St. Patrick was a deacon's son (and a pagan as it turns out). At the age of 16 he was captured by Irish slavers and served as a slave in Ireland for 6 years. It was during this time that he was converted and first began to dream of converting his captors. He escaped at the age of 22, walked 200 miles to freedom, and trained as a missionary before returning to Ireland and founding hundreds of churches and leading thousands to Christ.