Pastor Jerry watched as Marites destroyed her life, and the lives of several others. He tried reaching out to them with the Gospel and inviting them to his church in a place known as the Forgotten Community in the Philippines. 
 
Marites watched Pastor Jerry too, and the small group of Christians that he led. She refused to “obey the Gospel” and declined every invitation to go to church. 
 
Pastor Jerry’s church was meeting in a house and slowly reaching people. All the while, Marites business was growing.  
 
What seemed like a terrible thing happened. Marites bought the house that the church was renting. Within no time, the church was without a home, as most of the houses in the Forgotten community are no more than small shacks. As Pastor Jerry struggled to understand why this happened, he pressed on. 
 
Marites quickly made the house that was formerly a church into her place of business. Her house became a drug den where her and her husband sold crystal meth to her addicted customers. 
 
Pastor Jerry and the church prayed for Marites to stop selling drugs and for the drug den to be closed. It saddened them to see a place where God was once worshipped become a place of destruction. 

One day, when Marites and her husband least expected it, the police came and raided her home. Her husband was imprisoned. The drug business was over for Marites unless she too wanted to go to jail. 
 
As a mother of six children, going to prison was something she’d like to avoid. So, she stopped selling drugs and started selling snacks. As a result, her income drastically decreased, and she was forced to sell the home. 
 
Marites life continued to fall apart. Her husband escaped from prison. Much to her dismay, he never showed up at home and she has no idea where he is. She has not seen or heard from him in five years. 
 
She had to scatter three of her older children with relatives in various far-off places. 
 
Then came the pandemic. The lockdowns dragged her snack business down. Her and her children were hungry. Pastor Jerry and his small church began to distribute food to the Forgotten Community provided by His Feet International since the onset of the pandemic. 
 
Marites and her children were sustained through two-years of lockdowns and a large part of that is because of you, our donors. Still, she refused the Gospel and never stepped foot in the church. Eventually the church was blessed with a new lot and bigger building right above Marites drug den. 

Finally, one day about three months ago, the seeds planted in Marites came to fruition. She went to church and gave her life to Jesus. 

 Marites full of God's joy, she finally found peace! 

Your faithful gifts to His Feet International have helped Pastor Jerry shine the light so bright in one of the darkest times and places. As a result, more than a hundred people have come to know Jesus and hundreds more have heard the good news and seen God’s kindness.  
 
Please pray for Marites to continue in the faith, pray for Pastor Jerry and the church. Pray that the entire Forgotten Community is reached with the Gospel. Thousands of people live there. 
 
We need your help to keep ministering to the Forgotten Community and all the other ministries that His Feet International does. Will you become a monthly partner? Any sized monthly commitment is appreciated and impactful.