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,…
Alaska Pilots Are a Lifeline in the Wilderness
A deafening buzz nearly every summer morning fills the air, echoing through the trees and mountains surrounding Port Alsworth, Alaska. There’s a good chance that one or two Samaritan’s Purse planes and pilots are responsible for breaking the wilderness silence. “As a young kid I grew up next to an Air Force base, and I…
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
Veteran Couples Find Healing, Help in Christ During Alaska Marriage Training
The summer season of Operation Heal Our Patriots is off to a great start! We’ve already welcomed about 30 couples to Samaritan Lodge Alaska, and we expect to host nearly 160 couples before the season ends. We praise God that we’re already seeing life transformation among these wounded veterans and their spouses. Individuals are coming…
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…
Reconnecting in Alaska
Army Sergeant Omar Cortes served in the military for 15 years and was deployed twice to Iraq. He was medically retired in 2013 due to his combat injuries. After returning home to Puerto Rico, Omar and his wife Heidy started growing apart and desperately needed to reconnect—not only with one another but with God. Omar…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Love Restored, Hearts Made New
Nearly every day for several months of his deployment, Army Sergeant Jake Southern’s unit came under enemy fire or were blasted by a roadside bomb. “It was nonstop, every day. The violence was increasing,” Jake said of the wartime situation in Afghanistan during 2009. Back at home, his wife Susan was raising their baby boy…
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,
More Than They Bargained For
Retired Army Staff Sergeant Ray Davis and his wife Rebecca applied to attend Operation Heal Our Patriots because they wanted to see Alaska: the Last Frontier. It wasn’t until the end of their week at Samaritan Lodge though that they realized just how desperately they had needed the time together. Yes, they expected to reconnect,…
God Used a Fishing Trip in Alaska to Reel in a Veteran Who No Longer Believed
Standing waist-deep in chilly water just downstream from Tanalian Falls, Army Specialist Eric Stacy had hooked a large Arctic grayling, one of the most beautiful freshwater fish in Alaska—”the sailfish of the north” with its sweeping, colorful dorsal fin. He was reeling in this prize catch one moment, and the next was watching that signature…
