From the Rockies to the Smokies to the Rockies to the Andes (again)

No, we have not fallen off the face of the earth. We have been preoccupied, busy, and short on inspiration! The longer you procrastinate, the more difficult the task becomes. Where to begin? As I recall, we promised the next post would be about guesthouse management at SIM USA in Charlotte, North Carolina. That was quite some time ago. Suffice it to say that guesthouse management demands most of your time, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. It was a busy, yet very rewarding time and we are so thankful for the experiences we had there.

Our calendar with colour-coded sticky notes to keep track of comings and goings at the guesthouse

After six months at SIM USA we returned home to Edmonton in July. We had a great summer with our kids and granddaughter and it flew by much too quickly. While we were still in Charlotte we had decided to return to Ecuador for another school year. We had about six weeks to do everything that needs to be done in order to leave the country again.

So now we are once again living in the beautiful Andes Mountains, teaching MKs, helping with English ministry and trying to learn Spanish. We feel comfortable in our role as teachers again and really enjoy our eight students (three more than last time!). Even though learning Spanish is a source of frustration for us, we have enjoyed our lessons. 

Since, as the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words" we have few words but hope that you can get an idea of what we do and where we are from these pictures. 

Iguana Park in Guayaquil 

Sightseeing in Guayaquil before returning to Loja

 The house we live in

Our purchases from the Saturday Market

A parade on the way home one day

A field trip to the Loja Zoo

Hiking with friends in Podocarpus National Park

A walk through the park near our house

      

A Saturday outing with the English Club

Another parade - celebrating Loja's Independence

Christmas in the Square, with a Disney theme! 

We want to thank you for your continued prayer support and we wish you all the very best this Christmas as you celebrate with family and friends. 

From Charlotte to Charlotte

From Charlotte to Charlotte

Charlotte Ward  

SIM USA Charlotte NC

Greetings from Charlotte NC. Why are Dave and Loretta in Charlotte you may be asking?  I will try to briefly bring you up to date in our journey to serve.

We returned to Edmonton from our school term in Ecuador in mid-June.  We used the next three weeks to reconnect with family and friends in Edmonton, Rocky Mountain House and Saskatchewan.  We met with our SIM regional directors on July second. The meeting reviewed our experiences in Ecuador as well as looking for a new opportunity to serve within SIM.

On the afternoon of July 4, after celebrating Jenna’s birthday we headed out on a 5 week trip across Canada. We crammed in: camping, seeing many friends, visiting Ottawa, the nation’s capital,  touring the Maritime provinces, inc. Louisbourg, St. Andrews by the Sea, the Hopewell Rocks, the Citadel in Halifax, the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton, and so much more. The highlight was a cycle trip from tip to tip on PEI, hosted by Keenan (our son) and Paul from Maritime Cycle Tours. with a group that included friends from Rocky,  We enjoyed camping by the water each night, delicious meals all while cycling through beautiful P.E.I. We travelled about 350 kms from North Cape to East Point through Summerside and Cavandish, all on the seat of a bike!

somewhere in Nova Scotia

West Cape PEI

Lunenburg N.S.

Peggy's Cove N.S.

Hopewell Rocks N.S. 

White Point Cape Breton 

Peggy's Cove N.S.

In early September we talked with Dan and Wanda Screpnek (our SIM directors) concerning a need at the SIM USA office for short term help looking after the guest house starting in Jan. 2014. We thought hmm, January in Edmonton, January in Charlotte…. we thought we can serve the Lord,  fill a need, and escape winter, so we agreed to make the move to North Carolina.

Feb. 2014

SIM USA campus

The remainder of the fall was spent working on a new kitchen in the place Jeff and Jenna live, shovelling snow and preparing to leave for another short term. The most precious time was looking after our granddaughter Charlotte when Kyla returned to teaching at ‘her’ school at the end of Oct.

Christmas 2013

lunch with Charlotte

We have agreed to extend our time in Charlotte until the end of June. We travel back home through the SIM Canadian office on July 2 & 3 and we arrive in Edmonton on July 4… in time for Jenna’s birthday!

Please pray for us as we consider what the Lord has for us next.

Next update…what guest house management really means!