A Dream So Big:
Our Unlikely Journey to End the Tears of Hunger
by Steve
Peifer with Gregg Lewis
Overwhelmed by grief from the loss of their youngest child
due to a serious genetic abnormality, Steve and Nancy Peifer were in need of a
change. To get away from things for a
while, they accept a year-long assignment as dorm parents at a boarding school
in Kenya for missionary kids. After a
year of ministry, as they were preparing to return to the States, Steve has an
eye-opening conversation with a teacher at a Kenyan school. At that point he knew he would be back.
A Dream So Big chronicles the experiences of the Peifer
family as they adapt to life in Kenya, re adapt to life back home in the United
States, and sell their house to return to Kenya for over a decade to try to put
a stop to hunger among Kenyan children. Steve had discovered at the school he visited at
the end of their first visit that many children were so hungry by Thursday that
they couldn’t stand or even sit up at school because many had not eaten since
that Monday. Haunted by what he saw, he
is convinced that he needs to do something to at least help some of them. As the lunch program he starts grows and is
able to provide a daily meal for children in several schools, Steve starts
noticing other needs. He believes that the secret to solving Kenya’s many
social and political problems lies in educating them, but change within a
country needs to be worked by its citizens, not outsiders. The lunch program drastically reduced dropouts
among schoolchildren (public schools are not free in Kenya and have tuition that
most parents cannot afford) but without electricity it is hard to teach
children skills that they need in order to be prepared to compete in today’s
global market.
This line of reasoning leads to building computer centers,
powered by solar panels, for a few of the schools being serviced by the lunch
program. The Peifer’s goal is to enable
the country to raise a generation of educated individuals who can enact change
and vote for a better government.
I was touched and convicted as I read about the journey of
the Peifer family as they are blessed through following God’s will. Through pain and service they were blessed
beyond words. I went back a forth
between laughing and wanting to cry every time I turned a page. Mr. Peifer has a great sense of humor and constantly
made me laugh trying to picture some of the situations he ended up in! His description of a Kenyan wedding was
particularly entertaining! I could NOT
stop laughing!
By the end of the book, I was almost ready to volunteer to
spend a year in Kenya myself! I felt so
connected to what was going on from reading the book that I wanted to do
something to help! Descriptions of
places and even conversations are so vivid and entertaining that not only did I
feel like I was there, I could not put the book down once I started reading it!
I highly recommend this book. Reading it is a personal journey and an
eye-opener I think everyone needs, if for no other reason than to learn how to
appreciate what we have. If you decide
not to read the book, at least check out www.kenyakidscan.org
to read current updates from Steve and Nancy Peifer and learn about their
ministry. However, this is one book I
would STRONGLY recommend!
I received a
review copy of this book for free from the publisher. I was not required to
write a positive review and the opinions and thoughts I have expressed are my
own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16
CFR, Part 255
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