Update from Living Waters Bible Conference

It has been going great here in beautiful northern Maine. I am really enjoying the time with the folks here. My primary roll is providing the music for the conference. I had a neat experience yesterday that I want to pass along.

Our keynote speaker, Chris Gnanakan, has been speaking about the difference between being a typical North American Christian and being a real-deal follower of Jesus. Those who know me, know how passionate I am about this topic. Yesterday morning Chris was tied up on a call to some leaders in the underground church in Asia and was late getting to the morning chapel service. So I started the worship music and then worked my way through the service expecting that Chris would show up at any moment. Well, he did not show up for quite some time. So I was able to share with the folks my passion for being a follower of Jesus. It was such a privilege to get to share since my main roll is to do the music side of the ministry.

But here’s the weird part: as soon as I started to speak, I started to cough. First just one cough and then I would share a bit. Then the coughs started coming closer and closer together. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like it. I asked if anyone had any water and one guy ran to his tent and got me a cold bottle of water. I took a sip of that and it didn’t help at all. By this point, I am out of control. I can hardly speak a couple of words and then I start to cough again.

I finally came to my senses and just stopped the service. Right there I just prayed an incredibly simple prayer. “God,” I said, “would you please touch my throat.” I waited a few moments and then ended the prayer with two words – “Thank you.” I stopped and looked around the audience for a moment and then started to speak again. I promise you, with a room full of witnesses, I did not cough one single time the rest of the time I was speaking. It was freaky. It was so clearly God intervening. I don’t know who was doing business with God that day and needed to hear what I was trying to communicate. But I am confident that God was at work. It was so exciting to see.

So I am full of expectation of what God is going to do this week. I am thankful for the privilege to being here and for the many kind folks who have been a blessing to me during this time. I’ll try to post more later. In the mean time, I always appreciate the prayer. Thanks!