A Friend Spotlight - Karen

I’ve been blessed to know some incredible people who are blazing fires in my life; Friends who are inspired dreamers, action-oriented heroes and humans with whom I am so blessed to share even just a chapter of my life. Here's one...

She can't help but to move to Tamer Hosney and Akon's hip-hop beats, she makes a mean green curry, swims like she was born for the seas, travels like it's her day-job...

Today, I introduce to you a best friend overseas... I call her Kage, most people call her Karen.

Born and raised in a small-ish Dutch community in Michigan, Karen has anything but a small-town reach. This beautifully strong woman shines a passion for a people with different life stories. From lives of refugees to hill-tribe people in Thailand, she yearns to uncover true stories of people. 
And after a short visit to a country 8,619 miles from home a few years ago, her heart was absolutely and unshakably set.

That’s why she told herself that no matter what, she’d be in Cambodia come 2009. And being the go-getter she is, there’s no surprise she landed herself an internship in that very country. 

January 2009, in Phnom Penh, that’s where our lives first crossed.

Karen’s the kind of girl you want on your team. She’s remarkably strong, brave and fiercely loyal. She loves her friends and family. Even though I’d never met her best friends or seen them interact, I coveted their closeness and close circle of support.

Karen taught me so much about shaking off anything that wasn’t from God. She reminded me that judgment from people means nothing as long as I knew God saw it as good and right.

Karen gave me the courage to “do.” While I was used to easing my way into lifelong dreams and goals, she pushed me to reach and make great leaps. She is her own accountability and quickly became mine too. No matter how late we stayed up the night before, Karen was always the first one awake, starting the day with quiet times, reading and praying. That’s the kind of person she is.

In the 10 months I lived with Karen, I was struck by how seriously she worked to get to know Cambodian people. Meeting people at the market and striking conversations with strangers only to develop long-term friendships, taking language lessons at the local University at the crack of dawn and loving down-and-dirty grassroots-level work, she understood that to know people, you have to BE with them.

Even though I punctured a serious hole in her foot with my stiletto heel during a lively night of dancing (sorry Kage!); even after waking her up numerous times to kill cockroaches or Goliath-sized spiders; even after leaning on her so often when I didn’t have the guts, Karen was there for me. 
She’s a friend beyond friends whose strength, to this day, I find unbeatable. I don't think I've ever grown so much from a friendship. I love her honesty, sense of fun and willingness to DO.

So, here’s to Karen as she continues to live at the pulse of her heart with a spirit of adventure and ultimate love for getting to deeply know, understand and love people, especially those in Cambodia.