Our Ministry
Newsletter June 2025
Franklin Graham Update | June Franklin Graham Update | June Gospel Hope for the World Dear Friend, Just a few weeks ago, I had the privilege of convening the European Congress on Evangelism with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in Berlin, Germany. We brought over 1,000 church and ministry leaders from 55 countries and territories across Europe to focus on proclamation evangelism. Our…
God at Work in a Grieving Paradise
“This is something that I’ve never experienced in my 55 years of life,” Lenora shared while looking out over the remnants of her coastal neighborhood. Sweat dripped from her brow as she stood under her battered metal roof. It offered little relief from the heat. A somber confetti of pastel-colored fragments were scattered along the…
Operation Christmas Child
Young Artist’s Prayers Answered Through Gifts in a Shoebox
Mariya Snizhko dreamed of becoming an artist even as she grew up in a Christian home in Ukraine. Art was a way for her to express herself and escape the various challenges in her life, which included being bullied at school. Her parents couldn’t afford basic art supplies, so Mariya prayed that God would provide…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Military Couples Celebrate New Beginnings During Week One in Alaska
A hero’s welcome is not what military couples expected when they arrived at Samaritan Lodge Alaska. Yet they stepped off the plane to a crowd of staff, volunteers, chaplains, and local residents waving American flags and waiting to greet them. Army Staff Sergeant Chad Kleist and his wife, Tamara, had known for a while that…
Discipleship, Education & Training
A Marine and His Wife Celebrate a Decade of God’s Grace
Well over a decade ago, Johnny and Shannon Montoya landed in Alaska hoping to save their marriage. In the years after Johnny’s deployments with the Marines, the couple was drifting apart. They felt like strangers living in the same house. But in 2014, they hit rock bottom. Johnny attempted to end his life. “I just…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Operation Heal Our Patriots Starts 12th Summer Season in Alaska
Memorial Day weekend marked the start of the Operation Heal Our Patriots 2023 summer season. Eleven military couples, from eight states and Puerto Rico, arrived on Sunday, May 28, at Samaritan Lodge Alaska where they were greeted by a flag-waving, enthusiastic crowd that included staff, volunteers, and local town residents. The patriots and their spouses…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Team Patriot Gets Wounded Veterans Serving Again
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Brandon Price was performing a routine training session with the Afghan Army when his students suddenly turned on him and ambushed him and his squadron with gunfire. Brandon took two bullets to the chest plate and one to his leg, and as he was being treated by a medic, a remote-powered…
50 Years of Ministry
Caring for Couples Suffering the Wounds of War
In 2012, the United States had only recently passed a tragic milestone in the War on Terror—more than 48,000 members of the U.S. Armed Forces had been wounded in defense of our freedom since the 9/11 attacks. Many of these brave men and women returned home with terrible physical and emotional scars. Samaritan’s Purse President…
Hope, Healing, and Restoration During Week One of Operation Heal Our Patriots
Tammy Unruh didn’t want to come to Alaska. She had no interest in attending Operation Heal Our Patriots to work on her crumbling nine-year marriage to Mike, a retired sergeant who served in the army for 20 years. She didn’t think their relationship could be fixed. Even the thought of going fishing, hiking, or bear…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Military Couples Honor the Fallen as 11th Summer Season Begins at Samaritan Lodge Alaska
Nine military couples from across the country arrived at Samaritan Lodge on Sunday to be greeted by flag-waving staff, volunteers, and town residents under clear blue skies. It was a picture-perfect start to the 17-week summer season. This marks the start of the ministry’s 11th year of seeing wounded veterans and their spouses grow in…
