You can tell when the end of the term is because the children start playing Christmas music rather early getting ready for the end of term Christmas concert. The older kids do a wonderful job, but the concert of the younger kids band is a marvel to behold. Many of them have had instruments for just a few months, and the sounds they make are fascinating.

I’ve learned that you should NEVER make eye contact with another adult during one of the performances. The fifth and sixth graders performed Jingle Bells, and I’m sure you could have gotten a similar sound by taking a large stick and whacking a big cow. At one point, during an unsuccessful stretch for a note, I made the mistake of looking at a staff member who was trying valiantly to not laugh, which made keeping a lid on it pretty tough, but the wonders of being married almost 18 years is that she knows me well, and her elbows helped me contain myself.

Right after school gets out, there is a conference for all the missionaries in the area at RVA. Many of these folks are way out in the bush, and the stories they tell are remarkable. One told of their daughter being asked by a Masai tribe to go zebra hunting. The males pride themselves in their hunting skills, and Masai woman never hunt. They asked her as a joke, and she took one bullet to get her zebra. To celebrate and honor her, they allowed her to wash her face in the zebra’s blood.

Another missionary is a 70-year-old force of nature who goes into Sudan, probably the most dangerous place in Africa to be in. She has been shot at and had to flee from bombings as she goes in to help. Nothing deters her; she keeps going back because of her love for the people.

I thought about this as I stuffed envelopes this week. I’m working in the Guidance office, and had the misfortune to replace someone who was not only the coolest person on the campus, but also had done the job for years and knew it inside and out. I’ve not yet had a cool day in my life, and I am learning as I am going.

God uses everything that we’ve done, or at least He has out here. I had a job once where I traveled to colleges, and had the opportunity to visit almost 800 campuses. So I have been able to bring a little perspective to the kids as they try to make their college decisions.

As far as we have been able to tell, the kids have responded well to my talking about colleges. So well that we have had about five times the normal applications from the kids at RVA. Because of where most of their families live, it is our job to process the applications and get them ready to be mailed. It is also our job to find people returning to the states who will take mail, because the Kenyan post office is not too safe or reliable.

What it has meant for me in the past ten days is working 12 hours a day trying to get applications done. As I’ve listened to the cool stories of missionaries who are doing astonishing things, the later it got, the more I tended to wish I were doing something cool instead.

It hasn’t happened often to me, but this was a time when I think I received a revelation. Probably obvious to most of you, but it really was made clear to me that in life, it’s not what we do, but why and how we do it. As I contemplated that, I repented of my lousy attitude and tried to do it unto Him. It’s not a glamorous job, but I know it is what I’m supposed to be doing right now. And if I’m doing what I’ve been called to do, and doing it with a good heart, it will bear good fruit.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had the experience of reading a newspaper and learning that the plane you were going to be on tomorrow crashed. On Friday, we learned of the bombing in Mombassa.

On the sixth, we were scheduled to fly to Mombassa. We aren’t being foolish; we are staying in a modest villa far away from the fancy tourist resorts there It was an unsettling coincidence, but one that reaffirmed to us that our safety is in His hands.

It became more clear when Paul, the boy hurt in the car wreck, was allowed to go home. He has months and months of recovery ahead of him, but it is a miracle that he is still alive.

It goes back to this: the safest place to be is where He wants you to be.

Your pal

Steve Peifer