He didn’t know what
it meant to be an orphan
November 7,
2005
I need to begin by
sharing an article from this Sunday’s newspaper.
This is a story that might not be found in an American
newspaper.
There is an election going on for the new constitution
in
The election occurs the last scheduled week of school.
We are in a remote area, and we are in no danger, but most of our parents will
have to travel though the large urban centers, which are expected to have some
riots when the results are announced.
The superintendent gathered the staff together and told
us that we would have to cancel the last five days of school in order for the
students to make connections and travel securely. He mentioned that it would be
announced in Friday’s chapel.
Knowing that it would be a difficult announcement to
make, I gallantly volunteered to make the proclamation. I was rather ungallantly
turned down.
Friday is the day we have our flag raising. After the
national anthem was sung, the superintendent shared the news that school was
going to be closed several days early.
The students cheered like you might expect they
would.
But then he added that because of the need to
leave early, there would not be time for final
exams.
Their cheers escalated to the point where it sounded
like they were sitting naked on a hot plate. I do not understand much about
education, but I discovered that canceling classes and final exams is a GREAT
way to make students happy.
We have friends who have an extraordinary ministry. They
have started a series of orphanages that mainly have AIDS infants. They have
over 1000 children in their homes. Their ministry is all about giving happiness
to the babies while they are still alive.
In the course of taking care of all these children, they
have also adopted several babies with AIDS. Joy died several years ago.
Tony died yesterday.
I can’t imagine what it would be like to take in a baby
who was going to die.
She said something that hit me as deeply as anything
I’ve ever heard. Tony died pretty painfully, with four heart attacks. As Mrs.
Bovard held him in his final moments, she told us that he looked at them and
said without words that he didn’t know what it was like to be an
orphan.
I am so grateful that there are still some extraordinary
people left in the world.
Steve and Nancy
Peifer
Stateside Address: AIM
Home Number:
011-254-20-32046-458
Office Number:
011-254-20-32046-170
Steve's Cell:
011-254-0734-124292
Website: http://peifer.kijabe.org/index.html?intro.html&1
Foundation:
http://www.solutionbeaconfoundation.org/programs.htm