The Vow

August 24, 2009 by Steve Peifer

I am now a member of the Blender Community.

Perhaps I should explain. Perhaps the most important development to happen in my life in the last year was hearing from the Lord that I should make breakfast in the morning. Nancy has a first-period class; I didn’t have to get out until second period. It would take pressure off of her and allow me to develop gifts previously undeveloped.

To add to this, Nancy has been diagnosed as a diabetic. It was...

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The War

July 23, 2009 by Steve Peifer

When it comes to cold, I am pretty darn stoic.
When it gets down in the 40s and we don’t have heaters here, I am widely admired for how I handle the temperature. I’ve found that yelling “I’m dying of the cold, and no one CARES” a dozen or so times a day does WONDERS for office morale. I’ve discovered that wearing a hoodie with the hood up under a winter coat is a wonderfully inviting image for impressionable young people...

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The Fear

June 22, 2009 by Steve Peifer

Recently Korean missionaries were targeted in a country north of here, and several were killed. All of them were known by our students whose parents work in that country. None of our students’ parents were killed, but the game you can play with yourself that it is all ok and you aren’t in danger being here, came unglued. The next day you could tell every kid that was from that country; the fear was all over them. Their parents were...

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The Fuel

May 28, 2009 by Steve Peifer

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I hear lots of interesting things as a guidance counselor, but perhaps the greatest thing I’ve heard all year was from a parent who had come in to express her rather extreme displeasure with me about the advice I was giving her daughter:
 
VERY Displeased Mother: Why on EARTH are you recommending Cal Tech to my daughter?
Me: Your daughter is bright enough to get in and I think Cal Tech is one of the premier colleges in the United States. When...

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What You Learn About Yourself When a Snake Drops in Your Lap in Tanzania: Lessons in Personal Growth

May 5, 2009 by Steve Peifer

RVA has interims, and we were asked to lead a group to Tanzania. We met with our group, and we asked them, “Why did you pick this group?” When every member admitted that it was there second choice, I thought that it was an auspicious beginning, but the honesty was a great start to an astonishing week.
 
We were going to be living among the Datooga tribe, a group that still lives in mud huts. They live in a national park,...

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Tears of Sorrow, Days of Rage: The Stakes Get Higher

March 16, 2009 by Steve Peifer

 
True Confessions Time:  my wife dresses me. This is, I know, a shocking revelation for all those who know me and love and admire my fashion sense, but the truth must come out. The other morning I was in a panic; Nancy had left and I had not determined what shirt would go with what pants. I didn’t know what to do, and then I remembered I had a secret weapon.
Katie.
I called her into our bedroom, and she went through...

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The Science of Romance: Putting 20 pounds of Manure in a 15 Pound Bag

February 24, 2009 by Steve Peifer

 
Never been too good at that romance thing. Actually took my wife to Schindler’s List on Valentine’s Day once. But with age comes wisdom, and you add a big dollop of that holy missionary stuff, you really start to have the goods.
RVA has a senior banquet every year. The juniors do it in honor of the seniors. They write a play, build a set, perform it for them and cook all the food. The only people allowed are the seniors,...

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Never Pass Out on a Kenyan Airplane: Nurse Perpetual and Other Adventures from the Kenyan Health Care System

January 8, 2009 by Steve Peifer

It had been a long hard year, and we hadn’t seen JT as a family for 12 months. So we were thrilled that he was able to come for Christmas, and we arranged to go to the coast the morning he arrived for five days on the beach.  JT was a typically exhausted college kid just done with finals, so we had a nice relaxing time in Mombasa.
We were flying back to Nairobi on the 22nd, and I started to...

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