No, it hasn’t been exactly a year because Easter changes days each year, but last year Easter (4/20) was our last day at home. We soaked up every second of our family time. At church we tried to catch people that we had not yet said goodbye to for that last hug. So many unknowns and fear of failure. So much excitement for the adventure and eagerness to be obedient to the call.
Our first assignment brought us to New Mexico and the Navajo Indian reservation. This assignment was our favorite for the number of national parks, variety of landscapes, and loads of cool history. The work was good too, I enjoyed working with the midwives and what I could glean about Navajo Nation history and tradition.
Our second assignment was Neenah/Appleton Wisconsin. It was our favorite for the rich green color in every direction, the beautiful Great Lakes, so many new clinical experiences, two hospitals, GYN surgeries, having a NICU, high risk antepartum, and the time spent with family we would have otherwise never seen.
Thanksgiving brought us home to a family reunion and turkey dinner with our third assignment just south of our home in Southern California where the nurses had big hearts and amazing team work. We saw a few awesome national parks, and a few theme parks (Lego land and Disney!!!!) but mostly this was our favorite assignment because we were able to take advantage of every spare minute to spend time with our California family.
Knowing that we wanted to be close to home come summer and didn’t want to go way out east for only three months we decided to go with the kids pick of Hawaii. Initially hesitant because of rumors of inadequate pay to cover bills and the cost of living for one person let alone a family. I am sure that travel companies has a lot to do with it that and this is my recruiters home town. God has provided every step of the way where there was an open door. We are now one month into our assignment in Hilo Hawaii. The first month is the hardest as the learning curve is straight up. It has been a cultural experience, geographical (way out here in the middle of the pacific), geological (hey we live on a volcano), climate, food, plants, animals, ok so much is new and we are learning as much as we can. This has been our favorite assignment because of the awesome beaches, coconuts, and our little vacation home in the jungle. Frogs and geckos chirp us to sleep each night with the pounding of the rain and the chirping birds wake us up each morning.
Owens Endeavors 