iMessage does not work after suspending account

I am currently deployed and put my contract on freeze because of it. The Verizon Wireless (my provider) salesman at the store told me I would have full usage of all apps via Wifi. So far everything works except iMessage and FaceTime. I have tried turning on iMessage in my general settings and all I get is "Waiting for activation..." for about 5 minutes and then it says Failed to activate, and then it tells me to turn on iMessage to enable it. I have tried turning on and off "Send as SMS" as I read it helps sometimes. I have updated my Location on my phone and even turned on "Set up Automatically" as far as the time goes and everything is set up. When I go to select the Apple ID to access Wifi I can see my phone number but its not available to select, only my Email address is. I would greatly appreciate getting some help so I can keep in touch with my family and friends a little easier while on this deployment. I am 8 hours ahead of the Eastern coast of the states so calling Apple is kind of hard at times. Thank you very much!