Our House

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)