Operation Heal Our Patriots participants gather in North Carolina for a "family reunion"
Nearly 130 military couples gathered this past weekend, February 28-March 2, for the second annual Operation Heal Our Patriots reunion held at The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove near Asheville, N.C.
Help Bring Healing to Wounded PatriotsThe couples gained more tools to strengthen their marriages, heard the Gospel and received Christian encouragement, and enjoyed connecting with friends old and new.All couples previously had attended marriage retreats in Port Alsworth, Alaska, through Operation Heal Our Patriots, the Samaritan’s Purse project that shares God’s healing love with military couples who have had a spouse wounded or injured in combat or combat-related activities post-9/11. The reunion is part of the project’s ongoing aftercare program.
“Operation Heal Our Patriots is a family. Part of what we’re doing here is having a family reunion,” said Pastor Pat Fleming, aftercare manager. “We live the weekend as a family and just learn how to love each other more and learn how to love Christ deeper.”
Retired Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin spoke on Saturday night and commended the program for its commitment to keep up with couples for the long-term.
Aftercare manager Pat Fleming caught up with many couples during the weekend, including soon-to-be retired Marine Staff Sergeant Walt Townsend and his wife, Rosie, herself a former Marine.
Seeing the Family Again
Claudia Russi and her husband, retired Marine Corporal Esteban Russi, whose pelvis was shattered in an IED blast in Afghanistan in 2009, were glad to reconnect with staff and friends at the reunion.
Retired Marine Corporal Esteban Russi and his wife, Claudia, enjoyed the beautiful surroundings at The Cove. They are expecting their second child.
Retired Army Sergeant First Class Eric Moriarty and his wife, Sara, were also among those who returned for the reunion.
“The reunion means a lot,” Eric said. “We had a really good group of people [in Alaska.]. It’s nice to see them.”
Eric lost his left leg below the knee following a training accident in 2006. After developing an infection during a subsequent deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, the leg had to be amputated. He and Sara heard about Operation Heal Our Patriots from a couple who attended an Alaska retreat in 2012. Eric and Sara were excited to attend a 2013 retreat, and Eric said it helped their marriage by revealing causes of conflicts.
Marriage Transformation
Over the weekend, nine couples rededicated their marriages in a ceremony led by Chaplain Jim Fisher.
Chaplain Jim Fisher prayed with couples as they renewed their marriage vows. Nine couples rededicated their marriages during the weekend
Retired Army Staff Sergeant Doug Cox and his wife, Amiee, were among the couples that renewed their vows. Amiee was a believer before their 2013 Alaska retreat, but Doug received Christ as Savior and was baptized this summer in Port Alsworth.
Retired Army Staff Sergeant Doug Cox and his wife, Amiee, discuss positive changes in their marriage since attending an Operation Heal Our Patriots marriage retreat in Alaska last summer.
The Coxes and their three children are now praying together as a family, with Doug serving as more of the spiritual leader that Amiee had been hoping and praying for years he’d become.
“I am 100 percent committed to God and, through Him, 100 percent committed to you,” Doug told Amiee.
