Christmas 2020 Update

Thursday 17 December 2020

Dear family and friends,

Thank you for your patience. It has been a long time since our last blog update. Thank you for standing by us as we worked out what the unexpected 2020 COVID-19 world meant for us. This has been a year where we have made plans and changed plans. We have practiced patience as best we could, maintained hope always and waited for God to make our path clear.

2020

As you know we were preparing to return to Peru in March over the Easter weekend. But as COVID-19 began to spread and international travel stopped, we were thankful that we were left standing with the airplane ticket quote in our hand, unpaid. At this time we had already packed up half our house into boxes and put them into storage. We had packed some of our suitcases (Sandi was determined to not be a last minute packer this time around ☺), had shopped in advance for things to take, bought presents for people and set Sam up to stay in Australia. We were even planning farewells and had said goodbye personally to interstate friends.

Instead, we stayed in Australia and Chris continued to work for Diospi Suyana from our study. The 14 hour time difference meant many late nights and early morning phone calls, messages and emails. Chris was able to fix radio transmission sites remotely as he slowly guided Diospi media staff through repairs. The staff had often travelled many long hours to transmission sites and were awaiting his instructions to restore radio coverage. He was thankful for good internet coverage and was helped by being able to use the DeepL Translator app for many accurate communications. Using Google Earth he could help identify the two new FM radio transmission tower sites needed, one for Abancay and the other Sicuani. Using terrestrial radio coverage prediction software working with SonSet Solutions in the USA, he was able to choose the best locations and tower heights. Using AutoCAD he designed the new sites, towers and equipment layouts.

Chris’ Diospi FM site layout drawing for Sicuani used for construction (AutoCAD work example)

5 December 2020 work continues on the new Diospi FM site overlooking Sicuani

Chris also worked with the transmitter manufacturer in Italy, DB Broadcast, to design and pre-install the new custom racks to integrate with the satellite and telemetry equipment. This next generation solution will save a lot of time on site and deliver a superior result. As the new site constructions progressed, Doris Manco – Manager of Diospi Media Centre, sent photos of the works being done and Chris could identify any problems and have them fixed.

Two new custom FM transmitter racks on the DB Broadcast factory floor in Italy, designed by Chris for Abancay and Sicuani. Diospi satellite and telemetry equipment (from other suppliers) fills the upper gaps seen in these racks.

As 2020 progressed, we made multiple plans to return to Peru. As each plan didn’t come to pass we simply made a new one! We have packed some of our suitcases and then unpacked 4 times! We received an exemption from the Australian Department of Home Affairs to travel to Peru anytime based on our humanitarian aid agenda, but COVID-19 was a major health concern for our church and in November we were told we were unable to return until a vaccine was available. In accepting this new turn of events we decided to sell some of the belongings we had left in Peru in our missionary friend’s house, to save them some space. We were able to bless some local families with our bedding.

Some Curahuasi families we were able to give some of our bedding to

Despite offloading most of our Peru household things, we still have a lot of personal belongings left and now stored at the house of our German missionary friends Jens and Damaris Hassfeld

We have enjoyed many aspects of being in Australia. We have had Sam at home here with us. We are thankful to be here for Sam’s first year of university, and here for visits from Jake in his final Bachelor of Psychology year. We are thankful for the 2 TAFE courses Isaac was able to complete in his unexpected ‘gap’ year. Sarah completed year 9, Georgia year 6, Solomon year 4, and Jess year 1. Solomon was able to join cubs and play cricket with the Mount Colah Mustangs. We have enjoyed eating lots of Weet-Bix and meat pies. The kids continued Spanish lessons. We didn’t unpack our boxes or get them out of storage as we always had a hope that we would be going soon, so our living has been simple. God has always provided what we needed. We are thankful for the contracting work Chris was able to obtain. And we are thankful for JobKeeper and even a Service NSW small business grant which helped Chris buy a small car and tools for contracting. We are thankful to God for a house across the road to move into when rent in our original house became too expensive in July. We are thankful for the gifts from family, friends and LifeSource and Hinton Baptist churches that have helped keep us going financially.

We have kept in close contact with Curahuasi and Diospi Suyana. Peru has been in probably the world’s strictest lockdown since March, and has only recently relaxed the quarantine measures. Peru has had the 5th highest number of corona virus cases in the world with nearly 1 million cases recorded, and many more unrecorded as people avoided hospitals or clinics. Life in Peru is very social and informal and many live day to day. So despite severe lockdown rules, social distancing was difficult for many to do. Poorer people live in overcrowded housing. The government provided small financial relief packages, but only 38% of Peruvians have a bank account, so funds had to be personally collected which meant many long, slow bank queues. Food is often purchased daily at open air markets as 40% of Peruvians do not have a refrigerator. Hospitals have struggled with resources to treat patients. A friend told us that in Cusco patients were asked to bring their own sleeping mattresses with them to hospital.

Snuggled in the mountains, Curahuasi has had over 700 cases of COVID-19 as of 1 November, but as few as 20 deaths. This low account is thought to be due to the Andes remoteness and the high altitude air. Still the national lockdown restrictions have applied just the same in Curahuasi. It has been a tough year there. For many, many months children under 14 years of age have been unable to leave the house, then it was relaxed to only 1 hour a day outside. School has been cancelled for the year. The Diospi Suyana mission has been a blessing in Curahuasi. The hospital was the major COVID-19 hospital in our region, and Diospi often shared its resources such as oxygen with government hospitals in other towns. The Diospi Suyana College was able to provide school work daily from a van in the marketplace. Diospi missionaries helped feed local families. And our Diospi FM radio was ever present with the Gospel combined with quarantine and health information for some 800,000+ people.

1 November 2020, Diospi Suyana hospital commissions a supplemental oxygen plant to increase capacity to 700 litres/minute to cater for COVID-19 patients.

Video of Peru COVID-19 truck in Curahuasi, blowing disinfectant into the streets during lockdown (click on picture to open video)

2021

Given the unknown time frame of a return to Peru, we realised Chris needed to find more consistent employment. We see it as the next stage of God establishing us so that we can continue to serve Diospi in Peru. We praise God for a new full time job working in communications engineering management for Nova Systems in Canberra. He starts work on 1 February 2021 and we plan to move to Canberra as soon as we are able to rent a house in the New Year. This is a big change for our family, but we are all excited about the new opportunities that Canberra will offer us. But sad to leave so many good friends in Sydney.

In January the two new Diospi transmission sites at Abancay and Sicuani are planned for completion. This moment is the accumulation of much work by the team in Peru with acquisition and construction and culminates a year of the engineering preparation work by Chris. Chris will be working (again from our study) with local engineers to oversee the project, including the installation and commissioning of the transmitters. We expect this to involve many nights of phone calls, WhatsApp text and video messages, plus day time administration. It will be a challenge for sure, along with moving house to another city, but well worth the effort as the two new sites will cover an additional 260,000 people with the Diospi Christian FM radio program. Chris will also be involved with an essential satellite frequency change for Diospi with Intelsat in the USA as they make way for 5G mobile in the Americas. This will involve all 7 legacy Diospi Suyana 2.4m satellite antennas in Peru plus the two new FM sites. January will be a huge month for us logistically!

Google Earth map showing computer predicted coverage (by SonSet Solutions) of our Diospi existing 6 FM sites plus 2 new FM sites of Abancay and Sicuani

Thank You

We want to sincerely thank you for encouraging and praying for our family this year. Thank you to those that continue to financially support our mission. As previously indicated, Pioneers have been holding the funds sent this year in anticipation and in preparation for Chris’ return to Peru that now is planned for the end of 2021. There will be much to do when he returns to Curahuasi! Further to this we have very recently been given permission by Pioneers to be given a monthly allowance from these funds to support Chris in his ongoing work for Diospi in the coming couple of months from Australia. This will help us with our living expenses. Incidentally Chris’ new full time employer in 2021, Nova Systems, has indicated support for him to return to Peru to continue this good work, possibly ongoing annually, as part of their staff wellbeing program which includes some financial support. This for us was another confirmation of the right move to Canberra.

We want to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful Christmas season with your family and friends. And for a fruitful 2021 as we move into a new year of opportunity.