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…
Samaritan’s Purse Aviation
To Walk in Their Shoes
Adriana knew she had to leave Venezuela when one of her sons was so weak from going without food that he didn’t have the energy to get out of bed. He was so pale and motionless that she thought he might be dead. Then, he blinked but stared ahead with a glazed expression that sent…
2022 Mid-Year Impact Report
Refugee Mom Tailors New Life in South Sudan
Mary focuses deeply as she makes another attempt at stitching a straight line across a long strip of fabric. This is her third week in a Samaritan’s Purse tailoring class at a local church in the town of Mankien, South Sudan. Each week for five weeks she kisses her children and leaves early in the…
Bringing Medical Care to Sudan’s Displaced Women and Children
Wrapped head to toe in a loose, floral fabric, Amira takes the hospital bucket from beside her cot and steps outside the pediatric ward to do some washing. The ward is one of eight tents that make up the Samaritan’s Purse Emergency Field Hospital, which has been operating since Christmas Day beside the government hospital…
Sight Restored for Hundreds During South Sudan Cataract Campaign
Cataract surgery—a simple enough procedure in Western countries—is nearly impossible to access in South Sudan. When people’s eyes begin to cloud with cataracts, it is typically only a matter of time before they reach complete blindness. To help meet the great needs of this East African nation, Samaritan’s Purse sent a medical team to Tonj,…
Military Couples Start Fresh During Alaska Adventure
Mike Woodard’s muscular frame stands six-foot-four. During his time as a soldier in the U.S. Army, there’s no doubt the enemy should and would have feared him in close quarters. He served bravely in a 2011-12 combat tour to Afghanistan, though it came at great cost. He got blown up three times—once each by a…
‘God Calls Us to Hard Places’
An 8-year-old Kenyan child with spina bifida stands upright and walks for the first time. A man whose name means “deformed” marvels at his reshaped mouth following cleft lip surgery in South Sudan. God’s healing power in the life of a toddler with a congenital heart condition leads to the planting of a church now…
Shoebox Gifts Encourage Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia
Well more than 2 million Venezuelans have left their nation over the past few years, many fleeing to neighboring Colombia. They’re leaving because the situation in Venezuela is bleak—with runaway inflation, increasing crime, and critical shortages of food and medicine. As the economy collapses, families simply can’t afford to eat. Some Venezuelans go back and…