God used our Family Care ministry to strengthen the Hoseas' faith and marriage and steer them toward ministry.
Out on patrol in Afghanistan, an IED blast launched his vehicle 27 feet into the air. He lost close friends that day.
“I spent six months in the hospital learning to walk and learning to talk again,” he said.
After the long battle toward recovery from his injuries, he became restless and battled hopelessness.
“I was in a dark place. After joining the Army, I stopped really listening to the Lord,” John said. “Because of everything I did in the Army, I was sure there was no spot for me in Heaven.”
John’s wife Sara was not willing to become part of the statistics for divorce among military families, so she signed them up for Operation Heal Our Patriots.
“I knew that the only way anything would change was if God was involved,” Sara said.
In Alaska, God opened John’s heart. He received the Lord Jesus Christ into his life. The couple also recommitted their marriage to God.
“It was just like a light bulb went on,” John said, looking back. “God welcomed me with open arms and put a new peace in our lives. I still face those memories and emotions, but now I face them with prayer.”
“It was just like a light bulb went on. God welcomed me with open arms and put a new peace in our lives. I still face those memories and emotions, but now I face them with prayer.”
After Alaska, though, is when God used our Family Care program to shift the Hoseas’ trajectory toward ministry. God used a message at our annual reunion to call John and Sara to serve fellow military families.
Manda tu solicitud para Operation Heal Our Patriots
Since that day, the Lord has orchestrated an ongoing connection with our Operation Heal Our Patriots chaplaincy team to prepare and then equip the Hoseas for a new chapter in their lives. In 2019, John became a pastor at a church in Texas working with military and law enforcement families.
“I still call the chaplains,” John said. “They’re my mentors. If I ever have a question about how to do ministry or what to say in a situation, I’ll call the chaplains.”
The work of Operation Heal Our Patriots never ends and only extends as couples reach more couples with the life-transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ.
