Summit 2023 Conference

Quiet voices murmuring all around me. A low rumbling. My eyes are closed. I’m surrounded by many, but secluded at the same time. My lips are moving and I’m speaking. I’m sitting on the ground. In stillness. Just me and my Friend talking. Suddenly my eyes flash open. My lips clamp shut as my ears all at once are flooded.

In comes the noise and realization that everyone else around me is also talking to my Friend…but not at all in the way that I do.

The voices that were once a murmur around me are now shouting, singing, crying out. Someone asks my Friend a question in French, someone over there is singing with my Friend in Swahili, someone else is crying with my Friend in Thai, and someone else is telling a story to my Friend in Indonesian. My ears ring. I sit in awe. What joy. Everyone around me knows and loves my Friend, and my Friend knows and loves them. Every tribe and tongue and nation.

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For the past week, Wesley and I have been in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We have been a part of a large conference called Summit being held here for an organization called World Outreach International. This week-long conference is a yearly thing for this particular organization, but because of many world happenings in the past couple of years, it had been 5 years since they had collectively gathered at the prior conference. The joy that was in the room as friends were reunited and able to hug and see one another again was almost tangible. Wesley and I are thrilled and humbled that our first year of this experience is such a momentous one!

Wesley has been documenting highlights and teachings of the week, creating content, and capturing many holy moments. We have felt very excited, thankful, expectant, and a little curious this week as we have gotten our heart and passion confirmed over and over for the absolutely huge need and great asset that is there for the stories to be told of these workers and of what God is doing in and through them on the field. We have received much encouragement, confirmation, appreciation, and many requests from workers to come to their countries to tell their stories! We are excited for what God is up to and humbled that we get to be a part of it in this way.

We wanted to especially say to you, thank you so much for praying for us as we have been here! We honestly still haven’t quite recovered from jet lag haha (we are 11 hours ahead of our East Coast people!) but we’re getting there! Little Cannon baby is doing great and has been a trooper with lots of unfamiliar food, but wow, has it been delicious! One of the nights of the conference, we had a big chunk of free time, and we got to go out and explore the city! We went to markets, walked the streets, and went to a night bazaar! We had just about the funniest drive back that night with our new friends from New Zealand, Annie and Brent. I was crying from laughing, if that tells you anything. Wesley and I are here staying a few extra days in Thailand after the conference, and we have been getting to do more city-exploring this weekend, which has been an absolute blast! Speaking of new friends, we have met so many incredible people this week. We have shared meals together; sat with them through the insightful, challenging, and encouraging sessions and sermons; worshiped alongside them; prayed with and for them; and heard just the beginning of their huge well of stories.

As I think back over this week, a big thing that I personally have treasured up and will spend much time pondering on is what it felt like to truly be among the nations, and to realize that the love of God doesn’t just stretch, but simply IS across the nations in all its fullness. I have been reminded this week of just how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. We have met and been surrounded by brothers and sisters from South Africa, Australia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, Brazil, Thailand, Nairobi, the Philippines, Burkina Faso, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and many more places–all here because of the strength of the love of God and because of just how good His News is.

We hope this little update encourages you! We pray it causes you to stop and think even for a moment on just how big and real God’s love is, and because of that, how big and real the need is to tell people of it. Every tribe and tongue and nation.

We so love each of you!

-Wes and Rye

Summit 2023 Highlight

And here are a few pictures from our time at Summit!

Our walk from the conference area back to our room!

Our Tuk Tuk ride in the city with our friends Annie and Brent!

City sights of Chiang Mai, Thailand

Wesley's newest student :)

Our friends and teammates, Ange and Ditta, who worked alongside us in the media aspect during the conference week!

LOVE YOU ALL!