Drug addiction can be destructive and even deadly. Kat Corpus is a Christian in the Philippines who was married to a man named Tok, a recovering drug addict. She had been married to him a few years when she was met by some Christians and studied the Bible.

Her husband had been using drugs since he was a teenager and struggled with his dependence on drugs throughout their marriage up to that time. There were times when he would disappear for months with no word from him, because he would completely forget about his wife and family. His addiction had such a strong hold on him that he would often lose all reason and be controlled by his unpredictable cravings to do whatever it took to get his drugs.

During his times of wrestling with his addiction, Kat would show unceasing patience and love for her husband, always believing in him and always praying for him to change. As the years went by, God blessed them with two wonderful children, a son who is now sixteen-years-old and a daughter, 10-years-old. When her husband would vanish for weeks and months at a time, Kat would pull her two children together and pray for him to return safely. One time, Kat had asked her husband to buy a birthday cake for her son only to be left to celebrate her son’s birthday alone with no word from Tok for two weeks. Needless to say, Kat struggled with the decision of whether to stay married to her husband or not during her darkest moments.

Their marriage, with its heartaches and obstacles, put Kat into despair and hopelessness for many days and weeks when her husband would be gone. In an effort to change, Tok went into rehab and joined chemical recovery groups several times but each time ended with failure and deceit. He would make decisions to change but nothing seemed to be working for him. During his last stay at a rehab center, Kat fasted during the whole time that he was there. She also asked one of the Christians to visit him and share God’s word with him. After years of persevering in her faith, he was baptized after that time.

It has been 11 years now since Tok made Jesus Lord of his life. Today, Tok and Kat are helping to lead the AMS region as non full-time leaders. Tok has never gone back to his life of drugs since he has become a Christian and remains faithful to his wife and family. With great effort, Tok continues to fight against addiction, but, this time, it is not his own but that of so many others in the Philippines. He and his wife have started a Chemical rehab center in Manila which has been helping many others to change and to overcome.

The greatest victory has been the baptism of their son this past year. Instead of bitterness and resentment, there is victory through the love of Jesus. To God be all the glory.

If you have stories of courage and encouragement to share, please send them to us at nadine.templer@dtoday.net, meghna.thomas@dtoday.net, or elvi.levang@dtoday.net.