Simply This

It's been about two and a half weeks since I made it back from the Philippines. In these past two or so weeks, I am reminded of how much I miss the simplicity of living in the GK Village. And of how much I miss my Filipino brothers and sisters.

While we were in the Philippines, we were put on a media fast. This included no cell phones, iPod's, laptops, etc. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Oh my goodness that sounds terrible! How did you survive that long without your phone?" Well, you see, being on this media fast was actually nice. I wasn't worried about what others were doing, the latest celebrity gossip, (not that I typically care for that stuff anyway) who is dating who, the latest fashion trends... nothing. I knew nothing of anything, with the exception of those around me. I was completely cut off from the rest of the world; and it was nice.

Along with being on a media fast, we were also on a dating fast. Although it may sound silly, because we were only going to be together for a short amount of time... it was also nice. It was nice because we weren't worried about "oh I think this person likes that person." No, it wasn't like that at all. I didn't have worry about what I was wearing, putting on makeup, straightening my hair, or getting all "dolled up" to impress the cute guy on my team. Heck, I don't think I ever saw my face while we were in the village! Mirrors were so rare! But, it was nice. We were just a group of friends doing our to best spread the love and light of Christ to our brothers and sisters in the Philippines and attempt to get to know them more. Not just serve them "over the counter," but to actually become part of them. Something I think we achieved. After all, we were there to do Christ's work... not focus on each other.

Jayar and his adorable son Jhayz Lord

So I guess it's safe to say, that when I got back home, I was in culture shock. Bills, school, work, cars, money, fashion. That's all I heard about. I quickly went from not caring what I looked like to making sure each hair was in it's place! Why? Well heck, I really don't know!And the funny thing is, I didn't even realize it. I didn't realize it until I got the opportunity to hang out with one of my friends from the mission trip. We were eating lunch and talking about the cultural differences when he said "I shaved my beard, I have my contacts in. I can see you're wearing makeup and have straight hair..." When I heard that, it quickly made me realize how much I missed the lifestyle I had while we were in the Philippines. It made me want to jump on a plane and get back there! But as I drove home that night, I couldn't help but think, "well, why can't I live that lifestyle here?" Well, to be honest, that's quite impossible.

Joni leading a Boys vs Girls race

I really don't know how to end this post, so I'll end it with this very short, yet simple (fitting huh?) prayer from the wonderful St Therese of Lisieux: "Jesus help me to simplify my life by learning what you want me to be and becoming that person."

Discovering My Passion in the Philippines

For those of you who've known me for quite some time, you know that I have never really been sure of what exactly I wanted to do for the rest of my life. In Pre-K I wanted to be a "computer lady." A few years later, a dance teacher, then an entrepreneur, and then a sports broadcaster. Eventually I went into school majoring in Political-Science (Pre-Law) with hopes of one day going into law school and becoming a successful lawyer. As my first year of college went on, I was frequently asked why I wanted to go into the field that I had chosen. The answer was always the same, "I don't know, it'll make me wealthy."

Learning to play Banana Split; A version of Rock, Paper, Scissors

My entire life, I had no clue of what I wanted to do. But one thing was for sure; I wanted to be rich. I wanted to have a big fancy house, a nice European sports car, and lots of money to vacation with. And while all of those things would be nice to have, they weren't going to make me any more happy than being a lawyer would. Once I came to this conclusion, I began to constantly pray on what exactly God wanted me to do with my life. After spending countless hours in adoration, I finally had some clue of what it was the Lord wanted me to do; something in the medical field.

Now that my career path was narrowed down to "something in the medical field," I had to figure out what exactly that "something" was. Back to the chapel I went, and this time, I knew my calling; nursing. Once I had made this decision, I was still pretty nervous about making it official. I just had to trust God and His plan for me.

Earlier this month, I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to the Philippines with a group of students from all over the country. While in the Philippines, we spent 10 days in the Gawad Kalinga Village. There, we were able to help build homes, play with the children, and evangelize among the people. Our days consisted of work, a break, work again, and then a small break before the children of the village arrived from school.The end of the day was always my favorite. We'd spend our time playing countless rounds of Ninja, volleyball, and other games the kids would teach us. Sometimes I felt that playing with the children was much more tiresome then the actual work we had done earlier in the day! Regardless, I always enjoyed playing with them.

Our last Sunday in the village, we put on a program for the adults and teens. While the program was going on, I, along with two of my teammates, were in charge of keeping the children busy with games so as not to disturb the others. While we were playing a game of "Red Light, Green Light," I couldn't help but notice that one of the little boys, John-Mor, was limping. I pulled him aside to ask what was wrong, and I saw that he had a cut on his ankle. I immediately walked over to my backpack, pulled out my little first-aid kit, and quickly cleaned the wound and put a band-aid over it. He thanked me and continued to play.

Ten minutes later, I noticed John-Mor was limping again. I pulled him aside once more. This time, he had what seemed to look like a puncture wound on the top of his foot. I asked John-Mor what had happened, but he just lowered his head and tears began to well in his eyes. I quickly tried to cheer him up by telling him I would clean and bandage his wound just like I did the last time and everything would be okay. Once I was done, he jumped up with a big smile on his face and gave me a hug while saying "Thank you, Ate Erika, thank you!" (Ate means 'sister' in Tagalog)

John-Mor is pictured here in the red hat

After that, I began to tear up! I was appalled at how putting a band-aid over a cut would bring such joy to a child! I immediately knew that God was re-confirming the fact that I needed to become a nurse. Not just a nurse, but a pediatric nurse practitioner.

So, I guess the two points I'm trying to make here are, have faith in God, and don't become something just because it'll make you rich or famous. But because it brings you complete joy.

Who knew it would take going half way around the world to discover my passion. Oh wait, God did! :)

Sometimes You Just Have To Let Go

This post is written by someone very dear to me. I've known her since the summer before 8th grade, and although we've had our fair share of differences, we've still managed to remain very close friends. She's talented, beautiful, and so much more. But, most importantly, she's one of the strongest young women I know. I asked her to share her story with us... and I am more than happy that she agreed to do so. Please enjoy the following post written by my favorite ginger, Karissa Thomas.


Sometimes good things come to an end so better things can begin. We may never understand why things work out the way they do, but you have to keep going. I am slowly learning, that by keeping a promise to yourself, everything will happen on its own how it is supposed to. “Young love is a flame; very pretty. Often very hot.”

Throughout our junior and senior year of high school, my boyfriend (at the time) and I experienced so many great memories together; we were a popular couple. He was the athlete and I was the dancer. Our senior year we were homecoming king and queen and we attended both junior and senior prom together. I was in love with the thought of “us” and everything that we could have been. Being young and in high school, it was the relationship I always wanted. As any other couple, we had many portions of troubles, at times our issues were solved, and other times just pushed aside.  Throughout our relationship I felt alone, forgotten about, and often, like I was the last resort for him. I found myself hiding my feelings because I was too scared of letting him know how I truly felt, and thought, if I let my feelings out, our relationship would come to an end.

After high school our relationship continued to grow and while some things were changing, many  were still staying the same. Issues weren't getting solved, feelings were still getting hurt, and our relationship just wasn't a relationship anymore.

The material things don’t matter, they never do and the amount of money spent on things don’t matter either. We shared so many beautiful moments together talking about our future and expressing our moments of happiness. I became so attached to this, that I never wanted to truly let go.

I was becoming emotionally exhausted and began to shut people out. No matter how hard I tried, things weren't getting better. All of the feelings that I had been holding in finally started coming out, and it was for the best. I couldn't hold onto him any longer. After over 2 and a half years, it was all over.

I still struggle with holding onto the things that could have been done differently. I don’t know where or when we went wrong, I just know we did. I was so scared of losing someone else in my life that I was willing to continually fight forever. After being in a relationship that I thought was supposed to last forever, it was finally time to move on and focus on my own dreams again. Sometimes you just have to let go. I wish him nothing but the best, but I wish myself everything that I have ever wished for.

Let love find you.

Nothing Can Satisfy You

The human flesh is a powerful thing; we must not follow our flesh, but our hearts; for if Christ is at the center of your world, it is He who is in your heart, and it is He whom you will follow.  

We as human beings desire to be loved, that is obvious. We find ourselves searching for love, but why search for love when we already have someone who loves us more than we could ever imagine? We've all been told at some point or another that God loves us. But how do we know that? Well, God sent His ONLY Son to earth to die for us. Christ DIED for us, for me, for you. He knew exactly what was going to happen to Him and He did it anyway, because He loves you. I don’t know about you, but, that’s some hardcore lovin’ right there. 

So, if we already have someone who loves us so much that He would die for us, why do we keep searching for more? Is Christ not enough? We try finding love in money, in popularity, in boys, and in other materialistic things. Then, when we have all of these things, everything we claim to want, we still find ourselves yearning for more. We find ourselves yearning for more because when Christ isn't all you want, when HE isn't at the center of your life, NOTHING will satisfy you. Not money, not cars, not your boyfriend, not your friends; only Christ can and will fulfill you. 

So, the next time you find yourself yearning for more, try looking to Christ, and not the things of this world. I can guarantee that you'll find yourself a lot happier. 

St. John Paul II once said something that will stay with me forever, and I wish to leave you with that today: 

“It is Jesus you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is He who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. 

It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.”

Welcome to: The Simple Catholic Girl

Hello beautiful people!

My name is Erika and I'm a 19 year old college nursing student! I won't go much into detail about myself, but if you'd like to know more about me, just look on the right side of this post and you'll be able to find out more!

On this blog, you'll be able to find posts about the life of a Simple Catholic Girl! From posts about modesty, what it means to be a Woman of God, day-to-day struggles, and yes you'll even find posts about boys. Hopefully you'll be able to relate to these posts; some more than others maybe! Stay tuned to find out more about this Simple Catholic Girl! :)

In Christ,
Erika