From Startex to Greensboro and back again

Over the past few weeks we received news that Melissa's grandfather had been diagnosed with cancer again.

We asked many of you for prayers and honestly were very concerned.  So we made plans to go visit Papaw, Grandma, and Aunt Jill.

Boy, are we glad we did!

Before we get to Greensboro, however, we went to church.  I got to lead worship for FBS' Refuge ministry. This is the second time I've led worship for this ministry that invites the homeless of Spartanburg in to take showers and have a hot meal before a small worship service.  This time I was much less nervous and truly got to worship with those wonderful folks.

We left shortly after church and arrived in Greensboro at roughly 4pm.  When we arrived we were greeted not only by Grandma, Aunt Jill, and Papaw, but also by Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Louis.  The girls almost immediately fell in love with both of them, and we had a great visit Sunday afternoon.

We played outside on the swings and slide.  We ate some very good chicken and dumplings.  And we ended the evening by doing some praise and worship outside by the fire (with some hymns and southern gospel thrown in for good measure).

We had a great visit today and a fairly uneventful trip home until Ashley decided to drop by for dinner : )

This was an absolute blast of a weekend.  We're all exhausted, but we had a great time.  On top of it all, we found out that the doctors were unable to locate cancer on the CAT scan that they thought Melissa's Papaw had.  We're not out of the woods yet, but I can say he looked better than he's looked in years!

Thanks for your prayers.  Another update to come soon...

Getting Ready

What has happened to the Pattons in the last few years?

Briley, Evie, and Logan at G'ville Zoo

Well, we now have three children: Briley (4), Logan (3), and Evie (2 in August).

• I graduated with an M.Div in Church History in 2012

We moved to Wake Forest for 4 months, then moved to South Carolina.

We have started the process for going overseas.

I am now Assistant Minister of Missions at First Baptist Spartanburg.

We're living in a rented house in the metropolis of Startex, SC.

Life for us over the past year has been essentially one big change.  Whenever we begin to get settled into any semblance of normalcy something else happens to keep us on our toes.  We moved to Wake Forest so that I could pursue a PhD in Historical Theology; however, because of the job market we ended up leaving before any schooling actually took place. 

I took a job with a Miracle Hill Thrift store in Spartanburg, SC.  It was basically the only thing available, and God used it to move us to a position where we were willing and wanting to go overseas.  About the time we settled our hearts on going overseas God opened the doors to this job at FBS.  Right now I am in a part-time position working with the church's national and international teams. 

We are continually grateful for God's provision and faithfulness.  

Thank you all for your patience, and we'll be working on posting more frequently as we are a bit more mobile and not bogged down in schoolwork.