As the world continues to grapple amid the COVID-19 crisis, it may seem easy for people to yield to panic and fear. However, for the Anatolin and Crisanta Padilla and their children of the Villasis Ward (congregation), Urdaneta Philippines Stake (diocese), they remained as calm as possible.
One might wonder how a young Latter-day Saint family can remain calm and optimistic amid the crisis? The Padillas credit it to being self-reliant.
Crisanta shared, "The Self-Reliance Services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides us with a range of support. Since 2005, my husband and I have been participating in most of its programs -- be it in education, employment, starting and growing business, and personal finances. The practical courses we took had a lot of spiritual benefits to our family.”
The father, Anatolin, shared that by taking advantage of the free self-reliance program of the Church, they were able to develop confidence to provide for their growing family.
"By applying the skills and principles we have learned in our household, we provide our children with a sturdy foundation in life,” explained Anatolin. “We use our skills and talents as we work with several ESL (English as a Second Language) schools and private companies while homeschooling our children. We are independent contractors and have been working from home for the past 12 years.”
Thriving Amid Pandemic
Like the rest of the Filipinos, the Padilla Family is not immuned from the ill-effects of the pandemic. The Padilla couple revealed that they felt a remarkable decline in their projects in the last seven months.
Nonetheless, they were glad to see how quickly their children have come up with ideas to adapt to changing times. They were surprised by the initiative of their 14-year old daughter, Cerah Hennah, who created her own YouTube channel. She worked on its content with the help of her younger siblings during the lockdown. After four months, she was able to monetized her vlog. Cerah is now working seriously on her channel while collaborating with her family to improve content.
The couple shared that their children’s examples have influenced them so much that they were encouraged to start working on their family Facebook Page, which they were able to monetize a month later.
This experience and the examples of their children have taught Anatolin and Crisanta the need to be resilient and creative. Despite life’s adversities, the couple shared that there were tremendous blessings they received in their 15 years of marriage. They just have to trust and be faithful to the Lord.
"No family is perfect. But doing our best to make our home a bit of heaven and influence those around us is close to it,” Crisanta shared. “We start our day with a regular personal and family prayer and scripture study, followed by a morning devotional where we study the Come, Follow Me: For Individuals and Families manual. Everyone shares his/her thoughts and testimonies and learns practical ways to be responsible. This is done by solving our problems then working on them as a family,” she said.
Managing Time
Despite the many household chores, Crisanta made sure that there is time for everything: Studies, business, family history work, ministering, gardening, family home evening, and "me time." She also shared that the new Children and Youth program of the Church is a helpful resource for their children as each of them learned to set goals to improve all aspects of their lives and progress along the covenant path.
Moreover, these young parents teach their children the value of education by making it a continuous endeavor. Both are now taking certificate courses leading to a degree in Marriage and Family Studies through BYU PathwayConnect.
“I am thrilled to be a part of this pioneering experience this Fall 2020 Semester,” added Crisanta.
The family also participates in the family history work. As a family, they have indexed and reviewed a total of 5,512 records in the FamilySearch website. They also published a three-page family newsletter, "Family Matters," every Monday which they email to their loved ones, such as news of family baptisms and the likes. These newsletters are automatically archived from the Padilla Family history file.
"Maintaining a balance between parenting duties is stressful for today's parents,” admitted Anatolin. “Our lifestyle also changes along with the demand that this pandemic brings. How easy it is for Heavenly Father to just shower us with blessings, more than enough to pay our bills and buy our daily essentials, but we have to prove Him through our faith and hard work. Then He will pour down His blessings upon us.”
Anatolin and Crisanta Padilla have served in various church callings and are currently the In-Area Advisory Couple for the For the Strength of Youth conferences.
“By serving Him and by being true to the covenants, God will always be our family’s source of strength despite the many hardships,” Anatolin testified.
The couple thankful for the atoning sacrifice of the Savior. This knowledge serves as their guiding principle while nurturing their family in love and righteousness.
"As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we tell our children that as members, we are a peculiar people. As covenant children with divine potentials, we can aspire to be someone higher. We have to do what God requires by taking a course that will prepare us to qualify for the kingdom of God. It is difficult, but we believe that teaching our children at a young age is very important. Parenting is very challenging, but the Church and its programs will help us develop ourselves spiritually," shared Crisanta.