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Voz Portuguesa Abril 2011
A Tribute To Niki Duarte Eulogy by Carlos Camara
My name is Carlos Camara, and I am one of Niki's many friends, and it's with great honour that I can address you all today on behalf of the Duarte family about a very special young man, called Niki, and this my friends is a tribute to the life of Niki. When I sat down to write this tribute to Niki, which I never thought would ever happen, I remembered a lot of the messages that I read on bbm or facebook, so I hope no one will be offended if I use their material, so in actual fact this is our tribute to Niki. I met Niki about 10 years ago at a Life In the Spirit Seminar, and at first I did not think he was Portuguese. Blond hair, blue eyes, he must have been a local, until I saw his appetite and knew that this guy must be Portuguese, as most of you will know, us Portuguese people, we live to eat and not eat to live. We have heard countless stories of Niki and his appetite; he is probably complaining in heaven that there is no sammies on his pillow, like mommy used to do. Enjoy the feast up there mate, even Jacqui's chicken dish, but please leave some for us.
for the gift of Niki because he inspired so many and I don't think you have an idea of how many people he touched, even without knowing them, and yes during the last few days everyone has been around you, messages of sympathy, but as time goes by, the messages and support will become less, but we promise to never stop praying for you. We will strive to continue to call and see you, because that is what Niki would want for us to do – to “be like Niki”. Our prayers will be for Niki but our prayers must be for the family as well. Mr Duarte, you told us on Wednesday that you and Niki were very competitive and that only on 2 occasions did he beat you in the Argus Cycle race. Won by 1 second, and last year, his 10th race, where you helped him cross the line; when I thought about this, I realized he won a special race, the race of life…but again putting the family first, he has gone to prepare your places in heaven. Niki the legend, the hero, his legacy will live on forever in our hearts. We must remember this, that he showed us and taught us how to pray. So pray for each other in times of trouble and times of joy. He inspires so many and will continue to inspire. The Niki Duarte Project started when Niki was diagnosed with leaukemia, but it does not end today, it will continue to inspire, encourage and help all those needing special attention in their battle against any illness and situation, the project will endeavor to “be Like Niki”. We all think that cancer was the cause of his death, maybe the root cause, but he was cancer free, so he did beat the illness. It was complications leading up to his full recovery that made him weak, and eventually led to his organs failing, but his big, big heart was the last to stop. Today, we come together to say farewell to a dear son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend, and we give glory to God for the countless blessings God bestowed on him through the years. He will be sorely missed and the gap will never be filled, but in our hearts he will remain till we meet again. So in the name of the family, we would like to thank everyone here present and those who have expressed their sympathies on their loss of Niki, your love and support during this time is much appreciated. Hoje, nos reunimos para dizer adeus a um
NIKI FERNANDES DUARTE NATURAL DE AFRICA DO SUL NASCEU 8 JUNE 1985 – FALCEU 21 MARCH 2011 EM MEMÓRIA AMAROSA DO NOSSO QUERIDO AMIGO. Niki had many nick names, like Nik-naks, schniki, Nicas, Treng, but his most common one was Niki Lauda, not because he loved cars and formula 1, but because he was loud…he couldn't whisper…he once got into trouble with the father of a pretty girl, as she went past he whispered to Shaun “boy, she's hot”, but everyone heard including the girls dad! Today many of us are asking, why did this happen. We prayed so hard for his recovery, but whose plan was it? Ours, or the Lord's? Although it hurts to know that Niki has passed on, his suffering and passing has brought about many blessings. He united the community as we all prayed for him, we all cared for him, we all loved him, and even people who did not know him were drawn to pray for him. It is as if Niki's mission on earth was to get us all on our knees before our Lord. He never complained about his illness, but always put us first. He was always like that. It was not about finishing the race first, it was everyone finishing the race together. Another very good example of Niki putting his family and friends first, was the day he left this world. He waited for his sister to arrive, so she could say her final goodbye, but he also waited for a day that all his friends would be together in one place, so that we could cry together and support each other. Our prayers gave him a special grace. A grace of having his loved ones and a priest with him at his side when was ready to go. These my friends, are the promises of the Rosary, and Niki received this grace because we prayed for him, he did not have the strength to pray, so we prayed. Thank you to everyone that prayed and that continue to pray. So we need to have faith and believe that our prayers were answered, because none of us would have wanted Niki to suffer, we wanted healing for him, and he has healing, perfect healing in heaven. Earth is not our final home. We were created for something better, and our identity is in eternity and heaven our homeland. Mr and Mrs Duarte, you raised an amazing young man, full of love and care for others. Well done to the both of you, you must keep your heads held high
querido filho, irmão, neto, sobrinho, primo e amigo, e dar glória a Deus por todas as bênçãos, que Deus Lhe deu. Ele fará muita falta e nunca será substituído, mas ele permanecerá em nossos corações, até nos encontrarmos novamente. Assim, em nome da família gosta-ríamos de agradecer a todos aqui presentes e á queles que tenham manifestado a sua simpatia, amor e apoio durante este tempo doloroso a todos, muito obrigado. Mr & Mrs Duarte, Sandra and all family members present today, the sorrow you feel today will always be there, especially when you get together, but the love in your family will never diminish, and because of this love he will always be in your hearts. We give Jesus glory for blessing your lives with Niki. We are not sad that he left us. We are sad that he left us behind. We did not have a chance to say goodbye, but we will never have to, because it's not goodbye, it's see you later. We love you Niki…welcome home. You come unannounced and make yourself at home in our little chests... You settle in like quick drying cement, our hearts instantly pierced and forced to harden as we carry your concrete block of burning pain, throbbing with such authority you send trickles of dampness streaming down and out our timid eyes... Reality, oh unwanted reality, bursting through our dreams and shattering our hopes, you stand proudly thinking you've defeated us... But you have not... All you have done is feed us fruits of strength and giving to us a new foundation of pride, You have shifted our soil and made room for even more growth... now more than ever with our arms outstretched, connected like links from a chain, we stand tall, we stand proud, and we stand together – oh so grateful... To say with such delight... We are privileged to have known this angel, one so special that this world could not resist his birth, a birth so worthy his works were needed both here and up there...
ber it !
food ... the way you remem
Oh our dear friend what an inspiration you are to us all – you were and still are a walking, living example and those lessons are deeply embedded in us as we strive to carry and walk in your ways As a great son, brother, cousin and friend... May you send us your much admired courage and ever growing faith... So we too may look at this world from your eyes – and realise that we are never too small to bring about change and inspiration...
Reality oh reality – you will slowly fade away as every memory of our angel brings with it a smile and loving warmth - soon these chains weighing us down will dismantle because love has proven far greater than death can ever be... So we now wipe away our tears and salute you our dear friend our dear champion... - A true soldier who fought till the very last breath, a fight that will never be in vein - you brought us together - and more beautifully together in prayer, you taught us how we should be and showed us how it's done... Reality, oh reality we are no more afraid but comforted by your truth... Heaven has welcomed you now and we can smile, knowing we have another angel to always look down upon us and another we can forever look up to... Reality oh reality, step aside as we bid farewell to our dearest angel - the wings are all yours now... Spread them wide like I know you will and fly our friend... and fly... Goodbye for now our angel Niki - until we meet again...
GRUPO DE JOVENS – PIE SANTA MARIA DOS PORTUGUESES PAZ À SUA ALMA Article By Carla Barreto
pingo.co.za