Accomplished Navy aviators and commercial airline pilots Tammie Jo Shults and her husband Dean, as well as their son Marshall, encouraged ten military couples at Samaritan Lodge Alaska over July 4 week. Special guests of Franklin Graham and Operation Heal Our Patriots, Tammie Jo and Dean joined wounded veterans and their spouses for excursions and…
Discipleship, Education & Training
“Nerves of Steel” Pilot Tammie Jo Shults Encourages Military Couples over July 4 Week in Alaska
Construction Projects
Building for the Future of Native Alaskan Students
Samaritan’s Purse team members and school leaders dedicated new student housing for Amundsen Educational Center (AEC) in Soldotna, Alaska, on Sept. 30. Participants held a special ceremony and time of prayer asking for God to bless the work and the students who will live there. AEC is expanding its outreach to include high schoolers, in…
Construction Projects
New Building Will Help Church Shine the Light of Jesus in Southwestern Alaska
A vessel crossed the Bering Sea in 1919 and traveled inland along the Yukon River to help start the first native-led church in the newly-established settlement of Mountain Village—a small community in southwestern Alaska. The ship’s name was Hope and it was carrying its namesake—the hope found only in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Over…
Alaska Pilots Are a Lifeline in the Wilderness
A deafening buzz nearly every summer morning fills the air, echoing through the trees and mountains surrounding Port Alsworth, Alaska. There’s a good chance that one or two Samaritan’s Purse planes and pilots are responsible for breaking the wilderness silence. “As a young kid I grew up next to an Air Force base, and I…
Stepping Out in Faith in Alaska
Olga Patterson had already waded out with our chaplains into Lake Clark, shivering and smiling in the waist-deep, glacier-fed waters during a particularly cold season at Samaritan Lodge Alaska. It had only been a few weeks or so since the snow had stopped falling on the surrounding peaks. She probably couldn’t have picked colder water.…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Thanking God for Lives Transformed in Alaska
All he knew was darkness. The horrors of war had followed him home, and Marine Staff Sergeant Tre Tremillo was suffocating beneath layers of despair and anger. Images of death haunted him. His heart ached for fellow Marines still hospitalized with battle-related injuries. He mourned friends who had committed suicide. “I found myself sitting at…
Operation Heal Our Patriots 2020 Begins: Couples Arrive in Alaska
Update (July 15): This is the story of the arrival of Week One patriot couples. For a full story on the first week’s activities, go to the wrap-up article here. — This year’s first group of patriot couples took off from Anchorage around 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, and arrived at Port Alsworth about…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Military Couples Honor the Fallen as 11th Summer Season Begins at Samaritan Lodge Alaska
Nine military couples from across the country arrived at Samaritan Lodge on Sunday to be greeted by flag-waving staff, volunteers, and town residents under clear blue skies. It was a picture-perfect start to the 17-week summer season. This marks the start of the ministry’s 11th year of seeing wounded veterans and their spouses grow in…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Military Couples Start Fresh During Alaska Adventure
Mike Woodard’s muscular frame stands six-foot-four. During his time as a soldier in the U.S. Army, there’s no doubt the enemy should and would have feared him in close quarters. He served bravely in a 2011-12 combat tour to Afghanistan, though it came at great cost. He got blown up three times—once each by a…
Fresh Start in Alaska Based on a Rock-Solid Foundation
Marine Master Sergeant Al Aranda entered a Marine recruiting office as a young man trying to make a better life for himself and to become a good example to the family he might have one day. Now more than 21 years later, after two combat deployments and three years as a Marine Corps drill instructor,…
