The suspense can hardly be surpassed
On 1st July our aerial tower in Puerto Maldonado went on air. In the extended catchment area 0.25m people can tune into our radio programme. We have received a lot of positive feedback, even from the state’s prison.
Since 9th July our logo has trademark protection for a further 10 years. The DRK (The German Red Cross) refrained from appealing. Back in the autumn of 2017 the DRK had criticized the fact that their logo and Diospi’s could be mistaken. Tough negotiations ensued in which important figures from the judiciary, politics and economics threw their weight in for Diospi Suyana: successfully!
It was Diospi Suyana‘s most extensive village medical field-day to date. On 21st July 52 Diospi Suyana staff travelled 210km to the mountain village of Poltocsa and treated a total of 220 patients. Under Christian von Rensen and Tibor Minge‘s leadership some volunteers put on a Muppet-Show for children and grown-ups. Many people in need were given warm winter clothing. The months of July, August and September are Peru’s winter months during which time it can turn icy cold.
On 24th July Udo Klemenz once again placed a first stone: this time it was for the extension of the Media Centre. The building engineer and his wife Barbara have lived in Peru for a total of almost nine years during which time they promoted and completed several projects.
On 24th July a folklore festival at the Diospi Suyana School lured many parents and friends into the colegio’s grounds. The picture shows a dance scene from Class 10.
Daniel Chiang, Julio Diestra and Percy Diaz smile into the camera. The three co-owners of the Peruvian company P & S have donated a comprehensive software package, valued at $30,000, which is the ultimate solution for the administration of the missionary hospital. The three men took their decision on the 17th August.
Since 18th August Diospi Suyana is also on air in Andahuaylas Province. The picture shows Chris Welch calibrating the satellite connection. Roughly 0.1m Peruvians live there.
In the month of the Child, Gladys Illescas and her friends organised a children festival at which the spark of enthusiasm jumped from the stage into the audience. None of the hundreds of children or parents present would have regretted going outside the city gates. Three teachers from the Diospi-Suyana-School helped put on the event, having spent weeks practising the programme with their classes – everyone was amazed at the result.
On 7th September Diospi Suyana’s aerial tower in the Chincheros Province went on air. From this location we can reach listeners in the western part of Apurimac State and villages in the Ayacucho Region.
With a festive service on 15th September the Diospi-Suyana-community celebrated Udo and Barbara Klemenz’ golden wedding anniversary. The two example of faith were further honoured by the beautiful decorations that many missionary ladies had made as well as the wonderful musical programme organised by Christian van Rensen and Deborah Centner. In his festive address Dr Klaus John used the bible passage that was underlying the original wedding sermon back in 1968 from Galatians 5:1: “Christ has called you to freedom.”
Curahuasi Mayor, Danilo Valenza, and his wife also attended the party. Roughly 100 honorary guests were invited to the evening dinner.
After being severely injured in a traffic accident caused by a drunk driver without a license a young man died of his injuries eight days later. During this time Diospi Suyana was the victim of a targeted defamation campaign which accused our hospital staff of the young man’s death. But the populus’ solidarity with Diospi Suyana was immense. On 17th September a protest march started from the Plaza de Armas and marched the 1.5km to the hospital’s entrance. Even the city’s mayor threw in his lot with the protesters supporting our work. Martina John addressed the crowd with a megaphone and thanked everyone present for their committed support. Elsewhere eager Curahuasinos were keenly collecting signatures which expressed the citizen’s thanks for Diospi Suyana’s eleven years of missionary service.
During the course of 2018 Dr Klaus John gave 160 talks in USA, European countries and Peru. The photo taken on 30th October is of his presentation at the Dutch CHE High-school.
The Media Centre extension is finished and the roof is back on. Thanks to Udo Klemenz and his team we have 15 new offices for our radio and TV-work. At the same time our operating wing is being extended by two new operating theatres.
For us doctors it was a miracle. On 1st December a boy was brought into the hospital who had been without oxygen for 30 minutes. Severe seizures led us to believe that the boy had suffered extensive and irreversible brain damage; but, three day later, the patient greeted Dr Martina John with the words: “Gracias” (thank you).
Before he woke up, Gladys Illescas had knelt by the boy’s beside and asked God for nothing less than a miracle: “God, if this boy walks out of this hospital by himself, I will organise his next birthday party!” God fulfilled his part of the deal…!
On the morning of the 19th December a festive “Graduación” took place attended by the whole school community at which the colegio’s first graduates received their final school reports. That evening the Auditorium shone brightly and the four hour festive programme was made up of music, speeches, a choreography and a delicious menu.
Claudia Hugo (left) and Yesica Herrera (right) proudly hold the Health Authority’s most recent decision in their hands. After several inspections, emails and written reports, the missionary hospital has its new official license that is valid for the next three years. Every hospital has to go through this procedure every three years. The bureaucratic process kept us on our toes for 13 months.
In January 2019 we will start building a desperately needed new school building, which will house three kindergarten classes, a multi-functional room, a storage room and sanitary facilities. The project was designed by architects Cornelius and Tina Linder; Jürgen Engel, living in Mettingen, made all the static calculations.
The list of the 2018 highlights is by no means complete. The above and yesterday’s news bulletin were just a small selection of many examples. Roughly 250 staff are currently working in Curahuasi. Pretty much exactly 1,000 donors financially support Diospi Suyana regularly. We thank all friends across the globe for their faithfulness and it is an expression of our deepest conviction when we say: Soli Deo Gloria. /KDJ
