Esperanza en los Andes: La vida de Klaus-Dieter John

Christian Heroes: Then & Now

by Janet Benge, Geoff Benge

It was totally dark. The lights in the city were turned off, and there were no street lamps, no neon signs, and no extra glow in shop windows. Klaus noticed that theirs was the only car on the road. How would they slip by the checkpoint? Klaus glanced at his wife Tina, whose eyes were shut in prayer. Suddenly he heard a thunderous crash, then saw a bright flash of light.

Klaus-Dieter John (1960-) dreamed of becoming a medical missionary in the developing world. He would do whatever it took -- study in top universities and practice surgery in remote and dangerous places -- to reach his goal of providing health care for people who needed it most. Dr. John's seemingly impossible vision of Diospi-Suyana, a world-class hospital for impoverished Peruvians deep in the Andes Mountains, was blessed by God to the end. Despite challenges in fund-raising, construction, moving his family from Germany, and countless roadblocks, Klaus's dream was finally realized, bringing hope in a land loved by God.

Genres: Biography, Christian, Nonfiction, History, Religion, Childrens, Audiobook

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 2014

About the author

Janet and Geoff Benge are a husband and wife writing team with twenty years of writing experience. They are best known for the books in the two series Christian Heroes: Then & Now series and Heroes of History. Janet is a former elementary school teacher. Geoff holds a degree in history. Together they have a passion to make history come alive for a new generation. Originally from New Zealand, the Benges make their home in the Orlando, Florida, area.

Reviews

[Daniel Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a married German couple, both doctors who shared the same dream. They ended up building a hospital in Peru. They did so from donations and volunteers that donated their time.

[Heather Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

We enjoyed this biography because it is modern day and showed God's hand in so many details. However it was mostly about Klaus' lengthy education and then building the hospital, not about the people of Peru, so it felt boring too and I started skipping descriptors when reading it aloud to my kids (and lengthy titles for people). I had to keep stopping to do a lot of explaining to them. However, I still think this book was valuable because they learned a lot about God and life from it.

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Klaus-Dieter John was the fourth child of a baker in Wiesbaden, Germany, and grew up reading books about Paul Brand "the jungle doctor", the doctor with a God-led mission to help those in foreign countries. He then followed in his footsteps, having gone to both Harvard and Yale and worked in South Africa, Ghana, Ecuador - in the same area where the Saints and Elliots were, and then in Peru. He and his wife, who was also a doctor, felt led to set up a state of the art hospital in Peru. They were successful but only because God was involved. I loved reading about all the steps and moments of distress and triumph when it was clearly God's hands leading the way. He is still the Director of Diospi Suyana Hospital. Diospi Suyana meaning "We trust in God" - in the Quechua language. I found the book very inspiring and exciting to listen to. I had never heard of him prior to reading this book. Now, I think it would be fun to visit him and his beautiful hospital when I visit Peru.

[Julie Cave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since I was a child hearing stories by medical missionaries always captivated me. So, when I spotted this book about a husband/wife team from Germany, both physicians, who established a hospital for the poor in Peru it got read immediately. It turned out to be a fascinating story about their years of study followed by years of challenges and victories to see their dream come true. Though I wish more had been told about the workings of the hospital and patient stories, I came away being encouraged after learning how God, over and over, answered pray and provided in astounding ways the specific needs for the hospital's construction.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love missionary stories, especially when those stories are happening now or in the recent past. Klaus-Dieter John's story, along with that of his wife Tina, is a fascinating one about a lifelong God-given vision to serve in a developing country as a medical missionary doctor and surgeon. Klaus' vision of building a modern hospital to serve the Quechuan people of Peru takes many years to happen, with a lot of setbacks and frustrations along the way. However, through prayer, faith and God's sometimes unbelievable and humorous intervention, the dream becomes a reality and new dreams are born. This is a fantastic book that doesn't leave out the frustrations, but shows God's amazing power.

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book! This story takes place in my lifetime and it moved me to tears. This is such an amazing story of the struggles and successes of a married man and his with as they build a hospital in Peru. The hospital is still going strong, but Klaus passed away after this book was published.
I highly recommend this story to anyone curious about it.

[Alejandro Ramírez Badillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro muy emotivo
Inspira a confiar firmemente en el poder de DIOS a través de la ORACIÓN y la FE
Se lee amena y fácilmente
Muy recomendable
Todos deberíamos leerlo en algún momento de nuestra vida

[Esther Filbrun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent biography, one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Fun to read about the work of a modern-day missionary, too, and how God lead him where he needed to go.

[Martin Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ano great missionary biography for kids. Great for kids to hear how God is still working today.

[Trashy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really inspiring. Great ideas on alternatives to deal with being pushed to give bribes.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

La importancia de prepararse para el servicio

[CarrieLynn-Care · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing missionary story of a man with a dream to become a doctor and then to build a hospital amd how God provided everything he needed, plus more!

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4* Audio

This was an interesting story for me. I learned something culturally that I was unaware of that makes complete sense in my world. so fascinating.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I wrote a review of this book? This man lived in the past century, born in Germany. He ministered after WW2, into the 1970s. His wife was also a doctor and they were long time friends before they decided to marry. They had the same idea of building a hospital in Peru for poor, rural people. So many stories of how God provided for them!

Maybe he is still alive? I guess I could look that up.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book discusses the life and missionary career of Klaus-Dieter John, a German doctor in Peru.

The audiobook narrator was Tim Gregory.

[Ruthe Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of the audiobooks by Janet and Geoff Benge are excellent. Through them I have learned of many of the greatest people who ever lived in service to others. This particular book tells the story of a German doctor and his wife who felt led to build a hospital for the poorest people in Peru. It was a insurmountable task, but today Diospi Suyana Hospital is a beautiful reality.