Hey my name is James Curry, and I want to tell you what God has done in my life. I’m from St. Louis, MO, and I’m 57 years old. I started
using drugs at the age of twenty-four. I was stuck in addiction and kept asking God for a way out, that never seemed to come. I was addicted
for 33 years, but I kept praying because I came from a praying family. On May 22, 2025, I had divine intervention in my life, two tornadoes
came through St. Louis, I was homeless, and they touched down...

My name is Tonya Leigott.  I am 29 years old, from Trumann, Arkansas.  I came from a very dysfunctional home.  When I was younger, my parents were in a mess, along with my Aunt and Uncle, it was just kind of a family thing…When I was about 8 years old; my parents let my grandparents adopt me.  My grandparents tried to give me everything that my parents couldn’t, which in turn made me spoiled and emotionally unbalanced.  My best friend died leaving my 18th birthday party after a night...

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.�...

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...

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....

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...

      My name is Whitney Burnette.  I am 29 years old from Wynne,...

My name is Shannon Wayne Kender and I am 41 year old from Joneseboro, AR.  I’m no stranger to God’s love, grace and mercy.  This is my 3rd season in Mission Teens and each time He brought me out of my mess was nothing short of a miracle.  I have the best parents anyone could ever ask for they taught me to know right from wrong and shown love and discipline equally. I was saved when I was 12 or 13 years old and even though I know He genuinely came into my heart, I only asked Him so that...

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...

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...

My name is Marissa Lesley.  I am 43 years old from Dexter, Missouri.  I have been on and off drugs since I was 12 years old.  I never really      felt like I fit in anywhere and I’ve always struggled with low self-esteem issues.  I came from a good family.  My parents divorced when I was      young, but they were both good and loving parents.  Neither one of my parents ever had addiction problems. I started hanging out with the      wrong crowd in school and that was my...

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...

        My name is Kimberly Tomlinson.  I was born and raised in Pocahontas, Tennessee.  The Lord blessed me with a great family that taught me about Jesus at a young age.  I received salvation when I was young and even though I took the wrong path for a while, I know that Jesus was with me keeping me safe the entire time.  In high school, I started hanging out with what I thought were the “cool kids”.  I can remember just riding around and getting drunk and high with them. ...

My name is Nichole Haywood.  I was born in Kennett, Missouri and at the age of 3, my mother moved me and my older brother to Ohio.  This move took me away from my father, but I was blessed with a loving stepdad that took me in like his own.  He was the father I needed in my life.  My brother was older than me and was always getting into trouble.  I always felt like my mother loved him more than she did me.  He began raping me when we moved to Ohio.  This went on until I was 8 years old...

My name is Tim Lacey. I am 63 years old, from a small town in Southeast Missouri. In my late fifties, decades of drinking had taken its toll on me. I found myself
morally and spiritually bankrupt. I was alone and hopeless. I had been in several rehabs over the years, that taught me that I was an alcoholic, and I would always
be an alcoholic. I came to a critical point in my life, after my mom’s passing and I knew something had to change. A close friend told me about Freedom...

My name is Katlyn Juergensmeyer. I’m 27 years old from Troy, Missouri.  I grew up with 2 amazing parents and 3 siblings.  Growing up life was good.  I never needed for anything in my life, or so I thought.  I soon realized that I needed Jesus. At age 16 I went on a mission trip and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  I was on fire for God and went to church every time I could. All through High school I struggled to find out who I was.  That soon brought on depression,anxiety and...

Hi there! My name is Susan Flanagan. I am a 42 year old mother of 3 boys and I was born in Blytheville, Arkansas.  My father left when I was 2 years old, so my mother raised me and my brother and sister by herself.  We were very poor. I remember that my mom moved us around a lot because she was an          alcoholic and we went through several “stepdads.”  Because my mom wasn’t very responsible, I felt the need to become more responsible.  I was just a little girl and I was...

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...

My name is Eric Wood.  I am 26 years old from Dexter, Missouri.  I’ve always had the feeling that I was going to do something “big” in this life, even though I grew up feeling rejected by my father who was very abusive and controlling because he was addicted to pain medication.  I always felt like he treated me different than he treated my 2 older brothers.  I never felt loved.  My father overdosed and we found him dead in our dining room when I was 15 years old.  At the time, I...

My name is Melissa Jones.  I am 46 years old.  My life has never been what some call “normal”.  My dad was in prison until  I was around 12  years old.  Then when he  came home,  he was a  drug dealer  which  was   my introduction to cocaine, meth, marijuana and even the needle.  By the time I was 15, I was injecting cocaine and meth daily and had dropped out of school.  My dad ended up back in prison which left me with my mom who basically could not control me.  I ran...

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...

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...

       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...

Hello there, my name is Jamie Sickal. I’m 47 years old, I was born in Sikeston, MO but lived in Houston, TX for most of my life. My childhood
was good, except for growing up without a dad. I always wanted a father figure in my life. I got married in my early 20s, and filled that void with
my own family, and being the father I never had. After 16 years of marriage, my wife was unfaithful, which led to her having another man’s child,
and our divorce....

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...

Hi, My name is Billy Starnes.  I’m 43 years old and was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.  I was raised by alcoholic parents who would get very angry when they drank.  When I was 13 years old, I found marijuana as an escape. This small compromise changed the course of my entire life.  By the time I was 17, I had quit school, got a job and was addicted to meth.  My job took me all over the United State building mini storage buildings.  I was also addicted to the money I was making. The more...

My name is Claude Essary, and I was born on July 27, 1977, in Bartow, FL. My mother was mentally ill, and my father was an alcoholic and a gambler, this made for a rough childhood. As I grew up, I had a lot of hate and anger from my upbringing that affected every part of my life. I just wanted to love people so much, because I didn’t want anyone to feel the way I felt inside. In November of last year, I was in jail for the fifteenth time; I was at a point in my life that I had never seen...

My name is Jessie Crank. I am 35 years old from Blytheville, Arkansas.  I am the mother of 3 beautiful girls ages 16, 15 and 12.  I grew up in a good home with 2 older sisters.  My parents were married and they both worked to provide a nice home for me and my sisters.  I grew up going to a Baptist church every Wednesday and twice on Sunday.  I got saved by asking Jesus into my heart at the age of 8 but I never had a relationship with Him.  When I was 12 years old, my parents got...

My name is Dezirae Starcher.  I’m 27 years old, I’m from Akron, OH.  I...

My name is Cameron Collins. I’m 28 years old and I was born and raised in Mount Ida, AR. I have a brother that’s 2 years older than me and                            parents that got divorced when I was 4. I really don’t have many memories of them together. Both of my parents got remarried and my brother and I                          stayed with our aunt and uncle as well as my grandmother. I was raised in church until I was about 14. At the age of 14 I...

My name is Bradley Wince. I am 35 years old, from Paragould, AR.  I had a fair childhood.  When I was in the first grade people made fun of me because I had a patch on my eye because a pit bull bit me in the eye and my eye had to be put back in. I was never the same after that.  A month before I graduated high school I lost my dad and 4 of my close friends. I was supposed to be with my friends that night, but I got sick and didn’t go out with them.  They were partying and drinking and...

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...

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...

Hi, my name is Justin Finley and I am 33 years old. I was raised by my grandparents, which is a decision my mother made due to her addiction. I was raised in church and taught right from wrong. Whenever I visited my mother, I would get molested by her boyfriend. This led to anger and depression. I was bullied to the point where I had to change schools. I started to hang out with the wrong crowd, they accepted me with open arms. They introduced me to witchcraft at the age of 13 and by the age...

My name is Michael Luttrell. I am a child of God...31 years old from Kennett, Missouri. My father was very abusive, so my mother took us and got away from him. This left me feeling angry and rejected. When I was 10 years old, my family owned a liquor store. I watched everyone drink and thought it looked like fun. I took my first drink at 13 years old, and I was instantly hooked. I watched my family do drugs and again, wanted to try to fit it. It started with marijuana and ended with meth,...

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...

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...

 My name is Tori Carter, and I am 32 years old. I was raised between Poplar Bluff, MO and Jonesboro, AR. I grew up in a Christian home, so the love of God
was not new to me. I had a good relationship with Jesus, until several years ago when my faith was tested. I lost my brother to suicide. I thought this was the
hardest thing that I would ever experience, until I lost my 3-month-old baby boy to SIDS, only two weeks after I buried my brother. I was already...

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...

My name is Russell Bishop, I am 54 years old from Highlandville, Missouri.  My father was a Baptist preacher and our lives were centered around God.  I was saved when I was 18. I attended a Bible college for 4 years and married my high school sweetheart, Sharon.  Our intention was to serve the Lord in whatever avenue He would lead us, which we did for a while. Going to church seemed to just become an obligation. Having a drink on the weekend was not uncommon, but at the time I could take...

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...

   My name is Brian Nix.  I am 45 years old and was raised in Birmingham,...

My name is Brandon Lee Norman. I was born in Missouri in 1994. My mother was an alcoholic and had several abusive boyfriends when I was growing up. She loved me the best she could. I ended up getting put into foster care. My mom passed away when I was 12 years old. I didn’t know how to cope so I began stealing, smoking and drinking. I went to juvenile detention and when I got out, I had the opportunity to go to college for construction engineering technology. I ended up dropping out...

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...

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...

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...

My name is Cody Ishmael. I am 24 years old and from the Jonesboro, Arkansas area.  I have 4 younger sisters and a 4-year-old son.  Growing up, I lived with my memaw because both of my parents suffered from addiction.  She always took me to church and made sure I read my Bible. I was very sheltered and hated the very thought of drugs and alcohol.  When I was a teenager, my dad came home from Federal prison and moved schools.  My addiction started off mainly because I was just trying to...

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,...

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...

My name is Skylar Matheney.  I am 35 years old.  I  am from Piggott, Arkansas.  I am a single parent of a 13 year old son,  his  name  is Devon.  He is the light of my life and beside’s God, the source of my strength.  I started off on drugs at the age of 14, mainly  drinking and then that turned into marijuana. I was introduced to meth at the age of 16  and  started on  my  downward spiral.  The last few years were terrible.  I was terrible in a lot of ways.  I  was...

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...

My name is Courtney Shipley. I am 28 years old. I was born in Southern California to loving parents and grew up in church. Since I grew up in a good home and never struggled with drugs, I really didn’t think I had a testimony for a long time. Yes, my life felt lonely and empty, but I had no idea why.  I was married to my high school sweetheart, we owned a home, we both drove brand new cars, and we both had respectable jobs that paid well.  On the outside, my life lacked nothing. Yet, week...

My name is Steven Kuykendall, and I am the oldest of 2 children. I was born 6 weeks prematurely and had pneumonia. My parents got divorced when I was
seven, they both quickly remarried. My mother’s husband was abusive to me from the first time I met him, this led to me hating him. I spent weekends back
and forth between my grandparents and my mother’s. As a young child, I wanted to be an MLB player, when I was a freshman in high school, I tried out, and
was on the team...

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...

My name is Tanner McCormick.  I’m 22 years old from Kennett, Missouri.  I am the oldest of 3 siblings.  My mother was addicted to pain pills, but she tried the best she could.  She blacked out a lot, so I basically raised my younger brother and sister until I was 11 years old. My mother got a boyfriend and I became very bitter.  When I was 13, I went to live with my father who I had only met once before in my life.  This turned out to be a bad decision.  I started drinking and...

 My name is Jacob Barnes.  I was born in 1997 in Jackson, Tennessee.  When I was young, my parents moved us to Kennett, Missouri because my father was from there.  My parents were young, and my dad couldn’t handle the pressure, so he drank and used drugs and hung out with the wrong people, often leaving me and my mom and sisters to fend for ourselves.  Eventually, my parents split up and my mom ended up moving all of us in with her boyfriend in a nice house.  This didn’t last long...

My name is Bo Sandefur and I am 23 years old. I’m from a small town in the hills of Kentucky called Horse Branch. I grew up in a good family. We always went to church, until I was 11 years old. At that time I fell out of a tree stand and I injured my back and was prescribed pain pills. That’s where my addiction began. In a very short time I learned how to synthesize methamphetamine and how to steal the ingredients for it, and I learned how to make moonshine and grow marijuana. I quit...

My name is Clair Florence.  I am 58 years old.  I was born and raised on a farm in central Illinois.  I was raised in the church and received Jesus at the age of 9, but as time went on, I didn’t act as if I was saved. I have always had issues with self-esteem, shame, and guilt.  I began drinking in high school and by the time I was in college, I was experimenting with all kinds of drugs.  I got married in 1979 and a  few years later we had two wonderful children, a boy, and a girl. ...

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...

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....

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 �...

My name is Earl Gyger and I’m 42 years old from Forsyth, MO. My childhood was great, but at the age of 14, I was introduced to “crank”, which is                             now known as crystal methamphetamine. That choice I made back then led to an emotional roller coaster of bad relationships and a very dark and                            ugly lifestyle. I stopped using meth for a short time and got married. She had a 2-year-old daughter and...

My name is Stephanie Ballard.  I am 25 years old and was born in Paragould, Arkansas.  Growing up I did not have what most children had growing up.  I was born into addiction and with that I witnessed more than I should have.  My mother got shot in the neck over a drug deal gone wrong.  I was only 3 years old and I was in the back seat sleeping.  I watched my parents do everything in front of me and I felt a sense of responsibility to keep them safe.  I started doing drugs at the age...

    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...