My name is Lee Morris, and in December 2018, I woke up lost in my addiction and told God, "If you are real, kill me." This began the journey that led to me opening The Men of Nehemiah Abilene. I honestly never believed I would return to Abilene; this is where my addiction was at its worst. However, God had other plans.
In September 2019, I started hearing about a pastor who had a building he was filling with beds and didn't know why. After much prompting, I drove to Abilene and opened our doors on November 19, 2019. I started with two men, which quickly grew to six, and then it seemed like that number would double every few months. We graduated our first six men in August of 2019. It was always my belief that if we are building disciples, then we need to serve.
I was driving one afternoon a few months after we opened in the height of Covid and saw a free sign on three lawnmowers. We used one for parts and got the other two running. This is when we started mowing for any elderly person in our area who couldn't afford to or was unable to cut their own grass. Since our inception, we have served the neighborhood we live in, "College Heights." Over the last four years, we have grown our program to include community partnerships to help us better serve the men who come through our doors as well as the community we live in.
We now have partnerships to help with counseling services, not only for the men but their families. We have partnerships that allow us to better serve Abilene as a whole, such as Boots on the Ground, Houses for Healing, Love and Care Ministries, and several others.
We also teach the men trades like plumbing, HVAC, and electrical, as well as job placement, when they enter transition. Our program has grown significantly from four years ago, when all I had was my testimony. God has shown himself faithful to seeing these men restored over and over.
