Sarah Catherall
05:00, Jun 23 2019
ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF
Sixty-year-old Reverend Perema Leasi came to New Zealand from Samoa when he was 19.
Reverend Perema Leasi is the solo minister at Christ the King Pacific Islands Presbyterian Church in Porirua. Last year, the 60-year-old received a Queen's Service Medal for his services to the Pacific community. He lives with his wife, Faaolataga, and four children in Cannons Creek.
When I was a boy living in the village of Saipai, on Savai'i, in Samoa, we weren't allowed to swim on a Sunday. It was our religious belief that Sunday was a rest day and a day for prayer. It would be really, really hot and we weren't allowed to swim in the sea because we had to rest.
I was the oldest of seven children. Four of us are still alive. My mother was a Sunday school teacher. I went to Sunday school every morning in Saipai and then to church.
ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF
Porirua Reverend Perema Leasi with his wife Faaolataga Leasi.
I came to New Zealand when I was 19. My uncle in Australia sent me a working permit and I moved to Auckland to work in the Zip factory for four years. I joined the Pacific Island church in Avondale, and I began as a Sunday school teacher and a lay preacher. I eventually trained as a minister at Knox Presbyterian College in Dunedin and I also did a bachelor of theology.
It's a bit of a story why I went down this path. My mother told the story [one] Sunday, when the whole church came here for my birthday lunch. The day I was born there were two missionaries who visited our village from Apia. They were palangi. One missionary's name was Mr Primer. That was where my name Perema came from, because my parents translated his name to the Samoan equivalent.
In the very low moments of my life, it's when the call comes to me. I was really down at one stage in my life. The whole thing that encouraged me was that there must be a reason why I was called my name by my parents.
Porirua Reverend Perema Leasi with his wife Faaolataga Leasi.
I came to New Zealand when I was 19. My uncle in Australia sent me a working permit and I moved to Auckland to work in the Zip factory for four years. I joined the Pacific Island church in Avondale, and I began as a Sunday school teacher and a lay preacher. I eventually trained as a minister at Knox Presbyterian College in Dunedin and I also did a bachelor of theology.
It's a bit of a story why I went down this path. My mother told the story [one] Sunday, when the whole church came here for my birthday lunch. The day I was born there were two missionaries who visited our village from Apia. They were palangi. One missionary's name was Mr Primer. That was where my name Perema came from, because my parents translated his name to the Samoan equivalent.
In the very low moments of my life, it's when the call comes to me. I was really down at one stage in my life. The whole thing that encouraged me was that there must be a reason why I was called my name by my parents.
ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF
Sundays for Porirua Reverend Perema Leasi are exhausting."But [at the end] I say, 'Thank you Lord, I'm happy'."
I was sent to a Te Awamutu church first because they wanted a student from Knox. I had no idea where Te Awamutu was. I began my ministry [at] Waikeria Prison to help rehabilitate prisoners and help former prisoners reintegrate into the community. We would try to establish a rapport with the prisoners. They came and talked to our young people to let them know that there is more to life than what they had been through, and everyone makes mistakes.
I always say we can't change the world but if we can save one soul then, hey, that makes a difference.
I pray every morning to begin the day. On a Sunday, I get up at about 6am. We have 150 families in this church. We have Sunday school at 9am and I lead the 11am church service in English. Then every week after that, we have a service on a rotating week for each of our communities – Samoan, Tokelauan and Cook Island.
Sundays for Porirua Reverend Perema Leasi are exhausting."But [at the end] I say, 'Thank you Lord, I'm happy'."
I was sent to a Te Awamutu church first because they wanted a student from Knox. I had no idea where Te Awamutu was. I began my ministry [at] Waikeria Prison to help rehabilitate prisoners and help former prisoners reintegrate into the community. We would try to establish a rapport with the prisoners. They came and talked to our young people to let them know that there is more to life than what they had been through, and everyone makes mistakes.
I always say we can't change the world but if we can save one soul then, hey, that makes a difference.
I pray every morning to begin the day. On a Sunday, I get up at about 6am. We have 150 families in this church. We have Sunday school at 9am and I lead the 11am church service in English. Then every week after that, we have a service on a rotating week for each of our communities – Samoan, Tokelauan and Cook Island.
ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF
Reverend Perema Leasi is named after a missionary who visited his village as a child.
I speak Samoan and Tokelauan, and just the basics in Cook Island, so I lead that service with the help of elders. We don't want to lose languages as we have three ethnicities here. We also often have bible study in the afternoon. Most families also ask for a family service on a Sunday if someone has passed away.
When the Sunday services are over, I begin preparing for the following week by planning the reading for the next week. Whether I'm visiting prisoners, or doing the shopping, as I see things during the week, I try to connect that reading to our everyday lives.
I think of myself as a community servant. I've helped get some social housing here on [Housing New Zealand land] at Castor Loop in Cannons Creek. I've been here for 19 years and it was empty for so long. Finally after a decade it will be built. I believe that if people have a comfortable, warm house they will be happier.
ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF
Perema Leasi, right, with his father Tofa Leasi who was visiting from Samoa.
I always try to sit with my family around a round table for the evening meal on Sunday. That is what is missed today. Families have to go back to the basics – sit around and have a meal, and discuss how the week has gone, their careers, school. And that would be a good time for them to share their concerns.
At the end of a Sunday, I finish the day exhausted. But I say, "Thank you Lord, I'm happy."
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