Day after day, Army Sergeant Russell Gaskins scrambled to take cover from incoming mortar rounds fired into the camp. They’d come at all hours, and, eventually, he’d had enough. “There were times the mortar rounds came in at night and you got knocked out of bed. I just crawled back into bed,” he said. “I…
Celebramos la obra de Dios entre las parejas de militares
Navy Seaman David Boggs struggled with symptoms of post traumatic stress from his job on minesweeper missions in the Persian Gulf. Even years later he can still recount in detail nerve-wracking nights when their ship was targeted. As he fought against ongoing anxiety from his months at sea, his marriage with his wife, Nicole, became…
Military Couples Mark New Beginnings in Alaska
Mike Parsons served as a Marine from 2002-2006 and was first injured in 2003 during an IED blast in Iraq that left shrapnel in his leg, arm, and back. He continues to require surgeries for these physical wounds. But like many Marines and soldiers, airmen and sailors, Mike has struggled hardest with post-traumatic stress disorder…
Vicepresidente Mike Pence motiva a parejas militares en Alaska
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, joined staff and volunteers at Samaritan Lodge Alaska in ministering to wounded military veterans and their spouses from July 20-23. Invited to Alaska by Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham and his wife, Jane, the Pences were a great encouragement to military couples during Week Seven of the…
Por el desierto
Navy Corpsman Ben Hebert and his wife, Heidi, nearly called it quits. They trace the source of their troubles back to 2009 when Ben watched helplessly as a fellow Marine was killed in an ambush while on patrol in Afghanistan. That traumatic event changed him. Ben was plagued by sleeplessness at night and a short…
Una pareja de veteranos encuentra esperanza para su matrimonio en Alaska
Evan Benton joined the Army in 2010 with lofty expectations and planned to make the military a career. When he reported to boot camp as a teenager, he couldn’t have been more excited. “There aren’t too many places that let an 18-year-old kid shoot automatic weapons and play with explosives,” he said. Evan was deployed…
A New Peace
For a long time, Army Sergeant John Hosea’s only solace was mile after high-speed mile on motorcycle through the Nevada desert. Like many combat veterans, he missed the adrenaline and brotherhood of military service. Hundreds of miles on his Harley also quieted his mind from replaying the tragic events of June 9, 2012. Out on…
God Works Through Our Ongoing Care to Military Couples
Denise Blanchett said the water was so cold she couldn’t speak. Or perhaps she was speechless for other reasons, such as the overpowering emotions she experienced during such an important moment. For nearly four years she had thought about the opportunity she’d missed to be baptized with her husband, Army Sergeant Scott Blanchett, in the…
Military Couples Celebrate New Life in Christ, Stronger Marriages
During their first morning at Samaritan Lodge Alaska, seven patriot couples headed down to the bay to receive kayak training together. Tandem kayaking is a great exercise in communication and teamwork—with the goal, as in marriage, of both partners being on the same page, headed in the same direction. “You want to be one movement,…
Dejó el enojo y encontró paz
The first time Marine Lance Corporal PJ Kehs was shot at, he was crossing a street in Fallujah, Iraq–and he fell. Just then, a tracer round zipped over, striking the man behind him. “Why did I fall? I didn’t trip over anything. I literally just went down,” he said. “I should have taken that bullet.”…