On Friday, Samaritan’s Purse Operation Heal Our Patriots celebrated ten baptisms of wounded veterans and their spouses in the waters of Lake Clark in Alaska.
The couples headed to the retreat in Alaska to heal their marriages, affected by the ravages of wartime service, and restore their relationship with God. The retreat lasts for six days and leads couples in biblical marriage enrichment counseling.
The retreat has been offered since 2012, and has welcomed 1,546 couples in the Samaritan Lodge Alaska. 799 of the participants in the Operation Heal Our Patriots family have been baptized in Lake Clark.
“Each year we get to see God work powerfully in the lives of these couples as they become a part of the Operation Heal Our Patriots family. God has been faithful to restore and transform many lives and marriages devastated by the wounds of war,” Franklin Graham stated on the mission’s website. “I’m grateful that our connection to these men and women doesn’t end in Alaska. Our commitment to them is for life.”
As Graham said, the support extended to military veterans and their spouses doesn’t end when the week-long retreat is over.
Upon arriving back to their day-to-day lives, couples will receive regular contact with chaplains to help them stay strong in their commitment to their marriage and to God.
Couples involved in Operation Heal Our Patriots also are encouraged to participate in their communities by volunteering with Samaritan’s Purse and other ministries like Team Patriot, another initiative of Samaritan’s Purse.
“Team Patriot provides a sense of purpose and community, but more importantly, it gets them involved in serving through the church,” said Edward Graham, a retired Army Ranger and vice president of Operations at Samaritan’s Purse. Edward is the youngest son of Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham.
Edward Graham, a retired Army Ranger, serves alongside Team Patriot members after Hurricane Laura struck Louisiana in 2020. Edward Graham is the youngest son of Franklin Graham and serves as chief operating officer at Samaritan’s Purse. (samaritanspurse.org)
“Imagine how it will impact a homeowner who’s lost everything to see a wounded service member out in their yard helping them get back on their feet. We want these wounded men and women to remember that they are heroes and that God wants to use them.”
Growing closer to God is believed by many to go hand in hand with military veterans healing from the trauma encountered in their military service.
In the United States, military veterans are 20 percent more likely to identify as Chiristans than civilians, according to PewPew.Hq.com.
