Tag: Immigrant Stories

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Family

Of Setting Up Roots – Our First Home

Needless to say, the past few years have been a whirlwind of events for everyone, including our family. From the pandemic to career changes to having our first child to now, having our first home.

Howell and I take pride in our capacity to lay out plans, set them in motion, and see it to completion.

From our first year in New Zealand, we already knew the things we wanted and made sure to plan them out so plans would move. We usually set a special day and place when we’ll just go out into nature and present our desires in prayer and discern which ones we are to pursue based on God’s leading. It has been amazing seeing all these desires come into fruition. One of those God has fulfilled is our desire for a home of our own.

In planning for our home, we knew it would entail diligent saving up of money and knowing our preferences even before we seek out for one. So we set up all our finances in a way that we have set up the amount of savings we’ll have and then work our expenses around it. We were not earning heaps but we were earning enough. We lived in a humble 2-bedroom flat for the first four years, planned for cost-effective but fun holidays, and generally lived way below our means during the years we were saving money.

Come 2020, we knew we were ready to pursue our first home. Now we all know what happened in the great year 2020. During the lockdown here in New Zealand, we had time to set our essentials and preferences for our first home. We knew that location is prime factor, options for expansion, and just generally good craftsmanship of the house. Straight after lockdown, we finally set our plans in motion. I remember asking the Lord for a powerful testimony from this process…

We asked friends, family members, and workmates of the things we need to consider, the hows of home loans, and just general knowledge of purchasing our first home. We were referred to a broker who also knows of an opportunity for a private sale – easy as! Unfortunately, none of the people we asked had any experience with a private sale!

A few days after our first meeting with the broker, we were already viewing the property. We knew that properties were on the upward trend then so we locked it in straight after we viewed it for a few minutes. A few weeks after, we already signed the Sale and Purchase Agreement – this was on September 2020. Again, easy as! The catch? We had to wait for the property to be subdivided prior to settlement.

We were promised just a few months for the subdivision to happen. Yep, we can deal with that. We just negotiated that we live in the property while the process of subdivision was being done. And so we moved to our home on March 2021. We were confident because we were a double income couple with no dependents, nothing we need to worry about.

Until…

A year after, year 2022, we were down to one income and we were expecting our miracle baby… Things have become so unpredictable. The processing dragged a while for a myriad of reasons we did not have control of. Add the changes to CCFA rolled out on December 2021, things looked bleak.

A few days before settlement, we received news that our home loan pre-approval wasn’t granted by the bank. To add to the injury, two other banks declined our home loan application. And not only was our 12% down payment no longer accepted, we had to have the full 20% down payment to secure a loan. We had to request for an extension of settlement as well because, how can anyone complete these requirements in a few days? Haha.

A family member helped us acquire the remaining 8%. After which, our settlement date extension was also granted, and we had to comply with the additional requirements by other banks for our home loan to be granted. Thanks to the people who have assisted us, and also to Kainga Ora for their first home grant, we got there in the end. The settlement came through yesterday, 16th June.

It was such an exciting and humbling experience for us. From being the ideal first home buyers, everything changed in just a year. We initially set out to independently purchase our first home without the help of anyone but ended up needing help from several generous and supportive people in our circles. We were not only given financial assistance, but were blessed with the wisdom of these people. A powerful testimony indeed! It wasn’t what we had, not our skills, not our financial management prowess alone brought us through this milestone. We knew God has walked before us and paved the way for us. He also used other people to help provide for what we needed. He has kept His promise in spite of the challenges, and we know we wouldn’t have it any other way…

I write this today from our three-bedroom home located in a private cul-de-sac, seconds away from the city centre, with also a couple of parks and beaches 15 to 30 minutes away. While I cannot give a home tour now because of the busyness of a first time mum, here are a couple of gorgeous sunsets visible from our place.

…The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.

Psalm 145:13
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Musings Uncategorized

The Year After

We arrived in New Zealand on 29 December 2016. We had high hopes of the future, given that we are confident that we have prayed for this decision, planned and plotted timelines tediously, and that we are certain of the support Howell’s family has generously committed.

Several bittersweet things happened in between. I named my blog post for today as The Year After, mainly because around the same time last year, we feel our life in New Zealand has finally started. This post is about recalling our leaps from last year and some of the many things we are grateful for.

Work

Both Howell and I were both blessed with good jobs here. Coming here, we were prepared to take on any role, irregardless of its relevance to our past work experiences. All we knew is that we were to earn dollars, and we’re pretty much content with that.

We’ve had our fair share of disappointments applying for a job. We both applied for entry-level jobs here that we were confident we can do but there would be close to a hundred (I kid you not, I think I did apply for 100+ jobs) letters saying that we were not qualified and that other high caliber applicants applied for the job. Apart from the rejection, it was ridiculously painful to receive messages like those.

We were ready to start from the bottom and move our way up but the Lord, in His generosity, had better plans for us. Howell was the first one to find a job. He was hired as a Graduate Engineer, with the main responsibility of doing reports for an insurance company which dealt with Earthquake damage claims from the 14th November 2016 earthquake event (i.e. Kaikoura earthquake). A few months into his work, he was given design jobs and a year after, he is already one of the Intermediate Engineers in his company, doing design work, account management, and client liaisons.

I, on the other hand, found a job as a Marketing Manager in one of New Zealand’s wonderful wildlife reserves. The role, the company itself, my workmates, and the environment, fit well with my needs and wants. I could not have wanted a better job for myself.

It is amazing how we were restored specifically in this area of our life. Work was one of our anxieties then. We had to pray for humility to accept whatever job the Lord grants us. We had to prepare for whatever opportunity may open for us.

Home

If I could remember it right, we transferred to our flat around April. We lived for 3 months with my in-laws. Our relationship with them isn’t perfect but I am proud to tell the world that I have learned to love them as my own and they love me the same. However, no matter how good our relationship with them is, we still had to stand on our own and build our own family, thus the decision to rent a home of our own.

Transferring home has been one of my concrete experiences of God’s generosity through the people around us. Most of our furniture and appliances, even our cutlery, came from my in-laws and from members of the Lamb of God community. Salvation Army and the Trash Palace has been one of the most helpful places we’ve been when we were starting. Little by little, we are able to build something that we can call ours. It is a joy to experience this with Howell.

Community Life

Community life has a completely different meaning here in New Zealand so I’d have to put a bit of context. When I say community life, I am referring to my prayer group here in New Zealand, the Lamb of God community. It is different from communal living, which some religious groups do.

We started as observers for almost a year. We adjusted to the way they did things, tried to learn their patterns, and basically established relationships with all of the other members. Today, we are happily serving the community’s youth. Bigger things are laid out and we are praying that someday, all these will bear fruit.

Quality of Life

One thing that has greatly improved is the quality of our life. We have quite a number of responsibilities here but the way New Zealand’s overall systems work is that it allows you to have work-life balance. You are encouraged, and in fact, supported, even by your employers, to pursue your passions.

We both are able to exercise regularly, eat healthy meals, and do our individual interests.

Howell is actively playing his most loved sport, ultimate frisbee. He will be playing at Nationals in 2 weeks. That’s a huge leap he would not have experienced back in our home county. He is also able to play music (drums and guitar) in our community events, something that he always wanted to do even back home.

Meanwhile, I get to regularly swim because there are heaps of swimming pools here. I get to read at least one book a week because the library is a few blocks from our home and they have good choices of books. It’s worth noting that Howell was also able to get interested in reading books simply because of the e-book app that the library has. I also am able to get back to my love for arts–calligraphy, painting, photography. One thing I am not able to do now is practice piano but we’ll get there.

Gazing Forward

Last year was a leap of faith for us. We had to trust that God delivers what He promises to do. It was an unbelievably eventful year for us. We are proud to be settling nicely here, with the help of our family and friends. We never would have imagined to be where we are now a year ago. We are humbled by all your kindness and generosity to us, especially in our time of need.

Today, we are gazing forward. We are praying for a child soon, but we are not rushing into anything. We know that that child will come in God’s time. We will continue to prepare and to look ahead as we’ve only just begun. We are continuously setting our sights on all of God’s other promises to us but for now, we live fully in the here and now.

If there is only one thing that I can describe our past year, it’s that it started with a leap of faith that led us to other leaps we never would have dreamed of. Trust that once the Lord has spoken, no matter the circumstance, He will deliver.

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The Long Drive Chronicles Uncategorized

The Long Drive Chronicles – Kid on a Bike

Those who have been to Staglands Wildlife Reserve would know that the road I travel to get there isn’t necessarily the ideal road you’d take to work. It’s a windy road filled with a number of blind curves. It takes me 20-25 minutes to drive this road giving me loads of time to think about things, mainly to amuse myself and to distract me from the terrifying bends I have to drive in.

I sometimes sing, reflect, make my own jokes and laugh at them while driving there. And from here, the long drive chronicles was born. It is during my drive here that I get to take a closer look at my life and the circumstances surrounding me in an uninterrupted way. Will post a video of my way to work soon but for now, enjoy the read!

I usually go home at a certain time. There would be times when I’d come home late because I had a little chat with my boss but it’s not that often that this happens. In one of my usual travels home, I got off at an unusual time. I had no meeting or any sort of social engagement that day so I was driving at a relaxed pace.

Everything was as is until I came to a blind curve with a home right after it. I usually don’t encounter the residents there leaving the house and if they do, they leave with a car but at this specific time, a kid on a bike drove fast before me. I was in a safe speed so nothing untoward happened.

I, however, thought about what could have happened should I come home a bit earlier or later or should my driving speed have altered before that kid appeared on the road. That day, though, I was at that part of the road at that time, driving in that speed, saving me from a possible collision.

It reminded me of one of the prayers of a member in our prayer group where it says, “thank you, Lord, for saving us from things that we know and the things we are not aware of…”. 

Sometimes, we wonder why we are stuck somewhere we feel we shouldn’t be. We are in relationships we feel we shouldn’t be in anymore, we are in jobs that are not rewarding and fulfilling anymore, we are awaiting for answers that wouldn’t come. We feel stuck and forgotten. No matter what we do, nothing moves.

We may or may not know it but there is Someone at work in our lives, protecting us from things we cannot bear. We are in circumstances we need to be in at the moment. We can take comfort in knowing that we are provided with what we need when we need it. It may be a difficulty we need to grow from, it may be a short supply of resources we need to get by. We have the right amount of good and bad we have to deal with on a daily basis. Nothing is given to us beyond our capacity.

My takeaway for this day, from the kid on the bike, is that I am where I should be now, nothing more, nothing less. I am not a day over or a day under the things I am supposed to go through. Everything is in place because Someone is in charge of me. I am thankful for the times I was saved from things that I am aware of, more so, from the things I am not.

P.S. On the flip side, parents of these kids should teach their kids basic road safety to ensure they are secure when they go out of the house. 🙂 🙂 🙂

 

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Musings Uncategorized

A Tribute to Gallantry

gallantry

NOUN (plural gallantries)

mass noun

1 Courageous behaviour, especially in battle.

‘a medal awarded for outstanding gallantry during the raid’

2 Polite attention or respect given by men to women.

‘no young man offers to carry this burden for her: such gallantry is out of fashion’

 

As I mentioned previously, swimming is one of the things I consistently do. I usually go to this specific pool once to twice a week so I am pretty familiar with it and with the guidelines they have put to those who will be using the pools.

My visit today was the most annoying visit I had. I was quietly doing laps in one of the lanes when a group of four, late twenties, early thirties, rowdy guys, (calling them men would be a disgrace to all the men I know) arrived.

There were four swimming lanes, all of which were occupied. Of all lanes they could go in to, they chose mine. I never had issues with sharing lanes here since most people I come across are polite and good swimmers and so I didn’t pay much attention to them though I found it rather odd that all four of them chose to swim in my lane.

It was until I came to the end of the lane and I already had to deal with them so I asked them politely if they will be swimming so that I can give way. Their answer wasn’t in English and I was assuming they’d just want me to go ahead since they weren’t moving at all. They were just splashing and fooling around in a lap pool where everyone is expected to, well, do laps. It was already annoying since it is part of the guidelines clearly written out for all visitors to read that if you are not swimming in laps, then you shouldn’t be hanging around in that pool.

It wasn’t until I bumped into one of them, who was in the middle of the pool, in the side of my lane, floating, that I sensed what was happening. Yep, they were ganging up on me. It kept on for a few minutes until I knew that I already had to speak up. I was already supposed to go to one of the lifeguards to inform them of what was happening when a man swam closely behind me, making me feel relieved and safe from these guys. I did not know who he was until I took a short break on the other end of the lane. It was my husband!!! When I looked to the other side of the pool, the four rowdy guys were gone.

Just to put a context to it, Howell did not want to swim because he had a training for ultimate frisbee later that day so he was kind of reserving his energy and opted to go to the spa instead of swimming.

I love the presence of my husband but these was one of those standout moments that I am joyful that he is with me. It really felt like he was a hero! I asked him if he knew what was happening when he came to the pool and he said that he saw one of the lifeguards talking to the guys and when he looked, these guys were in my lane so he came to my aid promptly because I may be in trouble.

What contrast it was! Here is a man who almost instantaneously went to protect a woman from guys who would instantly jump to disrespect whoever they’d want to. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a damsel-in-distress awaiting for a knight as I was already on my way to do something to protect myself from these guys but here was a man who came through for me.

There still are gallant men these days. Some men will give you attention, but be very discerning of the attention they give. Some will only seek to take advantage, especially in times you are weak.

How do you know a gallant man? These men rise to the occasion. They are courageous in pursuing things that are of worth–principles, faith, respect, responsibility, accountability. They will treat you as equals but they will come through for you when the going gets tough.

To all the gallant men out there, the world is a better place with you in it. Continue to be courageous because our world needs men like you, most especially these days. The world needs men who will be brave and be brave enough to pursue the right things.

To the first gallant man I have ever loved, Dad, thank you for showing me that there still are good men, that there are things and people worth waiting for. And to my most gallant man, thank you for standing up for me even though you knew so well that I am capable of standing up for myself.

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Uncategorized Work

My Journey to Employment

One of the underlying reasons why I chose to go to New Zealand is to get to know myself better and to see myself in a new light, far from my previous issues back in my home country. I want to know more of what I am capable of. I want to know what I can contribute to the new country I am in now.

One of the ways I may do this is through finding a career here. As an immigrant, there are a thousand things you have to settle before landing a job here. In my experience, I had to settle my visa (more on that topic in another blog post), assess my current capabilities and find ways on how to fill the gaps on the capabilities that employers want and need, think about what I really want in a job here, and find a worthwhile place and company to work for.

 

Background on my previous jobs

I was initially an HR professional given that that is the most common track a BS Psychology graduate in the Philippines takes. A few years into the job, I decided to shift to Marketing and had several marketing jobs in a retail company, and a food and beverage company.

 

What I want in a job

I have found that my personality, interests, and soft skills match more with marketing so when we decided to go to New Zealand, Howell and I knew that this would still be what I will pursue.

My last work was already a managerial post back in the Philippines but upon coming here, we knew that we definitely would have to be content with whatever position I may land in, just as long as it is still a marketing work. It was easy for us to decide on this but way more difficult to follow through with the decision.

Our location, even though we are in the capital of New Zealand, did not have a lot of opportunities given my previous work experiences. Most of the jobs related to the industries I have been in are in another part of New Zealand so my options were way too limited to start with.

I have applied for positions ranging from Assistant to Coordinator to Managerial work. I might have submitted over a hundred of applications in the course of 4 months and out of all those applications, I was interviewed by 3 companies for different marketing roles. One of the weaknesses of my previous work experiences was that I did not have much work experience with Digital Marketing, something that most companies are looking for here in New Zealand. As months passed, I was slowly losing hope that I would ever find a job that I was really interested in, but I knew that life still needed to go on.

 

What I did during my months of unemployment

For the first 4 months of our stay here, I had no choice but to wait for my visa to arrive and so I ceased all efforts of applying for work. During those months, Howell did not have work yet as well and so we were able to spend a few good months together.

We found activities that entertained us. We went outdoors as it was summer when we arrived here. We went swimming and hiking. At home, we were able to spend time with Howell’s family as well. We usually played games and watched movies together. When he started work, I was the one left at home so I had to find ways to spend my time wisely, to veer away from worrying about finding a job all the time.

I started several projects, read books, and established a healthier lifestyle by learning to cook healthy food and exercising regularly. I also enrolled in an online Digital Marketing course to beef up my CV and to have some working knowledge I can use in applying for a job.

 

What did I really want?

With the months that I was able to reflect and relax, I was able to list some of the things that I wanted my future job to have:

  1. A marketing role
  2. Something that can be identified with New Zealand (as I am already here and I wanted to fully immerse in the country)
  3. A work where I can still have time to do the things I want to do (swim, go to the gym, spend time outdoors, do some artwork, read, write, do house chores and take care of Howell)
  4. Good working environment (a boss and colleagues I can work with)

My list is quite ideal but a girl can dream!

 

Goodbye, unemployment!

I persevered in spite of the odds against me. I did not stop sending out applications and heeded the advice of the people around me. They told me to continue hoping that there will be somewhere that I may be fit to work in. They encouraged me to call potential employers and be upfront with them so as to show my interest for the job.

Finally, a door opened up for me! It is a Marketing Manager role at Staglands Wildlife Reserve & Cafe. Upon seeing their job ad, I immediately sent my CV and called them up to ask some details regarding the job. It is a part time role at a location an hour away from our place.

I instantly fell in love with the place when I arrived for my first interview. Words will be difficult to describe it but luckily, I have taken a few pictures to give you a glimpse of what the place looked like.

 

I was offered a welcome drink prior to the interview. One of the owners herself lit the fire place to warm me up.

 

The animals are so tame. Look how this peacock approached me as I entered the park. I was given food that I may feed the animals. Below are pictures of some chickens on a tree, a bird I am not familiar with, and the goats which I liked the most. There were pigs and trouts and other animals as well but I was not able to take pictures of them since I was totally enjoying my stroll.

 

Some notable landmarks like the Secret Garden, the Old Bush Settlement, the Barn, and the Deer Park

 

It is a bit far from our place but it is a 3-day work week so I still get to have 4 full days I may spend as I like. The employees are all friendly and each of the work they do are quite interesting. I was able to meet both of the owners as well. They are down to earth and very practical (one of them called me up as I was writing this blog to check if I may be able to report for work tomorrow). I was so sure that this is where I wanted to work.

Two interviews after and I was offered a job. Thank God for my wonderful references in the Philippines for helping me get an offer.

 

My takeaways

It was a tough 8 months for me. I am in a foreign land with completely foreign circumstances and an unknown future. Everything I did was done prayerfully.  I know and I am convinced that all these are God’s work in my life. This is just the beginning of my own journey here but I am secured that the One who brought me here will equip me with everything I need to complete the journey. The future is yet to unfold but I am confident of what the good Lord has planned for me and my family.

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Uncategorized

Is Migrating Just About Packing Your Bags?

When one decides to migrate and build a life in a foreign country, would you just pack your bags and leave? If you are one who has gone through this, you know this isn’t the case.

As Howell and I decided to finally take the leap and leave for New Zealand, we knew that we had to do more than just fitting our stuff in a box. We put a huge amount of value on relationships, family, and all the intangible things you leave when you go. We have been fortunate enough to have several months to prepare before leaving and so we did what we can to leave every precious intangibles that we have in place.

Family

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My sister and I have quite a strong bond. We practically had no other choice (kidding!) but to love and cherish each other since she is the only sibling I have. We grew up knowing that we are each other’s best friends and I know that nothing can ever change that.

We were not able to spend much time a few years before we decided to leave, though, since we were busy living our lives that we were not conscious enough to spend time with each other but we made sure we built better memories right before we left. We ironed out issues we might have chosen not to face had we not left.

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We built memories as a family with our recent addition, Howell. We did not know what life would bring us when we leave so we knew that the memories and the time we have spent with them will be a good foundation for a few years of our lives that we will spend away from each other.

Relationships

One thing that we also firmly believe in is that our relationships shape us into the people we are today. These relationships kept us strong and gave us a sense of purpose and direction. And we know that even if distance might keep us far from these relationships, they will continue to be our stronghold, in good and in bad times.

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The above picture is our Men’s and Women’s group at our prayer group, Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon. The latter picture is our bible group study from The Navigators. More than being our support group, they are our friends. We can run to them for practical advice as a newly married couple. They are also there to pray for every area of our lives. We continued to meet with them in formal group settings and in fellowships outside. They have given us precious nuggets of wisdom that we have carried going here.

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We also built new memories with our friends before we left. We had out-of-town trips, talked nonstop about our life and future plans with them.

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Lastly, we made sure to pass on the things we have learned through the years. We have built relationships with the younger generation so we can share our knowledge and personal experiences from where they can also learn.

Practical Life Skills

Living abroad entails a lot of adjustments. Everything is new. Issues and concerns on our new life here can considerably be lessened by learning the basic skills of home management before we left. We learned the basic house chores like cleaning our home, cooking for ourselves, shopping, budgeting, and managing our time well to make room for the things that we need and want to do. We are able to adjust fairly well in our new life here because all the basics are in place before we left.

In securing that all these matters are in place, we were sure that once we left, we will be ready for our adventures ahead. We knew that no matter what happens, we will have no regrets in the future because all our relationships are strong and our basic life skills are packed.

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Uncategorized

Why New Zealand?

Of all places I could be in at this point in time, why New Zealand? Why leave the Philippines?

Each immigrant has his/her own set of reasons for leaving their homeland and settling in a foreign country. For Howell and I, the following reasons capture the major chunk of the reasons why we chose to settle here:

Howell’s family

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Papa Lui left the Philippines in 2007 and the whole family, except for Howell, left in 2009. I met the family once before we got married when I visited New Zealand in 2014. We did not have a lot of time to really get to know each other because of the distance. Admittedly, it is definitely difficult to get to know people through online chatting alone.

Apart from this, Howell missed a lot of time apart from them and we felt that for him to fully understand himself and his family, we need to take time to be closer to them in proximity. It is amazing how you can fit the puzzle pieces of a person’s personality by just knowing and being with his family. We believe that by spending time with them, it will be a good foundation for us to build a family of our own.

God’s call

Living abroad is definitely a big leap of faith and as a family, Howell and I discerned for our decision to leave before we left the country. We believe that at this time, God has a mission for us here in New Zealand that we cannot fulfill if we were some place else. The Lord, in His goodness, has called us here in fulfillment of His promises to us years before Howell and I even met. How we are to see that fulfillment is something that we will have to wait and see as it unfolds before us.

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Financial Stability

This reason is attached to the previous reason I have specified: God’s call to us. I grew up in a family where my parents worked so hard to provide us with everything that we want and need to the point that I grew distant from them, all because I felt that there was so little time to spend with them for them to get to know me. We want the kind of family where we have the freedom to spend time with our future kids. In order to have that kind of family, we needed financial stability.

New Zealand is one of the countries where even their minimum wage is definitely good. Here, even though Howell is the only one working (as of the time being), we are able to live a fairly comfortable life. We are hoping that someday soon, I may also get a job here so we can save up and eventually attain the financial freedom we are going after.

Home for Street Vagrants

One of the things that we also want to accomplish with our financial freedom is building a home for street vagrants in the Philippines. We call them taong grasa back home. Most of them, apart from roaming the streets and being homeless, have already lost touch with reality. These are the people that we wanted to reach out to. So if we wanted to build our own family and this shelter for them too, we have got to have a lot of resources.

This is our vision. These are our personal reasons why we chose to leave.

So why New Zealand? Perhaps because it opened its doors for us. Perhaps because the grass may indeed be greener on the other side. We do not know what this country holds for us yet but we ought to find out soon.