Navy Corpsman Ben Hebert and his wife, Heidi, nearly called it quits. They trace the source of their troubles back to 2009 when Ben watched helplessly as a fellow Marine was killed in an ambush while on patrol in Afghanistan. That traumatic event changed him. Ben was plagued by sleeplessness at night and a short…
God Works Through Our Ongoing Care to Military Couples
Denise Blanchett said the water was so cold she couldn’t speak. Or perhaps she was speechless for other reasons, such as the overpowering emotions she experienced during such an important moment. For nearly four years she had thought about the opportunity she’d missed to be baptized with her husband, Army Sergeant Scott Blanchett, in the…
Letting Go of Anger and Finding Peace
The first time Marine Lance Corporal PJ Kehs was shot at, he was crossing a street in Fallujah, Iraq–and he fell. Just then, a tracer round zipped over, striking the man behind him. “Why did I fall? I didn’t trip over anything. I literally just went down,” he said. “I should have taken that bullet.”…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Military Couples Celebrate New Life in Christ, Stronger Marriages
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,…
A Veteran Couple Finds Hope for Their Marriage in Alaska
Evan Benton joined the Army in 2010 with lofty expectations and planned to make the military a career. When he reported to boot camp as a teenager, he couldn’t have been more excited. “There aren’t too many places that let an 18-year-old kid shoot automatic weapons and play with explosives,” he said. Evan was deployed…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Military Couples Encouraged, Strengthened in Alaska
Day after day, Army Sergeant Russell Gaskins scrambled to take cover from incoming mortar rounds fired into the camp. They’d come at all hours, and, eventually, he’d had enough. “There were times the mortar rounds came in at night and you got knocked out of bed. I just crawled back into bed,” he said. “I…
Construction Projects
Warming in Koyuk
Warming in Koyuk Samaritan's Purse staff and volunteers built a church in the remote village of Koyuk over the summer of 2023. Explore village and church life in this special place up north in Alaska. God's Country Up north in Alaska, where the forests and the tundra can swallow two states the size of Texas,…
New Hearts in Mongolia
Odgerel is a healthy 3-year-old who likes to run and play on the monkey bars. It’s hard to imagine that two years ago she was fighting for her life. Her mother, Tsatsaa, first noticed something was wrong when she was 8 months old and her skin had a blue discoloration. Odgerel was almost 1 1/2…
Health & Medical Ministries
The Journey to Healing
Maria Nelly can’t remember a time when she didn’t have to summon all her energy just to take a breath. Each beat of the Bolivian girl’s heart was a struggle. With each passing year, the 7-year-old’s health grew worse as she labored to breathe, was constantly tired, and often felt ill. Her family didn’t know…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Restoring Lives from Violence in Tigray
Years of war devastated the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia from 2020-22. Families were shattered and their futures were left uncertain. Samrawit was one of the countless women struggling against the odds to keep themselves and their children alive. It wasn’t always like this. She can remember many years of peace. She and her husband…
