Mannete Chaba
A
tribute!
A
life, A story, A legacy!
15 August 2015 will mark 10 years since the death of
Mannete Elizabeth Chaba or Ausi Mannete to most. Ten years of silence and
selective appreciation of a life well lived. A decade of partial numbness, suppression
and a vague memory of the void left by her death. It’s a wonder that we still
achieved what we achieved in last 10 years. In fact it is a testament of God’s
goodness and faithfulness towards us.
After Ausi Mannete’s death we were in a hurry to go
on. Circumstances demanded this of us. There was a need continue, in hope that
the pain would subside. When pain in stubbornness did not depart from our hearts,
we were told to be strong. The necessity to celebrate rather than mourn her
life was inscribed in our minds.
After an innumerable repetition of one consistent
message “don’t cry and don’t feel pain”, we got to a place where lamentation
became a libellous act deserving serious damnation. We so signed onto the
movement that whomever dared cry, we would remind them of the need to move on
and accept the loss. If they continued
in their folly, we denied them audience and isolated them to their peril.
While we appreciated the timely message that it was
necessary to receive the baton that had been passed on, we were in a sombre
mood. As taking on the baton in this context meant that we could not grieve or
reflect on what had been imparted to us.
We had to run, no time to absorb or reflect. There was
an urgent need to go on with life. Never mind that we were lost, scared, and
unsure of ourselves. Yes, we knew that we trusted God and that He would take
care of us, but beyond that we were confused. The change was disabling and
overwhelming at best. Instead of
embracing the new season we were caught up in the glory of the days long gone.
I imagine we were like the disciples of Jesus Christ after His death on the
cross before He was resurrected. The truth of the matter is that even though we
felt pain, we had to continue. However what was so clear to our minds was
insurmountable to our hearts. Neither one of us could fathom the depth of our
pain.
I personally could not understand how loosing someone
I had only known for a little over three years could affect me so much. Although
I was not new to loss I was new to this type of pain. At any given time, I felt
like I would lose myself to sorrow.
In those days when I felt this pain, I could not
allow myself time to fully experience it. In my mind I had no right being in
pain. I was convinced that other people, who had been closer to Ausi Mannete or
had known her longer, were more justified to feel her loss. It was because of this
warped logic that I went through the past 10 years subconsciously forgetting
recollections of Ausi Mannete that tugged at my heart. Weirdly enough though
while some highlights of the three years were firmly planted in my memories,
some were faded pictures beyond recognition.
It was not until late 2014 that the Holy Spirit
started reminding me of some experiences. When December 2014 came and I was
suffering from extreme exhaustion that caused me to spend a lot of time in bed.
If I was not sleeping, I was either reading or thinking. It was during this
time that I started recalling some of the prophecies from Ausi Mannete concerning
my life.
These memories led me to a time of reflective prayer
and meditation. It was during this time that God gave me the idea of a tribute.
This was very exciting as I had always wanted to write a book about Ausi
Mannete, but there was always something or the other standing in my way, but
NOW is the opportune time.
It is time to reconcile within ourselves what it
means to have lost without having mourned. Clearly by denying or refusing to
deal with her death we had merely postponed the inevitable. We were also in hindsight not allowing ourselves
the opportunity to reflect on the legacy she left and to fully embrace what God
imparted to us through her ministry.
Ausi Mannete’s life and ministry impacted so many
lives. Through this tribute we aim to offer a platform to everyone who was
impacted or inspired by her life or ministry to share their stories. We also
hope that this process would offer people a space to get closure and move on
with their lives. After all we are not those who are to be held bound by our
emotions, and the fact that we allowed ourselves to miss out on the God
designed process of healing until now is a travesty. Especially as it disavowed
us the opportunity to explore and to harness what was released into our lives.
The mechanisms of the Tribute
This process aims to honour the gift that God had
given us as a church and to glorify God for having used Ausi Mannete to shape
us into the people we are today. We have no intention of exalting the gift
above the gift giver and neither do we have a desire to elevate Ausi Mannete to
the position of God. However, we believe that when someone has done such a
wonderful job such as her, we need to salute them. We are paying tribute to
Ausi Mannete because she lived a life of sacrifice and was a trailblazer for women
in the ministry.
For this purpose we have started a blog (manntechabatribute.blogspot.com)
where people can salute this great heroine. If you would like to share your
story please email me at shoabi@kico.co.za
for a submission guideline. Please be aware that the blog would be open to the
public and that your story may form part of a book that will be published
towards the end of 2015.
Mannete Chaba’s Messages
If you are in need of Mannete Chaba’s messages please
contact Tshidi Pooe by phone at
071 533 4980 or email at mervinramatloltlo123@gmail.com.
