Looking back and looking forward
Dear Ms Nores, dear dignitaries, dear Curahuasinos, dear friends and colleagues! 14 years have passed since the founding of the Diospi Suyana organisation. It started with a dream, which has now developed into an important work that has brought blessings to many Peruvians and has filled millions of people worldwide with enthusiasm.
Our starting point was our belief in the reality of God and trusting in His faithfulness we founded a hospital, a dental- and an eye-clinic, a children’s home and a school.
Just over two months ago the 200,000th patient crossed the hospital’s threshold. She was a Quechua-Indian, a mother of 8, who had travelled three days from Puno Province to Curahuasi.
In 2005 we plumbed many depths and climbed several heights. At times my wife and I, who had founded the organisation, were extremely concerned and were very afraid. In these darkest hours however, God was always very close to us and never let go of us. Here an example: in June 2006 Apurimac’s cultural institute wanted to stopped the building of the hospital and threatened to fine us USD 0.7 million. They claimed we had no license and that we were progressing with the project illegally. Diospi Suyana was looking failure right in the eye. But then, on 4th July, Pilar Nores, the former First Lady invited us and having taken on a sponsorship for Diospi Suyana, the institute stopped proceedings immediately.
Today we are opening a new chapter of Diospi Suyana: we are embarking on our media project: Diospi Suyana Radio and TV, with which we want to bring the best message into the world. God loves us, he forgives us and he gives us eternal life, if we believe in him. The programme, which will hopefully travel to countless households over the airwaves, should be a mixture of cultural, health and Christian and Biblical themes and topics. The goal of this media project is not financial gain, but to help, encourage, comfort and support listeners in Peru and worldwide.
The Media Centre, which we giving over to its purpose today, will probably reach and touch more people intellectually and spiritually than the hospital has done in the past nine years.
Here you can see a house with 350m² and an aerial – for some people this constitutes humble beginnings. But within a couple of months we will be transmitting our programme via a FM-frequency reaching 170,000 people in Apurimac. Our applications to broadcast into the provinces of Cusco and Apurimac via an AM-frequency are currently being processed. Using a shortwave-frequency we hope to be able to cover the southern half of Peru.
Recently I was negotiating with the Argentinean company Arsat in Buenos Aires. We hope that with God’s help we will be able to broadcast our programme into the farthest corners of this country using the Arsat 2 satellite.
When travelling through Peru one notices aerial masts on the tops of most hills. Diospi Suyana is one voice among many, currently a very still voice of calm. But we hope that we will be heard more and more. Quality, respecting others’ opinions, honesty and love should be the distinguishing characteristics of our programme.
The Media Centre is the result of a lot of hard work done by builders, technicians and specialists, who have invested time and experience into this work. Publically I would like to thank Johannes Bahr, who selflessly led the building works. Also I would like to mention site foreman Edgar Cruz, Oebele de Haan and Markus Rolli (from Holland and Switzerland respectively) for all their commitment and hard work, especially in all the metal constructions and the electrical installations.
When a spade cut the ground for the first time marking the beginnings of the hospital’s construction – on 24th May 2005 – missionary doctor Dr Allen George said a few words that are still fresh in my memory.
In front of the audience of 3,000 he spoke into the microphone: “My wife has a brain tumour, which has been operated on twice. We do not know what the future holds, but we have learnt this: at the end of our lives only the deeds done for God will outlast us. Amy George died on 5th May 2016 trusting and knowing that she will see her husband and her four children in heaven.
The goal of Diospi Suyana is to serve God and our neighbour. We are not building a monument for us, nor are we on an ego trip. All good things around us are sent from God above. It is a privilege for all the staff working here to be instruments in the hand of the Almighty God and we do not cease to emphasis: “Soli Deo Gloria” – God deserves all the glory. (Excerpts of Dr. Klaus John’s speech).
