Success Stories
Ben & Melandy Ward
It's hard to believe that ten years ago Ben and Melandy Ward were consumed with a life of addiction. That's because today, they are free and helping others find the true life of freedom they have found.
For Melandy, who really started drinking and occasionally using drugs early on in high school, her lifestyle seemed harmless because she maintained good grades and appeared to be responsible. However, the life of addiction doesn't stay tame for long and by her senior year the consequences of her path began to surface. She went from using cocaine every once in a while to using it several times a day to stay awake during school. Although her grades weren't signaling there was a problem, her appearance was. When her parents attempted to intervene, she weighed a mere ninety pounds. Although she rejected their initial offer for help, she eventually responded and moved home to Shreveport thinking that relocating would correct the problem. However, what she would eventually realize was that the problem was her heart, but not until after she would experience a few more years of consequences.
Meanwhile, Ben, who began using drugs at the age of twelve, was on a similar yet more destructive path. By the age of eighteen, he was full throttle into hard core drugs and was lying, stealing, and manipulating to support his habit. After multiple DWI's, drug possession arrests and a cocaine overdose, he would finally accept that he had a problem he could not resolve on his own. In January of 1998, Ben entered Eagle Creek Recovery Center for the first time. Although he had a genuine experience with God, he did not fully surrender every area of his life and shortly after graduating the program would begin the swift decline back into his old life.
This is where Ben and Melandy would meet and their story would begin. They enjoyed the typical party life that most their age were involved in and everything seemed to be picture perfect until Melandy started noticing that Ben didn't stop when everyone else did. Before long, his addiction was so out of control, there was no way to hide it. After several years, the vicious cycle of addiction would run its course and would destroy their relationship.
Once again, Ben found himself homeless, hurting, desperate, and ready for life to change. In August of 2001, he would go back into the center ready to embrace all that is offered through the program. He had resolved to do whatever it would take to lay hold of the life God had for him. Although Melandy had moved on from the relationship, Ben began to write her letters telling her of the change he was experiencing. At first she didn't believe him and thought he was pulling some old tricks, but she had to see for herself. After attending services at Shreveport Community Church, she saw much more than the evident change in Ben; she saw the need for a change to take place in her own heart as well. From that point forward neither of them have looked back! They have been married for over six years and have a beautiful son named Braden. Both are ordained in the ministry, lead the Overcomers Tuesday night support group and serve Eagle Creek Recovery Center as Program Coordinators. Ben is also currently the Dean of Students at Evangel Christian Academy and is pursuing a Masters degree in Guidance and Counseling.
" We are so grateful for Eagle Creek Recovery Center and the place of refuge and restoration it was for us. Not only have we experienced new life through the program, but we are now able to be part of new life happening for someone else. It is our greatest joy to see how God changes not only the man but also the entire family. Today we are better friends, children, siblings, and parents because of the impact made in our lives through this ministry."
David & Sandy Barkley
By the time David Barkley was sixteen years old, he was already building a record of criminal activity. He had been involved in car theft and had also been caught shoplifting. His parents were desperate to remove him from the group of friends he was running with, so the family moved to Monroe, LA believing he would change in a new environment. However, they would soon discover that his environment wasn’t the source of his problem. Before long, he would add three DWI’s to his criminal resume. It wasn’t until he met his high school sweetheart, Sandy, whom he married shortly after graduating, that he would decide to try to be responsible and leave the foolish ways behind him. Four years later, their daughter Lauren was born and they moved to Shreveport to become partners in a new alarm company. While Sandy and Lauren would attend church, David refused because he didn’t think he really needed it. About this time, he secretly progressed from drinking beer and smoking marijuana to prescription drugs. From there he went on to crack cocaine and crystal meth. It all came into the open when he was involved in a drug sting and was faced with twenty years in prison. Because of the felony charges against him, he lost his business but continued in his drug use. As he continued to get deeper into his addiction, in October of 2002 he was diagnosed with cancer. This news was still not enough to cause him to change. Matter of fact, he went deeper into depression. In that same year, he went to work for Wes Usie, who noticed his desperate situation and told him that Eagle Creek Recovery Center could help him. “Looking back now, I realize Eagle Creek not only helped me, it saved me.” says David.
In 2006, after a long court battle and five years of probation, his felony conviction was completely expunged from his record. Today he is cancer free, addiction free, and is leading Eagle Creek’s Monday night outreach meeting in Cedar Grove. After twenty eight years of marriage, David and Sandy had the joy of seeing their daughter, Lauren get married this past year. When Lauren was asked what it meant to her to have the “new man” walk her down the aisle, this was her reply. “It was a blessing to have my hero escort me down the aisle on the happiest day of my life, free from the grip of addiction. I am so grateful for the foundation Eagle Creek Recovery Center gave my dad to become a new man. Simply put, it’s a place full of the love of God that provides healing and restoration to families.”
Nathan Clevinger
The way I grew up, statistically speaking, there was no chance I'd ever make it in life. Some of my earliest memories were having to suddenly wake up and pack my bags so we could move, yet again, to another house. I remember riding in the car on dark nights picking up strangers and seeing clear bags with drugs in them. Fighting, parties, drugs and alcohol, were all consistent and common at my house. I tried to cope by locking myself in my room. However, by the age of ten, I began to experiment with pills and grow marijuana. I was becoming what I hated most about my life. At fifteen I remember the house I lived in, which was well known for drugs and prostitution, was raided by the police in the middle of the night. I grew up around strangers; there were always people sleeping on the floor, holes in the walls, mold on food, and roaches on the counters.
By the age of eighteen, I had my first charge. At twenty, my daughter was born, but I lost my privileges to see her eight months later due to drugs. By the time I was twenty-two, I was using needles, picked up two more charges, and overdosed on cocaine and Demerol, which put me in a coma for nine days. At this point, I had completely lost my ability to think or reason; I couldn't read or write. I ended up in jail for four months and had lost everything. I had no stable family and had no idea where my daughter was.
While I was in jail, I noticed my cellmate had a packet; just so happens it was information about Eagle Creek Recovery Center. I recognized the name of the church because my grandmother had brought me a few times to kids church and I decided to call and was accepted into the program. I was a hard case. Covered with tattoos and piercings, rebellious bitter, and hated people, including myself. It was there that I met Ben Ward, who at that time was the resident assistant on the weekends. No matter how difficult I would be, he just loved me and spoke life over me. I would get angry and lose my temper and he would still treat me with kindness. Over time, I was able to begin to believe in the God that I often heard about and knew He accepted me because these people accepted me.
Today, I am a credentialed minister with the Assemblies of God, have been on full time staff at Eagle Creek Recovery Center for six years, and have worked on the maintenance staff for Evangel Christian Academy for the last five years. God didn't just restore something I had at one time and had lost; God has given me things I had never known or had. He has restored my relationship with my daughter, who was recently baptized. A few years ago, my father came through the program and was delivered of his addictive lifestyle and found Jesus!
Chris & Jesse Rowe
"When I arrived at Eagle Creek, all I had was the clothes on my back. No family, no friends, no money, and no car. I had lost my dad to cancer, my mother died from a massive stroke, and my brother had taken his own life during a family gathering one New Year's day. I had two failed marriages, three children including a son whom I had not seen since he was three months old, and was completely addicted to drugs and alcohol. I didn't want to live anymore. I had no fear of dying; I was just lost, tired, and scared of living." This is the "before picture" of Chris's life. When he arrived at Eagle Creek, upon being referred by a doctor from LSUMC, the miracles soon began. When you encounter Chris and Jesse Rowe, you would never know they have traveled such a rough road. Since being restored at Eagle Creek Recovery Center, he has literally recovered all that seemed lost forever. He is part of the Shreveport Community Church family, head of maintenance for Evangel Christian Academy, and he and Jesse are remarried! He believed at this point the restoration was complete. Not just yet; God has even restored his relationship with his seventeen year old son, who he had never had an opportunity to know. Jesse also works at Evangel and their children attend school there. This is is truly a story of incredible hope!
Richard & Amy Elledge
At the age of seven, Richard heard the news that his parents were getting a divorce. He had a feeling this day was going to happen. His father was an alcoholic and a drug addicted mess who had put him and his mother through countless nights of turmoil and strife. After witnessing his mother being beaten after his dad had been out in the bars all night, he knew their relationship wasn’t going to continue much longer. His dad walked out of his life at the age of seven and he has only seen him a few times since.
As he got into his teenage years he began to see the affects of not having a father and just how much damage it had caused. He began searching for acceptance as he got into his high school years and got involved in every crowd you could possibly get into. He went to his first party and it seemed like everyone was having fun, so he tried alcohol knowing deep down he shouldn’t because of his father’s problem but did it anyway to fit in. Drinking seemed to get rid of all the pain that was going on inside and that’s where the long vicious cycle began. He continued to spin out of control with the partying , drugs, and fast paced lifestyle. It was all fun at first and he thought he could handle it but eventually it began to handle him. By the age of twenty, he had been in and out of rehabs and almost ended up in prison. He couldn’t believe it. He said he would never be like his dad but ended up worse. Eventually, Richard would find himself using hard drugs. He became someone he never thought he could be. He started stealing, lying, and cheating to get his next fix. He ended up getting kicked out of his house and began living on the streets. He had lost everything.
One morning, after a long night of partying, he woke up and looked down at his bruised and scarred arms and began to cry. He remembered how his mom would tell him Jesus loved him and He had huge plans for his life. He prayed and vowed to God that if He would set him free that he would serve him the rest of his life. That same day he called home and his mom had seen Pastor Denny Duron on TBN and called the church to see if they knew of a place that could help him; they knew just the place! God answered his prayer that day and brought him from Alabama to the Eagle Creek Recovery Center. His life was changed as he embraced what the program offered and did great for a year. However, he began to compromise what he had been taught and slowly drifted back into his old lifestyle. But now something was different. God had changed him and set him free and when he tried to go back to the old person he couldn’t get away from God. "My friends would be seeing purple dragons and all these crazy things and I would see Moses parting the Red Sea. It was crazy!" One night he was at a bar and some people from Shreveport Community Church called him and began praying for him over the phone and he broke right there in front of all his friends. He told them he was running from God and couldn’t live this life anymore. He tried running from God but found out that it was impossible. Once you’ve seen the light the darkness isn’t fun anymore. He drove down an abandoned road and parked his car and told Jesus he wasn’t going to give Him ninety nine percent; he was going to give one hundred percent. He came back through the Eagle Creek Recovery Center and God restored him and gave him that fire he had before; except this time it was going to last. "When I finally got serious with God, He got serious with me. He set me free from addiction!" That was 5 years ago and he served on staff for 4 years helping others break the cycle of addiction. He has traveled and done world missions and seen countless lives transformed by the power of God. He recently married Amy and they just purchased their first home and saw God do many miracles in the process. "One of the best things that Jesus has done in my life is that He has given me my family back. He has blown me away with his faithfulness. I also had the opportunity to lead my father to Christ. I don’t know where I would would be if God had not purposefully placed me at Eagle Creek Recovery Center and around so many who believed in me. I would like to give special thanks to Pastors Mike and Stephanie Back and Blocker and Minnett Thornton. To God be the Glory for what He has done!"
