Our Ministry
Newsletter July 2026
Franklin Graham Update | July "A Whole New Beginning for Us" Dear Friend, I was in Alaska for the first week of Operation Heal Our Patriots, and I can't believe this summer marks our 15th season in America's Last Frontier ministering to military couples. I am grateful for how God has blessed this work, as we now have welcomed…
Operation Christmas Child
Désiré and the Yo-yo
Désiré and the Yo-yo God used a simple light-up yo-yo to remind me of His love. I remember walking every day to school when I was young. Most of the time I went without any lunch because my parents couldn’t afford to feed all of us a lunch. I was one of seven children, and…
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…
Discipleship, Education & Training
“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…
Stepping Out in Faith in Alaska
Olga Patterson had already waded out with our chaplains into Lake Clark, shivering and smiling in the waist-deep, glacier-fed waters during a particularly cold season at Samaritan Lodge Alaska. It had only been a few weeks or so since the snow had stopped falling on the surrounding peaks. She probably couldn’t have picked colder water.…
Operation Christmas Child
Challenges Don’t Hinder Volunteer from Following God’s Call
As a year-round volunteer, Rebecca Parker-Moore leads the efforts of Operation Christmas Child’s area team in Huntington, West Virginia. “An area coordinator overseas all the operations of collecting shoeboxes, shepherding a team, and just being the face of Operation Christmas Child in a community,” Rebecca said. At age 16, Rebecca started packing shoebox gifts simply…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Heroes
Millions of people become shoebox heroes to children in need around the world by prayerfully packing an ordinary box with toys and other fun items to communicate God’s love in a way a boy or girl can understand. But some shoebox heroes go “above and beyond” to ensure that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed through Operation…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Military Couples See Prayers Answered in 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…
Car Auction to Help Military Couples
North Carolina businessman and car collector George Shinn is auctioning off a 700-plus-horsepower Stryker Ford Mustang muscle car, custom painted with the stars and stripes. Shinn, a friend and supporter of Samaritan’s Purse, first announced the July 25-27 car auction during the 2024 Operation Heal Our Patriots reunion in Orlando earlier this year. “This weekend,…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Military Couples Begin New Chapter in Alaska
Terror, violence, and death weren’t supposed to follow him home. Army Staff Sergeant Josh Abbatoye thought he’d left war on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout multiple deployments in a 17-year military career he’d survived eight traumatic brain injuries, five improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and a rocket-propelled grenade that left shrapnel stuck in his…
