Welcome to Freedom House!
Freedom House Mission Bible Training Center, a branch of Mission Teens, Inc. is a non-profit, non-denominational organization with a Christ-centered, discipleship program for people who are 18 years or older, who suffer from drug, alcohol or emotional problems.
Freedom House MBTC does not receive any government or denominational funding. We are totally dependent on God to move upon the hearts of people to supply our needs. If you feel led to donate to this ministry, please hit the button below.
If you or someone you know is wanting to change their life and get into the center call 573-371-2020 and ask to speak to the overseer.
CODY AIRHART
My name is Weston Moon. I’m 30 years old and I’m from Trumann, Arkansas. My mom and dad were great parents, but their marriage got taken over by Satan, drugs and lies and they got divorced when I was just 6 years old. I started playing sports when I was 5 years old and that seemed to keep me busy and out of trouble for a long time. Not knowing at the time that these years would be the best years of my life and not seeing that the road up ahead was paved with...
AUGUST 2017- Weston Moon
My name is Bradley D. Boyer. I am 48 years old and was born in St. Louis, MO where I stayed until I was 5 years old and we moved to Bakersfield, CA. I pray that the Lord gets the glory in this testimony and that it reaches and touches the person it is intended to. When my family moved to California, it was all a crazy lifestyle. My father let me drink and smoke pot with him. One day I mentioned that to his boss and I began to get beat by my father. My dad also beat my mother and...
MAY 2021- Brad Boyer
My name is Jerrel Gillentine and I was born in 1978. When I was born, my father started seeking after God and made sure that I was going to church. I received Jesus into my heart when I was 7 years old. I now know that even though I was making bad choices, He was with me and He was protecting me. My dad owned a body shop, so, as early as second grade I can remember going there after school to sweep the floors and clean up. Then I would go home to do my chores there. I have 10 siblings....
DECEMBER 2015- Jerrel Gillentine
My name is Terry Lynn Jackson. I am 48 years old and was born on a farm in a small town in Illinois. I was the youngest of 8 siblings, so I always got hand me downs and never had anything of my own that was new, so when I was only 5 years old, I started stealing candy from the store. This behavior grew and by the time I was 14, I was a full- blown alcoholic and breaking into homes. I got in so much trouble by the time I was 17, I got arrested and sent to prison for 4 years. In...
JUNE 2018- Terry Lynn Jackson
My name is Joseph Owens. I’m 27 years old. I was a drug addict most of my life. I was born in Paragould, Arkansas. I can remember times before I tried meth, but I never remember a time when it wasn’t in my life. My parents were both addicts and dealers. In the 2nd grade I woke up early one morning and decided to try coffee, but I didn’t know it had been made with filters from cooking dope. My dad decided to keep me home from school that day. I have always thought drugs...
JULY 2016- Joseph Owens
My name is Danny Washburn. I am 50 years old and was born in Joplin, Missouri. I had what I felt like was a pretty good childhood besides the fact that up until I was 12 years old, I saw my dad get drunk and beat up my mom. I have 2 older brothers and they beat up on me like brothers do. When I was very young, I learned to play pool which opened the door to a lifestyle of gambling, even if I was only playing with lunch money. When I turned 18, I joined the Navy. This really opened...
JULY 2023- Danny Washburn
My name is Kayla Kristin Binns. I am 32 years old. I was raised in Jonesboro, Arkansas in a Christian household. My parents loved me unconditionally and took very good care of me. My parents knew that keeping me involved in activities would keep me out of trouble, so I was very active in softball, clogging and church. My younger brother and I are best friends. We were totally inseparable when we were growing up and we both ended up taking a wrong...
DECEMBER 2017- Kayla Binns
My name is Jamie Black. I’m 38 years old. I grew up in a small town, Russellville, Alabama. I had a good life with a very loving mother that was always there for me and worked really hard to provide for me. When I was 4 years old, my father took his own life as a result of drug use, so I never really had a dad in my life. My mother has 3 brothers and they were the ones who really raised me to be a man. Like I said I had a good life, always played sports in school but never...
OCTOBER 2020- Jamie Black
Hello I am Kimberly Townsend (Kimmy). I am 54 years old and was born in St. Louis, Missouri. I am a proud mom of 2 very special men, Mathew Alan Trudell age 36 years old and his oldest brother(who is now with the Lord) Mack Andrew Trudell Jr.(1985-2004). Alcoholism and addiction have been a big part of my life since birth. My parents were both alcoholics and although I was never physically abused by either of them, my childhood consisted of watching them constantly verbally and physically...
APRIL 2023- Kimmie Towsend
my name is Felisha Thompson. I am 34 years old and from Lagrange, Georgia. I am the youngest of four kids and
had to grow up quickly. My dad was in prison for drugs, so my mom was a single parent, and my brother helped to
raise us. I started smoking weed at twelve years old and I was using meth by time I was sixteen. I have battled with
addiction most of my life, which led to me going to prison when I was 29 for meth. I was released and two days later
went right back to that...
FELISHA THOMPSON- September 2025
My name is Whitney Burnette. I am 29 years old from Wynne,...
JANUARY 2022- Whitney Burnette
My name is Casey Barker. I’m 45 years old from Jonesboro, Arkansas. I am an only child that grew up in a home where my parents loved me and provided for me. I went to church, I was active in school, sports, fishing and hunting, and I worked with my dad. My dad is a good man, but at times he would speak harshly to me and it affected my self esteem negatively. At the age of 12 my best friend was killed in an accident. I began trying to numb my pain with alcohol, sex, and drugs. I tried...
OCTOBER 2018- Casey Barker
Hi, my name is Nathan Dell. I am 26 years old and I am no longer a methamphetamine addict! I spent the last 4 to 6 years of my life using drugs and hanging out with the wrong groups of people. During that time, I turned away from Jesus and lost sight of who I was. I found myself alone and broken; for the first time in my life, I was afraid that I may not make it to see tomorrow. I realized that I needed help because I no longer even knew who I was. I found freedom in ...
SEPTEMBER 2017- Nathan Dell
Hi, I’m Shane Schiller. I was born in 1975, and I am from Missouri. When I was born, my dad left. This was the source
of a lot of pain in my life. I turned to drugs and alcohol at an early age to numb the pain I felt. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
I wasn’t sober or vigilant for many years. I have been on psych meds for as long as I can remember. I developed a
SHANE SCHILLER- February 2025
My name is Jordon Daniel Rogers. I am 26 years old, and I am from Puxico, Missouri. My parents got divorced when I was young, and it really affected me. They both got remarried, but it was still never the same. I put all the hurt deep inside and turned to drugs instead of dealing with it. By the time I turned 18, I was an active meth user. The devil had me right where he wanted me. I lost family relationships and burnt every bridge I came across. I got “clean” for a while,...
MARCH 2022- Jordon Rogers
My name is John Van Loan, I am 42 years old and I live in southwest Missouri. I never realized the devastation alcohol would cause in my life when I started drinking at the age of 16. I always just wanted to have fun and party. Little did I know that the alcohol and partying would eventually consume me with sin and shame that was taking me down a road that would kill me, and a road that did destroy my hope in life, along with shattering the hope and dreams of my wife Jana, my daughter...
MAY 2018- John Van Loan
My name is Nathan Jones. I was born July 10th, 1988, in Cape Girardeau, MO. I was the youngest of 3 boys. I was raised catholic but didn’t have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. At an early age, I started smoking weed and taking pills. I dropped out of school and started partying full time. My addiction got worse and progressed into harder drugs like meth and heroin. This ruled my life for a long time. I was in and out of jails, mental institutions, and hospitals....
MAY 2023- Nathan Jones
Hello, my name is Omar Mitchell, and I am from St. Charles, Missouri. I grew up and in a very loving but strict household. My parents were great to us but volatile to each other. I grew up seeing them argue a lot and it really affected me. I was full of joy on the outside, but anger on the inside. I started stealing things because I wanted attention. It started with candy and escalated to joy rides in stolen cars. By the time I was 20 years old, I had 6 felonies. I spent...
NOVEMBER 2021-Omar Mitchell
My name is Treyton Hartle. I am 22 years old from Bloomfield, MO and this is how Jesus turned my life around. On April 1st, 1998 I was born into a great family with loving parents who knew the Lord. Following that was a life in church that was never appreciated like it should have been. At 12 years old I gave my life to the Christ at church camp…then came high school. The work was easy. I wasn’t good enough to play college sports, and I found out I loved having...
APRIL 2021- Treyton Hartle
My name is Katie Pitts. I am 32 years old from Kennett, MO. I had a good childhood never wanting for anything. My mother took me to church every time the doors were open. I was saved at a young age and had relations with Jesus but not a relationship. Growing up, I suffered from depression, anxiety, and rejection issues, In my later teenage years, I discovered alcohol and liked the way it made me feel, In reality, I ended up in bondage and it made the things I was experiencing worse, I used...
FEBRUARY 2022- Katie Pitts
My name is Angela Holland. I am 61 years old from Kennett, Missouri. My dad was an alcoholic and abusive to me. He would fill my bottles with alcohol before I even learned to crawl. This had a huge effect on my life. I was saved and baptized at an early age but did not really have a relationship with Jesus. By seventh grade I was drinking and smoking pot. The drug use just got worse and led to severe depression. As a result of my drug use, I eventually went to prison. While in prison, I...
ANGIE HOLLAND- March 2024
Hello, my name is Dezirae Russell. I call Missouri home, but I’m originally from Akron, OH. I came to Freedom House when I was 27 years old, I am now 34. I
spent my life looking for something or someone to fill the void I felt inside. I listened to the lies from the enemy that I was depressed, rejected, had PTSD, and
needed psych meds to fix all my problems, this only made things worse. By the time I was 20 I was introduced to opiates, which temporarily eased my pain.
However, in...
DEZIRAE RUSSELL- May 2025
My name is Kandy Riggs. I am 49 years old from Sebree, Kentucky. I am the 8th of 10 children. When I was growing up, my father was an abusive alcoholic who shot at and stabbed us kids. I have been married for 30 years and we have 2 children and 2 grandchildren. I didn’t have my last child until I was 35 years old and I had to have several surgeries as a result. The surgeries resulted in pain medications which I became addicted to. I would stop for periods of time, but I...
JULY 2018- Kandy Riggs
My name is Brittany Marie Brewer. I am 34 years old from St. Louis, Missouri. My mother worked really hard to raise me and my sister. I was in beauty pageants and dance classes. All of that changed in my early teenage years when my father introduced me to methamphetamines. This landed me in and out of several rehabs over the years. In 2008, I found myself in an extremely abusive relationship. One day in 2014, we were both high, arguing and driving down the road at 90 mph. I...
FEBRUARY 2023- Brittany Brewer
Hello, I’m Misty Davidson. I’m 46 years old and from Moberly, Missouri. I grew up in a Christian home-Baptist. I was saved at the age of 9 but it seemed like at an early age, fear, torment, and anxiety set in and I doubted my salvation and my self-worth. I grew up in a very prideful and strifeful home. My Christian roots
go deep on my dad’s side. A lot of pastors and deacons of the church, but my momma’s side of the family wanted nothing to do with the Lord. A lot of...
SEPTEMBER 2023- Misty Davidson
My name is Michael Steward. I was raised in California by an amazing single mother, Kathy Dixon who is married to an amazing Christian husband, Richard Dixon. I had everything I needed as a child and most of what I wanted. My life was really good until I started smoking pot my senior year of high school. I went off to college and kept smoking pot instead of fulfilling my responsibilities. I soon found myself transporting drugs from California to the school I was “sort of”...
MAY 2016- Michael Steward
My name is Christian Robles; I am 33, I was born in California, and raised in Memphis, TN. I started working at 14 years old and was
constantly around adults who spoke about using drugs and alcohol. Eventually, curiosity got the best of me, and I started to take part in
those activities with them. It helped me to deal with the abuse I received at home. I was young, bored, and felt neglected, the enemy had
gotten a hold of me. As the years passed, I dove...
CHRISTIAN ROBLES- August 2025
My name is Michelle Weeks. I am 37 years old and from Hayti, MO. I was blessed with a Christian grandma who took me to church and taught me right from wrong. My mother, however, was the one who introduced me to drugs when I was only 13 years old. As I got older, I continued down the wrong path. I got married when I was at 19 to a man who was very verbally, mentally, and physically abusive. I left him and he stalked me and tried to kill me. This dove me deeper into addiction. In 2015, I was...
MICHELLE WEEKS- July 2024
My name is Rodney Walker. I’m 42 years old and I am from Mississippi. I had a rough childhood because my parents were always fighting, so I spent a great deal of time with my grandparents. My grandma took me to church where I was exposed to the truth but also a lot of “religion”. I was saved at the age of 11 but wasn’t properly discipled. I used my involvement in sports to be a release of all the negative emotions I was trying to bottle up inside. I listened to so many lies...
AUGUST 2019- Rodney Walker
My name is Mike Shepherd, I am 60 years old from St. Louis, MO. In grade school I absolutely knew what I wanted to do with my life and that was to play soccer. I loved it and was good at it. When I got into high school, I got hurt playing football and my soccer dream was gone. This threw me for a loop, and I had trouble dealing with it emotionally. I was resentful toward the other players, not a member of the party crowd, shy with the girls and I felt like I did not fit in anywhere....
JUNE 2020- Michael Shepherd
My name is Matthew Montgomery. I am from Springfield, Missouri. I was raised by my father and stepmother in a healthy, supportive home. In my early teenage years, I was always seeking attention and looking for acceptance from others. I started experimenting with drugs and alcohol. In the party crowd, I finally felt like I was accepted. I went to college, but eventually got kicked out. Then I had to move back to my parents. I felt very lost, rejected, and confused about my future. I...
SEPTEMBER 2022- Matt Montgomery
My name is Bobby Bean. I was born and raised in Southern Illinois by a great mom and dad. When I was 8 years old, my mother led me to the Lord, and I asked Him to come into my heart. It wasn’t long after that when I started drinking and doing drugs. I felt like I had to have just about anything and everything in order to make it through a day. I was hopeless and paralyzed by fear without drugs helping me to numb these feelings of insecurity. I started trying to get help through...
JUNE 2019- Bobby Bean
My name is Hasson Abuharba. I’m 29 years old. I was born in East St. Louis, Illinois. I have 8 brothers of which I am the middle child. We grew up in a household where in the earliest memories, mom would leave for weeks at a time to get high. The hard times were when we would try to chase her down from crack house to crack house. Being that little all we wanted was mom, but then things got good for a while, and mom stayed clean for some years. But then she got a divorce, and everything got...
JUNE 2023- Hasson Abuharba
Hello everyone, my name is Carrie Mitchell. I am 47 years old. I was born in Memphis, TN but I was raised in New Braunfels, TX. I had a good childhood with good parents that taught me morals and values and the importance of making good grades. I listened and did what they told me to do. When I was 15, I developed a rebellious streak and started drinking. I also seemed to take the partying just a little further and a little further. I had many other drugs involved in my...
JANUARY 2023- Carrie Mitchell
My name is Ryan Burhans. I am 40 years old. I was born in Wisconsin. When I was around fifteen my parents got divorced and I was left alone
a lot and I felt rejected. That’s when my drinking started. I moved out when I was sixteen and had my first child. The drinking got worse because
it numbed the pain of rejection that I felt. I have had many jobs and two marriages that ended due to my drinking. All these years of drinking, I
only had one accident. I know it was because...
RYAN BURHANS- February 2024
My name is Dezirae Starcher. I’m 27 years old, I’m from Akron, OH. I...
MARCH 2018- Dezirae Starcher
My name is Paige Weiss. I am 24 years old from Farmington, MO. Growing up, I had rejection and abandonment issues, this led to depression
and anxiety. After I graduated high school, I started experimenting with drugs, but they soon overtook my life. I got into a serious car accident
and miraculously walked away with only a scratch. After the accident, I realized how deadly the situation could have been. This scared me into
sobriety for 6 months, but it’s not really about...
PAIGE WEISS- November 2024
My name is Brian Nix. I am 45 years old and was raised in Birmingham,...
JUNE 2021- Brian Nix
My name is James McNulty. I was born and raised in Longmont, Colorado until I was 17 years old and then I moved to Florida. I started using drugs when I was 13, but I managed to get really good grades and I graduated high school when I was 17. I went to college, but I didn’t finish and get a degree. I was “managing” my drug use until I was 22 and then I really went off the deep end or jumped over the cliff, whichever way you want to say it, I was a mess. ...
JANUARY 2016- James McNulty
My name is Kerry Maurer. I am 41 years old and was raised in South St. Louis, MO. My mother was only 16 when she had me and my father abused her. They partied and they fought all the time. They separated when I was 5 years old. When they separated, my mom drugs me from boyfriend to boyfriend and husband to husband. When it didn’t work out, we would go back to live with relatives. I changed schools more times than I could count and lacked the stability that I needed growing up....
JULY 2022- Kerry Maurer
My name is Jessi Kamper. I’m 29 years old and I am a current resident of Kennett, MO. I grew up in a very loving household. I have an older sister and 2 older brothers. My parents always showed us lots of love growing up and they are still married. I grew up in church and my parents would have us there every time the doors were open. When I was thirteen years old, I prayed the prayer, walked the aisle at church, and gave my heart to Jesus. But really, nothing about my life...
SEMPTEMBER 2021- Jessi Kamper
My name is Jason Freeman. I was born In Poplar Bluff, Missouri in 1982 and I was raised in Dexter, Missouri. I have an older sister and an adopted brother and sister. My childhood was what I would consider normal. I went to a Baptist church and I played all sports but was especially good at baseball. When I was 13, I stopped going to church and started experimenting with drugs and alcohol. In no time, I got in trouble for bringing drugs to school. I got put on probation and...
DECEMBER 2019- Jason Freeman
My name is Jody Thompson, and I am a 42-year-old mom to 3 amazing kids. I was raised in church and got saved and baptized when I was young. There was
a lot of love in my family, but there was pain as well. My dad was an alcoholic which caused turmoil in our home. As I got older, there were more and more
“excuses” not to go to church. I started experiencing anxiety, depression and tension headaches and was prescribed psych and pain meds as a cure. This was
the beginning...
JODY THOMPSON- April 2024
My name is Darline Pehle. I’m 26 years old. I am the oldest of 5 siblings but because of my size, I qualify as the runt. I was very abused as a child. I went to church growing up, but in high school I started to rebel against my family and the Lord. During my rebellion, I denied my belief in Christ. I was doing all sorts of bad things and then I was with my grandma when we got the call that my mom had died in her jail cell. Instead of looking to the Lord for strength, I rebelled even harder...
NOVEMBER 2023- Darline Pehle
Hi, my name is Michael Skiles, and I am 34 years old. I was born in St. Louis Missouri. I was raised in a good, hard-working family. We went to church every Sunday. When I was 14, at church camp, I started to feel the conviction of sin and got saved. A few weeks later, I believed I wasn’t saved and started going out with friends and experimenting with alcohol. It wasn’t long before partying on the weekends turned into an everyday thing. I went...
OCTOBER 2023- Mike Skiles
My name is Greg Prater. I am 62 years old, from Jonesboro, AR. I can’t tell you the age when I took my first drink, I just did it because that’s what I saw my
father do. Since I was 16 years old, I have been an alcoholic, and it has caused one problem after another. By the time I called one of the other mission
teens centers in 2009, I was completely broken and miserable. I lost my job, my marriage of 13 years, and was about to lose my house. I didn’t see a future
ahead of me....
GREG PRATER- July 2025
My name is Zach Seymour. I am 28 years old from Bay, Arkansas. I had a great childhood with a loving mother and was really into playing sports. When I was 12 years old, I started playing basketball instead of baseball and made new friends. I wanted to fit in with the cool crowd, so I started smoking pot and going to parties and drinking on the weekends. I got into a 4-wheeler accident and broke my arm. This started my addiction to pills and pain medications. I ended up taking...
MAY 2019- Zach Seymour
My name is Melissa Gaydos and I’m 29 years old. My whole life I never felt like I fit in and that I needed to be different somehow. No matter who I was around I felt all alone. From as long as I can remember I struggled with depression. Like what’s the point to life or does it even matter If I’m alive. I was bullied a lot too and walked in a lot of fear. Why doesn’t anyone like me or why can’t I just be normal are questions that haunted me. Pain pills took all those...
JANUARY 2020- Melissa Gaydos
My name is Robert Jones. I am 36 years old from Jackson, MS. My life has been hard from the very start. I was born with a hole in my heart and 2 ruptured hernias in my abdomen; I am told that during this time, I contracted scarlet fever. I was a very sick baby. I survived this only to be abandoned by my father at age 2, and I was physically and sexually assaulted by someone close to me until age 8. My mother re-married during this time to a man who would adopt me, but again I...
JUNE 2016- Robert Jones
My name is Trey Hollins. I’m 24 years old rom Poplar Bluff, Missouri. I had a good childhood. I was raised by a single parent, my mom. My dad came around from time to time, but he had 8 other kids and I always felt like he just didn’t have time for me, his oldest son. I started working when I was 16 years old. I complained about it until one day my mom told me that there was a time that she had to pick up trash just to provide for me and my sister. Hearing that changed my...
FEBUARY 2020- Trey Hollins
My name is Mike Shepherd. I’m 64 years old and from St. Louis, MO. As a kid I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be a professional
soccer player, and I played a lot. When I got to high school I got hurt and my dream ended. I had difficultly handling this and resented the other guys who got to
play. I felt “less than” because I wasn’t playing, but my grades remained good. I started drinking when I was a junior. This took away any shyness or social ...
MIKE SHEPHERD- September 2024
My name is Ian Miller. I am 39 years old from Taft, California. I was born to a very good family and brought up in a very loving and somewhat sheltered environment. My family is a very multi-racial melting pot, so I was raised to love and accept others. I was raised Catholic and had my first Holy communion with people I am still friends with to this day. I knew God from a very young age and walked with Him to the best of my ability and understanding until about the 7th grade, when I...