Dear Pen Pal … Your Friend, Karen

When Karen Brown was in the fourth grade, her friend, Alice, went on a trip to New Zealand and returned with a name and an address for Karen. Alice thought Karen and a family friend, Robyn Chrystal, looked alike and would be perfect pen pals.

The two girls, Karen and Robyn, began writing to one another in 1951, sharing stories about their countries and their lives as they grew up, graduated from school, got married and had children. This was long before the Internet could instantly bring someone 8,000 miles away into your life via computer or smart phone.

Through the years, they sent precious little gifts to each other. Karen, of Dr. Phillips, still has a string of pearls, a necklace-and-earring set and a travel-themed scarf that Robyn mailed to her. She preserved some of the letters in a scrapbook.

“We did so many things the same,” Karen said. “We were born the same year. We got married the same year. We both have four children.”

Karen, who turns 75 this week, calls Robyn her “spirit friend.”

“We have this connection, and it was deeper than just writing letters,” she said. “She had a deep faith, and I do, too. We had so much in common, and I could tell through letters that we really cared for each other. We didn't think we would ever meet each other ... but there was something pulling us.”

Sixty-six years later, that something would turn out to be a successful bout with cancer and an engaged daughter who planned a destination wedding in New Zealand.

“It's looking at the glass (as) half full and not half empty,” Karen said. “We were embracing making it happen.”

The couple had talked about visiting New Zealand in the past, but the trip was never planned. After Karen was considered cancer-free, the couple took a renewed interest in the idea.

Their youngest daughter, meanwhile, was putting together a once-in-a-lifetime trip for the family of 17, reserving tours and bed-and-breakfast stays. She selected New Zealand so her mother could finally spend some time with her longtime friend.

The wedding took place in Matamata, where Hobbiton, the “Lord of the Rings” movie set, is located.

“God can take you from down here to literally on top of a mountain,” Karen said.

FINALLY TOGETHER

Karen wasn't sure she would recognize the woman when she departed the plane in New Zealand, but when the two came face to face, there was no mistaking this long-distance friend.

Karen and her husband, Art, stayed at the 10-acre farm belonging to Robyn Chrystal and her husband, Laurie, in Ngaruawahia on the north island. In the guest bedroom, the nightstand held a photo of Karen and Art. Robyn also had a shoebox full of letters from Karen.

The lifelong friends shared stories and memories and photographs and letters. Early in their friendship, the girls talked about their daily activities and their large families.

“We shared our journey, we learned about each other’s cultures through our letters,” Karen said. “I’m a very people person. I wondered what she did and what she was like. Our life’s journey was about the same.

“I was interested in her life,” she said. “How was her life different from mine? In those days, I never thought I’d see her. It was just having a friend so far away was so cool. It was truly a God thing.”

The women eventually made the switch to email correspondence, although they still send Christmas cards the old-fashioned way.

“The world is really very small,” Karen said. “We all have the same wishes and the same dreams. I think it's neat to have a journey through life with someone who's like a soul mate, a sister.”

Contact Amy Quesinberry at [email protected].