Five people came to faith in Christ, six were baptized, and four couples rededicated their marriages during the second week of the Operation Heal Our Patriots summer season
The second week of June marked three important spiritual milestones for retired Army Staff Sergeant Scott Schulte. He received Christ as Lord and Savior, and was baptized in Lake Clark, and also committed his marriage to God and His Word in a public ceremony.
“It was special for me because I was able to get away and reconnect with my wife and learn about our Lord and be baptized,” Scott said.
Scott shared his testimony of salvation with staff and fellow participants. His wife Yvonne was already a believer before coming to the training in Alaska. Chaplain Jim Fisher described the Schultes’ week this way: “It was a week of restored hope and healing for their souls and marriage.”
Scott and his wife, Yvonne, who have been married 15-plus years, were among 10 couples that traveled last week to Port Alsworth, Alaska, for a week of biblically-based marriage enrichment training through Operation Heal Our Patriots. The Samaritan’s Purse program is designed for married military couples with at least one spouse injured in combat after 9/11.
“We felt like we were starting life fresh from the very beginning,” Scott said of the couple’s marriage rededication along the shores of Lake Clark’s Hardenberg Bay. He added that he felt he really “grew” with his wife, something that had not happened in a long time.
Before coming to Alaska, Scott said he felt stressed and burdened, with “the weight of the world on my shoulders.” He was still reeling from his fourth combat deployment when an improvised explosive device rocked his vehicle in Afghanistan. That January 2011 incident left him with a traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, plus knee and facial injuries.
While he will still have to battle physical pain, Scott began to find healing for his invisible wounds. After trusting Christ to save him, he now has a reconciled relationship to his Creator.
“I was able to get rid of all my demons, my stress, my guilt,” he said. “I was reborn at 48 years old with no worries.”
Four couples committed their marriages to Christ in a public ceremony along the beautiful shores of Lake Clark. The four couples were (left to right): Scott and Yvonne Schulte of Beaufort, Missouri; retired Army Master Sergeant Kevin and Rosalyn Hubbard of Ellenwood, Georgia; retired Marine Sergeant Michael and Mina Touraille of Lewiston, Idaho; and retired Marine Staff Sergeant Louie and Esmeralda Ruiz of Oceanside, California.
Retired Army Staff Sergeant Shane Zavodny and his wife Christal of Raytown, Missouri, both rededicated their lives to Christ and were baptized. Shane was injured while serving in Afghanistan.
Ann Brown received Christ as Lord and Savior last week and was baptized. Her husband, Sam, a retired Army staff sergeant, rededicated his life to the Lord and was also baptized. Sam served multiple times in Iraq and had one deployment to Afghanistan, suffering numerous injuries throughout his combat tours. He continues to struggle with serious health problems. The couple hails from Lenexa, Kansas.
