Last, but not least, is our friend Karen Springs! Karen has been a missionary for CBN in Ukraine for five years and is doing marvelous work with the orphans there. She is well known by the children in Kherson and they flock to her when she shows up, as was the case when we went with her to see Zina the first day. Long before I met Zina and Rimma, I saw a picture of her with them on her website. When the "big picture" came into view in the past few months, we knew that God was working through her and us to give these wonderful young ladies a family and a permanent home.
Karen met us at the airport when we arrived in Kiev and she took us to her apartment to rest up. We were to eager to see Kiev, so we set out on a tour of downtown the first day. Karen went with us on the overnight train to Kherson to make sure we would get there OK. She went to church with us in Kherson and introduced us to Sasha. That night she boarded the train back to Kiev. She, in effect, gave up her entire weekend to be with us and traveled 24+ hours to get us started. Thanks, Karen! We talked with her frequently throughout the week and met her the next Sunday at the train station when we returned. Karen took us to her international church where we met many of her friends. We had a nice lunch out that day before sleeping overnight in her apartment. The hot shower at her place was a welcome respite from the weeks travels. We said our goodbyes Monday morning as we loaded into the taxi for the ride to the airport.
We miss you Karen, but we will see you again many more times. We love working with you and supporting your ministry. Thanks for all the hard work on the 2007 hosting trip and the Summer 2008 hosting trip. You are the best. We will be sure to let the kids know that Aunt Karen helped to get them to America this Summer!
