February 11-13 we were in Loja for orientation and finance training. New missionaries with OMS are supposed to meet with the Field Leader and the Treasurer within the first month or two that they arrive. We had a mostly open week at the Guesthouse so we took advantage of it and went to Loja. We don't have a vehicle, so driving wasn't an option, which is good because the drive is 12 hours or more. Instead we went by plane, which is a 45 minute flight. Loja is one of the southernmost provinces of Ecuador - it is the name of the province and the capital city of the province. During my missionary kid days I don't ever remember going to Loja, so this was a new place for me and for Hannah.
We stayed with our OMS co-workers, Danny and Julie Beasley. They are new missionaries too; they have not quite completed a year in Ecuador. Danny encourages and mentors pastors of our partner churches and Julie is the field treasurer.
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| Quito is in Pichincha province (top, middle, yellow); Loja is in Loja province (bottom, green) |
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| Hannah standing in front of the plane after our arrival in Loja. The airport is in the valley with mountains all around. |
On Thursday we spent the morning at the office for training.
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| Hannah in front of the OMS office with our OMS co-workers Danny and Julie Beasley. This is a new office location for OMS, it was previously in Guayaquil. The office is on the top floor. |
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| After coming through the doors (pictured above), you see this. A carpentry shop. |
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| Not quite a guard dog, but when this rooster looks at you it is a little scary. |
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| Hannah at the front door of the office. |
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| On the balcony of the office. |
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| View from the balcony. |
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| Another view from the balcony. |
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| We went over the Ecuador Field Manual with our Field Leader. |
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| Office entrance and lobby. |
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| Meeting with the Field Treasurer. A lot of things to keep track of for accounting and legal purposes, hope we don't make too many mistakes. |
On Friday morning we walked around town with Danny and Julie. Julie had to make some deposits at the bank and we were the body guards. Here are a few pictures of town:
On our way back to their apartment, another park/town square was having a Valentine's "festival". There were a lot of vendors selling gifts, flowers, and chocolates.
And we got to see some traditional dancing, fun to watch. I took some video of this but for some reason the quality is terrible so I won't put it on here.
When we got back to their apartment, this we was waiting for us on the sidewalk.
We left Loja on Friday afternoon. We were scheduled to depart at 5:30 PM but unfortunately we had about a 45 minute delay. When I looked at my boarding pass I noticed a mistake that made us laugh, do you see it?
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| Somehow, when I booked our tickets, I clicked on "Mrs" using the drop down menu on the website. Fortunately, the airline staff either didn't notice or didn't care. |
We had a good, quick, safe trip to Loja. It's always nice to visit new places and spend time with other OMS missionaries, and it's also always nice to come back home.
