From the recording Voice in the Wilderness

One day I had spent time with two different friends, one of whom was new to Novosibirsk and the other had lived in Novosibirsk all her life. In a space of just a few hours, each of them shared with me some of her current (at that time) struggles, and then each said, more or less (in her own way and her own language), “you would probably never feel like that”. The second time I was no less startled than the first. I don’t remember the exact words I used in answering them, particularly since it was 2 different conversations, but the rest of the day I couldn’t get those conversations out of my mind, and the words “don’t think of me more highly than you ought” and “I am not what you think I am” kept reoccurring in my thoughts. As I was doing the dishes that evening I was still mulling over it and John the Baptist began intruding himself into those thoughts. I can’t remember exactly how thoughts of him began introducing themselves, (I probably have it written down somewhere, though), but after doing the dishes I went and read all the places that talk about him in the New Testament. And either that evening – or maybe it was the next morning, in the time I set aside to pray, read the Bible, and in other ways spend time with God – (I don’t remember exactly but I’m sure I have it written down ) – I wrote this song.