I must have had my 4th or 5th guest already when an incoming guest informed me that her husband and their child will be staying with her. Even as I host from a distance (my apartment is looked after by my staff) I make sure everything is taken care of and I communicate with my guests personally. The said guest was very communicative – send message every day before arriving and even rang me just before flying out to Philippines. I’m not complaining. To be honest, I love receiving messages from Guests as I feel like I’m making new friends from different parts of the world.
And so they arrived and immediately I got an update from her about how she loved the area. More updates came the following days. Before the week ended we were like online BFF already. Haha! Then I happen to ask how their child was getting on with their holiday. I was quite shocked when she replied that they don’t have a child. So in my head I was like, ‘OMG am I hosting a crazy person?! Before you arrived you told me you have a son staying with you! Who are these people?!’ But sure, those screaming were all just inside my head, and instead, all I could say to her was, Oh. I thought you mentioned of a child?
Turns out they were adopting a child. Whew! Not crazy after all. Apparently they applied to adopt this baby boy when they learned from some relatives that someone left him in the orphanage. The legal process took two years of wait and now that they finally got the approval they flew the whole way from USA to claim their son.
I was so excited for them on the day they were collecting their son. From there, our exchange of messages went on a more personal level. And instead of the usual tourist stuff suggestions, the advice she was looking for was how to care for a toddler who was very unsettled. My 8 years of experience as a mother proved to be very helpful for my guest. Playing at the swimming pool, a walk in the park, watching a funny movie and reading a bedtime story were definitely what the child needed to get distracted from being in a strange place and a way to form a bond with strangers who are now his parents.
In my eight months of hosting I have welcomed plenty of businessmen and holiday makers but this particular couple was the most memorable one for me. Never have I imagined that my summer home would be a venue for an orphan to have a family. That it served as a temporary place for them to bond before moving on to their own home - like a manger to baby Jesus. And for that, I felt a great sense of blessing.
Have a Merry Christmas to everyone and may 2018 be a great year for one and all.
