For five minutes, Janet Thomason sought shelter in a broom closet as an EF4 tornado passed through her neighborhood. The 190 mile-per-hour winds devastated her community—destroying six of the seven homes on her street. Janet and a friend had immediately gone into a closet as the sirens began to sound. Then they heard the wind…
Our Ministry
Samaritan’s Purse Christmas Concert 2019
Samaritan's Purse Christmas Concert 2019 Sold Out Christmas in Blowing Rock | Tickets: $20 Saturday, Dec. 14, 4pm & 7pm Samaritan's Purse Training Center, Blowing Rock,
Discipleship, Education & Training
Remembering 9/11, Strengthening Military Marriages
As the world marks the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Samaritan’s Purse continues to strengthen the marriages of wounded military veterans and spouses who’ve sacrificed so much to defend the freedoms our nation enjoys. The September 11 attacks are what led many to armed service, which included combat deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Thanking God for Military Couples Saved in Alaska
On the eve of the 17th anniversary of 9/11, ten U.S. military couples gathered by the glacial waters of Lake Clark to spend a restorative week (Sept. 2-8) in the Alaskan bush for the penultimate session of Operation Heal Our Patriots 2018. And much like the nearly 140 couples that had already come to Samaritan…
Celebrating God’s Work in Our Military Couples
Army Specialist Shawna Watkins and Army Sergeant Jesse Watkins started dating after serving on combat deployments in Afghanistan. They’d been on the same mission together in 2011 when their convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device, and Shawna was sent flying from atop her vehicle’s gun turret. Next thing she knew she was in…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Couples Celebrate the Fourth of July at Samaritan Lodge Alaska
Franklin and Jane Graham welcomed ten military couples to Samaritan Lodge Alaska over the Fourth of July weekend, marking the sixth week of this year’s Operation Heal Our Patriots summer season. “July Fourth is when we celebrate freedom, and freedom is something that you have to defend, because there’s always people who want to take…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Former Vice President Mike Pence Encourages Military Couples in Alaska
Former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, joined Franklin and Jane Graham to support wounded veterans and their spouses at Samaritan Lodge Alaska this past week. “To be some small part of simply saying thank you, thanking them for their service, but also encouraging them to grow in their faith, to strengthen their…
Our Ministry
Warrior Ride
11th Annual High Country Warrior Ride Saturday, May 21, 2022 – Rain or Shine! Register Now Come show your support of Operation Heal Our Patriots with a scenic ride along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Escorted by local law enforcement and the Boone chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association, the 80-mile ride is a privately organized fundraiser to send…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Military Couples Strengthened by God in Faith and Marriage
Corporal Derrick Sharpe said he joined the U.S. Marine Corps because he wanted to “be the best of the best, be the first to fight.” “I don’t have a very good, happy kumbaya story. I grew up really poor and all I knew how to do was fight and take a beating, so I joined…
Hope for Wounded Lives and Marriages
As his unit rolled out on regular patrol that day, Army Specialist Marco Fernandez took his position in the mounted gun of a Stryker armored vehicle. They were transporting an officer to another base and then checking out Iraqi villages to look for potential threats. As Marco’s convoy sped past a town on that sunny…
