my german family

I just received great news from my German sister that she, along with our parents, will be coming to Dubai to visit again! Hurray!

I know what you’re thinking...how can I have a family from Germany when I’m Filipino, right? Well, I gained this family during my visit to their country for the World Youth Day in 2005. Back then, our church group had organized us to stay for a week at Gelsenkirchen before attending the actual event in Koln. During that week, we were divided into pairs and each pair was hosted by one of the local families. That’s how my buddy Irene and I met Daddy Holger, Mommy Gabi, Michaela and Stef. They were the best family we could ever hope to have! And even though our stay with them was short-lived, the bond and love we shared has extended until today.

Since then, we’ve been in constant communication and they try to make it a point to visit us at least every year. In 2008 though, they didn’t come to Dubai...but that was because they went to the Philippines so that Daddy and Mommy could attend our wedding as a couple of our Godparents! This year though, we didn’t expect that they would be able to come since they had some things to take care of at their clinic; but last week, they sent us an e-mail saying that they were planning to visit, and just now in FB, Michaela informed us that they’ve already bought their tickets to come later in the year! Yaaaaaayyy!!!

We are soooo excited to see them again! We always have a great time when they come over. Heck! It’s always great when you see your family again, especially when you rarely get to be with them...and our family from Germany is definitely no exception.

I remember a story that Daddy Holger shared with us before. One time, a patient of his saw one of his family pictures (which included me and Irene) and he asked who we were. Daddy proudly said that they were his daughters. Of course, his patient was confused (because we looked nothing like them). Daddy just gave him a brief background on how we happened to be added to the family, and since then, he said, he has never considered us anything less than his daughters. When Irene introduced her brother and his wife, and I introduced Guchi, they welcomed each of them with open arms. And when I gave birth to Caila, they embraced her and grandparenthood with pride. That’s the kind of loving people they are, and I feel so blessed that we have a family like them.

Hopefully Guchi, Caila and I will get to visit them in Germany next year for our vacation. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for that!