OPERATION RESTORED WARRIOR

The story of Operation Restored Warrior began on the side of a mountain in Colorado in 2003, when a retired U.S. Air Force medic, Paul Lavelle, invited Jesus into his life. Snowbound after dropping off a friend at Wild at Heart men’s conference, Paul found himself sitting in on sessions, and a short while later, on the side of a mountain, he invited Jesus into his life.

Like his military experience, Paul’s personal story uniquely prepared him for his work with Operation Restored Warrior. About a year later, Paul began a 4-year stint working for bestselling author John Eldredge and the Ransomed Heart Ministry Team. During this time he developed a deep desire to see healing and freedom come to his fellow military warriors.  Soon, Paul began to sense the Holy Spirit’s leading to work with our military veterans, and especially to help them overcome the destructive effects of PTSD and other combat-related struggles and restore veterans to their original purpose as warriors.

In 2008, Paul founded ORW with the assistance and dedication of fellow military veterans from each of the services. Today, thousands of our nation’s warriors and their families have experienced Jesus’ healing as a result of ORW’s work.

Paul launched ORW, with a specific call to fulfill the promises of Isaiah 61 among God’s veteran warriors:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor…”

As a veteran, you understand the weight that the men and women of our Armed Forces have carried upon their shoulders to secure and sustain the freedoms we cherish as a nation.
Today, the VA indicates that lifetime PTSD prevalence rates are 3.6% and 9.7% respectively among American men and women (1). In addition to the psychological impact, we also understand physically wounded warriors face steep roads to recovery. The result is alarming rates of suicide and an untold number of veteran warriors suffering in the shadows, along with their families and friends who struggle to help them.

The battles are real and the life wounds often deep. While elusive, the clear path to restoration can now be found in the process, programs and resources of Operation Restored Warrior.

In excerpts from this CBN news story on ORW, listen to how founder Paul Lavelle began ORW, its purpose, and why it is effective with veteran warriors