Swine Pressure

“When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.” Proverbs 10:19, NASB.

Recently I gave a seminar on pig farming. I encouraged participation from the class members. I wanted to learn from them, and get a better idea of their concerns and questions they had about their livestock.

For the first hour and a half I was getting great audience participation. All were eager to tell me their stories and experiences. One man on the front row was especially animated. He always seemed to comment first and have strong opinions on every subject.

I asked what the milk would look like if a sow had an infection. Dead silence. The proverbial pin hitting the ground would have been deafening. Most everyone looked in the direction of my main contributor, but he had nothing to say. I restated the question and just let it hang there for a long time.

The silence was uncomfortable and I could feel the pressure mounting as my "swine expert" started shifting in his seat. Finally, he blurted out "How should I know what it looks like, I don't even have pigs!"

*Excerpt from the newsletter of a Last Frontier worker in the Pacific Rim.

Pray that:

Pacific Rim workers will have wisdom to listen to people and determine where they are spiritually; not everyone who seems confident and opinionated is actually knowledgeable.

As this agricultural expert helps farmers in a Last Frontier area to improve the health and productivity of their livestock, that doors will open for him to share Good News to people lost in spiritual darkness.

Pacific Rim workers will maintain a teachable spirit and look to learn from people in their host culture.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.