When Nancy Peifer called in early November to make a reservation at
Baker St. Harbour Waterfront Bed and Breakfast, we knew we would be blessed by these missionaries on furlough from Kenya, but we had no idea the magnitude of their contributions and our forthcoming blessings! That particular weekend we had guests from Kansas, Texas, and Kenya!
As stories were shared around the breakfast table, Steve and Nancy began to tell their story. "The Peifers moved to Kenya eight years ago. A former Oracle software manager, he was struck by the chronic poverty and he believed educating local children could help change that. He devised an inexpensive way for schools to provide meals to hungry students and he also builds school computer centers. The result: Attendance is on the rise." Nancy teaches French at the school, and is a great supporter of their visions and projects.
As they continued their story, Bill & I and the other guests were mesmerized by their servants' hearts, their experiences, and many accomplishments. Steve smiled and calmly relayed that he was one of the finalists for "CNN Heroes", and that CNN would be interviewing him IN KENYA that coming week! It was amazing how this man so humbly told of their involvement in Kenya, and the honor that he could receive from CNN. We discovered in late December that Steve WAS the recipient of the CNN Hero Award for "Championing Children". Steve, along with five other "heroes" were honored on December 6, 2007 "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," hosted by CNN's Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour, aired live globally on CNN/U.S., CNN International and CNN en Espanol from the American Museum of Natural History in New York. You can read all about it on Steve's
"kenya kids can" website.
"It's a privilege to be in Kenya," Peifer told the CNN Heroes audience. "We came to Kenya after one of our children died. Scripture says he who seeks to lose his own life will find it. When my son died, I felt like I lost my own life. Kenya gave it back to me. I'll always be blessed that we ended up in Kenya. There's such a need in Kenya. There's such an opportunity right now."
Championing Children: extraordinary commitment to the welfare of young people.
"Over the past five months, our CNN Heroes initiative has shone a spotlight upon dozens of amazing people from around the globe," said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide. "All of them deserve the designation as a 'hero,' and these seven we honored tonight truly stood out with their accomplishments, their courage and their humility." Festivities began at 8 p.m. on Headline News with a one-hour red-carpet show live from outside the museum as celebrity performers and presenters arrived.
The two-hour gala that followed featured performances from Grammy Award winners Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow and Norah Jones, and acclaimed performer-producer Wyclef Jean.
Watch Blige's performance » The show focused the spotlight on the 18 CNN Heroes
finalists selected from more than 7,000 nominations submitted by viewers in 80 countries. The finalists -- three each in six categories of cause-related work -- have been featured in stories airing on "Anderson Cooper 360" during the past two weeks.
Steve was leaving the next day after their visit to Granbury to go to Kenya for the CNN interview, then returned to the US until December 27 when the family would be returning to Kenya. We were VERY honored to have him and his wife Nancy as
Granbury and
Baker St. Harbour Waterfront Bed and Breakfast guests. We also pray that Steve and Nancy and their family are safe with all the
current conflicts in Kenya.
Shared by: Betty and Bill Moss, Baker St. Harbour Waterfront Bed and Breakfast, proud members of The Granbury Area Bed & Breakfast Association, Granbury, Texas
