Just as life goes – or how God plans it
It is February 15, 2013. In the German colony of Fernheim a storm is brewing. The farmers are happy about this because for the past few days they have seen nothing but scorching heat here in the Chaco of Paraguay.
This evening at 8 pm Dr. John will present the work of Diospi Suyana in a church in the city of Filadelfia. Gabriele Wall is too tired, actually, to attend the lecture. That afternoon, however, both the missionary doctor and Gabriele’s aunt personally invited her to come. Of course, you can’t refuse a request from a dear relative.
With the weather being lousy, only 40 people find their way to the large church hall; Gabi is one of them. The program begins a few minutes late due to problems with the projector. Having seen some 240 pictures in the course of the talk, the German-born Paraguayan is convinced about Diospi Suyana and she quietly thinks to herself “Maybe I should join their team in two or three years’ time.”
Life, however, often works out quite differently. Exactly three months later her application arrived at Diospi Suyana. The secretary from west Paraguay knows God has called her to this service.
Her curriculum vitae seems to predestine the convinced Christian for working with Diospi Suyana. Over the past two years she has been helping with a medical project among Indians in the Chaco. Now she lives in Curahuasi, translates texts for the website, manages our 10 visitor apartments and supervises the cleaning team at the hospital. Every Friday she is an active volunteer helping at Diospi Suyana’s kids club.
Gabi plans to return to her country in 2015. Before that, however, she must pedal her bike the 125 km to Cusco faster than Dr. Jens Hassfeld and beat Dr. John in a game of chess. So, who knows? Perhaps this young woman with her hearty way to laugh will stay in Curahuasi for 10 years or longer. Life is just full of surprises.
