Retired Army Sergeant First Class Ronnie Busbin and his wife Beth of Cunningham, Tennessee, participated in the first week of the Operation Heal Patriots summer season in Alaska this year. Ronnie deployed to Iraq in 2004 and Afghanistan in 2006 and 2011-12. He suffers from multiple traumatic brain injuries received while performing his duties as…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Waterside Conversion Leads to Lake Clark Baptism
As Trish Dawson felt Lake Clark’s frigid waters wash over her, she almost forgot the shocking cold in an adrenaline rush of happiness. “I was just so happy—overwhelmed,” Trish shared, eyes shining at the memory of her baptism. Just moments before, on the beach at Samaritan Lodge Alaska, Trish had prayed with her husband and…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Alaska Fridays Are a Celebration!
Each week at Samaritan Lodge Alaska, Fridays are a day of celebration. Operation Heal Our Patriots staff and volunteers thank God as they watch baptisms, hear military couples renew their vows, and listen to testimonies of saving grace during a fireside farewell. Of course, the rest of the week is pretty special too. There’s a…
God Is Transforming Lives and Healing Marriages through Operation Heal Our Patriots
Retired Army Staff Sergeant John Hosea and his wife Sara know that every day and every breath are gifts from God. On June 9, 2012, John’s armored vehicle ran over a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. The resulting blast blew the truck 27 feet in the air, killing the driver instantly. John was severely wounded. That…
Media
Fact Sheet: Operation Heal Our Patriot
Operation Heal Our Patriots What Operation Heal Our Patriots is a project of Samaritan's Purse designed to strengthen the marriages of wounded and injured members of the U.S. military. The project includes a weeklong wilderness retreat at Samaritan Lodge Alaska, which provides physical and spiritual renewal to wounded veterans, active-duty service members and their spouses.…
Discipleship, Education & Training
The 2019 Operation Heal Our Patriots Summer Season Started Memorial Day Weekend
Sunday afternoon nine U.S. military couples arrived at Samaritan Lodge Alaska to be greeted on the local gravel runway by a long line of excited townspeople and staff waving American flags. One participant, Army Specialist Sean Goetz of Cedar City, Utah, said of the experience, “It’s just overwhelming—the patriotism. I’m speechless. I’m just privileged to…
Children's Ministries
God’s Provision Leads Mother to Christ
There’s no experience more heart-wrenching than seeing the health of your child decline, said Yudith, a Bolivian mother. Her daughter, Nihan, was diagnosed shortly after birth with a hole in her heart. But instead of closing on its own as sometimes happens, the hole got bigger, and she had a heart murmur. By the time…
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…
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…
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,…
