://gracelyn47.wix.com/greeceitalytrip 

 And donate so I can go to Greece and Italy this summer. My goal is to get 50 people to donate $25 by December 31st! Will you please donate? 

Help Get Grace INTO Greece!

 

This year I transferred to Georgia Cyber Academy for high school. Honestly, it has been a challenging experience originally, but now I am liking it. Anyway, the cool part about Georgia Cyber Academy is that my Honors World History is visiting Greece and Italy this summer! I am very excited because this will be my first "out of the country" trip. Also, this outnumbered all of my previous field trips. But the thing is, this trip isn't cheap. I have to raise $4000 on my own (well not exactly, my family is also helping me) by May 2015. That's a HUGE responsibility for a fourteen year old girl! I am trying to get a paid intern, babysit, start fundraisers, and all kinds of other neat stuff. The first thing I did was a website, you have to check it out HERE!

I never had to raise this amount before so it feels very difficult. I hope you find it in your heart to help me during the process with supporting words, money donations, and asking others to give towards my fundraising projects. I've decided to break it up into small sections so it won't feel so overwhelming for me. Plus I don't want people running away from me because they think I'm going to ask for money for my trip every time I see them (smile). I'm asking for 50 people to donate $25 by December 2014! Watch my short video of what I will give to you for your donation and how to donate!!! Spread the word and help get Grace Into Greece!

- Gracelyn Lives