The summer season of Operation Heal Our Patriots is off to a great start! We’ve already welcomed about 30 couples to Samaritan Lodge Alaska, and we expect to host nearly 160 couples before the season ends. We praise God that we’re already seeing life transformation among these wounded veterans and their spouses. Individuals are coming…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Veteran Couples Find Healing, Help in Christ During Alaska Marriage Training
Construction Projects
Milestone for Mekoryuk
It’s never been an easy feat to construct a large building on Nunivak Island, Alaska. It still isn’t. That’s why this year’s work on the new Mekoryuk Covenant Church—which will be completed by Samaritan’s Purse volunteers over four months—is such a milestone for the Native Alaskan community. Before planes, the Bering Sea’s shallow and shifting…
Annual High Country Warrior Ride Supports Military Couples
Almost 200 riders on 160 motorcycles rode down backroads and the Blue Ridge Parkway on Saturday, May 20, to support Operation Heal Our Patriots. The group departed from Samaritan’s Purse International Headquarters in Boone, North Carolina, for the roundtrip route to and from Grandfather Mountain. This was the 12th Annual Warrior Ride, an event that…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Celebrating God’s Work Among Military Couples
Navy Seaman David Boggs struggled with symptoms of post traumatic stress from his job on minesweeper missions in the Persian Gulf. Even years later he can still recount in detail nerve-wracking nights when their ship was targeted. As he fought against ongoing anxiety from his months at sea, his marriage with his wife, Nicole, became…
Construction Projects
Celebrating Church Construction in Scammon Bay
A light October snow was falling softly on Scammon Bay, Alaska, as Pastor Jason Stromstad landed with Samaritan’s Purse staff and 400 pieces of fried chicken from Anchorage. Away for several weeks preaching in neighboring villages, Pastor Jason was returning home to a new season—both in weather and in ministry. “In November the real snow…
Faith Restored
The two Army medics were ready to quit their marriage and had a hard time remembering why they’d bothered applying to go to Alaska with Samaritan’s Purse. Just a couple weeks before Army Sergeant First Class Jason Smith and Army Specialist Amy Smith were scheduled to leave for Operation Heal Our Patriots, they delivered the…
Embracing God’s Strength in Weakness
For many years, the Carbullidos’ combat experiences remained a mystery roiling under the surface of their marriage. Air Force Master Sergeant David Carbullido considered it his duty to lock away those moments into a dark corner of his mind. He thought it was an absolute necessity in order to stay engaged in the work at…
Celebrating a Season of Changed Lives
As the year’s last two flights of veterans and spouses lifted off on Friday (Sept. 23), the 11th summer season of Operation Heal Our Patriots in Alaska came to an end, and we thank God for the wonderful, grace-filled testimonies these couples now have to share. Over the course of 17 weeks, 164 couples came…
Strengthening Military Marriages Long After Alaska
Army Sergeant Brian Matters and his wife Rebecca left Alaska last year with hope. The week they spent there through Operation Heal Our Patriots helped lift a dark cloud from their lives. They even recommitted their marriage to God. Despite his years of faith in Jesus Christ, Brian had long struggled with doubt and hopelessness—especially…
Construction Projects
Construction Projects Benefit Rural Alaska
Robert Mobley says it’s difficult to anticipate what you’ll find at the edge of the world, which is where he felt like he landed several summers ago in Kipnuk, Alaska, near the Bering Sea. The beauty, remoteness, and great need were surprising at first, but that’s also what has kept Robert returning to the 49th…
