The first of 17 groups of military couples arrived at Samaritan’s Lodge Alaska this Memorial Day Weekend for a week of life-changing, Biblically based marriage enrichment training.
As we remembered fallen United States service members during Memorial Day weekend, we also welcomed the first group of military couples to Alaska for the Operation Heal Our Patriots 2026 summer season.
Couples arrived Memorial Day weekend for the first week of the Operation Heal Our Patriots summer season at Samaritan Lodge Alaska.
Military service members and their spouses touched down at Samaritan Lodge Alaska on Sunday, May 24, greeted with a flag-waving welcome from chaplains, staff, volunteers, and residents gathered near the gravel airstrip.
Each week for 17 weeks (May 24 through September 18), as many as 10 couples will join us for a time of chaplain-led marriage training. Husbands and wives will participate in Biblically based classes and have opportunities to enjoy God’s creation on wilderness excursions in both Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks—all while building new friendships with fellow military couples.
Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham met the couples as they disembarked from our aircraft.
Please join us in praying for these couples that they will experience the healing found only in a life, marriage, and family transformed by the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Since 2012, more than 2,000 military couples have become a part of the Operation Heal Our Patriots family. We praise God for the 943 individuals who accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior through the program and for more than 1,100 individuals who’ve been baptized by our chaplains in the waters of Lake Clark. Since the start of the program, we have seen more than 1,000 couples dedicate or rededicate their marriages under God’s authority.
Graham welcomed couples during the first week of the 2026 summer season.
This Samaritan’s Purse project extends well after Alaska through our Family Care ministry, which provides ongoing spiritual care, local church connections, and alumni reunions and activities. Family Care is a lifelong commitment of community, support, and Biblical discipleship grounded in the Word of God.
Please pray for the 170 couples expected to head to Samaritan Lodge Alaska over the course of this summer—that the Lord would restore marriages and bring new life in Jesus Christ to hurting souls.
