Our Inaugural Trip to Diospi Suyana, Curahuasi

28 July 2016

Many things have happened since my last post, but to try and stay current I am just reporting in on my current trip to Curahuasi this week (plus language school is in recess giving me the needed respite from late night homework to write here again! J).

Isaac (13) and I have embarked on our inaugural trip to Diospi Suyana hospital whilst language school is in recess for two weeks.  The bus is the most economical method by an order of magnitude – typically between USD $30 to $40 p/p each way.  Not bad for a 10 hour coach trip with 160° to 180° reclining bed seats and personal entertainment screens. 

But that is where the luxury sell ends, as the bus travel in these parts is far from smooth straight road, leading to a somewhat anxious and prayerful trip for me.  It was like being in a theme park flight simulator ride where you are thrown up down, left and right – all the time I was envisioning the speeding bus edging along mountain hairpin bends with 300 metre sheer drops.  All this with a seatbelt that did not work and the Diospi Suyana accounts of carnage with buses that do go over the edge.  

But my promise scripture is Psalm 121 – I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.  He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber. 

So of course we arrived OK and the Diospi Suyana facility was every bit as impressive as imagined.  It was a quality build and with friendly professional Christian staff on board.  The media centre was bigger than I had imagined from the plans – a nice clean build to get things right and be efficient and produce quality programming.

FM broadcasting had commenced a few weeks earlier for the low power local Curahuasi license on the Diospi Suyana property, providing our first 24 x 7 radio to the community.  The transmitter install is temporary but functional and does not impact upon signal performance.

The first Diospi Suyana FM – a low power transmitter (temporary install) serving Curahuasi

The Diospi Suyana hospital site FM mast (co-sited)

We have met some wonderful fellow mission people here from all parts – Germany, the US, Australia (Lyndal Maxwell) and many local Peruvians.  These are directors, surgeons, doctors, medical assistants, broadcast producers, to even cleaners who take such pride in their work.

We have also reserved a house for when we are ready to commence work in Curahuasi.  Many doubted that a suitable place for a family of 10 would be found.  However God clearly had other plans as we found a large farm house (casa la hacienda) with everything we had dreamt of having – from a creek, to beautiful views of mountains and crop fields, to even a bath (a very rare thing in Peru!).  

The house is believed to be over 150 years old, and has approximately 1 metre thick adobe mud brick walls to regulate the ambient temperature extremes.  It has never been leased before and is just 10 minutes out of town.  The owners – 4 adult siblings of an Italian visionary father, took over 2 hours to show me around and provide stories of their childhood and the amazing things their father established in the place from vineyards, to orchards, to vegetable gardens, to a water wheel to grind wheat and generate power etc.  It even has a paddock for animals (read: accommodating possible horse one day for Sarah), not to mention Inka trails that go on for countless kilometres (read: accommodating Sam’s mountain bike riding) and hills to climb for all.  We are feeling so incredibly blessed right now (again!).

A perfect place to accommodate our family (a coat of paint on the exterior will make a world of difference too! J)

Yes a bath – and what a view!!!

Tomorrow is Peru Independence Day where the town establishments (such as Diospi Suyana) march the streets to the town centre – in Peru this is the Plaza de Armes (of which every city and town of any presence has its centre named this).  I will be videoing with one of the new Sony professional cameras recently acquired for the media centre.  This will enable a programme to be produced for the hospital for when the inaugural Diospi Suyana television station commences broadcasting in the coming months.

Chris