Kasalukuyang nasa Los Angeles ang actress/beauty queen/TV host na si Ruffa Gutierrez-Bektas kasama ang kanyang asawang si Yilmaz Bektas at ang mga anak nilang sina Venice at Lorin. Plano ng mag-asawa na pumunta sa Las Vegas at dalhin ang kanilang mga anak sa Disneyland.
Bago umalis si Ruffa last Monday, April 2, ay nag-shoot muna siya for the station ID ng ABS-CBN. Bale idinagdag lang ang eksena ni Ruffa dahil ongoing na ang nasabing station ID kung saan sumasayaw ang mga Kapamilya talents.
Noong Sunday, April 1, sa The Buzz—kung saan pansamantalang pinalitan ni Ruffa ang malapit nang manganak na si Kris Aquino—ay naikuwento ni Ruffa sa PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) ang mga nakagawian ng kanyang pamilya tuwing Holy Week.
"Kahit wala na ako madalas sa Pilipinas, I still value the tradition of Holy Week, na kailangan maging solemn tayo, walang party-party, walang labas-labas. I believe this week is really a time for prayer, time for being alone, and just reflecting about all the bad things you've done and try to make them better," kuwento ni Ruffa.
"So I think, this is the right time for me to read all the books that my Christians friends had given me—you know, on being a good wife, being a good mom, being a good person. Pag Good Friday and Black Saturday, it's really a time for prayer."
Iba naman ang ginagawa ni Ruffa kapag nasa Turkey siya tuwing Holy Week dahil bigla siyang nagsi-switch sa kanyang pagka-Muslim, being a wife of a Turkish fellow.
"Doon naman, nagbabasa ako ng Koran [Holy Bible of Muslims]," sabi ni Ruffa. "Nababasa ko kasi it's in English. So we have an English version of the Koran and I read books about Islam as well."
Dagdag pa niya, "You know, it's better to be well-informed, e. Mas mabuti na marami kang alam tungkol sa nangyayari sa mundo at sa iba't ibang religions kesa maging ignorant ka."
"Sa Istanbul, hindi nila ginagawang holiday ang Lenten season, at sa katunayan, it's a working holiday sa kanila. Kami, women from the international community, we make it a point na we get together to celebrate it in our own little way."
It is the obligation of a Muslim to join the pilgrimage to Makkah (Muslim's holy land) in Saudi Arabia. And Ruffa is very excited to fullfil this religious obligation.
Aniya, "I do! Pero you know, hindi madali. If God really wants you to go to Mecca, He'll make a way. Kami ni Yilmaz, we are supposed to go two months ago, but not to the Hajj.
Patuloy niya, "Kasi when you go the Hajj, that means you're ready to change your life and just live your life for God. So kailangan nakatakip ka na. It's really your new way of life. So there is what you call a mini-Hajj ,when you just go there for Umra. You know, you go there, you learn about the country, you learn about their ways and their traditions. So that's where we gonna go, to the mini-Hajj.
"At alam mo, the money you're gonna spend in going there has to be money well-spent. Hindi puwedeng perang ninakaw, it must be clean money," aniya pa bilang pangwakas.