Here is an article published in the Content + Technology magazine February 2016 issue, covering the generous upgrade donation of my broadcast test equipment by Rohde & Schwarz (Australia) Pty Ltd, and support commitment by Radio Frequency Systems Pty Ltd of Melbourne);
Click to download a PDF of the article
The complete issue can be accessed here (refer to page 40);
Welches in Peru
Our family (May 2026)
20 April 2016
18 April 2016
How Are Our Kids Adjusting to the Peru Idea?
Jake (17):
Is releasing a series of his video blogs on YouTube - here are links to his first two;
With his love of music, Jake is keen to be a Spanish DJ in
the Diospi Suyana radio studio in his spare time. As you can see from his DeJake YouTubes, he
maintains a good balance of humour, faith and leadership of his own.
Jake may also play piano for the Diospi Suyana worship services (held each morning in the hospital). Our Lifesource church has been amazing (thanks John & the many others) in preparing both Sam and Jake for this possibility by including them in our Sunday services bands.
Sam (15):
He is hoping to maintain regular contact with his North Side Cycling Academy coach Helmut Vetisch via email and Skype sessions, to maintain his road cycling development. The altitude training between 2.6km and 4.2km above sea level will be of benefit to his hill climbing development.
Isaac (13):
Is keen to “help dad” with
his engineering rollouts – design, installation, commissioning and performance
testing.
It is planned that Isaac will attend the local Diospi Suyana
Spanish school in due course.
Sarah (10):
Loves horses and hopes to have her own when in
Curahuasi! There is a breed of horse
there (the Andean Horse) which is perfect for walking the Inca trails of the Andes and there is the Peruvian Paso.
It is planned that Sarah will attend the local Diospi Suyana
Spanish school.
Georgia (7):
Wants to help needy kids so is looking forward to working
alongside mum in the Kids Club. Like
Sarah, we plan that in time Georgia will attend the local Diospi Suyana Spanish
school.
Solomon (5) and Jessica
(2);
They are excited about the adventure and love to draw
pictures about what they imagine life will be like for the family there.
Stacey (0):
Is sure to be our most natural Spanish speaker with the Peru
accent! J
Chris & Sandi
13 April 2016
Meet Tatang…
Tatang – a Curahuasi kid dealing with poverty.
Downhill mountain biking is a popular pastime for many boys in the Curahuasi district of the Andes. This extreme downhill sport is in stark contrast to the traditional and simple lifestyle of the Quechua Indians.
An article extract from a German Mountain Bike magazine (Dirt Magazine DE) professional video “Out of the Shadow” (Feb 2015) about downhill biking from 4,100m in the mountains surrounding Curahuasi;
“It is five in the morning and the mountains are shrouded in thick fog when we knock on the door of the slaughterhouse. A grinning Tatang opens the door… Tatang is quiet and reserved, but above all very diligent. If there is something to do, he is always the one who tackles the first and hardest job.
Every day before school, from three to seven Tatang works here, so he can afford a sandwich for school, clothes and spare parts for his bike. In four hours he earns 10 Sol. That’s about $4 AUD.”
Our hope is to contribute toward breaking this poverty cycle with our Diospi Suyana Broadcast work.
Here is a short film documentary (12:20) of "Out of the Shadow" (NB in Spanish with German subtitles – production is excellent!) giving insight to some of the surrounds and culture of Curahuasi;
(NB if viewed outside of the Blog, this video application may not function as intended. Alternatively copy this URL into your browser to access it directly: https://ds4d3zl5uvpbf.cloudfront.net/videos/AAe2y2wh95z8_640.mp4)
Our Sam (15) is looking forward to being a part of this activity with the local kids alongside pursuing his road cycling ambitions.
Downhill mountain biking around Curahuasi is popular with the boys.
Chris
11 April 2016
Meet Danny
Danny at Curahuasi school before going missing in March 2016.
Danny comes from a very difficult home, having been abandoned by both of his parents he has been living with his grandmother who is unfortunately physically abusive. A sad, but not uncommon story in Curahuasi.
Diospi Suyana mission friends in Curahuasi report that in March 2016 he went missing and it is rumoured that his grandmother sold him to work in Lima. This is one of the sad things that does happen in the poor areas of Peru. Parents or grandparents will take a sum of money and then send their kids to go work in Lima for a specified amount of time – it amounts to modern day slavery.
We want the empty seat in his class to have Danny in it again!
Chris
06 April 2016
Our Garage Sale
28 November 2015
We held our first garage sale to clear out our belongings and raise some funds for our Peru trip. There was one outstanding happening at this event which I will never forget and which I want to share with you.
This was becoming emotionally difficult as we were getting rid of a number of our sentimental belongs. Then an older man purposely walked past all our tables of stuff and directly up to me where at the time I was standing on our driveway at the back of it all. He looked me in the eyes and said (in my words):
“I saw your article in the North Shore Times recently and I want to tell you that you are doing the right thing. I had the opportunity about 30 years ago with my family to go to Rwanda and do what you are going to do in Peru, but we chose not to go. There were various reasons at the time, but in hindsight none were worth stopping us going.”
By this time he had tears in his eyes and his face was full of regret.
He went on to assure me our mission to Peru will be the best thing I could ever do with my family, and to never to look back as he did. He then turned and walked down our driveway into his car and drove off. He was not there to buy anything but to provide a most timely assurance.
My sentimentality issues with my “coveted possessions” and any doubts that were remaining were addressed then and there.
We held our first garage sale to clear out our belongings and raise some funds for our Peru trip. There was one outstanding happening at this event which I will never forget and which I want to share with you.
This was becoming emotionally difficult as we were getting rid of a number of our sentimental belongs. Then an older man purposely walked past all our tables of stuff and directly up to me where at the time I was standing on our driveway at the back of it all. He looked me in the eyes and said (in my words):
“I saw your article in the North Shore Times recently and I want to tell you that you are doing the right thing. I had the opportunity about 30 years ago with my family to go to Rwanda and do what you are going to do in Peru, but we chose not to go. There were various reasons at the time, but in hindsight none were worth stopping us going.”
By this time he had tears in his eyes and his face was full of regret.
He went on to assure me our mission to Peru will be the best thing I could ever do with my family, and to never to look back as he did. He then turned and walked down our driveway into his car and drove off. He was not there to buy anything but to provide a most timely assurance.
My sentimentality issues with my “coveted possessions” and any doubts that were remaining were addressed then and there.
Our first garage sale for Peru (16 Oct 2015)
Chris
Adventure in Compassion
16 October 2015
Our family have always been active in our community. And so the North Shore Times ran an article on our family going to Peru – Adventure in Compassion. See per link here;
Our family have always been active in our community. And so the North Shore Times ran an article on our family going to Peru – Adventure in Compassion. See per link here;
Click to download PDF
Chris
25 March 2016
Klaus’ Inaugural 2015 Australian Tour
22 October to 15 November 2015
Klaus arrived at Sydney international airport in the evening of Thursday 22 October with a terrible cold! I hurried him off to his hotel to try and sleep it off as we had and early start the following morning.
Friday 23 October we were on the road at 6:30am for a radio interview at FM94.9 on the Central Coast of NSW. Then we tripped back to Sydney for an interview with Ray Notley of Pioneers followed by two more radio interviews throughout the afternoon - Vision Radio in Brisbane and LightFM in Melbourne made over the phone.
Radio interview with Dr John at FM94.9 on the Central Coast, NSW (23 Oct 2015)
Then to cap a busy Friday off, Klaus presented to Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) in North Ryde. This was well received and so much so, regional Broadcast Media Manager, Nils Ahrens and National Sales Manager, Richard Popple addressed Chris to say this was a fantastic thing we were doing as a family with Diospi Suyana, and acknowledging that we needed to upgrade our R&S ETL broadcast test unit for our work in Peru, they had decided to upgrade it for us gratis!
This upgrade is valued at AUD$25k and is in fact real money for R&S Australia who are a separate business unit to their principle company in Germany, so it comes out of their own back pocket so to speak. This upgrade will enable my ETL unit to operate with the Latin American digital TV standard (ISDB-Tb) and for FM radio work. I was so honoured that day let me tell you!
Nils Ahrens of R&S presenting the ETL upgrade to Chris Welch (11 Feb 2016)
Another highlight of Klaus’ trip was presenting to Radio Frequency Systems (RFS) in Kilsyth, Melbourne on Monday 9 November. During his one hour presentation, a visible impact was observable on many faces in the packed out training room. At the end, Mick Bennet - Director of Engineering, Broadcast and Defence, stood up to say “Chris, how can we support you?” Moreover RFS had just completed a successful trade show in Peru some 3 weeks earlier, and in fact RFS had riggers in Peru at that time installing a digital television tsunami warning system for the Japanese.
My requirements for antenna systems are yet to be determined (subject to licensing), and I committed to get back to RFS in due course.
Klaus and Chris outside of RFS factory, Kilsyth (9 Nov 2015).
Again I was honoured by another key industry supplier for my sacrifice and work with the underprivileged of Peru.
Just prior to the tour, we were approached by a family in Melbourne who’s son Joshua had read Dr John’s book “I have Seen God” detailing the indisputable workings of God to see the inception to completion of Diospi Suyana. They located Sandi from an internet search which amazingly led to them organising a presentation at the Stairway Church.
This also so happened to attract and reconnect old Sydney home-schooling family friends Peter and Kim Kamper, as Peter had travelled throughout Peru and held a special place with him. Peter has subsequently helped with marketing of the Welch’s in Peru mission and Diospi Suyana.
Dr John and Chris Welch with the Berry family (8 Nov 2015).
Other presentations of Klaus’ tour included various churches in Sydney (including of course our own LifeSource church and Torchbearers), Melbourne (including the Stairway Church, St John’s German Lutheran Church and YWAM) and the Brisbane area (including Outlook Christian Church, Toowoomba). Of special note, the Toowoomba presentations included a visit of Joan Maxwell, mum of Lyndal Maxwell who has been working tirelessly at Diospi Suyana with John and Martina Klaus since its beginning.
Klaus also connected with our LifeSource Church Latin American friends, and made his 1 hour Diospi Suyana presentation in Spanish. Many of these special new friends of ours are from Peru, and have been amazing in their support of the Welch family and we appreciate and love them very much! It is beyond co-incidence that there is such a significant community of Peruvian’s in LifeSource Church (rather we believe this is a God-incidence).
Dr John presenting to our Latin American LifeSource home-group friends (24 Oct 2015)
Dr John presenting at LifeSource Christian Church (15 Nov 2015)
Diospi Suyana resources at LifeSource Christian Church (15 Nov 2015)
LifeSource Church (left to right) Ps John Iuliano, Chris & Sandi Welch, Dr John (15 Nov 2015)
Further presentations were made to schools, such as Pacific Hills Christian School (PHCS) at Dural, NSW. An amazing connection was made between Dr John and the principal Dr Boyce who shared in a passion for Peru having been there many times himself. In fact he committed to visit us next year in Peru, and furthermore would work toward getting a group of students to visit us on a mission trip!
Dr John presenting to PHCS year 10 students (6 Nov 2015)
PHCS (left to right) Dr Boyce, Chris Welch and Dr John (6 Nov 2015)
Prior to our Melbourne journey, a meeting was held on Saturday 7 November at Chris’ parents Tony & Dawn Lonsdale’s home at Tumbi Umbi on the Central Coast, NSW. This included a wide spectrum of family and friends with an interest in Diospi Suyana – a number having already read Dr Klaus’ book “I have Seen God”. There as standing room only and we were very encouraged by the amazing support received.
Central Coast presentation by Dr John (7 Nov 2015) at Chris’ parents’ home in Tumbi Umbi
One more radio appointment was had, this was with Hope Media FM103.2 at their studios in Sydney on Friday 6 November. A presentation was made to CEO Phillip Randall and Engineering Manager Stephen Wilkinson followed by an interview with Dr John and Chris Welch.
Hope Media visit by Dr John and Chris Welch (6 Nov 2015)
Klaus also presented at Chris’s work - TX Australia (TXA) Head Office. This was an important visit to enable colleagues to understand the project which had called Chris to the change after 28 years working in Australian broadcasting, and 13+ years at TXA.
As a finale’ to Klaus’ tour, a visit was paid to TX Australia’s flagship VHF main transmission site before Klaus flew out of Australia on Sunday 15 November. This site was one of a new AUD $4M transmission building in Willoughby which was also one of Chris’ last projects with the company. It sits directly beneath Australia’s tallest free standing lattice steel tower (233m) adjacent the Channel Nine studios.
TXA Willoughby site main transmission hall (15 Nov 2015)
TXA Willoughby site building (15 Nov 2015)
TXA Willoughby site 233m steel lattice tower (15 Nov 2015)
Chris
Klaus arrived at Sydney international airport in the evening of Thursday 22 October with a terrible cold! I hurried him off to his hotel to try and sleep it off as we had and early start the following morning.
Friday 23 October we were on the road at 6:30am for a radio interview at FM94.9 on the Central Coast of NSW. Then we tripped back to Sydney for an interview with Ray Notley of Pioneers followed by two more radio interviews throughout the afternoon - Vision Radio in Brisbane and LightFM in Melbourne made over the phone.
Then to cap a busy Friday off, Klaus presented to Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) in North Ryde. This was well received and so much so, regional Broadcast Media Manager, Nils Ahrens and National Sales Manager, Richard Popple addressed Chris to say this was a fantastic thing we were doing as a family with Diospi Suyana, and acknowledging that we needed to upgrade our R&S ETL broadcast test unit for our work in Peru, they had decided to upgrade it for us gratis!
This upgrade is valued at AUD$25k and is in fact real money for R&S Australia who are a separate business unit to their principle company in Germany, so it comes out of their own back pocket so to speak. This upgrade will enable my ETL unit to operate with the Latin American digital TV standard (ISDB-Tb) and for FM radio work. I was so honoured that day let me tell you!
Another highlight of Klaus’ trip was presenting to Radio Frequency Systems (RFS) in Kilsyth, Melbourne on Monday 9 November. During his one hour presentation, a visible impact was observable on many faces in the packed out training room. At the end, Mick Bennet - Director of Engineering, Broadcast and Defence, stood up to say “Chris, how can we support you?” Moreover RFS had just completed a successful trade show in Peru some 3 weeks earlier, and in fact RFS had riggers in Peru at that time installing a digital television tsunami warning system for the Japanese.
My requirements for antenna systems are yet to be determined (subject to licensing), and I committed to get back to RFS in due course.
Again I was honoured by another key industry supplier for my sacrifice and work with the underprivileged of Peru.
Just prior to the tour, we were approached by a family in Melbourne who’s son Joshua had read Dr John’s book “I have Seen God” detailing the indisputable workings of God to see the inception to completion of Diospi Suyana. They located Sandi from an internet search which amazingly led to them organising a presentation at the Stairway Church.
This also so happened to attract and reconnect old Sydney home-schooling family friends Peter and Kim Kamper, as Peter had travelled throughout Peru and held a special place with him. Peter has subsequently helped with marketing of the Welch’s in Peru mission and Diospi Suyana.
Other presentations of Klaus’ tour included various churches in Sydney (including of course our own LifeSource church and Torchbearers), Melbourne (including the Stairway Church, St John’s German Lutheran Church and YWAM) and the Brisbane area (including Outlook Christian Church, Toowoomba). Of special note, the Toowoomba presentations included a visit of Joan Maxwell, mum of Lyndal Maxwell who has been working tirelessly at Diospi Suyana with John and Martina Klaus since its beginning.
Klaus also connected with our LifeSource Church Latin American friends, and made his 1 hour Diospi Suyana presentation in Spanish. Many of these special new friends of ours are from Peru, and have been amazing in their support of the Welch family and we appreciate and love them very much! It is beyond co-incidence that there is such a significant community of Peruvian’s in LifeSource Church (rather we believe this is a God-incidence).
Further presentations were made to schools, such as Pacific Hills Christian School (PHCS) at Dural, NSW. An amazing connection was made between Dr John and the principal Dr Boyce who shared in a passion for Peru having been there many times himself. In fact he committed to visit us next year in Peru, and furthermore would work toward getting a group of students to visit us on a mission trip!
Prior to our Melbourne journey, a meeting was held on Saturday 7 November at Chris’ parents Tony & Dawn Lonsdale’s home at Tumbi Umbi on the Central Coast, NSW. This included a wide spectrum of family and friends with an interest in Diospi Suyana – a number having already read Dr Klaus’ book “I have Seen God”. There as standing room only and we were very encouraged by the amazing support received.
One more radio appointment was had, this was with Hope Media FM103.2 at their studios in Sydney on Friday 6 November. A presentation was made to CEO Phillip Randall and Engineering Manager Stephen Wilkinson followed by an interview with Dr John and Chris Welch.
Klaus also presented at Chris’s work - TX Australia (TXA) Head Office. This was an important visit to enable colleagues to understand the project which had called Chris to the change after 28 years working in Australian broadcasting, and 13+ years at TXA.
As a finale’ to Klaus’ tour, a visit was paid to TX Australia’s flagship VHF main transmission site before Klaus flew out of Australia on Sunday 15 November. This site was one of a new AUD $4M transmission building in Willoughby which was also one of Chris’ last projects with the company. It sits directly beneath Australia’s tallest free standing lattice steel tower (233m) adjacent the Channel Nine studios.
Chris
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