Bill and Kathy

When Kathy and I first met, she was finishing her junior year of high school. I was about to graduate from Furman University and was the brand new summer youth minister at Taylors First Baptist Church. The second time we spoke, I couldn't remember her name. She soon impressed me as a very sharp young lady with a strong and growing commitment to Christ. As our friendship grew, there was no thought of anything other than a very appropriate youth minister/youth relationship with a lot of mutual respect. 

After Kathy graduated, we both went on a church-wide mission trip to the island of Grenada. During preparation and on the trip itself, we were often assigned to work together by others who were directing the trip. Good friends started kidding us about how much time we were spending together and suggesting that maybe something beyond missions was going on. There honestly wasn't. My response was that such an idea was crazy. But after many assertions that the idea was crazy, I had no good answer to the question of why it was crazy.  Before leaving Grenada, Kathy and I talked about the kidding and whether there was anything to it. We didn't know for sure, so we decided to see if there was more to the relationship when we got back to the states. Turns out there was.

It also turned out that Bill and Kathy together was a crazy idea. Our life together has been crazy in great ways, and I'm more crazy in love with Kathy than I could have ever imagined on that island beach. She's not only a wonderful wife, mother, and grandmother, but she's also a vital partner in our ministry. We believe that God called both of us to this craziness, and without Kathy's commitment, support, sacrifice, and tireless work, there would be no Concoxions today. (And no Christopher, Taylor, Shari, Jim, Liam, Rob, Asher, Owen...)