Operation Heal Our Patriots provides veterans and their spouses with hope and community.
Here’s what military couples said they were leaving behind last week in Alaska:
- Their anger
- Their doubt
- Their excuses
- Their resentment
- Their negativity
- Their isolation
- Their old self
- Their regrets
- Their pain
- Their anxieties
Operation Heal Our Patriots Week 16 ended with this emotional time around the camp fire pit as ten husbands and ten wives shared—often through tears—what they were shedding from their lives and marriages before departing Samaritan Lodge. This final look back capped their six-day, Biblically based retreat provided by Samaritan’s Purse. After the fireside farewell, they faced forward and prepared to return home with a fresh start.
Around the campfire, couples shared what they’re leaving behind in Alaska.
Remembering, Renewing
Friday, Sept. 12, started with a memorial ceremony led by our chaplains, which provided three couples (James and Kim Baum; Nathan and Andrea Hruska; AJ and Kyna Ambrose) the solemn opportunity to honor fallen comrades by posting name bracelets on the Samaritan Lodge flagpole. Nathan, who served both in the Marines and Air Force, remembered several friends killed in action during his deployments to Iraq. “I’m leaving my brothers…this is a good spot,” he later said, expressing a measure of peace in the wake of the traumatic loss he’d wrestled with for years.
James and Kim Baum (center right) posted a memorial bracelet for fallen Marines at Samaritan Lodge Alaska.
That somber ceremony was quickly followed by a more joyful celebration: seven of the 10 couples renewed their marriage vows. Bryant Felix, a former rescue swimmer in the Navy, and his wife, Victoria, were among them. “I’m leaving here hopeful and happy and grateful,” Victoria said. “[I’m] leaving behind pain and brokenness and anger that I never thought I’d be able to get over.”
The couple shared their struggles with communication, decision-making, parenting young children, separation during deployments, and re-entry into civilian life. Bryant served on the guided missile destroyer U.S.S. Stout during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a deployment that set the record for the longest time at sea by a surface vessel in Navy history (208 days). Turmoil in their marriage afterward stretched their relationship to the limit.
Bryant and Victoria Felix cross the Kijik River, famous for Arctic grayling fishing.
Bryant said that Operation Heal Our Patriots gave them hope for their future together and a sense of community, “knowing that I’m not the first one that’s gone through this and I’m not alone. There is an answer, and that [answer] is God, ultimately.” He also said his time in Alaska with Samaritan’s Purse helped him refocus on his Christian faith. “Getting out of the military, I struggled, because I lost my identity. I didn’t know who I was. But coming here, I’m reminded that I am a son of God, that Christ is who I need to identify with. I really thank you guys for helping me find that again.”
Retired military chaplains lead marriage classes for injured veterans and their spouses in Alaska.
Kofi and Ana Agyeman, both Marine veterans, also renewed their vows, recommitting themselves to God and each other. The couple has five young children at home, including one with major medical issues, and both spouses are working and going to school at the same time. They wanted to attend Operation Heal Our Patriots to seek discernment and a jumpstart for their Christian faith.
Kofi and Ana Agyeman renewed their marriage vows in Alaska.
The couple was blessed by the love and affirmation of our staff and volunteers, with Kofi expressing gratitude for the heroes’ welcome all the veterans received as they landed at Samaritan Lodge six days before. They also look forward to the post-Alaska Family Care aspect of the program, in which Samaritan’s Purse follows up with couples for life to strengthen their faith and marriage. “I’m appreciative that we have a family for the rest of our lives because of this,” Kofi said.
Celebrating Victory
Kofi rededicated his life to Jesus Christ as Lord while in Alaska and also joined seven others who were baptized by our chaplains last Friday in the chilly waters of Lake Clark. Former Marine Jose Rivera, a veteran who served twice in Fallujah, Iraq, joined his wife, Sara, in publicly proclaiming their faith through baptism. “I thought we just needed more time together, but it became much bigger than that,” said Sara, who was following Christ before the retreat but had never been baptized.
Jose continued: “The big highlight was that I accepted Jesus to save me.” After hearing the Gospel presented clearly by one of our chaplains on Spider Island, an excursion on the Jay Hammond boat, Jose received Christ as Lord and Savior on Thursday, Sept. 11. He realized he did not have to be “worthy,” he said, but rather he trusted what God did for him. “It just hit me, it got beautiful,” he said. “Being saved is wonderful!”
Jose and Sara Rivera celebrate their baptisms in Lake Clark.
Edward Graham, COO of Samaritan’s Purse and a former Army Ranger, visited with these couples on Thursday and Friday (Sept. 11-12) in Alaska. After the baptisms, he spoke to the watching crowd of veterans, staff, volunteers, and townspeople. He reiterated the Gospel message, sharing the story of the two thieves crucified next to Jesus—one who received Him and one who rejected Him. He also encouraged couples to find and regularly attend a Bible-believing church near them.
Solider Brian Frater and his wife, Jennifer, were among seven couples who renewed their marriage vows last week.
Edward concluded in prayer: “This (Friday) is my favorite day of every week of Operation Heal Our Patriots, where we get to see victory. There was victory over sin on the cross. Jesus Christ defeated death for us and we can live forever. We thank you for that grace, something that we cannot earn and we do not deserve.
“Lord, I pray these couples go home anew, different—that their friends see something different about them, that their church sees something different about them.”
Edward Graham spoke to the crowd and then prayed following eight baptisms on Friday, Sept. 12.
Sept. 19 marks the end of this season of Operation Heal Our Patriots in Alaska. Over a total of 17 weeks, more than 160 military couples—each with at least one spouse injured in combat or combat-related activity since 9/11—have participated. Their days at Samaritan Lodge are filled with Biblically based marriage training and once-in-a-lifetime wilderness excursions (bear viewing, hiking, fishing). So far this season, more than half of all couples have publicly renewed their marriage vows in Alaska. We praise God for 112 baptisms and 89 salvations as of today.
Nate and Andrea Hruska were grateful for time together in Alaska’s wilderness.
Samaritan’s Purse chaplains provide Family Care to alumni year-round, offering marriage training, discipleship and service opportunities, and continuing encouragement. Our commitment is to follow up with couples for life. Since the project started in 2012, more than 2,000 couples have become part of the Operation Heal Our Patriots family.
“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13b-14, ESV).
Please continue to pray for all the couples of Operation Heal Our Patriots—for their marriages, families, and faith.
From left to right: Mike and Nikki Navarro, Ana and Kori Agyeman, Bryan and Aubre Duhon, Andrea and Nate Hruska, Kim and Jame Baum have a little fun at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska. One of the park's famous bears is in the background.
