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
Sat, Mar 14th, 2026
2026 Graduation Banquet
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,...
MICHAEL LUTTRELL- June 2024
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 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
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 right where I...
JAMES CURRY- December 2025
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 Courtney Freer. I am 29 years old from Piggott, Arkansas. Growing up, I had a good childhood with 2 siblings, and we were raised by a single mother. My mom tried to make sure that we always had everything we needed. I was raised up going to church, but I just never developed that personal relationship with Jesus that I needed. I started smoking pot in the 6th grade and continued until I was 17 years old. I
used to dream about going to college and making something of my life...
SEPTEMBER 2020- Courtney Freer
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...
DECEMBER 2016- Tonya Leigott
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
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...
APRIL 2022- Nichole Haywood
Hello, my name is Derrick Mitchell. I’m 39 years old from Dexter, Missouri. I was raised by my mother, Joan. She worked most of the time to provide me and my sisters with everything we needed and with the things we wanted. I was a really busy kid and I remember thinking that you needed money to get anywhere in life. My grandma used to take me to church, but the only thing I really remember is the play where the Roman soldiers beat up Jesus. I was never taught to rely on...
JANUARY 2018- Derrick Mitchell
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
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 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...
NOVEMBER 2015- Bradley Wince
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...
TIM LACY- May 2024
My name is Dezirae Starcher. I’m 27 years old, I’m from Akron, OH. I...
MARCH 2018- Dezirae Starcher
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 Nina Lee Beal. I’m 36 years old. I am a proud mother of one son, Caden. My life has been a tough one to live. My family was torn apart at the age of 14 when I lost my mother who had been sick most of my childhood. Her death triggered a downward spiral that began with partying on the weekends and escalated into being a full blown meth addict. Along with the drugs came a dependency on people and relationships trying to fill a void in my life that I now know, can...
MAY 2017- Nina Lee Beal
My name is Jerrod Hollis. I’m 37 years old from Jonesboro, Arkansas. I grew up with a fear of failure. I always felt the need to be “perfect” and have carried that my whole life. I thank God that now I understand that we all fall short, and Jesus loves us anyway. When I was 14 years old, I started using pain pills to help these feelings of failure. The pills made me not feel any emotion and I just became numb to the whole world. They helped me not feel or care about...
MAY 2022- Jerrod Hollis
My name is Marenda Bennett. I am 47 years old, from Gideon, MO. I had a drug/alcohol problem for approximately 25 years; however, I had been mostly sober since 2017 with a few relapses here and there, that is not what brought me to Freedom House. What brought me to Freedom House was a lifetime of darkness, not only with drugs and alcohol, but also with promiscuity, demonic worship, and witchcraft that completely consumed me. I had countless mental and emotional issues, not to mention...
MARENDA BENNETT- January 2025
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 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
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...
DECEMBER 2022- Susan Flanagan
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 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...
JANUARY 2017- Melissa Jones
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...
JANUARY 2021- Eric Wood
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...
MARCH 2023- Brandon Normann
My name is Brian Nix. I am 45 years old and was raised in Birmingham,...
JUNE 2021- Brian Nix
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...
STEVEN KUYKENDALL- December 2024
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 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
My name is Patrick Cook. I am 40 years old and from St. Louis, Missouri. I was raised by parents who did well but were alcoholics. Growing up, I always felt different and had very few friends. I also had a hard time fitting in anywhere because I was a very sick kid and couldn’t participate in what “normal kids” do which led to me feeling left out and very alone. Growing up, I always said that I would never smoke, drink or do drugs and I didn’t until I went to college. That...
MAY 2020- Patrick Cook
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...
FEBUARY 2017- Stephanie Ballard
My name is Hunter Willis. I grew up in Harrison, Arkansas but now I live close to Springfield, Missouri. I’m 27 years old and have fought drug and alcohol abuse since I was 16. Growing up was perfect. My family and I trained horses and rodeoed. We went to church every Sunday and I was active in the youth groups. My family was very close. My dad worked and my mom stayed at home with me and my brothers. She say’s she would ask my brother where I was, and he’d usually say...
SEPTEMBER 2019- Hunter Willis
My name is Kent Anderson. I am the youngest of 3 boys from a loving stay at home mother and a hard working father. Wanting to fit in to what the world called popular was my downfall. I wanted to do all the things other kids did who had material things. I was spoiled and didn’t even know it because others had more material things than I had but they didn’t have a father who took them fishing and hunting or a mother who spent time working in the yard or catching butterflies or going...
MARCH 2016- Kent Anderson
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
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
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
Hi, my name is Robbie Ingram. I’m 31 years old and I’m from Dexter, Missouri. I was born in South St. Louis, but when I was 3 years old, my dad went to prison and my parents got divorced. My mom decided to move me and my 3 sisters and 2 brothers to Dexter and be near my grandparents. My mom worked a lot to support all of us, but her heart was always with us. I can remember going to church as a child. I loved learning about Jesus and singing the kid's songs, but what I liked...
APRIL 2018- Robbie Ingram
Hi, my name is Chrisy Ginn. I am 50 years old and from St. Louis, Missouri. I was very depressed at a young age. I remember crying every day at school and feeling very despondent. This feeling has lasted most of my life – BUT GOD! I began to self-medicate in high school and this continued until the time I came to Freedom House. When I was 42 years old, I added methamphetamines to the “medication” and my life spiraled out of control. I found myself homeless and broke and felt...
AUGUST 2022- Chrisy Ginn
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...
AUGUST 2020- Ian Miller
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...
FEBUARY 2018- Shannon Kender
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 Whitney Burnette. I am 29 years old from Wynne,...
JANUARY 2022- Whitney Burnette
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
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 using alcohol to
numb the pain and...
TORI CARTER- November 2025
My name is Morgan Schmidt. I’m 25 years old and I was born in Tupelo, MS. I have a beautiful, 4 year old little girl named Khloe Beth. I grew up in a split home due to divorce. I lived with my mom, but she had a problem and seemed to choose her addiction over being a other most of the time. My dad wanted the best for me and felt like he could be a better parent so they ended up fighting over me. I can remember how DHS would come to check on me...
JUNE 2017- Morgan Schmidt
My name is Krista Bates-Duncan. I am 29 years old and live in Malden, Missouri. As I was growing up I went through many traumatic events that led up to my addiction. I lived in fear most of my life and did not have a clue as to what real love felt like. I didn’t understand what the word “love” even meant or what love looked like. As a child I was burned by boiling water at the age of three,...
SEPTEMBER 2018- Krista Bates- Duncan
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 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...
DECEMBER 2020- Jacob Barnes
My name is Gina Fugate, I am 48 years old from St. Louis, MO. I realized that I needed to make a change sitting under a bridge, after a tornado left parts of St. Louis destroyed. A couple of years prior I was laid off from work and faced with a breakup, repossession, and foreclosure which left me homeless and once again addicted. I was at a point in my life where I needed help and quick. I have 4 children, and I was always involved in their lives; it is strange how things can change overnight...
GINA FUGATE - January 2026
My name is Sean Tolbert, and I am from Jonesboro, Arkansas. I have lived there most of my life, which started in 1974. My story is about a long journey of seeking contentment. I
wasn’t unhappy, but I have always felt unsatisfied, and I spent my life trying to fill a void I didn’t understand. I went to college hoping that education and a good job would satisfy me,
this was not the case. I tried traveling or roaming as well, and as it turned out being a...
SEAN TOLBERT- March 2025