Friends of the Forgotten

Friends of the Forgotten Uniting disabled adults seeking purpose with institutionalized disabled children yearning for love.

Every stage is borrowed time for this mission — here’s why.
10/06/2026

Every stage is borrowed time for this mission — here’s why.

A week in Jamaica. A lifetime of images we’ll carry home.Children’s faces lit up the moment we walked through the door. ...
24/05/2026

A week in Jamaica. A lifetime of images we’ll carry home.

Children’s faces lit up the moment we walked through the door. We got on the floor and met kids where they were — eye to eye, hand to hand, heart to heart. Every door we walked through, the forgotten became seen.

We were also honored to spend time with Father Richard Ho Lung — the renowned Catholic priest, poet, and composer who founded the Missionaries of the Poor. A man whose joyful sacrifice is a calling.

To the Missionaries of the Poor — Brothers who have given their lives to serve the poorest of the poor — thank you for opening every door to us. We are honored to walk alongside you.

To every donor who made this trip possible — thank you. You were in every smile, every embrace, every

23/05/2026

"How could you marry someone like John?"

A brother of the Missionaries of the Poor asked Christine that question in Jamaica — where we'd traveled to serve disabled children and unexpectedly celebrated 23 years of marriage.

The question wasn't rude. It was honest. In most of the developing world, a married disabled adult is almost unheard of. A disabled father, rarer still.

80% of the world's 1.3 billion disabled people live in countries where stigma teaches them they will never be wanted, never marry, never matter. Women with disabilities in fragile states are more likely to be forced into child marriage than chosen in partnership. When disabled people see that others like them rarely marry, the shame turns inward.

Then Mary — a young woman born without forearms or legs — watched our family laugh and serve alongside her. Sister Erin said it plainly: they needed to see a real family.

Watch what happened. 🎥 🎬

To learn more about our mission, visit friendsforgotten.org

22/05/2026

Mary’s mother came for her birthday last year. This year, only a phone call. And Mary is already learning what it feels like to be left behind.

But she isn’t alone. There’s a fourteen-year-old named Bob who holds her like she’s his sister. She isn’t. They made each other family — because they had to.

🎥 Watch their story. ⬇️

To every donor who makes moments like this possible — thank you. Your generosity is the reason we can keep showing up for Mary, Bob, and so many like them.

Two Lives, One TruthMeet Miss Joy and Miss Rose.Miss Joy came as a little girl. Developmentaly disabled, poor, no family...
21/05/2026

Two Lives, One Truth

Meet Miss Joy and Miss Rose.

Miss Joy came as a little girl. Developmentaly disabled, poor, no family able to care for her — she grew up inside these walls. She is a woman now, still here. This is the only home she has ever known.

Miss Rose came late in life. Elderly, developmentally disabled, destitute. No one. The world moved on without her. A door opened.

Two stories. One truth: whether young or old, many poor disabled people have no one.

Last week, Angie Spihlman stepped into their world. She did not pity. She connected. She held their hands. She bent close. She laughed with them. Two women who have spent their lives being cared for got to give care back — sharing joy, presence, themselves.

This is reciprocity. Everyone has gifts to give and receive.

Be part of the mission. Show up. Give. Pray. Help us turn longing into belonging — on both sides.

👉 friendsforgotten.org

Uniting those who want to be needed with those who need to be wanted.

Thank you, Angie. 🤍

(Names changed to protect privacy. )

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ANIKA, AN ARTIST, HAS SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU.We met her in Jamaica at a home for disabled girls and women. She’s in her e...
20/05/2026

ANIKA, AN ARTIST, HAS SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU.

We met her in Jamaica at a home for disabled girls and women. She’s in her early twenties. A rare condition has left clusters of raised, textured growths across her nose, cheeks, and chin — the kind strangers stare at and seldom understand.

But hand Anika a sketchbook, and she speaks.

Through pencil and color, she pours out hopes, fears, and prayers most people would never guess she carries. Faith Foppe sat beside her on the steps for nearly an hour — listening, turning pages, sharing steady company. No flinching. No rushing.

This is why Friends of the Forgotten exists — to walk toward the ones the world walks past, and to turn longing into belonging.

Join us. 👉 friendsforgotten.org

(Her name has been changed here for privacy.)



Look closely.Craig lives with cerebral palsy, and he flew to Jamaica with our team to spend time with the kids at the Mi...
20/05/2026

Look closely.

Craig lives with cerebral palsy, and he flew to Jamaica with our team to spend time with the kids at the Missionaries of the Poor home. He’s a Board member and one of our missionary mentors.

Here’s what most people miss about Craig — he’s not coming to help. He’s coming to be with. He knows what it feels like to be the one people walk past. And he refuses to let these kids feel that.

Watch his hands in this picture. That’s where the whole mission lives. Just a hand reaching out and another reaching back.

She needed to be wanted. He wanted to be needed. Friends of the Forgotten is what happens in between.

Be part of the next mission: friendsforgotten.org

A 90-Year-Old Woman Gave a Better Seminar Than I DidShe was 90, very poor, and impeccably dressed — the dignity of a wom...
19/05/2026

A 90-Year-Old Woman Gave a Better Seminar Than I Did

She was 90, very poor, and impeccably dressed — the dignity of a woman who had nothing and still chose to show up beautifully. After my seminar for the Jamaican caregivers, she made her way to me on her cane, held out a 1,000-dollar Jamaican bill (about $6 USD), and would not let me refuse it.

For her, a sacrifice. For me, a seminar.

The world tells the poor, the elderly, and the disabled that their role is to receive — that they have nothing left to offer. The deepest poverty is being told you are no longer a giver.

Our Lady watched from the corner of the chapel — a fitting witness to a woman who still knew how to give. Her money went to the Missionaries of the Poor. Her lesson came home with me.

To everyone who stands with Friends of the Forgotten — thank you. You give from what you have so the overlooked can be seen and their gifts unlocked. She would understand you perfectly.

www.friendsforgotten.org

18/05/2026

Twelve seconds. One unforgettable smile.

Faith Foppe and Craig Spihlman meeting Kemar — a young man the world overlooked. Hands clasped. Faces lit. Joy moving in both directions.

Craig lives with cerebral palsy. He doesn’t meet Kemar across a divide — he meets him from inside the same story. That’s Friends of the Forgotten: uniting those who long to be needed with those who need to be wanted.

This smile belongs to every donor who made the trip possible. Thank you for standing with us.

Help us send more visits like this one.
🔗 friendsforgotten.org/donate

(Name changed to protect his privacy.)

17/05/2026

🎥 Come with us to Jamaica.

Watch what happens when we show up for the forgotten — the kids, the caregivers, the work most of the world will never see.

To our donors — thank you. You are the reason we can be here.

⬇️ Press play. More to come.

🔗 www.friendsforgotten.org/donate

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Kingston

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