Mt. Vernon Register-News

Local

September 1, 2010

Annual prayer breakfast: Lee to tell his story

By KANDACE MCCOY kandace.mccoy@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — On March 8, 1971, while serving his country in Vietnam, McLeansboro native Tim Lee stepped on a land mine that would have easily blown up a small armored vehicle.

“I was raised in a pastor’s home and I let sports more or less become my god,” Lee remarked of his decision to join the military. “I was feeling like I had made a lot of wrong choices in my life and was heading down the wrong direction in my life. Then one day I was walking down a street in McLeansboro and I saw a sign about joining the Marine Corps.”

Lee said he decided to join the Marines, not knowing what he wanted to do in his life or what he wanted to accomplish. He found that he “loved the Marine Corps,” he said, and was getting ready to make a career with the military branch.

“But God had a different plan,” he said.

On that fateful day in 1971, while walking along a trail in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, Lee stepped on a land mine, losing his legs. He was eventually placed in a wheelchair.

“It’s a miracle when you stop and think about it,” he said. “I strongly believe God had a plan for my life. I spent eight months in a hospital in Pennsylvania, and there were times of depression and a lot of surgeries I had to face. I feel very fortunate for being alive.”

It’s this story Lee will bring to the King City Sept. 10 at the annual Mt. Vernon Prayer Breakfast at the Holiday Inn. Lee will not only share his story, but speak of his roots, as well as Biblical foundations for the building of our nation, he said.

“My dad was a pastor at Belle Rive Baptist Church when I came back home (from recovery),” he said. “Not long after that, I married Connie, who I met at my dad’s church. I really believe God was wanting me to preach. It was scary — being in a wheelchair and preaching. You didn’t see many speakers in a wheelchair.”

With the support of his family, Lee began his ministry in Delafield, eventually moving to Oklahoma. He has continued preaching and telling his story for the past 32 years.

“God did this,” he said of his calling. “I couldn’t do it.”

But one thing he enjoys about preaching, he says, is that he never forgets his roots or where he’s from.

“Every year I go to five or six small church meetings, some of those only have a congregation of about 40 to 50,” he said. “I minister to those people because that’s my roots. That’s why I’m excited about coming to Mt. Vernon, because that’s my roots and my home area.”

Tickets are still available for the prayer breakfast, which will begin at 6:30 a.m. with Lee speaking at 7 a.m.

Tickets are $12 per individual or $120 a table, said Sherry Meadows, a co-chair of the event. Tickets may be picked up at the Mt. Vernon District 80 Office, 2710 North St.

For ticket information, you may call 244-9844. For more information you may call Meadows at 204-8511.

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