August 6, 2010

Well, right now we're supposed to be in Orlando with Pioneers going through our orientation. Unfortunately, we are still in SC. This summer has been so busy, Holly and I never prepared for it. With the wedding and school and work, we have been overwhelmed. We are incredibly bummed out that our next step is being delayed, but our focus is still on going from "called" to "on the field" (wherever that may be). We ask that you will please pray for us, that everything works out according to God's will, and we get overseas as soon as possible. Thanks

Zac Smith

Your faith is incredible and a model for us all you left behind. The cancer has lost and Jesus has the victory in all of this. Your testimony will live on in an incredible way. God has blessed us all through you. Check out his story here http://www.hello-righton.com/2010/05/17/my-love/

This weekend was great. Had two wedding showers and got a lot of cool stuff. More importantly, however, Holly and I got to spend time with a lot of people who love and care for us. It was great to be around my family because we don't get together that often anymore. And it was great (as always) to go to the Kilcoynes and see a lot of old friends. Holly got to meet a bunch of people who have been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember! Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who came! We truly are blessed.
We also have received some money for our mission trip that we are planning to go on. Even though it's just a small dent in the amount we need, it's very exciting to see God providing already. Holly and I are really excited about the opportunity to do mission work and we can't do it without the prayers and financial support of friends and family. Thank you so much for every penny given, but more importantly, for the prayers.

So I was driving up today to visit Holly, and during the long drive I began to think. I began to think about how God has called me to be His witness overseas and how I really don't have a clue what "overseas" means. I know this is a pretty big planet, but my "world" consists really of just Birmingham, Alabama. The furthest north I have been (and also the furthest east) is Washington, D.C. The furthest west is New Orleans. The furthest south? Tampa, Florida. I have only visited these places for a short time, but my world is mainly just Birmingham. Well, what am I getting at? I'm getting at the FACT that I am the least qualified person ever to go overseas. No Bar-b-que, no Iron Bowl, no SEC baseball tournament. What is God thinking?

But then I think about the Bible, and how so many people in God's story were not at all qualified to do what God had them do. How about Rahab the prostitute who was in the lineage of Jesus, David the shephard who became king, Nehemiah the drink taster who rebuilt the wall, Peter the one who denied Christ who began the Church, Paul the murderer who spread the Gospel like no one before him, and the list goes on and on. Our God is an amazing God and He knows what He is doing. Amen.


Check out Isaiah 55:9 and may you surrender your ways and thoughts to His.

Our Story.....

First of all I guess the title of this should actually be "God's Story" because we definately would have never made this story for ourselves. Guy and I started dating at Southern Wesleyan University in January of 2008. Soon after we started dating Guy came to me and said he felt like he was being called to the mission field and asked if I would be on board, I really really like him, so of course I said YES. We continued dating, and I kept telling him, can't you just be a pastor HERE, in AMERICA, after all I had always wanted the "American Dream". We attended a mission conference together, where I was then thrown for a loop when someone asked me when I felt called to be a missionary because I hadn't felt called, he had! So I went home very upset, wanting God to show me His will, whether He wanted us to continue dating, whether He wanted me to be a missionary too. In my quiet time with God that night, the verses that the devotional book pointed me to was Matthew 28:19-20, which you can read above. God told me that He has called EVERYONE to be missionaries!
I decided that I wanted to go on a summer mission trip, so I decided to go with the Traveling Team to the IT Project in Los Angeles, CA (which I would recommend to any college student or recent college graduate). My life was then totally turned upside down. Not only did God call everyone to be missionaries but the main story of the Bible is how God is going to use all of his followers to bring every tribe, tongue, and nation to worship Him! I've always had a plan for my life, it consisted of: getting married, having kids, and living in Anderson, SC for the rest of my life. Little did I know that God has SO MUCH MORE planned for me :)
Guy and I are getting married in June! We have decided to partner with a mission agency by the name of Pioneers (www.pioneers.org). We will be attending an orientation with them in August to figure out more details about where and what we will be doing! We are hoping to be overseas within the next year and a half, sooner if God allows! Please continue to pray for God to reveal His next steps for our lives.