Amarzaya assumed she would die young and not live to see her 20th birthday. Her days were filled with exhaustion and pain. She often had sleepless nights as she tried to regulate her struggled breathing. She didn’t feel symptoms of a heart defect in her early years. But by age 16, the Mongolian girl could…
Children's Ministries
Healing in Christ Alone
Victor loved the metal walker that his father, Richard, had crafted for him. It gave the 18-month-old the freedom and mobility that he otherwise wouldn’t have had to explore his thatched roof home and the surroundings of his Ugandan village. Richard had used what was available to piece the walker together, including bottle caps as…
Children's Ministries
Providing Safe Places for Congolese Children
Fidèle’s idleness had worn down his childhood joy. “At home, there is nothing to do—we just sit with nothing, and there is also hunger.” He is now learning to smile again. Several days a week, he leaves home early and walks dusty roads—in the dry season at least—to a little haven on a hill by…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Building Better Health Among South Sudanese Women and Children
Until just recently, sickness was simply a way of life in the many remote villages of Mayendit County, South Sudan. Waterborne illness, poor nutrition, and infections ran rampant among mothers and their children. This was true until women like Nydech, a mother of seven, was invited to join the Maternal, Infant, and Young Children Nutrition…
Discipleship, Education & Training
2021 Marks Ten Years of Ministry to Military Couples
This summer marks the 10th season of Operation Heal Our Patriots, a program started by Samaritan’s Purse in 2012 to strengthen the marriages of America’s heroes. Wounded military veterans and their spouses come to Samaritan Lodge Alaska where they participate in Biblically based marriage enrichment classes and enjoy excursions into the pristine wilderness of Lake…
Discipleship, Education & Training
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…
Discipleship, Education & Training
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…
Discipleship, Education & Training
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…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Marriage Ministry Helps Marine Couple at Perfect Time
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…
Celebrating Freedom in Jesus Christ in Alaska
Wednesday, June 19, 2024. It’s a day that Ruth Szymansky will never forget. A few days prior, Ruth and her husband, Matt, a retired Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant, arrived at Samaritan Lodge Alaska for Week 4 of the Operation Heal Our Patriots summer season. Ruth applied to the program after stumbling across a mention of…
