Ministering with Gratitude

Local leaders of the Church in Kiribati are deeply thankful for a new boat, aptly named Gratitude, which carried them to visit remote and far-flung islands across the vast Pacific Ocean.

Early this year, Area Seventy, Elder Iotua Tune, and his wife, Maii, along with John Kendall, president of the Marshall Islands/Kiribati Mission, and two young missionaries travelled in the Gratitude to minister to residents on the outer islands of Abemama, Aranuka, and Kuria.

“It is just a joy for us to be able to go and visit the islands,” Elder Tune said. “The people there are so happy that we came to visit, to bring them our love and the love of the Saviour, and we were so grateful we could go. Our boat fits the name.”

Their trip from Tarawa to Abemama Island, 78 kilometers away, took ten hours in the rough seas. When they arrived, they were surprised to find that a group of Abemema locals had eagerly awaited the entire day for them at the Church meetinghouse. They greeted their visitors warmly with big smiles, hugs and lots of food.

As part of their ministering, Elder Tune, President Kendall and the missionaries brought a much-needed laptop and monitor to donate to Chevalier Catholic High School on Abemama, where over 500 students from other small islands board.

“It was a humbling experience to see their computer lab. We walked into the building with the ‘computer lab’ sign over the door and there were no computers there. So, when we came with a laptop and a screen, the principal and the students were so excited! Now they have a computer in their lab,” Elder Tune said.

The group also delivered 10 desktop computers and a new laptop and monitor to the Seventh-day Adventist Church-run Kauma High School. The computer lab at Kauma High School had earlier been destroyed by fire.

Elder Tune and President Kendall expected to drop the computers off at the door of the school but were delighted to find that the entire student body was gathered to express their sincere thanks. The students further gladdened the visitors’ hearts by singing in their beautiful harmonic voices “Joy, Joy, My Heart is Full of Joy”.

“The feeling there was so powerful, it was almost overwhelming,” Elder Tune said. “We felt so much love and yes, we felt hearts full of joy.

“The Kauma High School principal, Tekemau Ribabaiti, is a wonderful, energetic man who is 78 years of age and still contributing so much. He was thankful for the computers, but even more so, he was touched that we would come so far to visit.”

Principal Ribabaiti told his students, “These people come with their hearts. We can feel their love. We are grateful for the computers, but we are more grateful for their hearts.”

Later in this visit, Elder Tune and President Kendall trained local Church leaders and buoyed up the Latter-day Saints at a devotional which focused on preparing the Saints for temple worship.

The people of Kiribati have long hoped for a temple on their land and look forward to the construction of the Tarawa Kiribati Temple, which was announced in 2020.

Young full-time missionary, Elder Baylor Johnsen, recalls the reaction of one of the members at the devotional. He said, “I stood up to address the gathering. When I started by explaining, ‘We are here to help you get to the temple’ a woman named Aribo began to cry tears of joy. As I saw the smiling faces of her and others, I felt the love of our Saviour for each of them. I left that island with the sure knowledge that God knows and loves all His children, even on the most remote islands of the sea.”