Posted by Posted in adventures, Family, Fun Stuff, holidays, journal entries, me, memorys, Nature and the Outdoors

Journal Entries- My Birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 16 years old. I sometimes can’t believe I am that old but I like the sound of both 15 and 16 so I am still happy. 🙂

I had a really fun time yesterday so I will reveal what I did in this journal entry blog post.

When I woke up I had my devotions like usual. I had been reading in Isaiah but I took a break from that and read Phillipians because that is one of my favorite books of the Bible and you always do your favorite things on your birthday, right?

We had breakfast together (my dad and Jace took off work) and looked at my baby book. I always love looking at that. It is fun to see our family when I was born, my little brother Jace (almost two at the time of my birth) is SO cute! I opened gifts and then we all got ready and dressed for the day.

We headed out on the road to Stone Mountain about 9:30 a.m. We arrived there at about 10:45 a.m. I like to go hiking on my birthday because it is something I love to do but we don’t get to do a lot. We had never been to Stone Mountin before so we were all looking forward to it.

I decided we should do the Stone Mountain Loop Trail. It was 4.5 miles but we probably hiked about 5 miles in all because you had to hike .3 miles to get to the trailhead.

Stone Mountain Summit

Stone Mountain Summit

It was very pretty. Not too long before we started there was this HUGE stone slab that we stopped at and just hung out and explored and ate lunch at. It was cool. We hiked up some more (up and up and up) until we reached the Stone Mountain Summit. It was 2,305 altitude! It was sooo high up!

The view from Stone Mountain summit

The view from Stone Mountain summit

We saw lots of Hawks (maybe 100?) circling in the air right about our height. It was cool that we were the same height as the birds. Also the mountains around us were about equal with us. We were high up. After experiencing that awe inspiring work of God we continued.

This next leg of the journey was through the forest so it got cool and damp in there. We went down lots of steps and we were all very glad that we were not going up the steps! It was about 1.5 miles between each attraction. We stopped at a “comfort station” (a wet bench) and had granola bars and apples. Then we got to the Hutchinson Homestead. It was pretty cool. There was an old barn, cabin, corn crib, outhouse, garden, smokehouse and more. You know me… I love the pioneer/frontier times!

Hutchinson Homestead

Hutchinson Homestead

After that the trail went through a field and then into the forest again. There were a lot of gurgling brooks on the side of the trail and we soon came to the source! The Stone Mountain Waterfall! It was a huge slab of stone with sheets of water just careening down it! William, Celia and I went to the bottom of it and watched it for a bit. The trail then went up the waterfall so there were lots of stairs. Lots and lots and lots.

Stone Mountain waterfall

Stone Mountain waterfall

There wasn’t too much more. After the waterfall there was only less than half a mile to go. We went back to the car and headed back to Statesville where we stopped for dinner at Crackerbarrel. It was a really good time as a family. Very precious.

We went to a friends house for dessert. We played Risk and had ice cream sundaes and brownies. Then we came home and since we were all very tired went to bed soon after.

I stayed up and looked at my baby book one last time and then I went to bed. I had a great day! Thanks to all who made it special! I look forward to see what God will do in me this next year!

-Priscilla Joy

Posted by Posted in Family, holidays, Home, memorys

Thanksgiving!

First off, I am sorry this is late. I am writing this ater thanksgiving. But hey thats ok. 🙂

Second off, I want to tell you about my thanksgiving. We went to our grandparents house in Asheville NC. We slept in on thanksgiving morning and then watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. Then my mom took our school pictures and we had the big lunch. We had all the classics plus zuchinni casserole (a new menu item).

After the meal we ususally go on a thanksgiving walk and take family pictures. It is such a pretty area! Most of the family watched the Panthers game but I read a book. We served the pie (I made an apple pie) and then played a game of family football. We also shot off the bb gun in there somewhere. We had leftovers for dinner (of course) and all in all we had a great day.

Next I want to tell you five things I am grateful for:
Nature and beautiful weather on Thanksgiving!
I love the beautiful nature God made and it continually shows me the awesome power of God, the Creator!

My amazing family and friends
Celia, Jace and William, you are the best siblings a girl could ask for. Mom and Dad, you guys are the best parents, teachers and friends in this whole wide world. My friends, you know who you are and know that I thank the Lord for our friendships!

Books and stories
You all know I am a book-lover! I am so grateful for the good stories and books out there that enrich my life and give me a window into other worlds.

A Bible
I get updates from Wycliffe Bible translators and every time I see an update I thank the Lord that I have a Bible in my languaage that I have the freedom to read. My faith always grows stronger when I am in the Word!

The Grace of God
I saved the best for last. 🙂 I thank God that I do not wallow in my sin anymore but I am saved by grace and this is not my own work but it is a gift from God.

There you have it! Five things I am grateful for. Comment below with five things you are grateful for!

Lastly I want to give you some ideas for how you can celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving.

1. Make placecards/placemats.
We have a tradition of making the placecards or placemats each year. It is really fun to do fall crafts and you can make simple ones to do with little kids or more complicated ones to do with older kids. Maybe I will post about some ideas later…

2. Study the Pilgrims
So the Pilgrims started the first thanksgiving. They worked really hard to get there though! It is always fun to study the Pilgrims and thier hard journey to that Thanksgiving day. We can learn a lot from those amazing people.

3. Sing a hymn
Sing a hymn around the table. We chose “For the Beauty of the Earth” this year.

4. Start a gratitude journal
Thanksgiving is a great time to start a gratitude journal. Just get a memo book and write down a few things you are grateful for each night. It will help you develop the habit of gratitude. I think it is a great way to really focus on the true meaning of Thanksgiving- giving thanks.

Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving!
Priscilla

Posted by Posted in adventures, gospel and outreach, Home, journal entries, Living for God, memorys, Mexico, missions, Rancho3M

Journal Entries- Mission Trip to Mexico- Day 8

So here is my last installment of journal entries from Mexico. Hope you enjoy!

Our last day there we had a prolonged devotion at breakast and we sang “10,000 Reasons” as a group.

After our breakfast, we packed up the vans and cleaned the dorms and kitchen.

Some of us ran to the Mexican convenience store and got Mexican coke and authentic Mexican candy. It was spicy, sweet, tangy and sour all in one. How does that happen?

Next, the kids got up and we spent the rest of the morning hanging out with them. I played some last soccer with Chuy, Manuel and Aline.

Soon, the call came to pack up in the vans and then well there was lots of hugs and more hugs and even more hugs and goodbyes. Goodbyes are so hard.

The rest is history, I guess. Drive out of the Ranch trying not to cry. Go to the airport. Unpack the vans and say goodbye to the team you worked alongside all week and split up to get to our flights.

We arrived at our gate, and took a flight to Dallas TX and then after a layover we flew to Charlotte, NC. I am not a city girl, but I must say it was pretty to see all the ligts of Charlotte, since we landed at night.

I said goodbye to the team I had flown with (yeah, this was a day of goodbyes) and went down the escalator to see my family.

I saw William and Dad first, they were at the bottom of the esalator and then farther back there was Mom, Celia, Jace and surprise! my best friend Abigail!

And now there were hello and welcome back hugs for once.

We dropped Abigail back off at her house and went home. To bed.

It was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to do it again! (hopefully)

your one and only,
Priscilla

Posted by Posted in adventures, gospel and outreach, journal entries, Living for God, memorys, Mexico, missions, Rancho3M

Journal Entries- Mission Trip to Mexico- Day 7

The week is coming to end. It is sad for some, exciting for some but the whole team is tired. But today is not a day of rest, it is finishing project day. There is a shed to finish, curtains to make, and trees to plant. We did not stain today but instead used the time to help finish projects.

At first, I helped with the curtain crew, doing the dreaded task of turning the sewing from inside out to right side out. After that, there wasn’t much more I could do so I moved to helping the tree planting team. I helped with that most of the day.

Planting trees in Mexico is not just sticking the tree in the ground. You have to mix up a special recipe of dirt which includes manure, ash and straw. Then you have to put equal amounts of the dirt mixture and water in the holes before putting the tree in. Once the tree is in, you fill in the hole with water and the dirt mixture. Then you build a type of wall around it with dirt and then you flood the inside. Then you rake around the wall to make it look nice. 🙂

We planted pistachio trees and I hope to see them growing strong when I go next year. 🙂

We took a break from planting for a quick lunch and then went straight back to work. We planted around 50 trees that day.

I had to leave mid afternoon to help with games. We did the same games as on Thursday and Daniel translated for us again.

After games, I planted trees again until dinner. After dinner, we served ice cream to the kids and gave them paracord bracelets that our team had made in our spare time.

Then our team took a hike to the “cross”, which is basically a cross erected onto a mountain near the Ranch. You can hike up to it and watch the sunrise or sunset. We stayed up for the sunset. The older kids came with us and we had a blast.

When we came back, the teens from our team and the Ranch played hide and seek in the dark.

After a while, we went inside and got into bed.

It was a long hard day of work but we had a LOT of fun! Serving the Lord is the best! 🙂

I can’t believe that tomorrow we leave. 🙁 Lots of the kids don’t want me to go. One of my little friends said “No, you are staying with me” and another kid wanted to have me pack him in my backpack. Sniff…sniff, I miss them.

your one and only,
Priscilla

Posted by Posted in adventures, gospel and outreach, journal entries, Living for God, memorys, Mexico, missions, Rancho3M

Journal Entries- Mission Trip to Mexico- Day 6

Another beautiful sunrise and devotion filled early morning. After breakfast, we got to work.

So today, Lauren and I were the only one who were staining. We both got a lot done though. This would be our last day of helping with that as you will find out tomorrow. But that is okay because other teams throughout the summer would be able to finish the project. Lauren had lunch duty so I cleaned up everything before heading in for lunch.

That afternoon, after siesta, I went and set up for games with Mikayla. Today we played a ladder/number race game and a game called Steal the Bacon. Daniel, missionary kid at Rancho3M translated today.

We stopped work and games a little early today so we could get ready for the staff dinner. We put on “Sunday clothes” (skirts and nicer shirts) and hung out with the kids until dinner was ready. I got one of the older girls to braid my hair. They LOVE doing hair! It was really pretty.

Before the staff dinner, I tried to call my family, but it was pretty stormy and the connection wasn’t the best so I couldn’t talk for long.

At the staff dinner, we had an authentic Mexican meal, including chili reino, Mexican rice, mole (I think that was what it was called), enchiladas, and peach cobbler for desert (peach cobbler provided by the Americans 🙂 ). It was really good. After dinner, Pancho and Valeria shared their testimonies. SO touching. There were several generations of Rancho3M staff there, which was pretty cool to see.

After that, we went back to our dorms, showered and went to bed. That night I knew, that I would miss Rancho3M terribly. I do.

Well, stay updated to catch the last two days of my trip and a sneak peek of what a school day looks like for us. Since we have started school, you should see regular posts, so stay tuned for more!

Your one and only,
Priscilla