Newsletter September 2025
Una pareja de veteranos encuentra esperanza para su matrimonio en Alaska
Evan Benton joined the Army in 2010 with lofty expectations and planned to make the military a career. When he reported to boot camp as a teenager, he couldn’t have been more excited. “There aren’t too many places that let an 18-year-old kid shoot automatic weapons and play with explosives,” he said. Evan was deployed…
Recordando el 9/11, fortaleciendo matrimonios de militares
As the world marks the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Samaritan’s Purse continues to strengthen the marriages of wounded military veterans and spouses who’ve sacrificed so much to defend the freedoms our nation enjoys. The September 11 attacks are what led many to armed service, which included combat deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and…
Refugees Receive Backpacks in Macedonia
Samaritan’s Purse has already distributed more than 1,300 backpacks to women and children at locations along the border between Macedonia and Greece. Distributions are ongoing. Refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern and African countries have recently been pouring into southeastern Europe. Most arrive in Greece by boat from Turkey. They…
Voyage to a Second Life
A small, nine-meter boat approached slowly from the Turkish coast. As it moved closer to Lesbos Island, it seemed to speed up a bit. Orange blobs turned into human forms. Babies could be heard wailing. Mothers too. Suddenly, men were also yelling for help. Thirty, 40, or sometimes as many as 70 people are crammed…
A Tough Journey Fueled by Hope
Humans were made to hope. Even in the worst situations, we have an exceptional capacity to look forward, press on, and believe there are better things ahead. It’s hope for a brighter future that has motivated so many refugees to flee conflict-torn homes in the Middle East for Europe. As the situations in countries such…
An Unsettling Frontier
Bahark had heard the sound of bulldozers before. When she heard that sound in Idomeni camp she knew it meant that she, her husband, and her daughter soon would be moving again. They had been smuggled into Greece on a rubber raft a few months ago and arrived in this northernmost Greek region only days…
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…
New Friendships, Stronger Marriages Built Among Military Couples
Army Sergeant Larry Kaibetoney and his wife Chani touched down on the runway at Samaritan Lodge Alaska to a hero’s welcome—with a crowd, young and old, cheering and waving American flags. They might have expected such a welcome after Larry’s injury in Iraq more than a decade ago, but those hopes had never before materialized.…
“My Life Has Been Changed”
Army Sergeant Marco Solt expected to find improvised explosive devices (IED) during their route clearance mission in Iraq. That was his job as a combat engineer. They’d find the bombs and neutralize them. But this bomb found their vehicle first. In the confusing seconds after the explosion, he thought he’d lost his teeth. However, it…












