Journey of a lifetime

By Deidre Fanene 26 May 2016, 12:00AM

“Success in life comes when we simply refuse to give up, with goals so strong that obstacles, failure and loss only act as motivation.”

For 52 year old Rev. Aumua Seuga Aumua, this saying has made him strive for the best and take all the obstacles and the challenges that he faced as motivation for himself.

Rev. Aumua said he is very humble about his achievements and it was no easy journey for him.

“Time was definitely a challenge for me because I only took the last part of the course for my Masters within two weeks,” he said.

“The last part usually requires 10-11 weeks but I only took it for two weeks because I am currently based in New Zealand and had other callings from God so it was down to two weeks.

“I had to come here to Samoa to finish my last papers in order for me to graduate and so tonight I can happily say that I did it.”

He said that within those two weeks of the last part of his Masters, there was no opportunity given to ask any questions as the lecturer didn’t have time for questions.

“It was very hard for me because at my age, there are things that I wanted to ask but I didn’t want to because that would take up the lecturer’s time,” he said.

“So I depended on God to guide me through these hardships that I was facing with my school work.

“Not only that, but there are a lot of assignments as well so I had all these assignments that needed to be in on time and then on the other hand, the course was just extra hard and so I was faced with sleepless nights and assignment after assignment and at times, it just felt too hard for me.”

However the 58 year old said those challenges didn’t discourage him but rather it motivated him to finish what he had started.

“It gave me strong motivation because my God is bigger than my problems,” he said.

“Another thing that really pushed me to keep going was that my calling from God has been changed for being a pastor for 36 years, to being in the apostolic ministry and evangelist.

“So it was time for me to upgrade my knowledge and sharpen my mind because I am now on another level of spreading the word of God.

“I came from being a pastor to local churches, to national churches and now it’s global so I had to make sure I had more understanding and knowledge of the work of God.

“I also believe that when we move from one ministry to another, we must upgrade and sharpen our minds for the different calling from God.”

Rev. Aumua said age doesn’t matter because the calling is from God.

“This is one of the hardest works any man can do,” he said.

“Because we are required to go out to the world to tell the people about God and there will be countries and places where it will be difficult for them to accept what we say.

“We will be at risk, our lives will be in danger because of this but always remember that God has called us for this work and so He will never forsake us because He is with us all the time.

“So whatever calling God has called you to do, do it with all your might because there is a reward waiting for us in heaven and if people reject us, move on and pray for them because God will work in mysterious ways.”

Rev, Aumua Seuga Aumua was a graduate of the Samoa Bible College in Tafuna, American Samoa from 1975-1979.

He also attended the Jonathan David Permanent School of Prophets in Malaysia in 2003.

He is now officially confirmed to be graduating with a Masters of Art in Biblical Studies from the Asia Pacific Theological Seminary in the Philippines.

The graduation was the first ever M.A. graduation to be held in Samoa at the Harvest Theological College as APTS M.A extended programme.

The graduation took place at the Assemblies of God conference in Samoa on the 23rd of May, 2016.

THEIR SERVICE IN SAMOA:

Rev. Aumua and Pastor Marilyn Aumua are the pioneering pastors of the Break Through Ministry in Lotopa from 1979-2015.

He is also the founder of the Harvest Theological College in Lotopa.

He planted churches in Samoa including the English language speaking church in Apia.

There are now more than 20 men and women who have become pastors, missionaries and teachers that originated from his leadership.

His first lady Marilyn Aumua graduated from the Rhema Training Bible Centre in Samoa with a Diploma in Theological Studies in 2003.

She also graduated with a B. A in the Theological Studies from the Harvest Bible College in 2011.

Currently she is pursuing her M.A degree in Biblical Studies with the APTS M.A extended programme,

They have five children, Suliveta Jnr, David Tariu, Dawn Vicky, Junior Seuga and Chester Fred and they have eight grandchildren.

Rev. Aumua was the president of the Sunday School district and was selected as the secretary of the Samoan district and also the secretary of the general conference for Samoa and American Samoa.

He was also the Presbyter of the Samoan District.

Now God has called them to another new ministry.

They have stepped forward from the pastoral ministry and have passed on the baton to the next generation after being church pastors for 36 years.

God has called them to New Zealand as evangelist teachers and apostolic ministry, although they are here to help Bible Schools, local churches and extend their ministry to international countries including Samoa.

By Deidre Fanene 26 May 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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