When Patrick was 16, Irish pirates raided his village in Britain and carried him off. He was sold as a slave and forced to herd pigs. There, in the filth, God began to change his heart. After six years he escaped and made it home. As far as he was concerned, he was done with Ireland. He wrote, “It is not in my nature to show divine mercy toward the very ones who once enslaved me.” Then God changed his heart again. Through a dream, Patrick believed God was calling him back. His friends were horrified. Around AD 432 he paid for a boat with his own money and sailed to Ireland to preach the gospel to the people who had enslaved him.
