Steve's Mission

In late 1999, Steve Peifer wrote the following:

You may have read about the recent bombings. We have friends who work in the hospital there; and for some reason, blowing up the only hospital in hundreds of miles staffed by volunteers is a neat idea. They are talking about evacuating the personnel, but the response of one of them has really stayed with me this week. A bomb went off less than 1000 yards from the hospital, and they suggested that the staff consider leaving. Almost to the person, the staff wants to stay and help, because they feel like if they leave, there will be no one there to help those people.

I read a quote this week about this kid who was killed in WWI. His journal was found, and it said "I will work, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully, and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone."

I will never be a medical person in a war zone, but I want to live my life like they do. Whether I am in Kenya or Grapevine, Texas.

Steve and his wife, Nancy, and their two sons, Matthew and J.T. are doing just that. Steve goes on to say:

"Remember a familiar story about the young boy at the seashore who was throwing starfish back into the ocean and the man said: `There are thousands of starfish on this beach. You can't throw enough back to make a difference. And the kids looks at the guy and says "It makes a difference to this one."

It really put things into perspective for me. I am so aware of my limitations, and the overpowering need here. And I can' t come close to helping, or really understanding the cause of lots of the problem. But I feel like a senator from Illinois once said about trying to stop the destruction of the sand dunes in the state. He said, " When I was a young man, I wanted to save the world. When I was middle aged, I wanted to save the country. Now, as a old man, I just want to save the dunes."

Steve, and others like him, are committed to making a difference for the long term:

Africa can break your heart, but it is full of people who have made something beautiful out of so little.

Remember `We are the World?' What wasn't reported was that most of the farmers lost their farms after all the food was poured into that country; nobody wanted to buy food anymore. How do you help without hurting?

A wise friend of mine told me once that the solution needs to come from the people you are trying to help. I just want to help provide the tools.

And they are succeeding, with help. Steve wrote this after receiving toys from generous donors:

We have seen the most brutal things in Africa. There is so much poverty, so much illness, so much desperation. When you leave the country for a year, you find out who your friends are, but more, you find out who aren't, and that is a hard thing to see. The economic cost has been great, and you have so many goals you realize you won't achieve in your last few months.

But a little boy in the hospital just couldn' t stop grinning at the truck you gave him, and his father' s eyes filled with tears. A little girl got her first baby doll, and promised me she would take very very good care of her. As we left the hospital, Matthew told me `Dad, I know its crazy, but every time I go to the hospital and play with those kids, I feel like I'm changing the whole world.

So how did Steve Peifer end up making a difference in Kenya, Africa? Steve & Nancy, after the death of their infant son, Stephen, spent 15 months in Kenya teaching at RVA in Kenya, accompanied by their sons, Matthew and JT. They returned to United States for a brief time in 2001 before returning in late 2001 for an extended commitment. They are back at RVA and active in helping educate and feed the children in the area, hospitals, and orphanages.

There are about 30 million people in Kenya. There are over 1.5 million orphans.

You do the math. They are the most sobering statistics I can think of - one of every thirty people in Kenya are orphans.

Now the Peifer family has now grown by 2! In December 2001, the Peifer family started the process of successfully adopting orphaned twins. The Road To Katie and Casey, December 3, 2001.

Through his letters to family and friends, you can get a glimpse into the life of Steve, his family, and the communities they se100% of the donations collected through YourPal-Steve.org are provided to Steve's programs through Africa Inland Mission International. The Solution Beacon Foundation and YourPal-Steve (a program of The Solution Beacon Foundation) do not utilize any of the donations received through YourPal-Steve.Org for operating or administration costs.