Sunday, July 13, 2008
Rally shows off midwife, hubby with 12 children
MODERN couples will find it hard to grasp how, or even think it possible, to successfully take care of a brood of 12.
Not the Cabahugs of Barangay Yati, Liloan, Cebu, though, who not only raised a dozen children as good Christians, but also found time to devote themselves to the ministry of the church.
“Ang Diyos nihatag sa among pamilya samtang kami nangalagad Kaniya. Abli gyud mi sa pagbuot sa Ginoo (God has given us our family as we gave our lives to Him. We are open to God’s will),” said Arceles, 48, who graduated college as a midwife.
The couple is active in San Roque Parish’s Love of God Community in Liloan town.
After marrying at 19, Arceles said she was not able to practice her profession and instead willingly became a “maid” to her children.
Beaming before a crowd of teenagers and young people, with most of their children in attendance, Arceles and Dioscoro narrated how a life close to God made their family endure.
The couple spoke at the Basilica del Sto. Niño Pilgrim Center yesterday afternoon to help pro-life advocates emphasize that having many children is not a hindrance to having a fruitful life.
Arceles said they always pray the rosary each night and read the Bible during their once-a-week “family hour,” when they ask each other how God has touched their lives.
As the sole breadwinner, Dioscoro admitted there were times when they ran out of supplies, but there were those who gladly came to their rescue.
“Mangita mi’g paagi. Naa man gyuy maabot, mo-rescue pananglitan ang akong mga igsoon (We look for ways to survive, and somehow help always comes, sometimes from our siblings),” he said.
He works as a service officer of the Philippine National Bank branch in the Mactan Export Processing Zone. He used to be the bank’s operations head until an eye problem compelled a change in his workload and designation.
The couple said they had their children in batches, with the first five offspring born almost every year.
After four years, the next five came spaced at least two years apart.
Divine Mercy, the 11th child, was born when Bethlehem was five. She is four years old, while the youngest, Emmanuelle Angela, is two.
The eldest child, Diosar, is currently an overseas Filipino worker in Qatar.
Arceles said that when Diosar and Maria Dioscel were just children, her gynecologist advised her to start using contraceptives, but she refused.
She said they felt that God has always been with them, and never considered a child that comes as an additional burden.
“Kahinumdum sad ko nga kada panganak nako ato, mo-increase sad iyang sweldo. Gigasahan sad sa Ginoo ba (Every time I was due to give birth, my husband would get a salary increase, a gift from God),” Arceles said.
The couple wanted to just have four children, but willingly accepted when more came.
“Kadaghan dihang gusto manganak, wala manganak. Pasalamat mi, nisalig lang sa Ginoo. Abli lang gyud mi sa Iyang kabubut-on (So many couples want to have children, but aren’t given any. We are thankful and we entrust our lives to God. We accept his will),” Dioscoro said. (RHM)
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