Degei’s call to serve
REVEREND Sainimere Marama Degei has 50 years of service under her belt, 29 years as a teacher and 21 as a pastor.
Originally from Luvunavuaka, Tailevu, the 72-year-old taught in various schools in the Lomaiviti Group before deciding to join the church ministry in 1999.
“In 1998, I took the ministry examination for the Vuli ni Talatala because I felt the call of God.” says Mrs Degei.
“I got through but it became a tough choice because I had to decide on whether to continue teaching or to become a pastor.”
After consulting her late husband Anasa at their home on Koro Island and praying to God for guidance and grace, they made the move from Koro to Davuilevu where they both attended Davuilevu Theological College for about three years.
“I had to be sure that I was leaving teaching,” Mrs Degei said.
“When I left, I was being paid $18,000 a year. Back in the day, that was a lot and that was because I was an executive teacher.
“This meant the head teacher dealt with administration and the professional side was mine.
“I had to leave that and come to church where I was given $2000 a year, which is what Davuilevu gave us as students.”
She said it was a financially tough time for her and her husband besides the ridicule they faced over the fact that she was studying to be a talatala while her husband was studying to be a church steward.
“In the Methodist Church, in that circle, when women are ordained and our husbands are not, it’s a big issue having a woman as a minister while their husband is a lay person.
“Also my husband’s relatives had a lot to say about me studying to be a talatala, but eventually they shut up.”
After three years of studying and hardship at Davuilevu, she graduated and made history by being its first female dux.
“We have gifts and talents. The talents are the skills to help us with our lives but your gift is given to you by God,” she says.
Her first posting after graduation was to the youth’s department, rewriting the books and syllabuses for Sunday school from Class 1 to Class 8.
“I also went around Fiji and overseas teaching people how to be Sunday school teachers. I also taught parents.”
She was then moved to be the secretary for the Methodist Women’s Fellowship in Toorak for three years before retiring at the age of 70.
Although retired, Mrs Degei still travels around helping people with their spiritual lives, and she still gets called to teach.
“I retired at 70 but I didn’t want to stop there. I didn’t want to sit down and do nothing.
“You retire from something and you go into something else.”
Mrs Degei believes prayer, discipline and reading the Bible go a long way. She also believes that whatever one chooses to do in life must align with their interests.