Each year in September we’re reminded why the United States is at war—why so many of our military men and women have been deployed into combat zones over the past 18 years. The world-shifting events of September 11, 2001, launched our nation into a global war on terror that continues to this day. Since 2012,…
Military Couples Find New Life in the Lord Jesus Christ
Over July 4 week we saw God at work in the lives and marriages of many military couples at Samaritan Lodge Alaska as they experienced the hope found only in the Gospel. We praise God that seven couples renewed their vows, seven individuals received Christ as Lord and Savior, and 12 men and women were…
Great Joy in Mexico’s Jungles
Las Tres Huastecas region, along the Gulf Coast in Mexico, is hard to reach and isolated from much of the country. Many residents still speak the native language, Nahuatl, and worship indigenous idols. The few churches that preach the Gospel here are met with disdain and uncertainty. Earlier this year, however, at a small school…
Children in Botswana Learn About God’s Love Through Shoebox Gifts
For children living in Molepolole, Botswana, receiving gifts is rare, so when Anitah attended a church outreach event she wasn’t expecting the wonderful surprise that awaited her. She experienced God’s love when she received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift from a family on the other side of the world. The free gifts in her…
God Uses a Shoebox Gift to Transform a Family in the Philippines
Bryce Pablo received a shoebox gift as a 4-year-old. Three years later, he accepted Jesus Christ and led his family to follow the Lord as well! Bryce Pablo is one of more than 6 million children in the Philippines who have received a gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift. “When I opened my box, I…
It Started with a Shoebox Gift: Children Share Christ with Their Friends in Botswana
Peniel, 11, wants to be a doctor when she’s older so she can help people who are suffering. “I want to help people because I don’t want anyone in the hospital to die like my grandpa did. In the hospital. My father cried forever.” Helping others was not high on Peniel’s priority list a couple…
Pushing Themselves to the Limit—For a Good Cause
Matt and Jessica Cook stood satisfied at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro staring out at a carpet of clouds hovering nearly two miles below them. The father-daughter duo from Cuba, Missouri, had reached Africa’s highest peak—19,341 feet above sea level—after an almost weeklong test of strength and endurance. With a love for Samaritan’s Purse and…
Faith Restored
The two Army medics were ready to quit their marriage and had a hard time remembering why they’d bothered applying to go to Alaska with Samaritan’s Purse. Just a couple weeks before Army Sergeant First Class Jason Smith and Army Specialist Amy Smith were scheduled to leave for Operation Heal Our Patriots, they delivered the…