February 14, 2011
Executive Director’s Report for 2010
for Come & See Africa International
by Chris A. Foreman

First of all I would like to thank my Brother Frank, Son Simon, and friends Tabitha, Cody, and Debi for agreeing to be officers on the board of Come & See Africa. I also want to thank Sister Jeanne, Son Zachary, and friends Barry, Rob, Steven, Craig and Jason for agreeing to serve on our advisory board. I truly appreciate your willingness to step up in a tragic situation.

As you well know, 2010 was the most difficult year of my life. My very existence has been scrambled and turned upside-down by the death of the lovely Kim on August 3, 2010. I not only lost my wife and best friend. I lost a whole way of life. The void is enormous and daily, but with God’s help, I am mending day by day.

I want to ask your forgiveness for the foolish things that I did in the midst of grief and pain. I had never been so disoriented in my life. In the twinkling of an eye, the rug was yanked out from under my feet and I found myself flailing in mid-air. I know that I disappointed some of you. I regret that.

I have learned that grief is a process that must be addressed with deliberation. God is the Helper – the Paraclete – but the bereaved must trust God and do the hard work needed to pass through the valley of bereavement. I am doing that in several ways. I experienced some false starts in August and September, but in 2011God is giving me a peace that passes understanding.

I have also learned that forgiveness is a process that must be addressed with deliberation. [Perhaps some of you will disagree]. I have no doubt that Kim’s death was an accident. Nevertheless, it was avoidable. It was completely unnecessary. It was caused by “pilot error”. My anger toward the car’s driver needed to be addressed with deliberation. Forgiveness did not come to me automatically. Perhaps with a better Christian, forgiveness would have been immediate. I don’t know. But for me, forgiveness was a process. It began with words repeated in faith, “I forgive Frank. I forgive Frank”. My mind finally received the message that my mouth was proclaiming; and with my mind I forgave Frank. Eventually, my heart got the mind message.

Jesus tells us in the parable of the unmerciful servant that his followers must “forgive with the heart”. That is an ongoing process, at least in my case. Pray for me when the time comes for me to re-unite with Frank Murenzi this July. Pray that I might embrace him as a brother in Christ – as he truly is – 100% forgiven from my heart. Thank you for your patience as I recover from this wound and regain my footing. Financial affairs of CASA.

I have attached an Excel spreadsheet with the details, but this is the bottom line. CASA began the year with $5,776 in the bank. We received $137, 101 in contributions. We spent $65,805 in expenditures. We ended up the year with $77,072 in the bank. Those numbers add up and that is what the IRS will receive.

Thus far in 2011 we have received about $14,000 in contributions. I have wired $36,000 to CASR in Rwanda. As of February 14, 2011, the balance in the CASA checking account is $17, 653,while the balance in the savings account is $41,346 . More funds will soon be wired to CASR in Butare when the current money is expended in construction.

Please don’t get the idea that we are flush with cash. The bulk of funds are coming from two generous sources. [See the spreadsheet for details]. Without the top three contributors, CASA would be in about the same place we were in 2008.

Kim’s 60th birthday celebration is coming up this weekend in San Lorenzo, California, [February 19] and in Vancouver, Washington [February 20]. There is also a harp concert scheduled in Tiburon, California, on March 6. We hope to use these events as fund-raising opportunities.

Construction is going on like mad. We are putting in two sets of concrete stairs going up to the second floor. These are $4k each. Once that is done, we hope to begin the 1st story ceiling / 2nd story concrete floor. They tell me this is the single most expensive piece of construction at $40k and must be paid for as a single event. We have one more concrete floor [between 2 & 3]. That is also $40k. We hope to get the two horizontal elevated floors done before April. When Mission 2011 begins in July, we hope to be working on outside walls and roof.

I am still looking to August [before the mission team leaves] to have the outside shell complete. This may be optimistic and it may actually take until September or October. In any event, we are on schedule for the dedication of the KFBI in July 2012. The only real obstacle to that timetable is available money and I have faith that the funds will be there.

I have asked Pastor Paul to send us a construction update with photos before the February 20 board meeting. I will remind him tomorrow.

I am very satisfied with the leadership of Pastor Paul. I hope you have been receiving and reading his monthly reports on Finance, Academics, and House Activities. I am impressed. I have no doubt that we are getting a very good spiritual return for our investment, now at $2500 per month. The harvest is great in Rwanda. I have heard from various people about the excellent work that Florida and Jane are accomplishing. I am also pleased that Frank is back on the team as “executive director” of CASR with the special duty of construction supervision. I have no doubt that Frank is fully devoted to his work.

I have also heard good things about the 3 other board members; Pastor David, Immaculate, and Ben. I have struggled for 6 years to get the right people in the right place and I think that this team is as good as it gets in Butare. In a strange way, Kim’s death cemented this team.

I have set tentative dates of July 21 to August 4 / round trip from DC to Kigali. The core week is July 25 to 30. I plan to dedicate a roadside memorial for Kim at the place and on the date of her accident -- July 31. I will buy the air tickets in a few weeks and the dates will be set in stone. Thus far we have three commitments: Chris Foreman, Jael Walker [Chris’ great niece], and Tabitha Hill. A few others have made gestures to the mission, so perhaps a few more will travel.

Frank and Lelia Foreman [and Chris again] have tentative plans to go a mission over the New Year 2011/2012. The big bash will be in July 2012. Please be making your plans now.

Web site ~ Simon and Chris Foreman are working on the CASA website. Simon just had a baby girl and has been working hard on his mom’s web site in preparation for her 60th birthday. We promise that it will be looking good in a month or so.

Travel ~ Chris is planning a trip to Texas!! Chris plans to take his 1987 VW camper and his sidekick dog – Jodie – and drive to Dallas and to Lubbock. Chris hopes to speak at the Winkler’s church and at Tabi’s too. The dates look like Thursday, May 5, to Monday, May 16. I hope this can work out and raise some awareness of CASA and raise some funds too.

If you have any question or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. ~ Chris