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…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Never Left to Fight Alone
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…
Hope Restored for a Hurting Marriage
Even from his youngest years, Lorenzo Richardson had dreamt of becoming a musician—or at least of joining his high school band in Albany, Georgia. Then two great floods hit his hometown—both times forcing his family to evacuate. “After the 1994 flood, it took us four years to get our home back. When the 1998 flood…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Military Couples See Prayers Answered in Alaska
He was shivering so violently he could hardly stand still. The wind had suddenly picked up, the sun was nowhere in sight, and the air was noticeably chillier than it had been all week. Not even the crackling fire on the beach offered much warmth. But it didn’t matter. Army Sergeant First Class David Larson…
Hope for Wounded Lives and Marriages
As his unit rolled out on regular patrol that day, Army Specialist Marco Fernandez took his position in the mounted gun of a Stryker armored vehicle. They were transporting an officer to another base and then checking out Iraqi villages to look for potential threats. As Marco’s convoy sped past a town on that sunny…
Discipleship, Education & Training
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…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Military Couples Mark New Beginnings in Alaska
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…
A New Battle: From Fighting Wars to Fighting for Their Families
When the nine wounded military service members and their spouses arrived at Samaritan Lodge Alaska on May 26, they were strangers, but six days later, they left as friends—renewed, refocused, and with new tools to sustain their marriages. After starting their week with a special Memorial Day observance, the couples participated in a kayak lesson…
Our Ministry
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…
Discipleship, Education & Training
A Hurting Marriage Begins to Heal from the Wounds of War
He’d been good with a gun since he started hunting at age 8 and was a hard-driving athlete during high school, so for Nick Hine the rigorous life of a Marine Corps scout sniper seemed like a good fit. He wasn’t interested in college just yet, so when he was 18 years old he joined…
