Klaus-Dieter John: Hope in the Land of the Incas (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) by Janet Benge & Geoff Benge

Author:Janet Benge & Geoff Benge [Benge, Janet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: evangelists, Klaus-Dieter John, Heroes of History, Peru, doctors, juvenile literature, Biography
Publisher: YWAM Publishing
Published: 2014-04-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

A Place to Build

Back at the hospital in Shell, Klaus continued his work as surgeon while preparing to move to Peru. In addition to the usual surgeries, he had come back to two challenging cases. An eight-year-old girl named Dayana arrived at Hospital Vozandes del Oriente with a sore stomach. Klaus concluded that her condition was serious enough for him to operate. After he had made an incision in Dayana’s abdomen, the girl’s stomach smelled so bad it was hard for him to keep going.

Klaus soon discovered what the problem was: Dayana’s abdominal cavity was filled with pus. Dayana had typhoid fever. Klaus cleaned out the cavity and sutured the incision. During the operation, Dayana’s blood pressure dropped so low that the anesthesia had to be discontinued. When the surgery was over, Dayana lay in a coma, and no one knew whether or not she would come out of it. All that the staff could do was watch and pray. Dayana made a complete recovery and was eventually discharged from the hospital.

The other challenging case involved a young man named Juan. Juan was dragging his fishing net to the riverside when a crocodile lunged at him. The crocodile’s jaws clamped down on Juan’s right arm. Juan’s friend ran to help, and a tug-of-war ensued until Juan’s arm was finally ripped out of the crocodile’s mouth. Many of Juan’s tendons were shredded. Klaus carefully worked away in the operating room on Juan’s arm, repairing the damaged tendons and suturing the nasty gashes. Eventually Juan was able to return home to fish again. Without hospital care, the arm would have become infected and required amputation.

In his spare time Klaus continued preparations for Peru. The next step was the purchase of a site on which to build. Klaus had asked the mayor of Curahuasi to find several possible parcels of land. Klaus invited Olaf Böttger, now the chairman of the hospital’s German support organization, to join him in Peru in April to select the best plot. As it turned out, they would have exactly ten days to get everything taken care of. Klaus made a list of what needed to be done: form a nonprofit in Peru, purchase land, sign a contract of cooperation with the local health authorities, and negotiate a development contract.

When Klaus went over the list with Tina, she frowned. “Do you really think that’s realistic, Klaus? Even in Germany that would be a lot to get done. In South America everything takes ten times as long as you think it will, remember?”

“I know,” Klaus replied. “But it’s all the time Olaf has, and we have to get it done. All we can do is pray that God will prepare the way for us.”

“Then I’ll pray too,” Tina said. “And if you get it all done, it will be a miracle.”

Klaus met Olaf at the airport in Lima on April 7, 2003. He could feel the clock ticking from the moment the two of them greeted each other.

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