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 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. ...
OCTOBER 2016- Clair Florence
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...
NOVEMBER 2018- Bo Sandefur
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 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 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
JULY 2020- Chasity Zimmerman
My name is John Casey Barker. I was born in Jonesboro, AR in 1973. I am an only child and grew up in a family that went to church. Our family had its issues and I was rebellious. After I graduated, I moved out and did everything I wanted. I slowly became wild and was an alcoholic, a drug addict and enjoyed everything that felt good. I fell in love with money and my life got out of control. On February 24th, 2004, I attempted suicide with a shotgun, by a true miracle of God I survived. I was...
CASEY BARKER- May 2026
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...
OCTOBER 2019- Cody Ishmael
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 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...
AUGUST 2018- Earl Gyger
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 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 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 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 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 Stacy Jane Bannon. I am 45 years old. I am a native Texan. I came from a broken home and an extremely dysfunctional childhood. As difficult as it was, I know my parents did the best they could. I came to know the Lord and Jesus at a very young age, attending vacation Bible school, regular church services, and church youth camps. However, I began at a very young age feeling lonely, empty and confused seeking out anything to change the way I felt. I went to my first...
MARCH 2017- Stacy Jane Bannon
My name is Brian Nix. I am 45 years old and was raised in Birmingham,...
JUNE 2021- Brian Nix
My name is Dezirae Starcher. I’m 27 years old, I’m from Akron, OH. I...
MARCH 2018- Dezirae Starcher
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 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 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
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 Matthew Kittrell. I am 28 years old from Marston, Missouri. I lived in an abusive household until I was nine. My uncle
would beat on me, my mom and my sister every day. He even made me watch as he beat my father to death. My mom took me
and my sister and we got out and got our own house. My mom began selling my sister to support her drug habit, so only a year
later, we were put in foster care. By the age of 10, I was drinking, smoking pot and running the streets. I...
MATTHEW KITTRELL- April 2025
Garrison Bowen, I am 27 years old and from Hinesville, GA. I realized I needed to change my way of living when I just lost my job and had no money because of all the drugs and alcohol. It was consuming my life. Over the past 5 years, I have been in and out of Christian programs and lost many jobs due to my anger or other actions. After the last program, I thought I had it all figured out. However, I was still drinking, smoking weed and trying to help my brother who was also in a mess. Living...
GARRISON BOWEN-February 2026
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
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
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 Jordan Long and I am 26 years old. I’m from Trumann, AR. I was raised by my grandparents since I was 5 months old.My parents were on drugs and didn’t want to raise me and haven’t ever really been a significant part of my life. I made fairly good grades in school. When I was 14 my grandpa died from emphazema and throat cancer and it really hurt me and changed my life and my grandmother’s life but I have always hid my emotions. In 2008 two weeks before I graduated...
AUGUST 2016- Jordan Long
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
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 Kenna Chenoa Cashion. I am…a child of God. I could tell you about how I was married with kids or how I was teased as a kid, how my family was poor and broken or even how I was abused but all of these things are so small but necessary parts of my life. See I am now a 34-year-old divorced mother of 3 whom after being married and without a husband and home of my own, struggling to become a single parent lost my way, myself, my children and my life. No, I didn’t die physically but...
DECEMBER 2023- Kenna Cashion
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
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 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 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
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...
JUSTIN FINLEY- August 2024
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...
NOVEMBER 2020- Courtney Shipley
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
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 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 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 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...
JULY 2017- Skylar Matheney
My name is Whitney Burnette. I am 29 years old from Wynne,...
JANUARY 2022- Whitney Burnette
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 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...
MARCH 2020- Russell Bishop
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
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...