Simply Katherine, a Christian blog

Finally I got a chance to sit down and begin this amazing post on my recent summer vacation with Christians on Campus in Puerto Rico ! Also known as "La Isla Del Encanto" (lit. The Island of Enchantment ), Puerto Rico was truly a mesmerizing island. Although I originally came from a tropical island, Puerto Rico was something else. The shades of blue across the horizon were awe-striking. Playa Sucia, Cabo Rojo (Credit: J. Hernandez) Nature is definitely at the top of my favorite destinations, but Puerto Rico has much more to offer. You can see bright and bold colors exuding the island's rich culture. This is most apparent when you decide to take a leisure walk in Old San Juan, in the northern part of the island.  Old San Juan (Credit: L. Coy) To be honest, I'm not sure where to begin and where to end. Puerto Rico has plenteous stories to tell. " Castillo de San Felipe del Morro " (or El Morro ) is one of them. Its magnifice

I'm counting days toward my Puerto Rico trip. I've never been there but I heard from others that Puerto Rico is so beautiful! My siblings and I will be traveling with a small group of Christians from Texas. We will be staying with families affiliated with Christians on Campus on the island. I just can't wait to get to know these Christians and have fellowship with them. It's quite amazing how Christ has torn down our differences on the cross so that now we can simply embrace our brothers and sisters in the Lord regardless of their personalities and backgrounds. Ephesians 2:14 says, "For He is our peace, who has made both (the Jews and the Gentiles) one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us;" One of the major differences that we have with one another is our culture . Most pride in their unique identity, being part of a certain culture. Sometimes I even feel like my culture defines who I am. But Christ died

This post is a response to the most recent video published by Bibles for America , entitled The God-shaped Vacuum . What is the Gospel? The gospel definitely constitutes as one of the most basic elements of the Christian life. I'm a little hesitant to elaborate on what the gospel intrinsically is, not because I don't know or I don't care about it. On the contrary, I fear that I may come short in presenting the high gospel to you. But the point is you can receive the gospel even before you can fully understand everything about it! Many people hesitate to receive the power of salvation in the gospel because they think that they need to fix up their current situation first - "Oh, the gospel is too wonderful that it wouldn't match with my poor condition," or "it wouldn't match with the condition of a despicable sinner such as I." Yes, the salvation in the gospel is indeed wonderful! In fact, I'm daily learning, appreciati

Today is the third time I heard it: "Remember, Katherine. There's no hero in the church." It's so good to be reminded again and again that I'm not a hero . Maybe I'm a workaholic or a perfectionist or both; I like to give 110% in everything that I do, including in activities related to church service. Well, it's been almost a year since I'm involved with this project for our campus outreach. I went into this project with no background whatsoever in the specific field that I'm now involved with. So I worked hard to study, to catch up, to manage, and even to effectively communicate with others who are helping with the project. I knew from the start that this was not an ordinary job. This is the Lord's work, so I cannot handle it in a common way. Looking back, this whole year has been a good training for me. I've been having a hard time because this outreach project is on a voluntary basis, so often the peop