Mike Parsons served as a Marine from 2002-2006 and was first injured in 2003 during an IED blast in Iraq that left shrapnel in his leg, arm, and back. He continues to require surgeries for these physical wounds. But like many Marines and soldiers, airmen and sailors, Mike has struggled hardest with post-traumatic stress disorder…
Discipulado, educación & entrenamiento
Programa Operation Heal Our Patriots motiva soldados heridos y sus parejas
Varalin never anticipated that the impact of her husband’s wartime brain injuries could be so devastating—that expressing any kind of emotion would become nearly impossible for him. “After 13 years of marriage, he still struggles to tell me how he’s feeling,” Varalin said. “He has to choose every day to feign emotion. He doesn’t laugh…
Discipulado, educación & entrenamiento
Jamás abandonados para pelear en soledad
Nearly 500 military couples were encouraged to rely on Jesus Christ, to read and believe God’s Word, and to stay connected with fellow couples at the 2023 Operation Heal Our Patriots Reunion, April 28-30, in Orlando. The annual event kicked off Friday evening with an address from Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham who invited attendees…
Discipulado, educación & entrenamiento
Military Couples Begin New Chapter in Alaska
Terror, violence, and death weren’t supposed to follow him home. Army Staff Sergeant Josh Abbatoye thought he’d left war on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout multiple deployments in a 17-year military career he’d survived eight traumatic brain injuries, five improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and a rocket-propelled grenade that left shrapnel stuck in his…
Discipulado, educación & entrenamiento
Hurting Military Marriages Find Healing in God’s Love
Chad and Ellen Peacock were childhood sweethearts—growing up with close families and annual beach vacations together. The summer that Chad was set to leave for Marine boot camp, he asked Ellen to wait for him, planning to marry her when he returned. The couple wrote 277 letters back and forth while Chad was away and…
Nuestro Ministerio
Operation Heal Our Patriots 2022 Special Report
Hope for the Journey Dear Friend, The wounded veterans who participate in Operation Heal Our Patriots tell us some heartbreaking stories. After multiple combat deployments, many return home with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and other physical and emotional wounds. All of the couples who come to our Samaritan Lodge Alaska are in fragile…
Celebrating God’s Work in Our Military Couples
Army Specialist Shawna Watkins and Army Sergeant Jesse Watkins started dating after serving on combat deployments in Afghanistan. They’d been on the same mission together in 2011 when their convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device, and Shawna was sent flying from atop her vehicle’s gun turret. Next thing she knew she was in…
Discipulado, educación & entrenamiento
Military Spouses Open Up About Trials, Triumphs, and God’s Redeeming Love
Sometimes the call came in the middle of the night, and her husband would be gone by morning. She often had no idea where, for how long, or when she would hear from him again. Courtney Keith began to fear an officer’s knock on her door—the signal that her husband had been killed on military…
Proyecto de Ayuda para Crisis & Desastres
La Biblia y orificios de balas: recordatorios del amor de Dios
Books filled Vasyl’s* home in the Kherson region of Ukraine. His collection included nearly 3,000 titles that he treasured and held dear. Each one told a story and expanded his knowledge of the world. When the Kakhovka Dam broke in early June, however, his library was lost. Floodwaters rose more than four feet up the…
El perdón y estar dispuesto a perdonar
Army Sergeant James Sizemore and his wife, Krystle, were already best friends when they were married 10 years ago. James had already left the Army, but he struggled with post-traumatic stress after deploying during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Krystle encouraged him to seek help, and this allowed James to work on his mental health so the…
