At 70 years old, the fifth church minister of Manunu, Roma Enosa, bid farewell to the only church in the village which he served for 31 years. 

To highlight the end of his journey, Retired Reverend Enosa, shared his experience of serving the village since 30 December, 1992, with his wife Wilma Enosa.

“This was when we first arrived, and the covenant was made before God,” he stated.

In his sermon, Rev. Enosa illustrated the Bible story of Jonathan and David from the book of first Samuel, comparing their separation to his own departing from the people of Manunu.

“Manunu, the Lord is in the space between us,” he said.

Having been only the fifth church Minister of Manunu, Rev. Enosa thanked the village for choosing him as their minister and for embracing him and his family for the past three decades.

“For any job, there is a starting point and a finish line. Thirty-one years - that is enough. This is the amount of time God has given us to serve this village,” he said.

In an interview with the Samoa Observer, Rev. Enosa said his departure from the church was an easy one after committing to the church for almost half his life.

“It was very hard for me to see the people, it’s hard to leave them,” said Rev. Enosa.

When asked about his future plans after bidding goodbye to the church with his wife, he responded, “we’ll go back home, move on - do something else.”

“We’ll watch the kids, and when the kids grow up, we look after the grandchildren,” added Enosa.

The Minister and his family will move back to their original residency in Vaitele this Friday. 

The church minister thanked Samoa Observer's publisher Muliaga Jean Malifa at the end of his interview for her contribution to the church and hopes that she continues her support. 

Treasurer and devoted churchgoer Manu Asafo, said Rev. Enosa’s retirement was a sad occasion for the village of Manunu.   

Born and raised in Manunu, Asafo spent most of his church life under Rev. Enosa’s wing, having spent 20 years as part of the village’s sole congregation.

“He has helped out a lot in the development of this village and not only Manunu,” said Mr. Asafo.

 He told the Samoa Observer that Enosa has been more than a church minister to the people, and has also been a “finance company.” 

“He has really helped out not only with the spiritual sense but also the physical sense - he helps out with the poor families, ” said Mr. Asafo.

According to Mr. Asafo the village contributed over SAT$200,000.00 for the departure of the church Minister, despite it being a “small village.”

People from different walks of life, including families from overseas, attended Sunday’s church service to bid farewell to Rev. Enosa.

Plans for a new church minister are yet to be planned, but for now, the people of Manunu will rest until another is found. 

Mr. Asafo added that the rest wouldn’t be too long because “people are motivated to serve God and if you sort of leave them alone for a  while - they will probably go off in their own ways.”

As indicated by Mr. Asafo the church will look at getting a church minister within the next three to four months.