Remembering and Honouring Minet

It is very definitely one of the most difficult posts I had to write in a very long time.  It is with great sadness and sense of loss that Free2Celebrate mourns the loss of a much cherished team member. Minet van Aarde of our Hamlet team went home suddenly and unexpectedly on 18^th June 2019.    My silence for the past 2 weeks, was on the one hand caused by the fact that we were on holiday with limited internet connectivity, but on the other hand it should reflect my utter lack of words to adequately describe or express my emotions and thoughts.

I will always remember and honour Minet for her friendship and wholehearted support of Free2Celebrate.  She was one of the core people that God raised up and used in those very difficult first years to create a safe space for me to practise presenting Free2bMe over and over and over again.  It was a safe space where new questions were asked and new answers sought out of His Word, without prejudice and judgement, and with a whole lot of mercy and grace.  As Free2Celebrate grew and expanded into topics like the ‘Face2Face’ weekend and ‘Come to the Well’ etc, Minet continued to be part of the very patient and supportive audience actively helping to shape the course of the ministry.  She was part of our intercessor team, shofar team, food and prayer walk crew.  Minet will be remembered for her absolutely razor sharp sense of humour that brightened many of my days.  Thus, in spite of my sadness and loss it’s really kind of hard to try and write about her without getting a smile on my face and a twinkle in my eye.  She will most assuredly be remembered for her love for Jesus and her soft way of carrying His presence with her, this will be greatly missed.  If I could, I would have loved to thank Minet for the role she played in those early formation years of Free2Celebrate and I would have loved to tell her how big the empty space she leaves is.  I know she loved being in His presence with her whole being and I would have loved to tell her that I bless her with that! I would have loved to be able to say:  ‘Good bye my friend’, knowing that I am consoled with the thought that it is not farewell forever. 'You now are truly Free2Celebrate, and I believe you are doing so with gusto and a whole lot of humour!'
 

What I did realise is that I most probably do not express my thankfulness and appreciation of the people close to me for their support, love, prayers, questions and messages of encouragement  nearly enough!  So I do want to use this opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you, to each and every one of you, for who you are and what you mean to me.   I do not take this for granted neither does it happen unnoticed.   May we continue to discover who our Bridegroom is, getting to know Him better and better,  and may we continue to walk in His calling for us day by day until He calls us home.    

Lots of Love

Gerda  Venter

Free2Celebrate