To Not Live for My Own Comfort: The 2012 RVA Graduation‏

July 16, 2012 by Steve Peifer

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field that a man found and hid. In his excitement he went and sold everything he had and bought that field.”
I don’t write a lot about Rift Valley Academy, the school where we work. RVA is a boarding school for missionary kids. It is American accredited, 106 years old, has 30 different passport countries represented on it, and is so remote that there are baboons on the campus. Nancy teaches...

The Attack: The Death of Big Whitey

May 5, 2012 by Steve Peifer

They came after midnight. There were seven of them, and they attacked two of our guards. They snuck up behind the first guard and hit him so hard that he was knocked unconscious and was treated for a concussion. The second guard saw them and tried to fight them. They overpowered him and beat him until they broke his leg and then they tied up both guards.
Because other computer centers had been broken into, we had reinforced all the doors....

I’m Used to Being Hungry

March 16, 2012 by Steve Peifer

One of the most fun things I do on campus is providing music for the K-6th grade Skate Night every term. Although it seems like they would be content for three hours of Taylor Swift, it is an enjoyable challenge to program music that they might enjoy, or at least endure. Last week, I had a special handicap; I had lost my voice.
Although I so perfectly embody the form of a holy missionary, it might shock you to know that...

Your Jokes Are Not So Funny; Evidence of Change

January 29, 2012 by Steve Peifer

So I am grilling chicken breasts, and the pan that was full of chicken breasts was not empty but full of juice and guts, so I think it will be smart for me to take that to the outside trash and dump it in there. I throw the juice in there, and a rather large monkey jumps straight up out of there, and gives me a look like, “Do you MIND?”
I’m pretty sure it was raining and that was the...

The Gift of Tears

December 29, 2011 by Steve Peifer

Ugali is a Kenyan dish that consists of boiled cornmeal. If it sounds appetizing, you need to read it again. We had a luncheon for all the computer teachers, and many remarked that I didn’t eat the ugali. When I asked why they ate it, three different people told me that if you ate it at night, you would not wake up with hunger pains, which is a real issue for most Kenyans. I found a way to look away,...

The Heart of Worship and Neil Diamond: The Most Glorious Day

November 20, 2011 by Steve Peifer

On Tuesdays, instead of chapel, there is an optional praise chapel run by the kids. I try never to miss it; nothing is better for what ails you than singing to the Lord with a bunch of enthusiastic students. We sang several songs, and then it happened.
They started to sing the melody to the song “I’m a Believer” but they had changed the lyrics to reflect Christian lyrics. But there was no denying that we were SINGING A NEIL DIAMOND...

A Different Kind of Exhilaration

October 16, 2011 by Steve Peifer

From student announcements:
“Mr. Peifer is delighted to announce that the broken glass on his historic, personally signed picture of Neil Diamond has been repaired and is available for viewing in his office with an appointment.”
(I just thought you would want to know.)
I first met Alan in the weight room at RVA. It isn’t hard to do; it is little more than a large closet, so those of us who are 6am work out people tend to get to know each...

My Beautiful Ear

September 19, 2011 by Steve Peifer

I know that many of you have been devastated by my inability to ditch this shallow missionary life and be pursuing my true calling of being a male model. After the interaction with Tyra Banks, it just seemed God ordained that I would be utilizing my true abilities and the phones would not stop ringing.
Shockingly, the calls never came. And so I trudged back to Africa with defeat in every step of the way.
But God had a bigger plan.
RVA does...

Stories from the Field

Stories
from the Field