dr Elias and Nifin Kugel
The meeting in Darmstadt with Olaf Böttger (left), the chairman of Diospi Suyana, naturally had a deeper reason. Firm determination is written all over the faces of both of his interlocutors. That’s why they came from the German capital. Nifin was originally born in Damascus into a Syrian Orthodox environment. Elias was born in Berlin with a German father and a Slovakian mother. Depending on the law, your two children could have three passports.
After hard times in the Middle East, Nifin’s family found a new home in Germany. It was hardship and suffering that led Nifin to God. With Elias one should not underestimate the influence of his Catholic grandmother. She persistently advised her grandson to read the books by CS Lewis. Many would consider Oxford Professor Lewis to be the most important Christian apologist of the 20th century.
Next year the internist and the social worker want to move to Peru and work in the facilities of Diospi Suyana. Then the two can teach their colleagues Arabic and Slovak. Long and exciting evenings by the fireplace are literally pre-programmed. Hopefully Elias will then cook “Buchty na pare”. This is a specialty from his grandmother’s country with steamed dumplings and a filling of jam or chocolate. Nifin can prepare exotic Middle Eastern dishes using chickpeas, olives, tomatoes, pomegranates and dates, optionally with figs.
We don’t want to leave a small hint unmentioned. The two convinced Christians want to serve the people of Peru and honor God. “You will not be able to save any money with your donation-financed salaries in Peru,” said Dr. John over the phone. “It wasn’t our intention in any way,” the Kugels replied calmly. Such people fit perfectly into the team of Diospi Suyana. We greet Nifin with the words: “Yom said” and with Elias we say without an accent: “Dobrý deň!”