With the rising cost of fuel and the fiery summer heat, we’re actually contemplating (my husband and I) if we’ll push through with our annual tradition of distributing packed foods to the less fortunate this Holy Week.

I realized that, despite the difficulties we have been experiencing these past few months, I still consider our family blessed. And our kids look forward to this tradition, and in fact, they’re quite excited.

So we started brainstorming what to prepare. When we started this in 2020, we gave out sandwiches and water as we drove along to our next church destination for Visita Iglesia. In the following years, we prepared rice meals. There was a year we gave out Chicken adobo with quail eggs, and another year we distributed Corned beef with potatoes over rice.

This year, the family prepared Tofu Sisig inspired by Max’s. To give it a slight twist, Baguio beans were added for extra nutrients and a bit of crunch—while also helping stretch the servings, to be honest.

Each of us has an assigned task, and I’m happy that everyone pulled their weight, and even if it was really draining all my energy, I was very happy to do it. After drying and cutting the tofu into small pieces, I coated them with cornstarch mixed with salt and pepper for added crunch before I fried them. I started frying at 6 pm, and by 11 pm I was just halfway done. Kali came to my rescue and finished the rest past 12 midnight.

Zaki prepped the veggies and helped me with the sauce, so all we needed to do was to cook and assemble everything in the morning. Ohh, I almost forgot, we cooked about 5 kilos of rice. I cannot for the life of me cook rice in one big batch. I’m too nervous for that, so I cooked the rice in 3 batches. Good thing, all of them came out great, sans the tutong. Lol

All in all, we prepared and bought:

12 kgs tofu

2 kgs bell peppper

1.5 kgs white onion

7 bulbs of garlic

2 kgs Baguio beans

1/4 kg siling haba

2 kgs mayonnaise

250 ml of oyster sauce

1/2 bottle liquid seasoning

2 cans reno liver spread

500 grams cornstarch

2 pcs lemon

1 liter of cooking oil

100 pcs biodegradable food container

100 pcs wooden spoons

The total cost came to around ₱4,000, which covered about 104 food packs. A classmate of Kali from Mater Carmeli School also stepped in with a generous donation—three boxes of 500 ml bottled water, or 108 bottles in total. It eased the budget and made the distribution more complete. The donor prefers to remain anonymous, but their kindness brought plenty of smiles that day.

Aside from the homeless, we also gave food to security guards and anyone on the street who would ask for food. But what really warmed our hearts was when we stopped at the Agham and Quezon Avenue intersection. We called a young girl selling Sampaguita while the traffic light was on red to give her food since it was already almost 11 am. When the light turned green, and we started driving, she waved goodbye with a beaming smile on her face. Many folks who received food packs were so thankful and even said may God bless us. Those moments were priceless.

We typically visit 7 churches and do 2 stations per church to finish all 14 stations. However, just to manage our fuel expense, we decided to cut the trip to 6 churches and did not go to Christ the King anymore. Once this war is over and fuel expenses go back to normal, I swear we will return to Christ the King or even go farther for this annual tradition.

What I’m really happy about is the sense of family and bond we experience in this activity. It’s a chance to reflect and make sacrifices we don’t normally make, just so we can at least feel (even the slightest bit) what Christ felt during his journey to redeem us from sins. Walking under the heat and feeling a bit of thirst can’t compare to what Christ went through, but it was enough to keep us grounded.

Every year, I make our own Visita Iglesia Prayer Guide. I try to customize it to what our families require in terms of reflection. If you want to check it out, you may download the PDF here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_VzKQZI7oBpmsumD2-7I4SEOENiYy6K8/view?usp=sharing