A lot has happened since my last update. Patrick graduated from Basic Combat Training (BCT) on November 10, 2011. Patrick's mom and step dad came as well as my parents (and of course, me!). We had a really nice time visiting with him. He got to leave post on family day and on graduation day, so we got to spend a lot of time together.
He left Ft. Leonard Wood on November 11th and headed for Officer Candidate School in Ft. Benning, GA. The process for getting accepted into OCS was difficult, but as if you know Patrick, you know he didn't have any problem. :)
He is not three weeks into the training. He is currently in class for about six hours every day (he calls it "death by power point"), and in physical training for the remainder of it. He only gets one hour of personal time each day, which is when they shower, brush teeth and wash clothes. They also have access to their phones and computers during this time. However, by the time they finish their chores, there's not much time left.
Patrick is currently squad leader, which is good because it's giving him leadership opportunities. However, it has come at a very stressful time because he is trying to fill out some extra paperwork for Infantry branch. The catch is he can only work on it during his hour of free time, but he has to be monitoring the computer use of others as squad leader. So he has had very little personal time this week. Please be praying that the Lord will orchestrate some extra down time so Patrick can get his paperwork finished.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We couldn't survive this time apart without the blessing of wonderful friends and family!
