I grew up on a busy street in Caloocan. It used to be a quiet residential area but over the years, it slowly became commercialized. Soon, there were stores, buildings and the LRT. Ever Gotesco was built right at our back. We became accustomed to the noise of tricycles, jeepneys and neighbors who drank and fought all night.
Here is where Jojo and I decided to also put down roots for our young family. We found security in having my parents live just in front of us and look over our children when we were away. We knew it also gave them joy to have their grandchildren around.
On our last day after our house was sold, I cried for an hour. It was painful to leave behind 40 years of memories. But with Papa and Mama gone, it was the right time for us to move on and find a new home in Canada.
The night before our flight, my brother called from Toronto and asked if we could postpone our trip. After weeks of searching, he still had not found a place for us to stay. We had sold everything we owned, our bags were packed and we were ready to go. So I joked that he could just probably look for a park where we could sleep. With the last minute preparations, the tearful goodbyes, and making sure all our children and luggage were accounted for, I had no time to worry about where we would stay once we landed in Canada.
Fortunately, the night we arrived, a basement apartment was found for us. There were two rooms but only one was available. All eight of us squeezed into that one room, with only blankets for our bed. After two weeks, the other room became free, so we had the whole basement to ourselves. We had a small living area, a tiny eat-in kitchen and our own bathroom. But nobody was complaining. The house was in a great place. As the kids exclaimed, walking outside was like going to the park. The streets were clean and the houses pretty.
We were getting used to the cramped quarters but after 3 months, the owner suddenly decided to sell the house. We only had a few weeks to look for another place. I called several apartments but I never got past the question “how many are you?” before being told there was no room for us. I started looking for rental houses. But no landlord wanted six kids in their house. Every single one said they had given the place to another tenant.
Finally, we found a house owned by a Filipina nurse who agreed to rent it to us. This became our home for two years.
With the high cost of rent and utilities, we knew it made more sense to put our money towards our own house. But we had no down payment. We learned about a government program that allowed us to solve this roadblock. Almost everyone said that the banks would not allow it but as a family, we again prayed and the bank approved our mortgage application.
We started looking for a house that would meet our requirements. We found the perfect place – it was within walking distance to almost everything – school, church, bus stop, park, library, grocery, even a Filipino store. As an added bonus, I found out after moving in that the school bus pick-up point was just three houses to our left, and there was a babysitter two houses to our right. We stayed five years in that first house we owned.
Last year, we decided to look for another house that would meet the needs of our growing children. This is where we live now. It’s not a big house but it’s cozy and practical. We have a wonderful neighborhood and the folks are nice and friendly. God has even blessed us with a Filipino neighbor who always gives us cooked food (he is a caterer).
I believe that in every place we lived in, God put us exactly where he wanted us to be at that time. Every house has been a blessing to our family. Though we no longer have any intentions of moving, who knows what God has in store for us. Where He leads, we will follow.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. (Hebrews 11: 8-10)
June 10, 2009
June 9, 2009
In Control
I’m sure you’ve heard the story of the man who fell into a cliff one night and was able to hang on to a branch. He cried for help three times and each time, a voice would reply “Let go.” But he thought, “Why will I do that? I don’t want to fall into the cliff!” So, he hung on to the branch the whole night. When morning came, he looked down and saw that he was only one foot above the ground.
I often like to tell this story because it speaks so much about my being a control freak. Everything has to be planned and in order. When things go wrong, as they often do, I freak out. I pray to the Lord for intervention, but my mind still controls the situation. It is so difficult for me to just let go.
Applying for immigration to Canada was a leap of faith. At that time, we didn’t even have money to pay for the application fee. I would spend sleepless nights worrying. In my mind, I had no idea how we could possibly afford everything that we had to pay for. Yet, at every point that we needed to spend – for passport applications, filing fee, medical exams, landing fee – God would always provide us the exact amount in unexpected ways – an inheritance, shares in insurance stocks, a new job contract, a consultation fee, a bonus, somebody’s offer of help.
We finally got our immigrant visas in October 2000, but our biggest problem was – how were we supposed to fly to Canada? Our fares alone would cost almost P200,000. We didn’t even have money in our bank account. But in faith, we prayed as a family and told the Lord that we were leaving on Black Saturday, April 14, 2001.
We had been trying to sell our house for the longest time. It was in the family’s ancestral property, and was to be sold together with my parents’ house. When she was alive, Mama had always expressed a wish for the property to go to a buyer who would take care of it as we did for almost 50 years. But everyone who was interested either planned it to be a warehouse or a building, as our place had become a commercial area.
An agent approached us and told us that she had a buyer. What a surprise when that buyer turned out to be a religious order that wanted to build a house for their priests near our parish church. God answered our prayers in one shot – Mama got her wish and we were able to leave on April 14 as planned.
People often ask me how I was able to bring such a large family to Canada, and I have no rational answer. Some of them think we must be very rich or that Jojo is a banker or Vice President of some company. But really, we’re just ordinary, simple folks who placed our trust in God.
It has been an uphill struggle to let go of the reins over my life. But slowly, I am learning to let God take full control and trust that He can do a better job than me.
Man may make plans in his heart, but what the tongue utters is from the LORD. All the ways of a man may be pure in his own eyes, but it is the LORD who proves the spirit. Entrust your works to the LORD, and your plans will succeed…In his mind a man plans his course, but the LORD directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:1-3, 9)
I often like to tell this story because it speaks so much about my being a control freak. Everything has to be planned and in order. When things go wrong, as they often do, I freak out. I pray to the Lord for intervention, but my mind still controls the situation. It is so difficult for me to just let go.
Applying for immigration to Canada was a leap of faith. At that time, we didn’t even have money to pay for the application fee. I would spend sleepless nights worrying. In my mind, I had no idea how we could possibly afford everything that we had to pay for. Yet, at every point that we needed to spend – for passport applications, filing fee, medical exams, landing fee – God would always provide us the exact amount in unexpected ways – an inheritance, shares in insurance stocks, a new job contract, a consultation fee, a bonus, somebody’s offer of help.
We finally got our immigrant visas in October 2000, but our biggest problem was – how were we supposed to fly to Canada? Our fares alone would cost almost P200,000. We didn’t even have money in our bank account. But in faith, we prayed as a family and told the Lord that we were leaving on Black Saturday, April 14, 2001.
We had been trying to sell our house for the longest time. It was in the family’s ancestral property, and was to be sold together with my parents’ house. When she was alive, Mama had always expressed a wish for the property to go to a buyer who would take care of it as we did for almost 50 years. But everyone who was interested either planned it to be a warehouse or a building, as our place had become a commercial area.
An agent approached us and told us that she had a buyer. What a surprise when that buyer turned out to be a religious order that wanted to build a house for their priests near our parish church. God answered our prayers in one shot – Mama got her wish and we were able to leave on April 14 as planned.
People often ask me how I was able to bring such a large family to Canada, and I have no rational answer. Some of them think we must be very rich or that Jojo is a banker or Vice President of some company. But really, we’re just ordinary, simple folks who placed our trust in God.
It has been an uphill struggle to let go of the reins over my life. But slowly, I am learning to let God take full control and trust that He can do a better job than me.
Man may make plans in his heart, but what the tongue utters is from the LORD. All the ways of a man may be pure in his own eyes, but it is the LORD who proves the spirit. Entrust your works to the LORD, and your plans will succeed…In his mind a man plans his course, but the LORD directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:1-3, 9)
June 3, 2009
Changing of the Seasons
It is spring now and a warm 22⁰ outside. It’s such a relief to be able to walk outdoors without two layers of clothing, a heavy winter coat, boots, scarf, hat and gloves. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. You see plants you thought were dead suddenly shooting up from the ground, leaves sprouting from bare trees, flowers budding and starting to bloom. The grass is green again, and the sun is warm on the skin.
Of all the adjustments we had to make in Canada, adjusting to the weather was one of the most difficult. Winter in Toronto can be harsh and bitterly cold, with temperatures going down to as low as -20⁰. With the wind chill, it can actually feel like -40⁰. It’s like walking into a freezer when you leave the house. Even ten minutes outside can cause your hands and feet to go numb.
I remember the first time we saw snow. It was such a beautiful sight, with the ground all covered in white. We probably spent an hour looking out the window, and when it was over, we went outside to play on the snow and make a snowman. Looking at snow is fun but walking out in the cold is not. While in the midst of a winter storm, many times I would cry out, “Lord, why did you bring us to this cold country?”
But seasons pass. What kept me warm during the cold winter months was the thought that spring was not far behind.
As sure as the seasons change, situations change and fortunes change. What keeps me going during trials is the hope that this too will pass. In a few weeks or months, I will look back, smile and say, “Now why did I worry about that?”
As God is at work in nature, ensuring that winter flows into spring, summer and fall, so too is God at work in our lives, turning failure into victory and sorrow into joy.
There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant… What advantage has the worker from his toil? I have considered the task which God has appointed for men to be busied about. He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without men's ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 9-11)
Of all the adjustments we had to make in Canada, adjusting to the weather was one of the most difficult. Winter in Toronto can be harsh and bitterly cold, with temperatures going down to as low as -20⁰. With the wind chill, it can actually feel like -40⁰. It’s like walking into a freezer when you leave the house. Even ten minutes outside can cause your hands and feet to go numb.
I remember the first time we saw snow. It was such a beautiful sight, with the ground all covered in white. We probably spent an hour looking out the window, and when it was over, we went outside to play on the snow and make a snowman. Looking at snow is fun but walking out in the cold is not. While in the midst of a winter storm, many times I would cry out, “Lord, why did you bring us to this cold country?”
But seasons pass. What kept me warm during the cold winter months was the thought that spring was not far behind.
As sure as the seasons change, situations change and fortunes change. What keeps me going during trials is the hope that this too will pass. In a few weeks or months, I will look back, smile and say, “Now why did I worry about that?”
As God is at work in nature, ensuring that winter flows into spring, summer and fall, so too is God at work in our lives, turning failure into victory and sorrow into joy.
There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant… What advantage has the worker from his toil? I have considered the task which God has appointed for men to be busied about. He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without men's ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 9-11)
June 2, 2009
Sorting the Garbage
Friday is garbage pick-up day in our area. It’s one of those services that I’m really thankful for, living here in Canada, because it’s regular and efficient. It’s such a stark contrast from our Caloocan neighborhood, where garbage trucks come every two weeks or so, and you never know when. In the meantime, all your garbage bags pile up and start to stink, and the garbage man won’t even pick them up unless you hand him a P5.00 bill.
Sorting the garbage here in Toronto can be a complicated and sometimes confusing process. There are three bins provided and you have to separate your trash as they are picked up on different weeks. To the green bin go the organics and bio-degradable items. Then there’s the blue recycling bin where you throw bottles, cans, paper, plastic and everything that can be recycled. The rest go to the gray garbage bin. Some items you have to scrutinize, like certain plastics cannot be recycled. And because we are being taxed for the amount of garbage we throw out, I have become more conscious of our trash, making sure that everything goes to the right bin.
I know that, over time, I also accumulate a lot of trash in my life – bad habits, negative thoughts, resentments, grudges, hurts. And like garbage, they need to be purged on a regular basis – transform/recycle bad habits into Christian practices, negative thoughts into positive vibes, and discard completely all sin and ill feeling towards others.
I am sometimes successful but then after a few days, garbage starts accumulating again. How I wish that my self-cleaning will be as regular and efficient as the garbage truck that comes to our neighborhood every Friday.
Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, insincerity, envy, and all slander; like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk so that through it you may grow into salvation, for you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1-3)
Sorting the garbage here in Toronto can be a complicated and sometimes confusing process. There are three bins provided and you have to separate your trash as they are picked up on different weeks. To the green bin go the organics and bio-degradable items. Then there’s the blue recycling bin where you throw bottles, cans, paper, plastic and everything that can be recycled. The rest go to the gray garbage bin. Some items you have to scrutinize, like certain plastics cannot be recycled. And because we are being taxed for the amount of garbage we throw out, I have become more conscious of our trash, making sure that everything goes to the right bin.
I know that, over time, I also accumulate a lot of trash in my life – bad habits, negative thoughts, resentments, grudges, hurts. And like garbage, they need to be purged on a regular basis – transform/recycle bad habits into Christian practices, negative thoughts into positive vibes, and discard completely all sin and ill feeling towards others.
I am sometimes successful but then after a few days, garbage starts accumulating again. How I wish that my self-cleaning will be as regular and efficient as the garbage truck that comes to our neighborhood every Friday.
Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, insincerity, envy, and all slander; like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk so that through it you may grow into salvation, for you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1-3)
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