'God made a way for my husband and I to build a hospital for the destitute Quechua people of Peru'

I was sixteen years old when I met Klaus John at school in Germany. It was 1978 and he was the president of the high school, and I published the school newspaper.

We fell in love, even though we came from quite different backgrounds. I went dancing several times a week and, as a party girl, was always in the middle of the hustle and bustle. Klaus, on the other hand, was involved in children’s work and youth groups in an evangelical free church. But we shared a common dream. We wanted to make a difference as doctors in the so-called 3rd world. And not just for a few months, but for a lifetime.

We wanted to make a difference as doctors in the so-called 3rd world. And not just for a few months, but for a lifetime.

God is good. When I was eighteen, I was invited to a tent revival meeting and that evening made a conscious decision to follow Jesus Christ. My connection to Klaus became stronger, with us now having faith in common. After we finished our medical studies, we did specialist training in the UK, the USA, South Africa and Germany. Along the way, we got married! Finally, in 1998, the time had come. We moved to Ecuador and worked as missionary doctors at a small missionary hospital on the edge of the jungle. Klaus as a surgeon and myself as a paediatrician.

Years earlier, on a study trip in 1991, we had learned about the plight of the indigenous Quechua people in the Peruvian Andes. 

But we remained restless. Years earlier, on a study trip in 1991, we had learned about the plight of the indigenous Quechua people in the Peruvian Andes. Now we made the decision to build a modern hospital, there in the mountains, for the Quechua poor. We wanted to build a hospital that could stand comparison with any built in Europe.

Humanly speaking, our dream was completely impossible. But trusting in God, we put all our eggs in one basket. With our three small children, Natalie, Dominik and Florian, we moved to the small mountain village of Curahuasi in southern Peru in September 2003. We slept on the floor of an old mud house for almost 3 months. This house became the first base for our mission-hospital charity, Diospi Suyana – a name chosen from the language of the ancient Incas, meaning, ‘We trust in God!‘

From 2004 onwards, Klaus spent six months every year giving talks sharing Diospi Suyana’s budding story around the globe. Without asking for money, he told of the miracles God had done in growing the mission work, and through these testimonies many have come to Christ, donated money and equipment, or been prompted by God to join us in Peru. I took care of the children, worked part-time as a paediatrician and soon led an ever-growing mission camp.

And here we are 2024. Over the past 20 years, a state-of-the-art hospital has been built in the mountains, which has already treated 550,000 poor campesinos and marginalised indigenous people. Equipped with six operating theatres, ten intensive care beds, X-ray machines and a CT scanner, all across fifteen different departments, we can offer a service on a par with European hospitals. Patients pay only 4 soles (£1) to be examined by a doctor in the outpatient clinic, and money from the patients covers about a third of the total budget.

In the meantime, we have expanded our work to include a large school and a radio channel for southern Peru. The staff of missionaries and Peruvians has grown to 280. Our long-term missionaries have come from many countries – including the UK, Australia and the USA. What is special about Diospi Suyana is not the modern infrastructure, but God’s actions.

Despite the many difficulties, he has allowed our work to grow. The countless stories of God’s faithfulness now fill three books published in seven languages. They encourage Christians with all our God can do, and tell stories that make atheists wonder. Our most recent book, Walking on Water, tells twenty miracle stories you can’t explain without God, but also describes how he has guided and preserved us in stormy times. Providing such high-quality health services to the poorest of the poor has provoked opposition from many vested interests, reminding us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion.

We used to say that we were first and foremost physicians who also happened to be Christians. Today it’s the other way around. Our faith is at the forefront. The experience of our fellow missionaries in being called to join us, the unbelievable donations from private supporters and large, profit-driven companies, as well as the divine protection from hostility and envy, are so exciting that even atheists sit up and listen when they hear the stories.

As a teenage girl, I sometimes wondered whether my parents really loved me. Today I know that my heavenly Father truly loves me and that he is walking a special path with me. If someone had told me forty years ago what God would do in our lives, I probably wouldn’t have believed it. But it is exactly as Paul put it: God can do so much more than all we can ask or imagine.

Find out more about Disopi Suyana. Dr Martina’s book ‘Walking on Water’ is available here.