Samaritan’s Purse launched Operation Heal Our Patriots to minister to military service members wounded after 9/11. Our commitment to these couples starts with a week of Biblically based marriage classes and wilderness excursions in the pristine wilderness surrounding Lake Clark National Park. After they come home from what for many is a life-changing experience, Samaritan’s…
Ministerio para matrimonios ayuda a familia de Marines en el tiempo perfecto
El perdón y estar dispuesto a perdonar
Army Sergeant James Sizemore and his wife, Krystle, were already best friends when they were married 10 years ago. James had already left the Army, but he struggled with post-traumatic stress after deploying during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Krystle encouraged him to seek help, and this allowed James to work on his mental health so the…
Military Couples Start Fresh During Alaska Adventure
Mike Woodard’s muscular frame stands six-foot-four. During his time as a soldier in the U.S. Army, there’s no doubt the enemy should and would have feared him in close quarters. He served bravely in a 2011-12 combat tour to Afghanistan, though it came at great cost. He got blown up three times—once each by a…
Thanking God for Lives Transformed in Alaska
All he knew was darkness. The horrors of war had followed him home, and Marine Staff Sergeant Tre Tremillo was suffocating beneath layers of despair and anger. Images of death haunted him. His heart ached for fellow Marines still hospitalized with battle-related injuries. He mourned friends who had committed suicide. “I found myself sitting at…
Military Spouses Open Up About Trials, Triumphs, and God’s Redeeming Love
Sometimes the call came in the middle of the night, and her husband would be gone by morning. She often had no idea where, for how long, or when she would hear from him again. Courtney Keith began to fear an officer’s knock on her door—the signal that her husband had been killed on military…
Veterans Day 2018: Operation Heal Our Patriots Refreshes Military Couples
When Army Sergeant Larry Kaibetoney and his wife Chani touched down at Samaritan Lodge Alaska this summer, it was the first time either of them had been welcomed by an American flag-waving crowd. “When we landed and there were all these people here who came out to meet us, I felt energized. I felt welcome.…
Pareja militar comienza una nueva vida en Cristo durante un retiro en Alaska
“How is dad?” the children inquired when their mother picked them up from school. Her answer was important, because it determined how the twin boys entered the house. Would they smile and say hello to their dad? Or would they keep their heads down and slip in unnoticed? Debbie Gonzalez tried hard to shield her…
A New Battle: From Fighting Wars to Fighting for Their Families
When the nine wounded military service members and their spouses arrived at Samaritan Lodge Alaska on May 26, they were strangers, but six days later, they left as friends—renewed, refocused, and with new tools to sustain their marriages. After starting their week with a special Memorial Day observance, the couples participated in a kayak lesson…
“Nerves of Steel” Pilot Tammie Jo Shults Encourages Military Couples over July 4 Week in Alaska
Accomplished Navy aviators and commercial airline pilots Tammie Jo Shults and her husband Dean, as well as their son Marshall, encouraged ten military couples at Samaritan Lodge Alaska over July 4 week. Special guests of Franklin Graham and Operation Heal Our Patriots, Tammie Jo and Dean joined wounded veterans and their spouses for excursions and…
Parejas de militares ven sus oraciones contestadas en Alaska
He was shivering so violently he could hardly stand still. The wind had suddenly picked up, the sun was nowhere in sight, and the air was noticeably chillier than it had been all week. Not even the crackling fire on the beach offered much warmth. But it didn’t matter. Army Sergeant First Class David Larson…














