Volunteer in Corrections
I grew up on a small farm in east-central Missouri. I had four sisters and one brother. One of my sisters died long before I was born. I was seven when I received a baby sister. I did not like her at first. I had the baby status for all those years and was the center of my big sister's attention, but after a while, I accepted my baby sister.
My early church years consisted of being picked up by a neighbor and taken to Sunday school and church at a little Baptist church way out in the country. I have fond memories of those days and that little country church. At the age of twelve, I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. I was very excited about Jesus being in my heart. By the age of fourteen, I knew that God had a calling on my life. Shortly after, things began to change for me. I became rebellious and began to stray away from God. I started drinking and running with the wrong crowd. I was getting out of control fast. My best friend was killed in Vietnam. He was also my cousin. That really started things to escalate in my life. My girlfriend hurt me; I ran away and joined the Army. I wanted to get even with the people in Vietnam for the loss of my best friend. I kept asking to go to Vietnam but the Army would not send me. The drinking kept getting worse; I was drinking a gallon of whiskey a day. I spent my time in the Army in Korea and Germany. My drinking was ruling my life, and I was out of control. My life was a mess, but I could not stop. I got married to my first wife while on leave between Korea and Germany. My wife became ill while in Germany, which caused me to become even more stressed out. I was torn apart between the Army and my wife. I eventually had a nervous breakdown. At that point, my military career was over. I drank even more. I was discharged from the Army a broken man.
For many years I could not hold a job, I stayed angry all the time and bitter at everything. I got a divorce from my wife, drank more, and had a feeling of uselessness. I lost more jobs, got married again, and my life became somewhat stable. I got a job where I could not drink; I had to stay sober to keep the job. I worked in the trucking industry for fourteen years. Then my life hit another downhill spiral. I had a series of heart attacks. After five heart attacks and three mini strokes, again I was devastated. I fell into a deep depression. I tried many times to take my life, but one glorious day God sent me an angel by the way of a nurse in the V.A. Hospital. She told me that the drugs alone would not help me. I must seek out the Lord for healing. She helped me return to my Christian roots. I started on the road to recovery putting my trust back in God instead of the bottle. Praise the Lord!
God has delivered me from alcohol and from my manic depression. I have been clean now for over twenty years. For the past fifteen years, I have rededicated my life to the work God has called me to do. God has never left me; it was I who walked away from him. Since I have returned to Christian service, I have been to Bible School and was given my first minister's license in 2004. I have since been ordained by the Independent Assemblies of Oklahoma. I am currently working as the Senior Citizens Pastor at Lakeside Family Worship Center Marshfield, MO. I also work with Bob Gannon and Celebrate Recovery Inside, with the homeless, and with people in the hospital. God has given me a heart for the less fortunate in this world. I learned a lot from life, but I have learned a lot more from the study of God’s word and letting him have his way in my life.
With Gods Love,
Pastor Bill Isgrig