Karen

This morning I planned to write today about Karen. Despite the devastating news today about the judicial strike, I'm going to stick with my plan.

Karen is sweet! Her smile, her kindness. I could tell from the very first picture we say of her. She is a very sweet girl.

She has  become so much more than that sweet face we first saw 2.5 years ago. We have a lot more to learn about each other, but we have learned  a lot in the last 2 months.

She reminds me of a border collie...in the best possible way, of course! Border collies are busy dogs- always needing a job. Karen does too. She jumps in whenever something is going on or needs to be done. Is there a spill- she'll clean it up. Door need to be locked? She's got it covered. Thinks her mom is not wearing appropriate shoes for a walk? Yeah well...we'll work on bossing mom around.

There are 2 moms here with 2 babies- Karen is very involved in their daily care. Little Miss M objecting to sitting in the high chair? Karen will tap on the tray to distract her. Little Mr. P drops his food? Karen will pick it up. Sometimes she "helps" too much and needs reminders that some jobs are for moms only. These moms really appreciate Karen playing and interacting with their kiddos. Elementary Education major some day? Hmmmm....

Karen has a lot of energy. She loved the physical play with Merwyn! Tickles, somersaults, bicycle legs...you name it. Dancing, jumping, screaming- she's got it covered. Gymnastics may be in her future! Except walking. Oddly, when we walk somewhere, she is like molasses and seems to lack endurance.

She is all girl- loves the pink clothes! The shoes I brought for her were all a bit big. We had to buy a pair of shoes, and you should see these things. Bow on the top. Pink and silver. Ankle strap. They're almost worn out! She'll wear the pinks/purple clothes before she moves onto the other items.

She also loves to play with her dolls. She has a great imagination, creating this playworld using some of the hotel games. Karen also likes to play games with us.

Despite the fact that I called Karen a border collie earlier, she is very afraid of dogs. There are a lot of dogs here in Bogota. Many of them off lease, however, very well trained! I wish the people were better trained to pick up the poop, but that's another topic. So, we see dogs frequently. Today while walking, someone was behind us with 5-6 dogs (this is common too...dog walkers, I assume) and she freaked! I had to pick her up and put her aside as the dogs and their walker passed. This may become challenging when we camp with our friends...

I think Karen is very smart and a quick thinker. I hope this helps her as she transitions to school without a strong grasp on English.

Lastly, Karen is super affectionate. She wants to hug and sit on my lap and hold hands. Frankly, I am not accustomed to this and it's taken some getting used to. She loves big. She tells me she loves me several times a day (in English!) and she did this quite early on.

She's a gem to be sure, and definitely worth melting for! She's been through a lot in her life and while I'm not going to get into details (it's her story after all) I think most people assume that a 7 year old in an orphanage has had some life challenges.

None of us deserve anything from God. Because of his love for us he gives us his grace and mercy. I'm praying and asking him for this grace and mercy for my girl.

I love her. I know you will too.