Submission & Faith

I was on the verge of reopening, rereading ang reviewing my daily devotional books and notes for the past three years when I came to this part, a page in Elizabeth George's A Woman After God's Own Heart Daily Devotional - which made me evaluate my self as a wife for the previous year 2013. 

Submit. Submission. Submissive wife. Allow me to go into the details of my marriage with Rex.

Fortunately, the heavens blessed me, good Lord, I married a man who has the same faith like mine and we are both Pastor's kids - reasons why we came to know each other. After we tied the knot, it was when we discovered we have a lot of things in common. We are both homebuddies and we can sustain long hours to days staying inside the house just lurking in bed and in the sofa, watching movies and drinking tea. We hoard books because we always find time to read and we love dogs. We like mountains, rivers and trees and we at most consume farm produce and fish. We always eat but we do not eat to be full. We are hooked with sleeping. I mean, we sleep a lot particularly on days where there's no work and the children's school declares a holiday or no class at all then we sleep and sleep and sleep. We love reading the Bible and we prefer quite times - apart! We do family devotions with the kids but we pray separately in bed. He prays for me and I too lay my hands on him head to feet.

Our roots came from the same places: Ilocos, Mountain Province and Benguet. That's why we didn't find it hard to get along with each other's families and relatives. We have almost similar home, culture and church upbringing and trainings when we were young and single that helped us big time dealing with our starting years in our God-and-man-blessed-matrimonial. But still, it wasn't that easy. 

Of all the many things we have in common, we too have numerous differences. I married a 100% choleric while I am only 50% out of it, 25% of me is sanguine and the other 25% is phlegmatic. So I have to deal with this one-word-man and he has to face 24/7 this woman hormoned by three personalities. When he talks, he talks a lot. But when he prefers to keep mum then he can do that all day. We discuss on things but he seldom talks so much about his opinions, ideas, plans and even his feelings - his emotions! There are times he'd do this, do that without my knowledge. I love details (yeah, right) and he is so generic! He is into furnitures and I dream of appliances! He gets dogs from his clients with or without breed and brings them at home and I ended up feeding them, giving them a weekly bath to cleaning their mess!  I tend to keep things at home in place and in order - clothes only, socks only, books only, mobile chargers only, keys only - but there's this one man who keeps on mixing all things and I can't just get rid of him because he owns the 50% of my house and my things and he's my husband! I married a man who's my almost 60% opposite! We're staying under one roof for more than five years now and somehow we managed to live peacefully (laugh). We wake up in the morning as a wife and a husband, as parents, as workers and we retire for the night in bed as lovers (wink). We do not sleep with heavy hearts, we talk and we pray.

Going back to the word submission. I may not be in the same situation where Sue is in (please see photo above), her partner is not a Christian and she sees it difficult to ask for his opinion about her life's direction because of that. But what did Elizabeth George told Sue? As long as her husband isn't telling her to go against the Word of God, then Sue has to submit to him because Sue is his husband's wife. And should I do it too? Of course! Not because my husband is a Christian. Not just because I am obliged and I needed to. But because it is written in the Bible and I am responsible for what will be the outcome if I will go hardheaded towards my husband. 

Fortunately again, heavens blessed me again, oh You really are a good Lord, Rex is a kind of husband who would ask me for a yes or a no when it comes to decision making that involves me, the kids and our family. I can only count using my fingers the major decisions he made without consulting me (let's even out from the major items the minor ones like bringing dogs without my consent and putting bats and snakes' meat inside my fridge!). If I tell Rex a 'no' he'd take it and that'll be a forever no to him even if I already changed my mind! No more backwards. Overall, when Rex says he can do it, he'd mean it and he would and I strongly believe he can right from the start. I am practicing the FAITH. The faith which comes from my Father to Abraham and to Moses, to David, to Jesus Christ, to my biological father and now the faith I have in God that whatever comes in our marriage, that the faith I have in my husband will be justified by the faith I anchored to my Saviour. 

Let me suggest wives to get daily devotional booklets/books from our local publishers like OMF Lit. Inc.  I always purchase a lot of them every mid year for December gift-givings. 

2D/2N ILOILO & GUIMARAS

This is our first out of town travel together as a family. Bringing with us our three kids and my younger brother. We were six then, three adults and three children. We booked our tickets in April months before October our scheduled flight with Cebupacific Air. The airline has only one direct flight from Davao City's Francisco Bangoy International Airport to Iloilo City's International Airport and vice versa.

At the Iloilo airport, they have metered taxis available that bring passengers to the city proper but during the time we arrived the kids were already exhausted because we woke them up at 4:30 A.M. to check in two hours earlier before our Davao-Iloilo flight at 7:20 A.M, so we hired a taxi at 400 Php which brought us to Riverside Inn where we checked in.

Riverside Inn stands in between Iloilo's river and one of the city's busiest roads and a skyway. All of their rooms are airconditioned and rates start at 800 Php to 1,950 Php. We got two matrimonial rooms at 980 Php each. The inn is at the right side part of Time Square building. Near its entrance they have food carts like Siomai King and the one I forgot where we ate our last breakfast consisting of meatsilog (meatloaf, fried rice & sunny side up egg), basilog (bacon strips, fried rice & sunny side up egg) and hot chocolate drinks. They also have some establishments situated on its side spaces and the one that got my husband's attention was the Kang Byeon, a Korean restaurant that offers the tastiest Bamboo Sam Gyup Sal at 250 Php, thin beef slices in squares steamed in bamboo poles then stir fried with seasonings and served with fresh chinese pechay, lettuce and super yummy bagoong. Before they served our orders, they let us taste their side dishes or appetizers for free. Sauteed kangkong leaves with sesame, stir fried vegies of three kinds, scrambled eggs and of course the kimchi! Then we have two servings of sushi at 150 Php each, kimchi soup at 220 Php, miso soup with tofu at 220 Php. Bit pricey but the servings are huge good for two persons already. And just with the free side dishes alone one can get full! Hehe. That was our last dinner then in Iloilo so we kinda splurged. Haha!

Just near the Riverside Inn you can find seafood retstaurants, snack centers (where we had halo-halo and palabok), a laundry shop, BDO, Metrobank and bakeries. We had our first lunch in Iloilo at Ted's Lapaz Batchoy near SM. We were a bit famished so we had big bowls of batchoy, longsilog and sodas for brunch to ease our jetlag. We went back to our rooms past 12 noon and napped until 3:00 P.M. Then we half filled our tummies a bit, did some bank transactions and off we went to see Museo Iloilo where replicas of Iloilo's history, cultures and remains are displayed. Iloilo's Capitol is just at the back of the museum and the time we visited they were having a trade fair. I bought a few kilos of Iloilo's famous danggit, dried fish tocino formed into circles and bagoong while my husband got a farmer's bolo. Adjacent to the Capitol building is the Original Biscocho Haus where I hoarded packs of piaya, merengue, butterscotch, pinasugbo and boxes of the famous biscocho. Believe me they are all cheap that's why in a blink of an eye I have piles of them on the counter. Haha! You can request to box all your goodies so it won't be a hassle on your part when travelling your bring home finds and to keep them intact as well.

Big servings of Lapaz Batchoy at 80 Php/bowl.

Museo Iloilo, Jaro, Iloilo City

Inside Iloilo Capitol Building

After our afternoon buys, we flagged down a taxi to Breakthrough. Actually, what I had in mind was to dine in Tatoy's Manokan but our kind and well spoken taxi driver suggested we try Breakthrough. He gestured in his delicate Ilonggo accent/dialect that if we want native chicken, Tatoy's is the best resto in town for it but when it comes to seafood like huge crabs (which my husband always looks forward to) to Breakthrough we should go. It was my task to decide on our food during our travel so I chose two large crabs. They call it Krusan. I had the first one at 398 grams cooked in butter and garlic and the 598 grams plainly steamed, ordered squid weighing 400 grams filled with spices and two servings of not so big shrimps, buko juice and sodas. Our dinner bill was at 1, 900 Php. Not bad for three full grown ups and three bustling kids.

Tip: Iloilo has two main means of transportation around the city. One is thru jeepneys or improvised L300 vans and thru taxi cabs. I chose taxi cabs because we were already six in the group and the kids were somewhat hyper and at times felt drowsy while on the road. Metered taxi cabs in Iloilo has flag down rate of 40 Php. The drivers we had during our stay are well mannered and soft spoken. I regretted not taking pictures of this famous saying most of us memorize, buildings in Iloilo even stores may it be private or in public walls and sideboards have this "Be honest even if others are not, even if others do not, even if others will not." Hehe.

The following morning, after taking our simple breakfast, at 8:00 A.M. we rode a taxi from Riverside Inn to Ortiz Wharf, purchased a 14 Php ticket per head for the motorboat ride to Guimaras Island. It was known that Guimaras was part of Iloilo province many years ago but now the island claimed its own and got independent from its neighboring city. It was a 10-15 minute ride and the boat anchored at Rizal, Jordan. We were led by a person to the Jordan Guest Assistance Center and let us log in our names in their Guest notebook, gave us short tips, hints about Guimaras and let us chose between a multicab or tricycle as our means of hitting the road around the island. Multicabs at 450 Php one way with a capacity of 7-12 persons while tricycles at 250 Php for 3-6 passengers. I opted for the tricycle and we were endorsed to Manong Joebert Gamudapan. He was called to the table, his driver's license number and tricycle's plate number was recorded along with our names on the Guest & Driver Form. Before we left I asked for a map.

On our way to Guimaras Island

Trappist Abbey, Jordan, Guimaras

The tricycle that brought us around in Guimaras.

Raymen Beach Resort



Medium sized boat for island hopping

The giant Groper fish

Getting ready to feed big milk fishes

There! Right on my palm!

Seafdec Islets

Where they house their scientists

Turtle Island

Natago Beach Resort

Camp Alfredo

Overlooking the Mango Plantation

From Rizal wharf, we went pass by San Miguel where the capitol building and center of government offices are situated and their pasalubong center too where you can buy cashew nuts and Guimaras delicacies. From Jordan to Nueva Valencia it took us almost 40 minutes with stop overs at the Mango Plantation (we were not able to get to its innermost area due to limited time but we took pictures overlooking the mango trees and at the Trappist Abbey (a monastery, we are not Catholics that's why we only spent our time inside their Trappist Gift shop (where I bought additional pasalubongs like their Mango Empanaditas, coffee & choco drink powder mixes, instant Ginger Brew and the cheapest cashew nuts I have ever seen) and posed at their tall gmelina trees outgrowing the place. Guimaras is a province I can be proud of as a Pinoy. The provincial roads are cemented from the point where we came from. According to Manong Joebert, all roads are cemented if not asphalted all over around his province to give their people like him an easy life since one of their main sources of income is to accommodate tourists and visitors thru land transportation. The island receives thousands of international and local guests everyday and boosts more during summer and sembreak vacations but yet the land is luscious with plants, greens and trees around 80% are mangoes. Manong Joebert said, before they can cut down a tree even the smallest ones, they need to ask first a permit from the DENR. 

We reached Raymen's Beach Resort in Alubijod, Nueva Valencia and paid 50 Php per head as entrance fee. The resort also offers rooms for overnight stay, cottages at 400 Php, shower rooms with corresponding rates, a canteen and clear bluish sea water to be enjoyed. My kids jumped in eagerly and in 30 minutes already burned their skin. Hehe. Another treat we indulged in is the island hopping at 500 Php for the first hour for six persons and 100 Php per succeeding hour. Motorboats smaller than the one we rode in from Iloilo to Guimaras are being used in these trips over water. Our first stop was in Seafdec where we were able to feed 9-10kgs. milk fish (bangus) right from our own hands, we witnessed fishes in all sizes being fed and the two big Groper known to be carnivores swallow large sums of their lunch. We trekked on their bamboo/wood aisles over the sea and took pictures of course. Next we went to Turtle Island. We only saw one pawikan. The caretaker said the DENR just released some of the turtles back to the ocean a few days ago before we came in. Next is the Baras Beach Resort, some private resorts and just  passed by Natago Resort owned by a private couple. Natago (hidden) because it was a bit hidden from the open sea. From afar you can only see a small concrete house built on top of a sea cliff. The resort has it's own church or chapel. We were not able to step on its shore due to big waves and high tide was on its way so we sailed back to Raymen to spend more time swimming and also to eat our very late lunch at 3:00 P.M. of grilled chicken, sinigang na Lapulapu and adobong string beans.

We were on the road quarter to 4:00 P.M. back to Rizal Wharf. The last boat trip will be at 5:30 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. so we were already in a hurry but still managed to pass by Camp Alfredo to see their manmade nature adventures. Along the way, Manong Joebert picked up his wife who's carrying their youngest child. The wife is from Zamboanga and with Manong Joebert they visit her home land once a year by water travel. I paid the round trip of the tricycle to Manong Joebert and gave him an extra 300 Php. We were back in Riverside Inn at 6:00 P.M. and had our dinner at Kang Byeon which I mentioned earlier and afterwards retired for the rest of night inside our rooms with cold and hot showers and cable televisions.

The taxi that brought us to Breakthrough also picked us up after our breakfast at Riverside Inn for 400 Php to the airport. After checking in, I bought more pasalubong from Merci found on the second floor near the escalator/stairs. The Iloilo airport is clean and neat. You need to pass by tight security sections before you can get to the departure area. Tiring though because my kids were weary and already tired. Hehe.

Overall, Iloilo has good food and good people. Cheap food but in its excellent taste. My husband Rex said he'd like to come back soon - just me and him without the kids. Haha! He's starting to like Guimaras. We had fun and it was such a wonderful experience travelling together. Supposedly my youngest brother should've been with us but their school shuffled their final exam schedules that's why only one were able to join us. Now, I'm making plans to travel again with my husband and kids next year - to Kalibo, Aklan & Caticlan Boracay - these two known tourist places are just two hours apart via bus! We will be invading Visayas for the next years! To God be the glory!

Tea Time is One of My Best Times

It's been five months already since we adapted drinking tea inside our home. My husband started the whole thing by picking leaves from our landlady's tea tree in the backyard. He took so much effort, air drying the leaves, washing/rinsing, cutting and crushing them to bits, storing them in air tight containers to looking for more plants, leaves and even flowers to do the whole process - pick, wash, dry, cut, crush, store and ways he can think of and to finally mix/blend them all inside a tea pot, pour in hot water, let it seep for three to four minutes and tadaaaaah! Home made tea from fresh leaves!

Will be posting more about this tea saga next week with photos.

How To Cook Imbao Soup

Ingredients:

Imbao Shells - 1/2 Kilo
Tanglad or Baraniw - 2-3 stems
Ripe Tomatoes (sliced lengthwise) - 2 pieces medium sized
Ginger - medium
Onion Leaves - 4 stems
Raddish (peeled and sliced crosswise around 1 inch thick) - 1 piece medium
Green Pechay - 2-3 leaves with stalk (cut in halves)
Saluyot tops - 4-6 pieces
Salt to taste



How to make:

*Thoroughly wash the shells until rinsing water is clear and run water over it for a finish. (Tip: When in the market, test the shells in fresh water in a basin. Bad ones float, good shells sink.)

*Prepare all the vegetables.

*Half fill a medium sized pot with water and bring to a boil. Put in tanglad leaves, tomatoes and ginger and simmer.

*Add the imbao shells and bring to a boil until shells open.

*Add raddish and season to taste with salt. (I do not use vetsin or MSG. I use Magic Sarap but seldom.)

*Add green pechay and saluyot and cook for 3-five minutes. Serve with rice.