Sixteen of 20 participants in Week Seven of Operation Heal Our Patriots were baptized last week.
Last week was an amazing week in Port Alsworth, Alaska, as eight military couples rededicated their marriages to God and each other, and 16 of the 20 participants were baptized in Lake Clark. Of the 16 baptized, about half were saved earlier in the week and the other half rededicated their lives to Christ.
“The Spirit of the Lord moved in hearts this week in a mighty way!” Chaplain Steven Keith said.
Platt and Andrea Weinrick were two of 16 Operation Heal Our Patriots participants baptized last week. Each couple has been affected by war injuries sustained after 9/11.
The week of Bible-based marriage enrichment training made a profound impact on couples, including retired Army Sergeant First Class Platt Weinrick and his wife former Army Sergeant Andrea Weinrick. They gave their lives to Christ at 22:10 on July 14 and were baptized three days later with 14 others.
“Ever since we’ve gotten back, I’ve felt reenergized,” Platt said today. “When we were there in Alaska the light bulbs went off several times. … I haven’t smiled this much in years.”
Platt said his relationship to Andrea had been growing apart following his injury in Afghanistan three years ago. When Taliban insurgents attacked Platt’s outpost in Kandahar, he was hit in the face by a grenade and lost his left eye. The shrapnel, a little larger than a dime, also passed through his brain and remains lodged at the back of his skull. In addition to the brain injury and monocular vision, Platt suffers from chronic back, knee, and wrist pain related to the incident.
Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham and his wife Jane greeted Platt and Andrea Weinrick along with all the other patriot couples as they arrived in Port Alsworth.
He was medically retired from both the Army National Guard and his civilian job as a Michigan state police trooper in a short timespan, which was devastating to him.
“I lost both of my dreams as employment within six months,” he said.
The stress and strain in the Weinricks’ lives and marriage began healing while in Alaska as they went through marriage classes and spoke with our retired military chaplains. As they also had time to talk with each other, their defenses came down. They realized they’d been leaving God out of their relationship, and that’s exactly why things had gone wrong.
All 10 couples of Week Seven pose for a group shot in front of the Samaritan Lodge Chapel.
Now Platt and Andrea are excited to find a church for themselves and their three children. Platt said it’s as if they are in the springtime of their relationship again.
“I feel closer to my wife now than I ever have before,” he said.
