Jenifer, 21 years old - 1/30/07

My name is Jen and God has absolutely changed my life from the inside out.  I am a walking miracle, still in progress.  In my 21 years I have been through more hell than most adults have in their whole life.  My mom and dad met through the "party scene" and my mom got pregnant with me.  While pregnant she still shot up drugs and did acid all the way through her pregnancy, so that is how my addiction got started, it was already in my blood before I was born.  I started using drugs and alcohol when I was 14 years old.  It started with the people I hung out with, my "friends" and unfortunately my family too.  The drug life always brought me to a dead end road every time!  It made me someone I really wasn't for instance... A liar, thief, psychotic, prostitute, dancer, crack whore, paranoid, suicidal and so on.  Since I've been with Freedom Seekers, God has blessed me and changed me completely and without this awesome recovery group and God, I know I would not have been able to do it.  I know that I am not alone, I have people here that are just like me and they actually care and love me.  So let me encourage you to come and see how we roll!!  You'll love it!

.Suzanne, 21 years old - 1/30/07

I was going down the wrong path!  I was doing every drug that came my way, I didn't care what it was.  Soon, my boyfriend and I found out that I was pregnant but that did not stop me from continuing my drug use.  As I said before, I just didn't care!  Soon after that, my boyfriend and a fellow drug user  were sent to jail for a month.  While in jail, my boyfriend found God and God convicted his heart.  I felt like I was brought down to nothing since my boyfriend received God in his life.  But God helped me, through my boyfriend, now husband, to get clean and he directed us to the Freedom Seekers group.  I am now over 5 months clean and sober and a happy mother of a beautiful baby boy.  Thank God Almighty and the Freedom Seekers!

Don, 53 years old - 1/30/07  

I started doing drugs in 1969 and drinking in 1971.  By the late 80's I had quit doing drugs but I was drinking A LOT! (everyday).  I tried quitting on my own and with the help of AA, I just could not do it.  In July 2006, I met Ron Hutchins.  I truly believe God brought Ron and I together.  I gave my life to God and started going to Freedom Seekers.  I have NOT had a drink since August 1, 2006!!

Curt - 2/5/07

I struggled with drugs, alcohol, women, anger and everything else the party scene had in store for me.  I was absolutely sure that I would die at a young age or be in prison from my habits that I had formed from simply running from God and every church around me.  From years of depression and guilt (self inflicted) I had accepted the fact that I was a complete failure.  Now after 6 months of sobriety and 6 months of being involved with Freedom Seekers, I feel and know for the first time in my life that I too, serve a purpose and I too, am important!  I am happier than I have ever been in my life and am living free from the burdens and guilt dealt to us from the enemy, drugs and alcohol and everything else from the party scene.  I can not begin to put a Thank You on paper for the freedom that this program has given me.  Only God understands.  So, with that, I will close with these huge purpose filled words, "If you continue in my teachings then you will know the truth and the truth will set you FREE!" (John 8:31-32)

Lloyd, 32 year old - 2/20/07 
188 days ago I reached "Rock Bottom".  After 14 years of hard core drug abuse and a violent, destructive path, I found myself high on meth at the office of Probation and Parole.  I was trading my life, my marriage, my children and all my worldly possessions for one more hit.  I broke down in tears right there and an old friend directed me to God. (Long story shortened).  Now, only by the grace of a loving God, I have 188 days clean from ALL drugs and alcohol.  With God in my life I have a strong relationship with my wife, my 2 teens and I did not have to go to prison, so now I can watch my 21 month old daughter grow up.  I have not smoked a cigarette in 52 days and I am happier than I have ever been.  I thank God for saving me through the fellowship of Freedom Seekers.

Rick, 50 years old - 2/20/07

At 50 years old, I have drank and done drugs for more than 30 years.  I've been married twice, been to 3 rehabs, had 3 DUI's, been to jail, had more jobs than I can remember and wrecked many cars.   God saved my soul back in 2001 but that did not stop my disruptive behavior.  A little over 5 months ago, I came out of detox and joined Freedom Seekers, since then I have been sober!  This is only accomplished because of God and the fellowship of Freedom Seekers!

Debbie, 36 years old - 2/23/07

It was really hard for me to see why I needed help.  After all, I was NOT a "drug addict or an alcoholic", I was the victim of my "husbands addictions".  He had the problems, not me!  Now I can laugh at that statement because I know the truth!  I was actually more spiritually sick than him because I was sober and still making wrong decisions!  Through the Freedom Seekers and Celebrate Recovery I have learned how my enabling and co-dependency contributed to his addictions and actually helped him along the path of destruction, which ultimately was my destruction as well!  Now we both know the truth and not only have we been set free from the enemy but our 4 children as well!  We attend meetings weekly  because we NEVER want to fall back into that deception ever again.  We also go to church weekly where our children can learn about the love of God and the truth he has for them!

Barry, 45 years old - 3/20/07

I started on valium then drinking when I was 13, from there I did just about every drug except meth.  By the grace of God I never went to prison I did everything from shoplifting to GTA to burglary to arson.  I moved from state to state, mostly because of misdemeanor warrants.   In 1996 I was delivered from the only thing left, alcohol, and I walked with the Lord until 2003.  I was in Hawaii working hard on trying to save enough money to be able to leave, when I noticed that the drunkards holding signs for money were making more money than I was, so I started drinking again.  When I finally left Hawaii, I continued drinking and running from the Lord until December 2006.  I ended up in jail in the middle of Missouri when a man from Freedom Seekers came in and started talking to me.  When I got out of jail I called Ron with Freedom Seekers and he was able to lead me back to the Lord.  Now I am drunk in the spirit of the Lord!

Don Bapst - 10/29/07

I grew up in the Chicago land area. I used drugs for nearly 30 years and have nearly killed myself twice during that time. Because of my drug use and the inability to make correct decision I’ve spent  a third of my life or fourteen and a half years in prison.

In January 1998 I returned home,  after spending several days out on a crack cocaine binge, to find my fiancee packed and ready to leave me. After what seemed like hours of arguing with her and getting nowhere, I walked into the connecting garage, doused myself with a large can of lighter fluid and ignited it.

In October of 2003 I was arrested for possession of meth. While I was in jail I realized that the very thing that almost killed me in 1998 was the very thing sending me back to prison after having stayed out for ten years. This is when I realized that I would never be able to live a normal life on my own. It was at this point when I got down on my knees, eyes full of tears, I pleaded with God to come into my life.  Yet at that very moment I knew that God was not only real but alive and that I was a changed man.  Though I was a changed man I still had a lot to learn about God, life and myself.  I allowed emotional turmoil to continue to be a stumbling block in my life and an excuse to fall back into what I was most familiar with, drugs.

In November of 2005 after an overdose that left me in I.C.U. for four days I ended up back in prison.  But my life was saved once again. During this period of incarceration I spent most every waking minute seeking spiritual guidance, learning how to seek God’s will in my life.  After I finished this last prison term I was extradited back to an out of state county jail to face the possibility of going back to prison once again. However, by the grace of God I was released with one more chance to do it right.  When I met Ron Hutchins I knew this was a divine appointment.  Every word out of his mouth describing his past life was a blueprint of mine.

Since I’ve been released I have been involved with Freedom Seekers as well as the wonderful body of Christ. It has been a wonderful experience. Never have I felt more love, fellowship and unity in a group of people in all my life.  I thank God every day for my new life and  my new friends . We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Philippians 4:13.

Megan, 25 years old - 12/18/07

I've never struggled with an addiction of drugs and alcohol, but I have experienced those addictions through family, boyfriends, friends, etc.  I grew up never feeling the love of my earthly father and thought that I could find it through having a boyfriend, or by being accepted by my peers.  Sometimes that lead to doing things that I probably would not have normaly done and I ended up becoming pregnant at the age of 15.  I was so afraid of what would happen if everyone found out, so I had an abortion.  Fortunately, through God's grace alone, the abortion failed and I ended up having a perfectly healthy baby boy.  He is such a blessing in my life and a constant reminder of how much God loves me and what I had planned for harm, God turned into good.  I grew up going to church, so I knew about God but I didn't understand the relationship part of it.  I knew many people, including myself and my parents, that considered themselves to be "christians" but I didn't see the realness of it in their lives.  It just seemed like it was a label to slap on to be considered a "good" person.  It wasn't until I was 19 that I finally found out who God really was.  I was going to church and a girl had given her testimony that night.  I finally saw someone who had a REAL realationship with God.  He wasn't a cop in the sky telling me not to do bad things and delighting in the times that he could punish me when I messed up.  He loved me so much that even when I turned from Him, he still protected me.  I honestly believe that if it weren't for the prayers of my grandma, I wouldn't be here today. Today, I have that relationship with God, not through religious activities and praying a certain amount of times a day and everything else we try to make it into, but through simply being His friend.  He's the father to those who don't have one.  He has totally turned my life around.  He's not done yet, I still have a long way to go.  But I know that he doesn't see what I'm not, He sees who I am and what I will allow Him to do in my life.