The last day of Kim Foreman
~ July 31, 2010 ~
Of course as July thirty-first began, I did not know it would be Kim's last. I'm not even sure it was. Her brain pretty much stopped on this day, but her heart beat continued until August 3rd. I count this day as her last, because on July 31st the woman that I knew and loved left me forever in this earthly realm. I wrote a narrative of July 31 on August 2 while the events were still fresh. Here is that narrative of Kim's last day, along with some pictures. |
July 31, 2010 ~ Kim's sleep was heavy- mine was light. We heard the mama voices and then singing. She startled and said "What time is it?" I sprang from bed and looked at the little travel clock. It was 5:30. We both got busy and put on our clothes. We were in the living room in about five minutes.It was our last day at the CASA house. We were packed and leaving for Kigali at two PM. I was in charge of the morning message. After singing a few songs, my message was about Nicodemus and Born Again. I settled on John 3:16 and emphasized "God loved = God gave" loving=giving.Kim thought my message was too short. Since this was the last day we had special gifts for Morning Mamas-- a handful of peanuts for the 30 or so children and 15 metal hoes for the digging mamas. I was anxious to pass out the "goodies". Kim wanted to pray more and ask for testimonies. And so we did.    The sun was up and we took lots of outside pictures of peanuts and hoes.  Click to see Jason passing out the peanuts 
    All this was over by seven AM. I think that both Kim and I flopped down on our mattress for an hour or so of extra sleep. We ate a typical breakfast of egg omlete and japote pancake. As usual Kim augmented this selection with mixed fruit form the fridge. She says that the red seeds of the passion fruit make the mix delicious.Jason McCoy was there. I believe the conversation turned to how Jason and his wife Krisen met. I was able once again to mention my first memory of Kim-- walking late into the English class that I was teaching in Korea. Tabitha was with us. The plan was for her to travel to Kigali with us, but she preferred to stay the her last two days of mission at the house in Butare. And it was so. Otherwise she would have been in the car with me and Kim.Frank came to the house and there was celebration because Kim and Frank were finally able to print out Frank's visa applications. The State Department web site kept timing out and the previous night Kim spent three frustrating hours trying to get the visa application sent.Our last offical event in Butare was to meet the three CASA teachers-Charmane, Victor, and Alphonse. I was expecting them at noon or so, but the time passed and the appointment was set back a few hours. I had wanted to do some last minute shopping but it was a "community work" day and shops were closed to noon. Frank drove me and Kim to the Craft shop, but it was still closed. We went back to the house just a bit annoyed. We made a quick stop at the construction site. The three students arrived. We all sat and talked a while. We gave each of the three a book of "The Redemption History of Christ" -- that's the spiral-bound laminated book that Sandy Che made back in California. Kim was so encouraged that these three went through the 3-year CASA curriculum and were now teaching. She was greatly encouraged. We took pictures of Pastor David and his wife and the three students. 
We gathered for a big meal before the trip to Kigali. Jacques had killed a chicken earlier in the day. This seems to trouble Tabitha's conscience, but not her appetite.
We enjoyed the chicken dinner. When she had finished her plate, Kim went to the fridge to get some mixed fruit. She sighed, "I'm going to be so fat when I get back to America". As it turned out, this was Kim's final meal, and she heartily enjoyed it! |
The following are copies of the affidavit that I dictated at the US embassy on August 3. It details the events surrounding the traffic accident. Continue with narrative of Kim's last day. |
