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,…
Operation Heal Our Patriots Strengthens Couples Over the Long Term
Aimmie Jenkins was surprised in Louisiana to see her war-injured husband, former Army Staff Sergeant Andrew Jenkins, mudding out homes; cutting up and carrying trees; and tarping damaged roofs. After more than a decade of watching him painfully and slowly recover from injuries he sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan, she was suddenly watching the man…
Our Ministry
Operation Heal Our Patriots
Give Their Marriage a Fighting Chance God is transforming the lives and marriages of military service members through Operation Heal Our Patriots. Tripp and Katie Butusov came to Alaska burdened by the weight of war and bitterness. He’d seen a dozen combat deployments with the Army. She was a “foul-mouthed” Marine who thought God had…
Operation Heal Our Patriots 2020 Begins: Couples Arrive in Alaska
Update (July 15): This is the story of the arrival of Week One patriot couples. For a full story on the first week’s activities, go to the wrap-up article here. — This year’s first group of patriot couples took off from Anchorage around 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, and arrived at Port Alsworth about…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Helping to Save Lives in Sudan
Each morning, long before daybreak, Nadia* would travel to the local market to sell tea and coffee to bleary-eyed residents just waking up in her town in southern Sudan. She had to rise quite early so she could finish her business before her school started. Though she’s now a mother of three, she was hungry…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Packers Photos
Shoebox Packers These photographs are available for news media outlet use in coverage of Samaritan's Purse-related stories. If your news outlet uses a photograph, please credit: “Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse.” These photographs are not for commercial use. Details ⋮ United StatesIncluding a letter in your shoebox gift will delight the heart of the child who…
Construction Projects
New School, New Start
Boys and girls swarm over playground equipment—swinging, sliding, and climbing in the fresh air before heading inside for lessons chock full of new materials. Relishing in open spaces, new walls, and innovative ways in which to learn, these Cambodian children thank Samaritan’s Purse for providing them with a new, much improved school. Opened this past…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Traveling Toward Peace
Ibraheem Alsaad didn’t want to leave his home in Syria. He and his wife, Nisreen, were teachers at the local primary school. But when ISIS surrounded their town, the school closed, and they lost their jobs. They suffered for eight months as ISIS cut off their access to electricity and then to food. Finally, their home…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Warm Winter Clothing Distributed to Vulnerable Families in Armenia
For decades Armenia and Azerbaijan have battled over a portion of land known as Nagorno-Karabakh. In September, the conflict erupted again, and the two nations broke into a violent war. The pocket of land, which is located within the borders of Azerbaijan, was home to ethnic Armenians. The war prompted people to flee—causing them to…
Health & Medical Ministries
A Bond of Brothers
It was a parent’s worst nightmare. Tatiana and Beymar had three boys with congenital heart defects and spent years on edge, worried that their sons’ lives could be cut short at any moment. The hole in Edriel’s heart was discovered during a medical screening when he was just 2 years old. They were alarmed, of…
