From Roommates to Retirees to Missionaries

How many of us look back on our lives to see how the Lord was at work years later?

Today in 2025, Karen and Lori are serving in missions with their husbands at Black Forest Academy in Germany, but the two first met in 1979.

Karen and Lori's story began when they met through a church college group in California and became roommates. As Karen and Lori grew closer over the years, they began to quip: “Do you have hot dogs? I have buns. Let’s eat dinner together!” That spirit of partnership carried forward in their lives as the two women were in one another’s weddings and started out raising their families near each other.

Karen and Lori eventually moved to different states but continued to invest in one another, conversing across the long distance. This intentional choice to remain in each other’s lives ensured a rich friendship that lasted decades and soon the women were discussing retirement plans.

As Lori and her husband began to consider missions after retirement, she naturally talked with Karen about the decision. On one fateful phone call, Lori shared a spontaneous thought even more consequential than hot dog dinners: “Why don’t you and Scott come to Germany with us and serve at Black Forest Academy? It seems like there are a lot of ways God can use us there!”

And just like that, a new season of life together opened up. Karen and Lori’s husbands retired within one week of each other, and the two families walked through the application process together before meeting in Wheaton, Illinois in June for orientation. Karen and Lori emphasized that in this new season it is a gift to share the journey alongside a friend who knows them in every struggle and joy. And while full-time missions overseas after retirement may surprise many, to believers, this is another piece of a masterful plan.

In The Four Loves, Lewis writes about friendship inspired by God: “Christ, who said to the disciples, ‘Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,’ can truly say to every group of Christian friends, ‘Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.’” The Lord’s presence is evident and faithful in their interwoven story as Karen and Lori step into administrative roles at BFA, using the gifts and skills acquired from their 45 years between first meeting and today.