Will I Still be
Three in
Have you ever met a hero and made a fool of
yourself?
A few months ago, I was leaving a school which has one
textbook for every seven children, and I was in a rather foul mood. An official government procession went
by, and by law, you must pull over to the side of the road, stop your engine and
get out of your car.
And I counted over 15 new
Mercedes.
I had one of my hitting the steering wheel of my car
drives home, but I read something the next day in the newspaper that spoke the
truth about the Kenyan budget. Sunny
(the journalist at the newspaper) was so on the money that I had to write
him and thank him for articulating what I felt in a way far more eloquent than I
would ever be able to.
And another unlikely friendship in
But we found a bond in our view of economic policy in
And I would write to him to comment, and we began to
forge an email friendship. We had both been consultants, both worked in
technology, and both had a love for
He asked me once about what I was doing, and I told him
about the computer center and the feeding program. He asked if he could visit
sometime, and we set a time.
It was going to be a great day for him to visit. We were
going to award prizes for kids who typed the fastest and the most accurate.
After three months, children who had never seen a computer before were typing
50WPM with 95% accuracy.
I wanted Sunny to see the project, because he has been
in technology, and I have been out of it for so long that I don’t trust my own
judgment sometimes. He was complimentary and helpful with
suggestions.
But I was like a fan boy at a Star Trek Convention who
asks Mr. Spock questions like `In episode 23, you began a sentence in the first
15 minutes and had an unusually long pause. WHY?’
I was saying things to Sunny
like:
Me: `You
know the column you wrote about the effects on regressive tax policy on economic
growth?’
Sunny: Yes?
Me: `It was awesome.’
.
The twins are not exactly sure about all this
ME: You will have so much fun in
THEM: Will Lauren be in
Me: No. But you will make LOTS of friends in
Them: Will I still be three in
Me: Yes!!
Many of you have asked what our plans are for our year
in
But you probably wouldn’t.
So after a few weeks of rest, we are going to shop for
clothing. It would be in bad taste to tell you the state of repair that my
underwear is in, but my friend Chris would say that it is held together with
baling wire and spit. We want the older boys to get reacclimated to the states, and try to see
RVA has given me encouragement to get certified in
college guidance, so I am going to take a series of classes online through UCLA
to get further training in that area. The goal the Lord has put on my heart is
to come back to
In addition, our own support level is low enough that we
would not be allowed to return until it is at our mission approved level, so we
need to seek out new support. I
hope to find some kind of work once the older boys start school in the middle of
August. And, someone is planning to publish a collection of our emails for a
book, which still amazes me.
It has been a wonderful three years. Someone asked me:
`What accomplishment are you most proud of?’ Upon
consideration, I realized it was something most of you don’t even know about. I
decided that I needed to be home on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons so
Recognizing that
I know this has been lengthy, but I wanted to end with
thanks to all of you. It would be difficult to sum up what you all have meant to
us without getting sappy or weepy, both of which are things I like to avoid.
What comes to mind is an old TV show called The Invaders. The plot was about
this guy who discovers that aliens have landed and are plotting to take over the
world.
And no one believes him. Worse, no one
cares.
In you, we have found people who would weep with us in
what we have seen and experienced in
But you have stood with us, and often times, it was an
email from someone who gave us the fuel to continue the fight, and to be
encouraged in it.
I still go back to the end of the TV show. On the last
show, the guy is seated at a table with a small group of people. The stern
voiced narrator says `Finally, he has discovered allies. Those
who also know. Those who believe.’ And the guy
looks at the group of people at his table, and he
weeps.
Thank you for all you have done for us, and what you
have done for the people of
Please don’t take this wrong, but when I think of you
guys, sometimes I just weep
http://peifer.kijabe.org
PS. We are inviting all of our friends in
the DFW area to join us at Milwaukee Joe’s on Friday July 23rd at
Bedford,
(817) 581-1953
Steve
and Nancy Peifer
Stateside
Address: